The secret XR studio at the Tokyo Hilton hotel, built with Blackmagic solutions

The Hong Kong arm of the integrator and producer Vega has trusted solutions from Blackmagic to shape a complete XR (extended reality) production studio, located on the third floor of the Hilton hotel in Tokyo (Japan).

Vega Global, specialized in extended reality productions, had the opportunity to integrate into 2022 a study of extended reality on the third floor of the Hilton hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo, as well as a large curved LED screen in an exclusive event space on the fourth floor. In these two spaces interconnected through a versatile control room, Vega offers events virtual face-to-face and hybrid simultaneous. Daisuke Kuroda, operator and technical assistant of the studio, summarizes the transversality of the project: "Our team tests the use of new extended reality technologies from the moment they are launched on the market. We also take care of different tasks, for example, filming, editing and Internet transmission of audiovisual content, such as interviews, financed by partner companies."

The opportunity to shape this avant-garde space came thanks to the BCCJ, British Chamber of Commerce in Japan, who acted as intermediary and promoter of this initiative. Nicholas Bockman, technical director of Vega Studio, takes us up to date with the project: "We collaborate with the Tokyo Hilton and other internal teams to plan events and manage audiovisual systems in the studio and other spaces. The Kiku room, on the fourth floor, has one of the largest curved LED screens in a hotel in the country, and it is possible to broadcast live over the Internet from our studio to the space on the floor above."

Blackmagic technology in the Vega XR studio in Tokyo

Vega's extended reality studio is equipped with a mixer ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K, switching matrices Smart Videohub 12G 40×40, a camera URSA Mini Pro 12K, of the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K and multiple units Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. Likewise, devices are used SmartView 4K, SmartScope Duo 4K and several recorders HyperDeck Studio 4K Pro for image capture and playback, as well as three cards DeckLink for material supervision.

Additionally, the company has built a mobile production set, which has a monitor SmartView 4K, a mixer ATEM Mini Extreme ISO, three units Pocket Cinema Camera and a recorder MultiDock. The Vega team turns to these solutions when they need to reinforce their productions, or to record interviews and content outside the studio.

"One of the best aspects of Blackmagic Design products is that they provide great flexibility to use useful, high-quality cameras on a limited budget, which is ideal for small or medium-sized businesses. In addition, these devices allow us to develop production systems for use outside the studio, with a large number of units, at a more than reasonable price. (...) It is very nice to have a dynamic based entirely on Blackmagic, since everything works perfectly and in tune," he adds. Bockman.

Beyond this space of extended reality (XR) at the Tokyo Hilton, Vega has integrated an additional space in Nihonbashi used for research and development. “In total, we have about 30 Blackmagic Design cameras,” reveals Kuroda.