The globally standardized video-over-IP technology, NDI, announced that its SDK plugin is now compatible with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) and is available for download now.

“As soon as Unreal Engine 5 was released by Epic, we were receiving requests for an NDI SDK plugin so more creatives can unite the powers of UE5, and NDI, to achieve more with video. NDI has a great relationship with Epic, and we’ve worked together for over 5 years to bring our joint users more value and are immensely excited to see how they harness the potential of our technologies together, to advance virtual storytelling,” said Tarif Sayed, President, and GM of NDI.

[ KILOVIEW Launches the NDI Recorder: Facts, Features, and What to Know ]

The NDI SDK enables systems like UE5 to find, send and receive video streams over IP, with an encoding algorithm independent of resolution and frame rate supporting up to 4K and beyond, along with 16 channels of floating-point audio. It also includes tools to implement video access and grouping, bi-directional metadata, IP commands, tally and more.

With the improved integration of NDI into Unreal, creators unlock full IP support for both inputs and outputs of audio and video – even with an alpha channel. The SDK allows creators to build commercial or free AR and VR without any royalties so both large, and small teams can push the boundaries of what is possible in creating visual content and experiences. Now, they can also leverage NDI’s revolutionary potential for sharing video-over-IP in the highest quality, with the lowest latency.

“We’re excited with the potential for creators to use the new SDK plugin for UE5 to make incredible real-time 3D content,” added Bernt Johannessen, Unreal Engine business director for Broadcast at Epic Games. 

“With NDI, teams have access to multiple live video sources and Unreal Engine tools all on a standard network, removing obstacles and lowering complexity of live content creation without compromising quality. Unreal Engine is the world’s most open and advanced 3D creation tool on the market, and together with the world’s most used and adopted video-over-IP technology, we’re removing obstacles and giving storytellers more freedom to create amazing content.”

For more information, and to download the NDI SDK plugin for Unreal Engine 5, visit: https://ndi.tv/sdk/  

Because we’re softies at heart, we thought we'd take this Valentine’s Day to celebrate 14 articles that you’ve shown the most love, on AVnetwork.com during the past six months.

1: SCN Top 50 Systems Integrators 2021 Always an industry favorite. Year-after-year, the Systems Contractor News reporting of the top systems integrators is our energizer bunny.

2: Meyer Sound Resumes the Long Strange Trip with Dead & Company on Tour Meyer Sound's enduring relationship with the Grateful Dead (and subsequent spin-offs) extends back prior to the company's founding in 1979, with company President & CEO John Meyer consulting on the legendary Wall of Sound. The band was often heard through the Meyer-designed JM-3 and JM-10 loudspeakers from McCune Audio shortly thereafter.

3: Exclusive Interview: QSC Creates Two Independent Divisions Capitalizing on its strengths in pro audio and AV/IT systems, QSC is undergoing a realignment of the organization to unlock new growth and better serve its customers.

4: Winners Announced: Best of Show and Best of Market at InfoComm 2021 for AV Technology and Digital Signage Our judges are experts in the categories of products we have chosen for them to evaluate and always remain anonymous to the manufacturers. They are your peers, AV/IT managers, directors, and engineers, or industry consultants and integrators.

5: Audinate Responds to the Dante Supply Chain Question AV Technology reached out to Audinate to respond directly to questions that have been on everyone’s mind regarding Dante.

6: LG Debuts 136-inch All-in-One LED Display LG Business Solutions USA has launched a 136-inch All-in-One LED display designed for ease of installation and portability when integrated with an optional mobile stand.

7: AV/IT Industry Acquisitions, Reorgs & Partnerships - 2022 is Off to a Quick Start With no fewer than a dozen announcements of acquisitions, reorganizations, partnerships, and rebranding, the AV/IT industry is poised for change in 2022. The more than 30 acquisitions of 2021 are having an impact today, with announcements from Almo and AVI-SPL leading the pack.

8: SCN 2021 Installation Product Awards At a ceremony at InfoComm on Tuesday, Systems Contractor News content director Mark Pescatore announced the winners of the 2021 Installation Product Awards, with wins from manufacturers including ClearOne, Kramer, Sharp NEC Display Solutions, Shure, Crestron and more. 

9: Selecting the Right Microphone for Your Conference Room As the hybrid work model continues to evolve, AV systems, particularly the audio component, have become a focus for improvement. Without intelligible audio, communication is tremendously difficult.

10: Samsung Reveals The Infinity Screen at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium Samsung and SoFi Stadium revealed the name of the 70,000 square-foot, dual-sided center-hung video board at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium. The Infinity Screen features what Samsung describes as the most LEDs ever used in a sports or entertainment venue.

11: SCN 2021 Installs of the Year SCN celebrates the firms that went above and beyond to create ultimate user experiences with our 2021 Installs of the Year.

12: The Ghost in the HDMI Machine HDMI is sensitive to a number of manufacturing decisions and installation conditions that can result in system failures.

13: North Carolina at Chapel Hill Opens Esports Arena UNC-Chapel Hill has put targeted programming and support models in place to both increase gaming in a healthy way and curtail negative effects of gaming. 

14: 23 Conferencing Audio Products for 2022 Hybrid meetings and remote classes have punctuated the need for quality audio and speech intelligibility, near and far. Microphones, speakers, DSPs, video conferencing bars, and more.

And an Extra Kiss: Celebrating 40 Years of Organic Diversity and The Metal Women of FSR From its inception in 1981, the multi-cultural team at FSR embraced diversity and gender equality. In an interview with FSR’s president, Jan Sandri we talk about diversity and celebrate the women of FSR’s metal shop.

Building on the global popularity of the NBA, the new NBA 2K League brings together two teams of professional e-sports athletes that use specialized gaming controllers to move NBA-Star Avatars—passing the ball and making the shots—on a virtual court. For live and on-demand audiences watching on the Twitch.tv online network, Renewed Vision’s PVP3 media server and screen control system has amplified the visual excitement and fan engagement by powering NBA 2K’s dynamic, multiscreen experience.

In a typical NBA 2K match, the two teams sit center stage at a large round console, with five players on either side. Each player controls game play while watching the virtual game on their individual monitors. Live camera head shots of each player are shown on large LCD displays above each player to inform studio and online audiences.

Throughout the game, PVP3 powers multichannel delivery of high-resolution video presented across the LCD cluster and several large LED video walls. The unique experience, created by MEPTIK, an Atlanta-based experiential design studio, is produced on a 7,433-square-foot soundstage at Brooklyn Studios. The NBA 2K League’s inaugural season began in May, with games scheduled every weekend through September.

Renewed Vision’s PVP3 is invaluable to the high-quality, multichannel content delivery and presentation for each game. Its video engine allows multiple channels of video and graphics to reliably display as separate, jitter-free images on individual or groups of monitors, as well as a single, continuous image that fills the video walls and display clusters.

“We chose PVP3 because it has the power to output a high volume of high-resolution content, with the flexibility to creatively compose the layout of the displays, all virtually on the fly,” said Nick Rivero, MEPTIK’s co-founder. “Considering its power, PVP3 is unusually user-friendly, to the point where we could set up a full turnkey system to playout an elaborate multiscreen experience, and then turn over the daily operations to users. In this workflow, users can simply ‘take the ball and run with it,’ without any further technical support from us. Compared to the other high-end broadcast servers we considered, PVP3 was a fraction the cost, and its price point fit really well within our production budget.”

According to Rivero, PVP3 offered a significant operational advantage through native integration with the studio’s HD-SDI infrastructure and workflow. This ensured interoperability with a Ross production switcher, high-end Sony cameras, live graphics systems, and a house router.

With 20 HD-SDI connections available, PVP3 ingests four live video feeds originating from both the gaming system and camera shots. The system is then used to mix and map live content with pre-rendered content, and output 12 channels of video to the various on-set displays including a 20-foot LED video wall on each side of the stage.

To power the operation, PVP3 is installed on an Apple iMac Pro, connected to two Sonnet SE Thunderbolt 3 chasses, and outfitted with five Blackmagic Duo 2 cards. An Elgato Streamdeck triggers cues within PVP3 of various scenic changes, each with a clearly labeled button. Some of MEPTIK’s experience-driven designs include pre-rendered overlays and graphical elements, such as sponsor logos, ads, and player statistics, composited with the live video feeds dynamically in the PVP3 system.

“Since we needed to train a three-person crew to take charge of the entire PVP3 operation, it was essential for this system to be extremely intuitive to learn and user-friendly to use,” Rivero said. “Over the years, our firm has used PVP for a variety of installations, each time implementing it in new and innovative ways. This really speaks to its power, flexibility, and versatility—something that Renewed Vision is able to deliver at a much lower price point than its competition, without any adverse effect to quality and performance.”

The What: At E3 Expo 2018, Supersphere, in collaboration with integration provider Key Code Media, will debut VR/360°/180° live streaming capabilities for esports tournaments via its immersive live production flypacks.

The What Else: Benefits of Supersphere’s 12G multi-geometry flypacks feature: customization to any VR, 360°, 180°, 4K, or HD camera as productions demand; real time geometry integration, live stitching, color grading, and ambisonic audio via Assimilate SCRATCH VR Z; simple wireless streaming between devices or directly to the web via LiveU Solo; and a custom 360° video player for apps or web via Teleos Media’s VDN, or stream directly to popular platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.

The Bottom Line: The flypacks are equipped to handle multiple content streams including 360°, 180°, 4K, or HD and seamlessly mix and match each geometry for a high-end, high resolution immersive experience. The product will be showcased at South Hall booth 2450.

The new Four Winds Casino in South Bend, IN recently upgraded some of its internal wayfinding signage with two 360-degree NanoLumens Nixel Series LED curved displays atop slot machines on the casino floor. According to Musa Balogun, the casino’s director of gaming maintenance, the new curved displays are clearly visible from far away in most directions, making them the ideal solution to inform guests of ATM locations and assist in wayfinding.

“Fast, simple transactions are the lifeblood of a casino,” Balogun said. “When management recognized that guests sometimes had trouble finding ATMs or bill breaking machines, they knew we needed a solution that would replace the old static signage with a bright, large, eye-catching feature that is viewable from nearly all angles at all times.”

For maximum visibility, effectiveness and value, that meant using NanoLumens truly curved displays. The secret to NanoLumens’ display technology is the Nixel, the company’s patented flexible building block that comprises all NanoLumens Nixel Series displays. NanoLumens Nixels actually bends and flexes to create both convex and concave curved displays. This makes the displays 100-percent seamless and provides superior aesthetics from 360 degrees, even viewed up close, according to the company.

KGM Gaming, manufacturer and supplier of products within the gaming industry, was tasked with designing, building, and installing the new display structures. After considering all digital display options, including using four LCD monitors at each site, it became clear that brightness, visibility, longevity, reliability, and eye-catching nature of a 360-degree NanoLumens true-curved LED display made the product an ideal fit for this installation.

According to Jack McNamara, VP pperations for signage and millwork, KGM Gaming, the result of the installation at Four Winds South Bend is pure eye candy that draws guests’ attention and ensures they are always aware of the nearest ATM location.

“In the casino world, it’s pretty much understood that bigger and brighter is better at attracting guests and ensuring a fun, enjoyable gaming experience,” McNamara said. “For projects like these, NanoLumens has become our go-to vendor because of the build quality, customer support, and ability to create unique, architectural designs that other display types and manufacturers simply can’t provide.”

McNamara said they mocked up several designs, including one that would have used four traditional LCD panels at each of the four ATM locations, but they didn’t provide true 360-degree visibility and couldn’t display the same kind of enticing visual that a circular display is capable of. KGM designed architectural signs that extend nearly to the ceiling, with the curved NanoLumens displays taking center stage and providing the casino owners a dynamic, exciting way to communicate with their guests. Each 5mm pixel pitch NanoLumens display is 1.5 feet tall with a diameter of 3.5 feet, making them the most clearly visible signs on the entire floor.

In addition to the attractiveness and wide visibility, NanoLumens LED displays also eliminate the need for bezels and grid lines that interrupt content and distract viewers. Because NanoLumens technology is lightweight, low power, low heat, and warrantied down to the pixel for six full years, it works well for high-traffic, always-on environments like casino floors.

“The response from management and guests has been extremely positive,” Balogun added. “It’s now easier than ever to navigate the floor, get cash when you need to, and have a point of reference for getting around. Basically, it’s the next evolution of technology aiding casino floor management and traffic flow.”

Companies including FoxNext, Zero Latency, and Disney's ILMxLab with Star Wars are demonstrating that location-based virtual reality (LBVR) is a viable business for investment, which is enticing mainstream consumers to satisfy their VR curiosity. This is demonstrated by the high levels of growth, with consumer spend expected to reach $809 million by 2022, according to the latest VR Tracker Report from Futuresource Consulting.

"Q1 2018 saw significant growth and rising consumer spend, which is expected to lead to full-year spend of $299 million in 2018 across the four types of LBVR categorised as arcades, multiplayer experiences, VR cinemas, and VR theme parks," said Carl Hibbert, associate director of consumer media and technology at Futuresource Consulting. "Of all four categories, 'VRcades' has seen the fastest take off. The category was estimated at $79 million consumer spend in 2017, accounting for 40 percent of all LBVR revenues."

The VRcade category has the highest number of locations, with an estimated 4,000 worldwide, of which those in China account for 75-80 percent. However, the VRcades, particularly those in China, offer low-cost and consequently limited quality experiences, according to the Futuresource Consulting Global Virtual Reality Tracker Report.

However, at the other end of the spectrum are high-end, free-roam, and interactive multiplayer 'location-based' VR experiences. By 2022, multiplayer VR experiences will account for 41 percent of Global LBVR consumer spend.

"Multiplayer LBVR allows players to roam free, untethered, and with others in a VR environment,” Hibbert said. “This category is expected to have the highest CAGR rate across the forecast period, despite a lower number of installations. This is due to consumer desire to pay for sociable experiences with friends, especially in more developed markets. Furthermore, the majority of multiplayer installations offer original content restricted to franchise partners, thus remaining exclusive and adding to the attractiveness.”

Notable players in the market such as The Void and IMAX are banking on using well-known franchises to support their rollout of LBVR and support consumers' appeal of this new tech medium. But with the cost of popular franchises restrictive for many, start-ups including Zero Latency are building their own content and experience portfolio.

Location-based VR is seeing popularity as the entry point for mass consumer adoption of VR, as it serves well to increase consumer awareness and engagement with the technology. The at-home market has seen slower-than-expected uptake, whereas LBVR allows consumers to experience VR without the large investment costs involved in purchasing hardware.