Mo-Sys scores at the World Cup
Posted on Feb 7, 2023
Mo-Sys successfully delivered a major LED virtual production studio for Plazamedia, ahead of its prestigious Fifa World Cup broadcast
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Plazamedia is an established TV sports producer and provider of digital and IP-based production solutions. With the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 looming, the German company enlisted the help of Mo-Sys to deliver an innovative LED studio.
The turnkey solution incorporated real studio elements with optional XR ability, and Mo-Sys provided technical guidance from concept to delivery. This included virtual production training, as well as project management of the installation in the 690 sq m Munich studio.
As the exclusive German rights-holder, telecom giant Deutsche Telekom was the first to utilise the Mo-Sys-powered studio, from which all 64 World Cup 2022 matches were broadcast via MagentaTV across 29 production days. After Argentina were crowned world champions, the studio was reopened as a full virtual production XR LED volume.
Plazamedia’s director of production services and customer relations, Hansjörg Baumgartner, explained how the company worked with Mo-Sys on several VP projects, and how this assured him the state-of-the- art XR studio would be delivered.
“Mo-Sys’ new and innovative camera switching technology for LED VP – which maintains render power across multiple cameras without increasing the XR engine count – together with its knowledge, technical support, guidance and ability to bring in key partners, has been invaluable to our success here,” Baumgartner says.
The studio uses four cameras, each of which has a Mo-Sys StarTracker, to generate the six-axis tracking data that drives the perspective view of the virtual set. The tracked cameras work in conjunction with Mo-Sys’ combined LED content server and on-air graphics system, bMR (Broadcast Mixed Reality), which delivers content from the graphics engine.
Mo-Sys bMR also solves the problem of switching between full-resolution tracked cameras shooting a virtual set, where the camera outputs the switch faster than the LED wall can update. The system orchestrates the switch to ensure only the correct camera perspective view is visible.
“The team at Mo-Sys is deeply proud to have played a significant role in delivering this XR studio project,” adds Mo-Sys CEO, Michael Geissler. “We would like to thank Plazamedia for its trust and look forward to strengthening our relationship.”
Mo-Sys collaborated with Plazamedia’s in-house technical and graphics teams, ensuring the studio was delivered on schedule. Mo-Sys was responsible for virtual production technologies, which included a 120 sq m LED wall from Alfalite. Modularpix Pro ORIM 1.9mm pixel pitch panels were specified for the 33×3.5m U-shaped LED volume, which is driven by a total of 11 render nodes. Plazamedia prides itself on occupying the forefront of VP broadcasting. World Cup fans were immersed in the action from the studio thanks to the company’s attitude of raising production values to improve viewer experience. Using bleeding-edge Mo-Sys technology, the studio seamlessly combined presenters with augmented reality (AR) set extensions and tracked graphics, delivering a unique 360° experience.
Learn more at mo-sys.com.
This article appears in the February 2023 issue of Definition. Read the magazine here.
