A streamlined, highly responsive, real-time broadcast graphics system from Italian CG software house ClassX is grabbing attention in Hall 7.

The user-friendly LiveBoard XR system runs on a single Windows workstation but offers full augmented reality and virtual set facilities with integrated FreeD tracking.

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D’Innocenzo: ‘We wanted the system to be user friendly, easy to manage and easy to learn’

A powerful internal software chroma-keyer can be selectively applied to any video input source with 10 possible video input sources for the same graphic AR-VR system. It’s possible to add one or more chroma-keyed video objects to a live scene to create a virtual interview.

Barbara D’Innocenzo, Business Development Manager, ClassX, said: “Our system not only offers character generator features and a data-driven real-time graphics engine but also offers the management of video inputs and the elaboration of these shaders. There is also the opportunity to do some AR and extended reality using the tracking coming from a system using live streaming cameras like PTZ cameras, or alternatively, from sensor-based systems that provide us with the position and zoom information of the camera.

“Through our proprietary engine’s interpretation of the FreeD protocol, this information is used to create 3D objects and place them exactly where the viewer would expect it to be, even if the camera is panning, tilting and zooming or dollying.”

The system can import 3D models with animation and place them into a real 3D space and environments. The assets will remain in that position in the virtual space even if the camera that is pointing to that environment is moving.

“The ClassX software allows one workstation to handle potentially up to 10 PTZ cameras,” D’Innocenzo said. “The operator switches between the cameras directly from the software interface. We offer a little multiviewer for the camera inputs, so they know what they’re switching to. They have control of all of the data, so something like 3D text [placed as AR objects in the scene] can be changed dynamically directly from the interface [all by a single operator].”

According to D’Innocenzo, the software allows changes to be applied instantaneously. “We wanted the system to be user friendly, easy to manage and easy to learn,” she added. “We sell all around the world, with partners who can build the systems. There are no special hardware requirements for our solution, but we made sure that the GPU does most of the work.”