Las Vegas Sphere: A New Era of Entertainment
Las Vegas has always been a hub for entertainment, but the introduction of Sphere has taken it to a whole new level. This revolutionary circular performance space is wowing audiences with its massive LED displays that span nearly 750,000 square feet both inside and outside the venue.
Powering the stunning visuals at Sphere are around 150 NVIDIA RTX A6000 GPUs. These powerful processors drive floor-to-ceiling, 16x16K displays inside the venue, as well as 1.2 million programmable LED pucks on the exterior screen, known as the Exosphere – the world’s largest LED screen.
To ensure seamless connectivity and synchronization of all the display panels, NVIDIA BlueField DPUs, NVIDIA ConnectX-6 Dx NICs, NVIDIA DOCA Firefly Service, and NVIDIA Rivermax software are used. This technology allows all the screens to act as one synchronized canvas, creating a truly immersive experience for audiences.
Alex Luthwaite, senior vice president of show systems technology at Sphere Entertainment, expressed his excitement about the groundbreaking display technology, highlighting the role of companies like NVIDIA in making this vision a reality. Sphere has been recognized as one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023 and has hosted a variety of events, including concerts, residencies, and marquee shows.
The inaugural show at Sphere featured a 40-show run by legendary rock band U2, and other events include The Sphere Experience, which showcases immersive technologies such as high-resolution visuals, concert-grade sound, haptic seats, and atmospheric effects like wind and scents.
Behind the scenes, Sphere Studios in Burbank, California, creates video content that is then transferred digitally to the Las Vegas venue. The content is streamed in real-time to workstations equipped with NVIDIA RTX A6000 GPUs, providing unparalleled performance with three layers of 16K resolution at 60 frames per second.
The integration of NVIDIA Rivermax software and hardware accelerators ensures smooth media streaming with minimal latency and jitter. Additionally, NVIDIA BlueField DPUs enable precise timing through the DOCA Firefly Service, ensuring sub-microsecond accuracy in clock synchronization across the network.
To further enhance the immersive experience at Sphere, Sphere Entertainment launched Sphere Studios, dedicated to creating original immersive content. The Burbank campus houses development facilities and a specialized screening and production facility called Big Dome, which features a quarter-sized version of the Sphere screen in Las Vegas.
Sphere Studios also developed the Big Sky camera system, capable of capturing uncompressed 18K images with a single camera. This technology, along with Lenovo servers powered by NVIDIA A40 GPUs, enables the studio to film content for Sphere without the need for stitching multiple camera feeds together.
The creative team at Sphere Studios uses a variety of tools and software, including Unreal Engine, Unity, Touch Designer, and Notch, to develop visuals for different types of shows. The use of NVIDIA A40 GPUs allows for advanced 3D video rendering, virtualization, and ray tracing, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in live entertainment experiences.
In conclusion, Sphere in Las Vegas represents a new era of entertainment, where cutting-edge technology and innovative storytelling converge to create unforgettable experiences for audiences worldwide. With its state-of-the-art displays, immersive content, and groundbreaking visuals, Sphere is redefining the landscape of live entertainment and setting a new standard for the industry.