We’ve previously covered some of the incredible technology behind the $2.3 billion Las Vegas Sphere, including the 18K camera sensor powering the sphere and the 4PB of SSD storage it uses.
Nvidia has now revealed its involvement in the stunning spherical arena. The company revealed that the Sphere’s nearly 70,000 square feet of LED displays will be powered by 150 Nvidia RTX A6000 GPUs.
These power the internal 16x16K resolution screen, as well as the 1.2 million programmable LED disks on the outside, which together form the largest LED screen in the world: the Exosphere.
Nvidia’s critical involvement
Nvidia’s BlueField DPUs and ConnectX-6 Dx NICs use DOCA Firefly Service and Rivermax software to smoothly synchronize all display panels, reducing latency and eliminating jitter. Content created at Sphere Studios in Burbank is streamed in real time to workstations in Las Vegas equipped with Nvidia GPUs, delivering triple-layer 16K resolution at 60 frames per second. At 16K, the display has the same number of pixels per inch as if four 4K displays were arranged in a two-row, two-column grid.
“The integration of Nvidia RTX GPUs, BlueField DPUs, and Rivermax software creates a powerful trifecta of benefits for modern accelerated computing, supporting the unique high-resolution video streams and tight timing requirements needed with Sphere, and setting a new standard for media processing capabilities,” said Nir Nitzani, senior product director for networking software at Nvidia. “This collaboration results in remarkable performance improvements, culminating in the extraordinary experiences guests have with Sphere.”
The arena was built in four years and has already hosted a U2 concert and Darren Aronofsky’s Postcard of the Earthand The Eagles and Pink take full advantage of the venue’s immersive technologies to deliver multi-sensory cinematic experiences, including high-resolution visuals and immersive sound delivered through 167,000 individual speakers.
“Sphere is captivating audiences not only in Las Vegas, but also globally on social media, with immersive LED content delivered at a scale and brightness never before seen,” said Alex Luthwaite, senior vice president of show systems technology at Sphere Entertainment. “This wouldn’t be possible without the expertise and innovation of companies like Nvidia who are instrumental in helping us realize our vision, working closely with our team to redefine what’s possible with advanced display technology.”