Sky Sports has chosen Vizrt as the core graphics platform for its 3DTV channel, due to launch in April.
The stereoscopic Vizrt system uses a Viz Trio CG operator interface, controlling a Viz render engine PC. This graphics engine uses two graphics cards and the separately rendered HD channels for each eye are synchronised by a new application developed for the process. The stereoscopic convergence point and depth are also adjustable on the fly to allow for changing camera views. The system can also be driven by GPI triggers from the vision-mixing desk.
Vizrt UK’s Managing Director, Rex Jenkins added, “Sky Sports demands the highest quality from its graphics systems and we are glad to meet their needs. This prestigious project attracted a lot of competition from all over the world so it is especially satisfying to find that Vizrt came out on top. We had a special advantage because Vizrt has always delivered graphics as true 3D animations, so adding stereoscopy to the rendering process was less of a challenge for us than it must have been for other systems.’
It has also been announced that Sky 3D, Europe’s first 3D TV channel, is to launch with the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea on April 3, and thousands of pubs have already signed up for the broadcast.
