Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

GhostFrame Tech Proves Powerful for Regional Feeds, Shoots Without Reblocking, and More

16/05/2023

GhostFrame Tech Proves Powerful for Regional Feeds, Shoots Without Reblocking, and More Single LED wall can be used to create multiple simultaneous outputs By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Tuesday, May 16, 2023 - 9:19 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

In recent years, the capabilities of virtual studios, green-screen studios, and LED walls have expanded exponentially, thanks to increasingly powerful graphics engines, better graphics tools, and improved tracking. Such developments are also spurring production personnel to look for new ways to derive as much as possible from those elements, and that is one reason a relatively new production toolkit from GhostFrame is beginning to resonate with U.S. broadcasters, Fox Sports among them.

It's a toolkit that enables you to hide video content in an LED wall, which is invisible to the naked eye but visible through a camera, says Peter Angell, CEO, AGS AG, a GhostFrame partner. Each frame is sliced into a number of subframes. Those subframes include the frames that are supposed to be visible on each of the feeds as well as other frames that are used to visually delete the frames not relevant to each output.

We do that by showing the inverse image, he continues. The simplest way to explain that is with a green screen. We want you to see the green-screen frame on camera, but then we insert a frame that is magenta, the opposite of green, and they are played back so quickly your eye doesn't see either green or magenta. Instead, you see gray.

GhostFrame allows each of four feeds to have a separate background behind a presenter or talent.

The trick is in orchestrating the subframes in such a way that the overall light cycle of the frame appears to be one-60th of a second, eliminating flicker or motion disruption.

The end result is a system that allows a single LED wall to be used to create multiple simultaneous outputs. For example, a single presenter can stand in front of an LED wall announcing sports scores, and a single camera and the single LED wall can output feeds that have a different look or branding, making it much easier to embrace a future that is increasingly going to require personalized content. Even the studio audience could have a different experience.

They could see something completely different from what those watching the broadcast or stream see, Angell notes. A sports studio show could be regionalized or have a different feed for the home and visiting teams.

GhostFrame can make it easier to create regional feeds or to produce content with less need for reblocking.

GhostFrame's secret sauce is not hardware but firmware sent to the LED wall (currently, it is compatible with LED walls only from Roe Visual LED Display Solutions) and LED-wall-control systems from Megapixel. The firmware is licensed, either on a yearly basis or for a shorter period.

We do provide initial support as it can be quite hard to set up, adds Angell.

At the core, he adds, the system is all about the mathematics of camera frame rates and the refresh rate of the LED wall. The LED wall on show at NAB 2023, for example, refreshes around 14,000 times a second while the camera records at 240 fps.

If we are using a camera with global shutter, says Angell, we can sync the camera to the wall, run it at exactly the same rate, and then carve out the individual frames. If we are running at 240 fps, we can get really clean definition for all the frames because all four of the outputs will be 60 fps.

Other applications can help reduce the time required for resetting a scene or allow the LED wall or floor to display blocking instructions and even scripts to those in the studio while viewers at home see graphics or video elements (think footsteps visible only to talent so they can know where to walk). Camera tracking patterns can also be hidden, allowing the system to be used in a fully enclosed volumetric studio without the need for physical markers.

We can put the marker invisibly onto the wall, Angell explains. Wherever you point the camera, there are markers and physical points that are integrated with TrackMan. When you add it all up, you can do four things at the same time because the LED wall can have four realities.

The most interesting aspect of the demo at NAB 2023 involved shooting a daytime and nighttime scene at the same time. Three lighting panels around the small set were set up to light a daylight scene; three others lit a nighttime version. With the light panels controlled via the same controller as the LED panel, the subframes for the day scene were synchronized with the daylight panels, the subframes for the night scene with the nighttime panels. The result was one output that looked as if the subject was in daylight and one where the subject seemed to be outside at dusk.

This is crucial, says Angell, because you can light all your realities simultaneously and don't need to reblock or reshoot or reset the lighting. That's a real production benefit because you can do three or four things at once without changing anything.
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2023/05/16/ghostframe-tech-proves-powerful...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

16/06/2026

Perry Sook: Big Tech Poses 'Very Urgent Threat to Broadcast Stations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/06/2026

FIFA World Cup Delivers Record Ratings on Fox

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/06/2026

AIMS Launches the Official IPMX Training Series Online

Free Program Supports IPMX Education from Foundational Concepts Through System and Network Design The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced t...

16/06/2026

Share your views on Screen Australia and the future of the industry

Share your views on Screen Australia and the future of the industry 15 June 2026 Your feedback matters. Following the instrumental insights provided in 2025,...

15/06/2026

University of South Carolina's Valerie Gerfin on Gamecock Productions' Growth, Upgrades at Williams-Brice Stadium

One of the more exciting internal video production divisions within a college at...

15/06/2026

Fox Corp. To Acquire Roku, Pairs Live Sports Powerhouse With Major CTV Platform

The deal valued at $22 Billion is expected to close in the first half of 2027...

15/06/2026

Golf Channel Mobile to Live Stream 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup Beginning July 13th

Golf Channel and the Arnold Palmer Cup have announced a partnership to livestream the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup on Golf Channel Mobile and GolfChannel.com. The tou...

15/06/2026

TikTok and Panini Launch Digital Collectible Card Experience for FIFA World Cup 2026

TikTok and Panini have announced a partnership to bring a digital collectible ca...

15/06/2026

Cosm and Monster Energy Launch First Full-Dome Immersive Advertisement in Shared Reality Venues

Cosm and Monster Energy have announced the debut of the first full-dome immersiv...

15/06/2026

Fox Nation and Real American Freestyle Sign International Media Rights Deal

Real American Freestyle (RAF) and Fox Nation have announced an exclusive streaming agreement for three RAF international events, beginning with RAF Georgia on J...

15/06/2026

FanConnect and Extreme Networks Announce IPTV Integration for Large Venue Deployments

FanConnect has announced a partnership with Extreme Networks integrating FanConn...

15/06/2026

2026 Sundance Institute Ignite x Adobe Fellows Named

Ten Emerging Filmmakers Ages 18 to 25 Will Start Fellowship Year at Ignite Lab from June 14-19 LOS ANGELES, CA, June 15, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institut...

15/06/2026

Rumble from UVI

Innovative three-band soft synth introduced UVI's latest synth takes an interesting approach to synthesis, offering a trio of synth engines that each op...

15/06/2026

Oram Awards 2026: Open call announcement

Applications now open for 2026 The Oram Awards have returned for 2026 to celebrate the unusual, unique and unfiltered creative worlds of women and gender-di...

15/06/2026

PSPaudioware release PSP Levelizer

New intelligent auto-fader plug-in revealed PSPaudioware's latest release offers automatic level adjustment and provides more detailed control than many...

15/06/2026

4.78M AUSSIES TUNE IN FOR SOCCEROOS WIN OVER TRKYE ON SBS

4.78M AUSSIES TUNE IN FOR SOCCEROOS WIN OVER T RK YE ON SBS 15 June, 2026 Media releases Match had a Total TV average audience of 3.035 million, with over ...

15/06/2026

SBS Head of Commissioning John Godfrey to depart after 18 years

SBS Head of Commissioning John Godfrey to depart after 18 years 15 June, 2026 Media releases SBS Head of Commissioning John Godfrey will depart the broadca...

15/06/2026

Greater Manchester Police installs Rohde & Schwarz security scanner for custody searches

Greater Manchester Police installs Rohde & Schwarz security scanner for custody ...

15/06/2026

The New Discovery Stack: AI, Metadata and Audience Intelligence

Insights from NAGRAVISION's latest industry webinar featuring One Hungary, Liberty Global and Media Press Group In this blog, Laura Rognoni explores the k...

15/06/2026

Clear-Com Introduces Avalon IP Intercom Platform

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/06/2026

DoJ Approves Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/06/2026

Clear-Com Introduces Avalon IP Station for Modern Communi...

Clear-Com has introduced Avalon , a purpose built 1RU IP intercom communication platform for modern networked production, designed to simplify and scale workfl...

15/06/2026

Fox Makes CTV Play with Roku Acquisition

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/06/2026

Gray Announces Plans to Expand Lansing, Mich. Broadcast HQ

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/06/2026

Richmond Flying Squirrels Raise the Bar for Live Baseball...

MiLB Club Deploys LDX 110 Cameras at CarMax Park to Deliver A New Standard in Engaging Fan Experience Grass Valley today announced that the Richmond Flying Sq...

15/06/2026

Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Moving

Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...

15/06/2026

Techtel Completes Media Production Setup for a major AFL sporting organisation

Techtel Completes Media Production Setup for a major AFL sporting organisation Sports 15 June Written By Suzanne Costello (Sydney, Australia 15 June 2026)...

15/06/2026

Sky News takes viewers inside Minab in new film investigating primary school strike in Iran

Monday 15 June 2026 Sky News takes viewers inside Minab in new film investigati...

15/06/2026

Fox Corporation to Acquire Roku, Inc.

Fox Corporation to Acquire Roku, Inc. Combination Creates a Scaled Media and Technology Platform with Superior Reach, Engagement and Monetization Capability ...

14/06/2026

Detroit Drums from Iconic Instruments

Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...

14/06/2026

HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65

HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65 Brie Clayton June 14, 2026 0 Comments Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters. Black...

13/06/2026

Rhythmic Filters for Devious Machines' Infiltrator

Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...

13/06/2026

MetaGrid Pro gains AI Builder

Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...

13/06/2026

Spectrum Reach Taps Anoki AI for Contextual Intelligence

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/06/2026

Google TV Launches Soccer Hub, New Voice Command Features

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/06/2026

YES Network and Gotham Sports App to Air Seven Athletes Unlimited Softball League Games

YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...

12/06/2026

UFL to Feature FAST Innovation Suite at 2026 United Bowl

The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...

12/06/2026

InfoComm 2026: PTZOptics and LayerJot to Demo AI-Driven Camera Control

PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...

12/06/2026

InfoComm 2026: MultiDyne to Debut VF-9100 Fiber Transport Platform and Crescendo Audio Monitor

MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...

12/06/2026

Eurovision Services Deploys Ateme Software-Based Frame-Rate Conversion

Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...

12/06/2026

Bitmovin, Simplestream, and Xperi Partner to Support OTT Services on TiVo OS

Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...

12/06/2026

Net Insight Deploys Nimbra 520 and Nimbra Edge for Multinational Corporate Live Production Workflow

Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...

12/06/2026

MLB Players Inc., Athletes First Announce Content Partnership

MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...

12/06/2026

G&D and VuWall Announce CommandKeyboard-Advanced for Network-Independent Control Room Operations

Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...

12/06/2026

Philadelphia Union and Comcast Deploy Smart Technology at Subaru Park and WSFS Bank Sportsplex

Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...

12/06/2026

Elevation Worship Completes First Leg of 2026 Tour Using SSL Live Consoles and New UMD192 Interface

Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...