Switchblade LPU4 Virtual Production System – 4U Rack Workstation with Aximmetry Broadcast DE, VIVE Mars CamTrack, and Five Virtual Sets

Switchblade Systems Turnkey Virtual Production System

Aximmetry+Unreal Dual Engine Virtual Studio Production Workstation

Highlights:

• Switchblade LPU4 short-depth rackmount system with Aximmetry Broadcast DE software (1 year of updates)
• Supports up to 3 fixed/tracked 1080i60 SDI cameras, 2 fixed/tracked 1080p60 SDI cameras or 1 fixed/tracked 4Kp30 camera, 1x SDI/NDI output
• 10-core Intel Core i9 CPU
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU
• 64GB DDR4 RAM
• 1TB SSD
• Dual GbE network ports
• Windows 10 Pro

Includes HTC VIVE Mars CamTrack

VIVE Mars CamTrack is a solution that integrates VIVE Tracker (3.0), SteamVR Base Station 2.0, and a suite of other devices and tools to help you incorporate VR tracking technology into your virtual production projects.

This bundle includes:

• (5) 3D virtual sets by VirtualSetWorks for Unreal Engine and Aximmetry
• VIVE Mars touch screen processing unit
• (2) SteamVR Base Station (2.0) room tracking devices
• (2) VIVE Tracker (3.0) object position trackers
• (3) Mars Rover camera data acquisition devices
• Calibration kit
• Power and data cables

Mars CamTrack Solution Highlights

• Plug-and-Play, fast setup, no installation required.
• One-click to reset origin.
• Robust wiring to minimize latency.
• Friendly camera calibration kit.
• Multi-cam tracking, support up to 3 Rovers.
• Genlock / timecode (LTC) sync support.

Mars Technical Specifications

Dimension

196 x 134 x 65 mm

Weight

1.4 KG

Display

7” LCD touch screen

Connections

• BNC for Genlock
• 3.5mm audio jack for Timecode
• 3x RJ45 PoE port for Rovers (up to 3 Rovers supported)

Protocol

Unreal Live Link / FreeD

Encoder Support

• Mars FIZTrack
• LOLED Indiemark 2

Aximmetry Broadcast DE Virtual Production Software

Core Features

• Real-time 2D/3D rendering
• Real-time post-processing, effects, color correction, LUT
• Advanced 3D graphics: HDR, Depth of Field, shadows, reflections, refraction
• Choice of using Aximmetry native 3D engine or Unreal Engine
• Support of DLSS, ray tracing, RTXGI when using Unreal Engine
• Virtual studios:
  • Advanced chroma keying
  • Multiple virtual cameras with editable motion paths
  • Customizable virtual camera and broadcast control interfaces
  • Virtual lighting of live actors
  • Live actors cast real-time shadows, reflections, refraction
  • Support of experimental camera tracking using Antilatency, HTC Vive, Intel Realsense etc.
• Rendering in arbitrary resolutions up to 8K
• Multiple simultaneous video outputs to monitors, projectors, LED walls etc. via HDMI/DVI/DisplayPort
• Live streaming output directly to YouTube, Facebook and Twitch or any platform supporting RTMP streaming
• Capturing multiple simultaneous video inputs via HDMI/DVI, USB imaging devices, up to 4K
• Multiple simultaneous input video/image files and image sequences
• Most of the popular video/image and professional studio formats are supported
• Highly flexible node-based graphics programming interface
• Real-time node-based scene editing
• Seamless integration of Unreal Engine projects into the node-based interface
• Real-time curve-based timeline and animation editing
• 2D/3D objects and any rendering parameter can be animated via keyed curves
• Controlling any event or rendering parameter via touch screen, mouse, keyboard, GPIO, OSC, MIDI, DMX/ArtNet
• Controlling attached devices from Aximmetry via GPIO, OSC, MIDI, DMX/ArtNet
• Can be operated as a satellite (slave) in a Multi-Machine configuration where at least one machine has a Broadcast Edition license
• Customizable on-stage/broadcast control interfaces
• Customizable touch screen control surfaces
• Importing 3D objects and scenes with materials and animations from COLLADA or FBX format
• Custom material/post-processing shaders can be created in node-based editor
• Node-based particle systems and effectors
• Mapping: projection onto complex surfaces using grid-based distortion and shape masking
• Keystone correction
• Creating panoramic views using multiple projectors with edge blending
• Multi-projector/mapping shows can be modelled/previewed within the editor
• Rendering with arbitrary frame sizes and frame rates
• Recording outputs into video files/image sequences

Additional Features in BROADCAST

• SDI / NDI Extension:
  • Multiple simultaneous live input sources via SDI / NDI (SD/HD/4K)
  • Multiple simultaneous video outputs via SDI / NDI (SD/HD/4K)
  • Unlimited SDI / NDI video inputs/outputs
• Network Extension:
  • Aximmetry can be integrated into an existing studio control system using its HTTP command interface
  • Access of RSS feeds, images and any XML/JSON data content on the web via HTTP
• Broadcast Extension:
  • Support for professional camera tracking systems
  • Support for standalone zoom/focus encoders
  • Camera lens calibration tools
  • Mixing real and virtual camera motion
  • Augmented Reality support
  • LED wall based virtual production
• Multi-Machine Extension:
  • Synchronized running of Aximmetry on multiple machines using a single control interface
  • Higher number of camera inputs can be distributed among multiple machines
  • Higher number of display / projector outputs can be distributed among multiple machines
  • Each machine in the network requires the purchasing of a separate license. For the control machine a Broadcast Edition license is required, but satellite (slave) machines can be operated with smaller edition licenses as well (with the accordingly diminished feature sets)
• Multi-GPU Extension:
  • Linked mode: Loading of a complex SDI output rendering can be distributed among multiple GPUs.
    Independent mode: Outputs of a multi-display/multi-projector show can be rendered on different GPUs.
  • Note: Multi-GPU feature cannot be used with Unreal scenes
• Database Access and Plugins:
  • Direct access of SQL databases
  • Meteo plugin: Graphic elements and tools specialized for weather reports, importing meteorology data from GRIB, NetCDF, radar etc. formats
  • Astro plugin: Astronomical/astrological calculations, 2D/3D imagery of celestial systems and objects
• Aximmetry Calibrator:
  • An easy-to-use lens/tracking calibration software for users working with various game trackers and object tracking devices that do not have their own lens calibration system. Accurate results for fixed or zoom lenses.
  • Measures the parameters of a lens (lens distortion, FOV, etc.), which is necessary if camera tracking is used.
  • Measure where and in which orientation the tracking device (sensor) is attached to the camera for accurate results.