-- --
SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE:
The broadcast and media technology industry sectors are enormous, covering everything from cameras and studios through to network technologies, post-production services and live streaming video. Last year we saw incredible advances, with the wider availability of machine learning and Augmented Reality (AR). These developments promise a new wave of automated production processes and the upward rise of virtual studio technology.
Augmented Reality and virtual studio technology changed the face of broadcast television in 2019, through the creation of virtual objects within a live studio environment. We saw photorealistic representations of football players during a match build up or a journalist standing in digital representations of parliament as voting occurred during an election. This year, thanks also to the rapid development of 5G technology, will see AR being used more in studio setups, especially in the sports broadcast environment with the 2020 Olympics on the horizon. Virtual set solutions, powered by games engines, proved a big draw for the live broadcast as well as the scripted broadcast markets. The fusion of games-engine renders with live broadcast has taken virtual set solutions to another level with photorealistic 3D graphic objects appearing indistinguishable from reality. The technology is not only being used in existing studio set-ups, but is spurning new growth in the studio facility market worldwide.
One example is dock10, United Kingdom's leading television facility housing ten television studios offering a wide range of production services, who recently chalked up a new milestone with its latest virtual studio capability. dock10 called in Zero Density, providers of the cutting-edge product Reality Engine, to power the brand-new 4K UHD virtual studio housed in MediaCityUK and used by shows such as BBC Sport's landmark show Match of the Day (MOTD). The soccer show draws around seven million viewers each weekend and BBC Sport has gone on-air with said virtual studio capability as of August last year. MOTD2, Football Focus and Final Score will also broadcast in the same virtual studio. The studio has five Reality Engines deployed on five cameras (three pedestals, one crane and one railcam).
Founded in Istanbul in 2014, Zero Density is an international technology company dedicated to developing creative products for the broadcast, augmented reality, live event and eSports industries. The founders, who shared a common background in broadcast and media, came together on a mission to use their creativity to develop innovative virtual production solutions for live broadcast. The company's headquarters remain in Turkey, but the company now has an extensive network of clients all over the world. Zero Density offers the next level of virtual studio production with real-time visual effects. It provides Unreal Engine native platform, Reality Engine, with advanced real-time compositing tools and its proprietary keying technology, Reality Keyer. Reality is the most photorealistic real-time 3D Virtual Studio and Augmented Reality platform in the industry.
Another adoptee of Zero Density technology is Sky News Arabia (SNA), who have employed the latest virtual and augmented reality technologies as part of a massive editorial and technical revamp aimed at staying at the forefront of news reporting.
Sky News Arabia (SNA), a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation (ADMIC) and Sky Limited, recently completed an editorial overhaul with a fresh line-up of presenters and a special selection of digital-only programming. The revamp saw the launch of one of the most advanced newsrooms in the region, with the addition of a brand-new wing that is now home to Studio B, a 400sqm studio boasting the UAE's largest chromakey background at 15x11m. The large chroma area gives the broadcaster ample room to use a lighting grid for keying objects in positions where the presenters are on the VR set. The facility also includes an outdoor landscape set designed for the morning show. In the US market, Zero Density partnered with The Weather Channel Television Network to be a virtual studio technology provider for immersive mixed reality content late last year. The Weather Channel chose the latest technology to create awareness among its audiences with visually-striking disaster scenarios. Zero Density's hyper-realistic graphic renderings and Hollywood-level visual effects are used to communicate the vital message of the channel to their audiences more effectively.
Virtual studio technology doesn't necessarily mean that studio floor space is no longer required. Media giant Sky announced in December 2019 that is to build huge new film and television studios near the existing Elstree production site just outside London. As the battle between Netflix, Amazon and other streaming services intensifies, the need for more VR and AR studio space has also grown. Sky Studios Elstree will become the European production base for Sky and NBCUniversal, which owns Universal Studios, as both are owned by the US pay-TV giant Comcast. Sky says the studio complex, which it hopes will also become a base for other companies' projects, will result in £3bn being spent on TV and film productions in its first five years. The company has made the move to develop its own production base as the UK increasingly faces a squeeze on studio space, as TV companies, film studios and the streaming giants pour billions into making new content. Sky Studios Elstree will have 14 stages, the smallest of which will be 1,800 square metres, with enough space to shoot several films and TV shows at the same time.
Television broadcast of the Olympic Games has, over the decades, become a showcase for new technologies. Virtual reality (VR) and 5G innovations will add val
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
15/05/2026
Daniel Roher attends the Tuner Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Theatre on January 22, 2026 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Neilson Bar...
-- -- 
