Pixotope, the leader in live augmented reality (AR), extended reality (XR), and virtual production (VP) solutions, today announced its XR Edition for extended reality productions, which will make its debut at IBC2022 on stand 7.D08 at the RAI in Amsterdam from September 9-12. Developed in response to the growing trend of LED volume use in Virtual Production and the need for hardware optimization, Pixotope’s XR Edition includes a range of tools to simplify setup and operation by reducing the technical complexities and associated resource costs of XR workflows and environments.
“In the past, XR productions have been limited to select teams with highly specialized technical resources,” says Pixotope Chief Revenue Officer David Dowling. “With our XR Edition, Pixotope has developed an easy-to-use solution that enables wider adoption with tools specifically designed to address pain points like color matching, LED meshing and alignment, camera switching, hardware consolidation, and system resilience. As a result, XR is no longer limited to a small group of specialists, it’s a viable option for productions of all sizes.”
Beyond workflow simplification and innovation, XR Edition brings Virtual Production a step forward in sustainability efforts thanks to the ways it optimizes hardware usage. Key functions that achieve this are XR Edition’s multi-wall support, which features one input and three outputs to render one virtual scene, enabling users to drive several large LED volumes from a single server/workstation; and in-software camera switching to synchronize AR elements and LED walls without a hardware-based switcher.
XR Edition will be available to new and existing Pixotope users from September 2022.
Extended Reality for Everyone
Pixotope is knocking down a major barrier to Virtual Production adoption with XR Edition by addressing the fundamental challenges that have historically made it difficult to leverage XR outside of major blockbuster productions. Its purpose-built tools address common operator pain points while removing the need for proprietary hardware, effectively bringing users an off-the-shelf XR solution.
Key benefits and features in the XR Edition include:
Streamlined, Simplified Set Up
- Unique Color Match Functionality for AR<->XR Workflows This unique color matching tool enables users to quickly and easily match the colors of in-camera visual effects (ICVFX) and those appearing through the LED volume for seamless AR/XR workflows and effects. This is particularly useful when augmented reality (AR) is used alongside XR for set extension or when adding virtual elements to a scene as color reproduction is affected by both the camera and LED volume, making it difficult to accurately color match.
- LED Mesh Import and Automatic Alignment By combining procedural geometry creation tools and tracking technology, users will be provided with an automated method for converting CAD and geometry representations of LED volumes to virtual LED projection surfaces. These will be further refined using computer vision to ensure perfect registrations for XR and AR set extension, which will significantly reduce setup time.
Reduced and Optimized Hardware Usage
- Multi-Input Switching in Software for Changing Perspectives When using more than one camera in an XR setup, the images on your LED volume and your AR rendering need to synchronously change perspective when switching between cameras in a single frame. With in-software switching, Pixotope ensures this operation is accurate and hassle-free without the need for additional hardware.
- Multi-Wall Support to Optimize Hardware Use With multi-wall support, Pixotope can drive several LED walls from a single server/workstation. This not only reduces the amount of hardware needed, and therefore cost, but also mitigates many common issues such as output synchronization and sharing of assets over multiple machines.
Resilient, Robust, and Reliable
- Health and Diagnostics Monitoring for Failover and System Resilience When it comes to live Virtual Production, failure is not an option. With Pixotope, the clear and comprehensive health and diagnostics monitoring enables users to proactively address any issues that might arise and quickly troubleshoot and, in the case of a system failure, seamlessly failover to a backup machine.
For a complete list of XR Edition features and capabilities, please visit https://www.pixotope.com/product/pixotope-graphics-xr
Learn More About XR Edition at IBC2022
Pixotope will debut its XR Edition at IBC2022, stand 7.D08. Attendees are invited to book a meeting to learn more here.
Members of the media are invited for a one-on-one briefing with Pixotope product specialists to learn more about XR Edition and how it enables wider adoption. Please contact Chloe Larby, contact info below, to schedule.
About Pixotope
Dedication. Determination. Trust. Pixotope is at the forefront of democratizing virtual production and empowering content creators with accessible solutions for boundary-pushing immersive storytelling.
Having been proven on the most demanding live productions in the world, Pixotope offers media content owners and producers a reliable and sustainable Virtual Production Platform on which to build their media business.
Pixotope uniquely allows media creators to tell stories with the visual impact of high-end feature films, combined with the connected and scalable nature of online content and the immersive and social experience of video games.
With global 24/7 operations and a direct presence on four continents, Pixotope Technologies is on a mission to promote accessibility, ease of use, and customer success in Virtual Production for all media creators.
