IBC 2022: HTC VIVE LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD FOR VIRTUAL PRODUCTION

The multi-cam ‘outside-in’ tracking system provides accurate camera tracking for real-time video compositing with a set-up time that only takes minutes.

It offers support for up to three cameras fitted with its ‘Rover’ devices and offers robust wiring over Ethernet cables. It offers quick calibration for nodal offset and lens distortion, one-click origin reset and Genlock and Timecode support, allowing synchronised output between real and virtual actors. Pricing starts from €5000 for The Mars, three Rovers, two Vive base stations, two Vive trackers, a calibration board and all necessary cables.

Tim Wen, Virtual Production for HTC Vive, said: “The Mars system has all the software contained into it, it’s really plug and play, no installation required. We’re partnering here at IBC with Aximmetry Technologies, to offer an all-in-one virtual studio. We’re really taking away all the technical jargon and all those hurdles and allowing everybody to just focus on the content.”

In addition to expanding the commercial availability of Vive Mars CamTrack, the Mars team has also added support for the Free-D protocol to better serve the virtual production community. Free-D is an industry standard protocol for the camera’s positional data which is used by established AR and XR solution providers. The system already supports LiveLink for Unreal Engine integration.

Source: IBC Daily
https://www.ibc.org/ibcdaily/htc-vive-levels-the-playing-field-for-virtual-production/9119.article