Pixotope To Power Taiwan’s First Extended Reality Broadcast Studio

Pixotope, a software provider for end-to-end virtual production solutions, announced that GETOP, a virtual production integration services provider in Asia, selected Pixotope Graphics – Extended Reality (XR) Edition (XR Edition) to power Taiwan’s first XR production facility at the Formosa Television (FTV) station in New Taipei City.

Created in response to the growing use of LED volumes in virtual production, Pixotope XR Edition is an off-the-shelf software solution that “removes the need for bespoke setups and proprietary hardware.” The solution delivers a range of purpose-built tools that simplify setup and operation. As a result, Pixotope says, “FTV benefits from optimized hardware usage and simplified, efficient, and resilient XR workflows, including high-impact set extension for larger-than-life 360-degree virtual environments, unrestricted by LED volume size.”

Built in collaboration with Harvatek, a Taiwanese supplier of LED volumes, the studio was planned, designed and built by GETOP and is formally known as the CYANS LED Virtual Studio, the centerpiece of which is an 8K LED wall measuring 18.5 meters (60 feet) wide and 5 meters (16.4 feet) high. GETOP’s objective for the studio is to produce television content with a narrative style that advances television production technology and workflows into a new era. To achieve this, GETOP established specific production goals and designed plans to utilize multi-camera operations and precise, real-time XR stitching technology for set extension.

With this studio, FTV can now offer an array of virtual production services for various events and productions. The setup also enables them to use the LED wall to create photorealistic virtual environments that respond to the movements and settings of the camera, delivering immersive narrative-style live television broadcasts. The state-of-the-art studio complies with rigorous Netflix Partner Center standards.

When evaluating technology partners for the studio, GETOP and FTV prioritized decreasing production costs and increasing on-set production efficiency.

“We wanted to create a completely new workflow that enabled fast and efficient real-time multi-camera television production while balancing cost and efficiency,” says Paul Chou, GETOP general manager. “Reducing production costs, doubling the efficiency of on-set production and mitigating risk were our key objectives.”

The comprehensive Pixotope platform features its own editor which eliminates the need for additional auxiliary software and complicated integrations, reducing resource-intensive setup and simplifying XR production workflow operations. The combination of the platform’s inherent strengths in live production guarantees the stable integration of camera tracking as well as exceptional color profile management and correct color space output, thanks to the built-in color LUTs in Pixotope. This ensures that colors captured by the camera in the physical environment match the colors of the virtual environment so that both seamlessly blend together to create a photorealistic experience for the viewer.

Paul adds: “Prior to implementing Pixotope, it was very difficult to achieve faithful color representation across our workflow, which is absolutely critical in XR production. Even if it could be achieved, the image quality and stability couldn’t meet the standards of broadcast television. With Pixotope, we don’t need to worry about such technical integration issues: we’re able to just focus on content creation and production. The seamless integration and ease of use has not only ignited our creativity but also positioned us at the forefront of Taiwan’s virtual production revolution.”

Over the summer, GETOP put Pixotope to the test during an inaugural production to showcase the vast potential of the studio’s XR capabilities, the first of its kind in Taiwan. With XR Edition’s purpose-built tools, such as color matching, LED wall alignment, camera switching, hardware consolidation, and its overall resilience, GETOP was able to successfully achieve real-time multi-camera set extension to create an immersive, interactive backdrop featuring the iconic Taipei 101 tower and the vast cityscape beyond. With this workflow, GETOP created an immersive interactive virtual environment that soared beyond the bounds of the LED wall, giving the effect of an endless open air studio.