Case Study: Forza Silicon and Sphere Work Together to Develop CMOS Image Sensor for Big Sky Camera System
Background
Sphere Entertainment Co. is a premier live entertainment and media company whose portfolio includes Sphere — a next-generation entertainment medium that is redefining the future of live entertainment. Powered by cutting-edge technologies, Sphere ignites the senses and transports audiences to places both real and imagined. The first Sphere venue opened in Las Vegas in September 2023 and hosts a wide variety of events, including concerts and residencies from the world’s biggest artists, original Sphere Experiences, and corporate and marquee events.
Based in Pasadena, California, Forza Silicon is a global leader in fabless semiconductor design, specializing in analog, mixed-signal and highly sensitive, advanced CMOS image sensors for visible and infrared digital camera applications. Its Custom IC Design and Integrated Production Services model offers a complete end-to-end solution — from circuit design to the delivery of highly reliable production parts. Forza's consultative approach with customers, combined with its deep understanding of CMOS imaging technology and proven design process, minimizes risk and reduces production costs while providing state-of-the-art designs that accelerate time-to-market.
Challenge
Sphere Entertainment Co. built the world’s highest-resolution immersive LED display plane, featuring a massive 16K resolution, for Sphere in Las Vegas. Spanning 160,000 square feet, it wraps up, over and around the audience creating a fully immersive visual environment. No single commercially available camera on the market could shoot video at the quality and clarity needed for the resolution of Sphere’s display.
Image courtesy of Sphere Entertainment.
To address this challenge, the company built a preliminary camera rig to generate content for the Sphere screen. The rig consisted of an array of 11 cameras, and the footage had to be combined to generate a single 16K-resolution video. However, stitching footage from the multiple cameras created parallax artifacts and blur. Additionally, the process required significant manual post-processing effort and a complex workflow.
Solution
With Sphere, Forza co-developed an 18K-resolution CMOS image sensor containing 316 mega-pixels and a high dynamic range that could generate video footage at up to 120 frames per second, minimizing motion artifacts. Sphere incorporated this image sensor into its Big Sky camera system, allowing the company to record content for its 16K-resolution immersive display at Sphere in Las Vegas.
The Big Sky camera. Image courtesy of
Sphere Entertainment.
Sphere teamed up with Academy Award-nominated director Darren Aronofsky to shoot a multi-sensory cinematic experience called "Postcard from Earth," which plays exclusively at Sphere in Las Vegas as part of The Sphere Experience. This is the first cinematic production to utilize the Big Sky camera system. Since its debut, Postcard from Earth has transported audiences, taking them on a journey around the world, and featuring stunning visuals captured with Big Sky.
