Planar and OptiTrack Partner with SMPTE, Other Industry Leaders

Planar and sister company OptiTrack recently joined with other industry leaders and SMPTE for an important initiative. They formed The Advisory Group of the On-Set Virtual Production (OSVP) Initiative. The initiative is the first project within the society’s new Rapid Industry Solution (RIS) program. Planar is, of course, a global provider of visualization technology. OptiTrack is prominent in 3D tracking systems. Meanwhile, SMPTE is the home of media professionals, technologists and engineers.

SMPTE is committed to providing tools, standards and education on emerging technologies. This requires the society to operate with greater agility in responding to technology challenges. Planar and OptiTrack expressed pride in taking part in SMPTE’s new initiative for the RIS program. It’s focused on creating a portfolio of essential tools that can help the industry tackle the complexities of the OSVP. That, of course, includes developing and curating knowledge resources.

The companies’ participation follows Planar Studios’ launch in June 2021. The initiative combines the advanced technologies, industry partnerships and personnel customers require to create realistic in-screen content for today’s ever-expanding virtual production (VP) and extended reality (XR) applications.

Drawing on Planar, OptiTrack Expertise and Support

Hans Hoffmann is SMPTE president and head of media fundamentals and production at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). He says, “The success of the On-Set Virtual Production Initiative hinges upon the expertise and support of a wide range of technology and thought leaders.” Thus, he continues, SMPTE established an Advisory Group. It draws from emerging technology companies, traditional production users, manufacturers, education institutions and professional organizations.

According to Hoffmann, “We are so thankful to have the best minds in the industry to assess the challenges, establish our goals and deliver a fast-track response.”

The RIS OSVP Advisory Group looks to achieve an important, multi-faceted goal. It seeks to establish interoperability, training, workflows, best practices and a unifying common language to smooth collaboration. Moreover, it wants to build on whichever formats the creative industry chooses to leverage. SMPTE engaged in discussions with groups and individuals in all aspects of the OSVP pipeline. Thus, it uncovered several hurdles that are currently preventing many from deploying these new content-creation technologies.

Planar and OptiTrack’s participation in the Advisory Group allows both companies to have a seat at the table. Therefore, the companies can help review, recommend and guide the outputs from the group. Indeed, as prominent firms with considerable expertise in videowall displays and optical-tracking technology, Planar and OptiTrack seek to contribute meaningfully. The initiative’s two main goals are to enable systems interoperability and facilitate training at all levels.

For previous Commercial Integrator coverage of Planar, check out our website archives.

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