Sony has announced four new Crystal LED displays called VERONA, designed for Virtual Production applications.
Sony says the newly developed “Deep Black and Anti-Reflection Surface Technology” delivers both deep black image expression and low-reflection performance that “greatly reduces contrast loss caused by light from adjacent LED displays and studio lighting equipment.”
The technology “significantly” reduces the difference in contrast between the image projected on the LED display and the actor(s) performing in front of it on set – blending virtual and reality “in the most natural way.”
VERONA achieves a high brightness of 1,500 cd/m2* and wide colour gamut covering more than 97% of DCI-P3 to reproduce realistic shooting locations. It also employs high performance LED driver ICs, which enable high refresh rated up to 7,680Hz, to “drastically” reduce scanline artifacts on the camera. Both new models, the ZRD-VP15EB/23EB and ZRD-VP15EM/23EM, are available in P1.56mm and P2.31mm pixel pitch.
Sony worked closely with industry creatives and incorporated their feedback to create a purpose-built display “that addresses the specific needs of the film, TV, and staging community.” A new 1:1 cabinet is designed to help production crews quickly assemble a display that matches the desired stage size, with large easy grip handles, locating pins for easy alignment and a lever-type locking mechanism that can be operated without tools. VERONA adapts to studio spaces that are curved, hanging and stacking, but now the frames are stronger to support more weight by stacking screens up to 7 metres high. The LED surface and edges are protected by a surface technology and various protection mechanisms that protects it from damage during installation.
“We are delighted to announce four new cutting-edge displays built for Virtual Production filmmaking that are set to elevate the realism of Virtual Production and accelerate its growth in the film industry.” says Rik Willemse, Head of Professional Displays and Solutions at Sony Europe.
“Our pioneering Virtual Production technology provides comprehensive solutions that support and contribute to creators’ creative activities and allows them to make virtual sets without limits. We’re the only company who can support virtual production from end-to-end from a solutions and workflow perspective, which has allowed us to gain critical technical expertise. Because of this, we’re in a unique position to leverage our award-winning digital cinema camera VENICE and Crystal LED displays to offer the best possible Virtual Production Systems to studios of any size.” says Sebastian Leske, Head of Cinema Business Development at Sony Europe.
The new displays are compatible with controllers widely used in the industry. The ZRD-VP15EB/23EB works with Brompton Technology’s Tessera SX40, the ZRD-VP15EM/23EM works with Megapixel’s HELIOS Processing Platform.
The new models also see about 27% power consumption decrease when comparing the new ZRD-VP15EB to the current ZRD-B15A model.
The new VERONA will make its debut at IBC and will become available in the market in Spring 2024.
Jon Creamer
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