With Unified IO Sports Platform for XR Tools, Vizrt Charts Course for the Future Launch is intended to future-proof' development of live virtual graphics By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Monday, October 11, 2021 - 12:40 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Today, more live sports productions are in UHD and HDR than ever before, and broadcasters are increasingly keen to produce graphics natively in these high-end formats. At the same time, sports broadcasters have embraced IP-based workflows to enable virtualized and remote production models. With these trends in mind, Vizrt has launched a unified IO sports platform to serve as the backbone for future development of its live-virtual-graphics tools.
This unified IO is our future-proof [model] that all our sports platforms are now being built on, says Richard Einstein, senior global product manager, sports, Vizrt. It's a major technical change because we had to change the heart of the whole [ecosystem]. That has now allowed us to use the same combined platform for all the sports solutions and, in the end, allows for more flexibility, scalability, reliability, and simplicity for future developments. And it's a much tighter integration to the overall Vizrt ecosystem.
Last week, Vizrt released its XR Venue real-time virtual-enhancement solution for sports, which features Viz Arena 5 and is built on the new unified Matrox-based IO platform. XR Venue joins XR Playbook, which launched earlier this year, on the IO platform. XR Venue and XR Playbook are part of the Vizrt Extended Reality Suite (available through a Flexible Access subscription), which offers a full toolset of AR (augmented reality), VS (virtual set), Video Wall, mixed reality, and telestration.
With the unified IO sports platform, XR Venue or XR Playbook users can more easily adjust to changing production requirements. According to Einstein, with both tools based on the same IO as Viz Engine, users will be able to take advantage of Vizrt's latest developments for live virtual graphics more quickly and more easily.
We're now using the same IO as Viz Engine, which means that any developments [can be applied] across the whole Vizrt ecosystem, he says. If the Viz Engine team is working on anything new - such as tighter integration with Unreal Engine or more-centralized production workflows - we have much greater access and shared code to use for each other's mutual benefit than in the past, when we had to repeat a lot of developments [for each platform]. It will be a lot more efficient going forward, and we can provide the customers with more flexibility and new features much faster.
The unified IO offers more flexibility and scalability to produce either upstream at the venue or in a downstream workflow at the studio and a flexible choice of playout: fill and key or a composited video signal for specific production workflows. The output can be added directly on top of the program feed to the mixer as a separate source, which benefits workflows and output quality of high-class productions.
XR Venue also supports native UHD and HDR formats and workflows, allowing producers to create data-driven graphics and additional content for any sports coverage in UHD and HDR.
One of the biggest motivators [to develop] the IO sports platform was [to be able to support] the latest video formats like HDR, UHD, and 1080p, says Einstein. We had some limitations on the previous platform, but XR Venue and XR Playbook can [operate] in native HDR and UHD and also can [support] IP video formats and future video formats. For many of our customers who had already moved their productions to UHD, HDR, or IP workflows, this was a must-have.
XR Venue and XR Playbook supports SMPTE ST 2110 IP-based video (it will also support NDI in a future release), which opens the door to virtualized and remote production workflows for XR Venue and XR Playbook. This allows more flexibility and mitigating physical limitations like hardware dependencies or budget restrictions.
In addition, hardware for XR Venue is now consistent with regular Viz Engine hardware, such as the newly certified Dell R7920 for compact setups.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
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...
15/06/2026
Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...
14/06/2026
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
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
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
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
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
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
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
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 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 has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
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
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
With Unified IO Sports Platform for XR Tools, Vizrt Charts Course for the Future Launch is intended to future-proof' development of live virtual graphics By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
