http://www.sgi.com/Headlines/1995/April/virtual_set.html (Einblicke ins Internet, 10/1995)
Virtual Set technology combines live announcers and a computer-generated graphics "set" created in real time and in three dimensions in the television broadcast studio. The power of Silicon Graphics' Onyx RealityEngine2 graphics supercomputer provides the ability to simulate 3D environments that are stunningly realistic and instantly changing. New Virtual Set solutions will dramatically reduce day-to-day production and post production costs, giving broadcasters the creative freedom to broadcast from countless 3D "locations," all from the same set.
"Virtual Sets have the power to create television environments of pristine realism or marvelous fantasy," said Michael Ramsay, president of Silicon Studio. "This new technology promises to change broadcasting as we know it, availing vast new programming opportunities to an industry expected to outdo its creative efforts from season to season."
Virtual Sets are used in several countries, with tens of millions of television viewers watching the technology at work on sports network SAT.1 in Germany, Antenna 3 in Madrid, and the BBC in London. Used for both taped and live broadcasts, Virtual Sets provide dynamic and interactive 3D locations for news, sports, entertainment and educational programming. The technology also can be used for post-production, film making and interactive game development.
"This technique is already changing live broadcasting," added David Allen, BBC executive producer. "We believe that the way we experience entertainment will have changed dramatically before the year 2000. The competitive advantage is going to lie with broadcasters that have access to high-performance systems and understand how to use them to digitally create content."
The virtual broadcast studio revolution is enabled by Silicon Studio partners ACCOM, Brainstorm Multimedia, ElectroGIG, IMP (Innovative Medientechnik und Planungs), ORAD and RT-SET. All Virtual Set solutions are based on the Onyx RealityEngine2 system, the world's fastest graphics supercomputer. The Onyx RealityEngine2 system delivers the performance and features required by Virtual Set solutions, such as industry-leading 3D graphics rendering and display speed, real-time texture mapping, and integration with broadcast-quality video. Broadcasters can even input live video into the 3D graphics background, maximizing the set's realism and impact.
Virtual Sets are created using a combination of traditional "blue screen" backgrounds to capture the image of the on-camera personality, and complex computer-generated graphics created on the Onyx RealityEngine2 system. The two are then composited, with the elements and proportions of the 3D set changing in real-time to accommodate camera pans, zooms and tilts-and even transitions from camera to camera. The result is a 3D environment in which on-air personalities can actually move behind and in front of Virtual Set elements. These computer-generated set solutions can also incorporate other characters, such as "performance animation" virtual actors, to interact with on-camera announcers.
Silicon Studio, Inc. delivers authoring and production solutions based on Silicon Graphics systems to the entertainment and interactive media industries. The company has headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., with Training Studios in Los Angeles and London opening in 1995. Silicon Studio is a wholly owned subsidiary of Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Silicon Graphics, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of high performance visual computing systems. The company delivers interactive three-dimensional graphics, digital media and multiprocessing supercomputing technologies to technical, scientific, and creative professionals. Its subsidiary, MIPS Technologies, Inc., designs and licenses the industry's leading RISC processor technology for the computer systems and embedded control markets. Silicon Graphics has offices worldwide and headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Silicon Graphics and the Silicon Graphics logo are registered trademarks, and Silicon Studio, Onyx and RealityEngine2 are trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. MIPS is a registered trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc.
