The secret XR studio at the Tokyo Hilton Hotel, built with Blackmagic solutions

The Hong Kong arm of integrator and production company Vega has relied on Blackmagic solutions to shape a complete XR (extended reality) production studio located on the third floor of the Hilton Hotel in Tokyo, Japan.

Vega Global, specialized in extended reality productions, had the opportunity to integrate in 2022 an extended reality studio on the third floor of the Hilton Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo, as well as a large curved LED screen in an exclusive space for events on the fourth floor. In these two spaces interconnected by a versatile control room, Vega offers simultaneous face-to-face and hybrid virtual events. Daisuke Kuroda, studio operator and technical assistant, sums up the transversality of the project: “Our team tests the potential uses of new XR technology as soon as it is released. We also handle tasks such as shooting, editing and streaming video content, including interviews, commissioned by partner companies.”

The opportunity to shape this avant-garde space came thanks to the BCCJ, British Chamber of Commerce in Japan, which served as an intermediary and promoter of this initiative. Nicholas Bockman, technical director of Vega Studio, brings us up to date on the project: “We collaborated with the Hilton Tokyo and other internal teams to plan events and manage AV systems in the studio and other event venues. The Kiku Ballroom, on the 4th floor, features one of the largest curved LED walls in a domestic hotel, and it is possible to live stream from our studio to the event space upstairs.”

Blackmagic technology in the Vega XR Tokyo studio

The Vega extended reality studio is equipped with an ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K mixer, Smart Videohub 12G 40×40 switcher arrays, one URSA Mini Pro 12K camera, two URSA Mini Pro 4.6K cameras, and multiple Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera units. SmartView 4K, SmartScope Duo 4K and multiple HyperDeck Studio 4K Pro recorders are also used for image capture and playback, as well as three DeckLink cards for footage monitoring.

Additionally, the company has built a mobile production set, which features a SmartView 4K monitor, an ATEM Mini Extreme ISO mixer, three Pocket Cinema Camera units and a MultiDock recorder. The Vega team turns to these solutions when they need to beef up their productions, or to record interviews and content outside the studio.

“One of the best aspects of Blackmagic Design’s products is that they allow us a lot of flexibility in integrating very usable and high-quality cameras at a budget which is friendly for small or medium sized businesses. Blackmagic’s products also allow us to develop production systems for use outside of our studios, which includes a very extensive kit, at a more than reasonable price. (…) When you are building systems for clients, it’s really nice to have the whole system with Blackmagic because things just snap into place and work when they are connected together,” adds Bockman.

Beyond this extended reality (XR) studio at the Tokyo Hilton, Vega has integrated an additional space in Nihonbashi used for research and development. “We own about 30 Blackmagic Design cameras in total,” reveals Kuroda.