NAB 2023: Vizrt and Roe Visual partner to deliver real-time XR broadcast experience
Vizrt and Roe Visual are coming together to make magic for the 100th anniversary of the NAB Show by combining leading technologies in real-time broadcast and virtual production, GhostFrame and Viz Engine 5.
Combining cutting-edge LED and camera technology, GhostFrame enables creative and innovative use of video and broadcast technology. Uniting with Viz Engine 5’s advanced rendering capabilities, Roe Visual’s Ruby RB1.9Bv2 high-frequency video wall, driven by Helios LED processing, will be used to achieve new possibilities in virtual live production. GhostFrame works exclusively with Roe Visual LED panels and Megapixel VR Helios LED processing.
GhostFrame can receive up to four Viz Engine signals at one time, which enables limitless creative possibilities in broadcast virtual production. When combined with Vizrt’s Virtual Window technology, introduced in 2012, broadcasters can preview other camera perspectives simultaneously which was previously impossible. Uniting with GhostFrame, this is now a reality and will be displayed at NAB.
“This is the first time we will be showing the virtual window effect with our native Viz Engine render pipeline, but also with Unreal Engine in an optimised way with a lower latency than we’ve achieved before. Together with Roe Visual, we are illustrating the ability to use extended reality in a live-multi camera production without limitations,” stated Gerhard Lang, chief technology officer, Vizrt.
The setup for the live XR demonstration, the ‘Vizrt Experience Las Vegas’, uses Roe Visual’s Ruby LED panel, equipped with 1.9-pixel pitch, wide colour gamut and a bit-depth of 16 bit, to create brilliant visuals. The visuals, created by design firm dotconnector, will be captured by two Red Digital Komodo cameras. One will be mounted on a stYpe Human Crane with stYpe RedSpy tracking and Follower for interacting with AR graphics, the other camera will be mounted on a rail dolly from Blackcam controlled by electric.friends with AI automated shots. The virtual scenes displayed will be rendered natively in Viz Engine 5.1 and in Unreal Engine 5.1. In this setup, both render blades have an ultra-low latency, allowing for fast camera movements.
“GhostFrame’s technology can drive different features depending on the needs of a virtual set, and we think that Vizrt and Roe Visual are fantastic partners to show this off,” commented Jeremy Hochman, co-founder and CEO of Megapixel VR.
“One camera could capture international graphics, and another one, two, or three cameras from additional perspectives can have personalised graphics, a hidden green screen and virtual background locations based on the region. These features don’t consume bandwidth because they are generated in the Helios processing card on the LED panel without requiring complex upstream content feeds.”
“With Vizrt as an experienced broadcast partner, we want to take GhostFrame’s capabilities to the next level. GhostFrame offers broadcasters a safe and unique solution to handle complex multi-camera sets in a live environment. GhostFrame enables safe camera switching, which is a huge breakthrough for live broadcast productions. It allows the director to pre-vis the cameras and virtual sets, arrange secure and seamless live compositions between these, and sort the parallax issues and camera angles. A must-have for live broadcast production using virtual elements,” said Olaf Sperwer, business development virtual production, Roe Visual.