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The best reason for news broadcasters to invest in new technology is to tell better stories. Augmented reality graphics and virtual sets have long held that promise, but historically local call-letter stations have found the technology to either be too difficult to implement or not realistic enough to viewers to get significant traction. That mindset is quickly changing, however, due to significant improvements in the realism of AR graphics and virtual environments, including both green screen and LED-based sets, as well as better integration with legacy production workflows.
The improved usability of AR/VR for everyday news and sports production was the key takeaway from “Virtual Sets, AR and the News,” a recent TVNewsCheck webinar moderated by this reporter. Top broadcast engineers and AR/VR software and hardware vendors described how the technology is being used on a regular basis by both local stations and national networks.
Solid Weather Forecast For VR At KPIX
KPIX, the CBS owned-and-operation station in San Francisco, has been using a virtual set for weather presentations in its daily newscasts since last September. The virtual set, which runs on Zero Density software and Epic Games’ Unreal Engine rendering, relies on a spacious green-screen background that curves onto a green floor, both painted with special ChromaLight paint. It allows KPIX meteorologists to walk across a 3D topographical model of San Francisco Bay and clearly depict the oft-stark differences in weather conditions between different parts of the greater Bay Area, which has roughly 15 microclimates, said Jeff Jeandheur, KPIX director