IBC 2017: Blackmagic Design, Ultimatte 12 Compositing Available Now

With yesterday’s announcement, Blackmagic Design brings Ultimatte 12, a new realtime hardware compositing processor  for broadcast quality keying, adding augmented reality elements into shots, working with virtual sets and more. Ultimatte 12 is available immediately from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide for US$9,995. See demos in  the Blackmagic Design booth in Hall 7, Stand 7 H.20.

Designed for the next generation of broadcast graphics, Ultimatte 12 features entirely new algorithms and color science, incredible edge handling, greater color separation, unprecedented color fidelity and improved spill suppression.

The advanced 12G-SDI design gives Ultimatte 12 customers the flexibility to work in HD today and switch to Ultra HD when they are ready. Customers get sub pixel processing images and textures in both HD and Ultra HD. Plus it’s compatible with virtually all SD, HD and Ultra HD equipment, so customers can use it with the cameras they already have.

Ultimatte 12 creates life-like composites and places talent into any scene, working with both fixed cameras and static backgrounds, or automated virtual set systems. Designed for weather, sports, news and entertainment in a cinematic quality environment, all composited in real time. Ultimatte 12 is also allows on-set pre visualization in television and film production because it lets actors and directors see the virtual sets they’re interacting with while shooting against a green screen.

As with many Blackmagic products, Ultimatte 12 is designed to be affordable, so creatives can use it on many cameras to help increase production quality. For example, when working on live shoots with multiple cameras shooting from different angles, it’s common for the green or blue screen to suffer from variations. The keyers built into live production switchers use the same keying parameters for all cameras, which complicates keying and image quality because each camera sees the green screen a little differently. Ultimatte 12 eliminates this problem with incredible new technology at an affordable price so it’s now possible to add keyers to every camera for the highest possible quality keys. With the power of a dedicated keyer on every camera, Ultimatte 12 is perfect for live broadcast news, weather, sports, virtual studios and more!

Per Blackmagic, “Augmented reality is becoming more and more popular. On air talent now interacts with glass like computer generated charts, graphs, displays and other objects with colored translucency on virtually every broadcast television show. Adding tinted translucent objects is virtually impossible with a traditional keyer and the results customers see on television don’t look realistic. That’s because when blue or green is subtracted out of a semi-transparent tinted object, it changes the object’s original color. Now, with Ultimatte 12, customers get a revolutionary new “realistic” layer compositing mode that can add tinted objects on top of the foreground image and key them correctly. This means that the object properly transmits the colors seen through it. Talent can even walk behind it and the tinted colors are accurately preserved, making the shot look completely realistic.”

“Ultimatte has been the world’s highest quality broadcast keyer for 40 years,” said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO. “We’re excited about taking this incredible technology to the next level! Ultimatte 12 is no longer just a simple keyer, it’s an Ultra HD realtime compositing engine designed specifically for the needs of today’s live broadcast, television and film production needs!”