“Necessity is the Mother of Invention ….”
– Frank Zappa
ZERO DELAY
SHUTTER-SYNCED
LIVE STREAMING OF
METADATA OVER ETHERNET
“Okay, so, what is “ZERO DELAY” and why do I want/need it?”
With virtual productions using live action cameras for AR, Simulcam, VR and XR, you need perfect sync between the virtual camera and the live action camera. Accurate metadata from the camera system needs to be streamed to the virtual system with minimal delay.
With modern lenses (such as the Fujinon Premista Series Full-Frame Zoom lenses with Zeiss eXtended Data) now supporting direct metadata connections, it is easier than ever to stream high accuracy metadata in perfect sync with the image capture, without relying on the camera body or camera tracking system to transport the lens metadata.
Using the same video genlock provided to the camera, the SYNCRO-LINK MARK-ZERO, synchronized to the camera shutter, always samples the metadata at the same time that the camera shutter is opened. This provides live action camera metadata with the highest accuracy with respect to frame timing and latency.
SYNCRO-LINK was officially released to the TV and Film Industry on June 03, 2021 – click on the image below to read the Industry Press Release:
READ MORE: DOWNLOAD THE SYNCRO-LINK “MARK ZERO” FACT SHEET BY CLICKING ON THE IMAGE BELOW
View MARK-ZERO product documentation: click on the image below – it’s always a work-in-progress, but always updated here …
NEXT: Check out the great video (below) on YouTube, where happy clients TEDxCambridge and Studio Lab do a ‘shout out’ to Factory Optic and SYNCRO-LINK, calling it a “game-changer” … Click on the image below to watch:
XR LED Virtual Production with TEDxCambridge
and STUDIO LAB
Dmitri Gunn and Ian Messina
Ian: “…they’re taking the lens data unit [SYNCRO-LINK] off the camera now …”
Dmitri: “Yes! Bring it over here … this is another ‘shout out’ to someone who is doing some really cool stuff … Patrick Campbell from Factory Optic – we were introduced to him through Tom Fletcher and Gary Adcock – Tom from Fujinon – with an opportunity to go ‘all in’ on XD lens encoding … but Patrick’s solution here, which Ian has in his hands, is the SYNCRO-LINK MARK ZERO – a real game changer – because it allows us to pull all of that lens encoding data right in to UNREAL Engine and DISGUISE and allows us to continue to utilize this facility and this team to create even more cool stuff for our next production cycle …”
Ian: “So, we can actually plug this [SYNCRO-LINK] right into the lens and what this is going to do is send REAL TIME information – so when we focus or zoom, it’s getting sent into here [SYNCRO-LINK] and this [SYNCRO-LINKL] is now taking that focus and zoom data – and it actually has a Lens Profile built for this specific lens – and, as they’re turning it, it’s giving us real time updates! OK, they’re focused at three feet … four feet … five feet … and it’s all happening LIVE and it’s actually synced with the shutter and it’s gen-locked which is also incredibly important – having your whole system gen-locked is HUGE! And this unit … honestly, the guys at FACTORY OPTIC really knocked this one out of the park because a lot of the stuff we’ve been using has been more mechanical – so you’d have more of just your standard focus system but, instead of it controlling the system, what it is actually doing is ‘reading it … and when you get those micro-jitters of movement, what happens without it is, you see false data sent – so, if [the mechanical device used] would think you’re at it 3 feet but it’s actually three and a half feet – well, you Really can’t use that – all of this stuff has to work perfectly to be completely accurate – and that is what SYNCRO-LINK has done for us – ‘Zero Delay’ – it’s a real game changer!”
Are you interested in purchasing a SYNCRO-LINK MARK-ZERO? We are offering it exclusively through GAKTORY (rhymes with FACTORY!) also known as a “Marketplace of DIY film, photo, and video gear” … and … “A Candy Store of Gear”. Click on the image below to go there …
