Sphere, a new entertainment medium in Las Vegas, is powered by 150 NVIDIA RTX A6000 GPUs, driving the 16x16K displays across its interior and the 1.2 million programmable LED pucks on its exterior, the Exosphere, which is the world’s largest LED screen.
Robust network connectivity is maintained by NVIDIA BlueField DPUs, NVIDIA ConnectX-6 Dx NICs, NVIDIA DOCA Firefly Service, and NVIDIA Rivermax software, ensuring synchronized content delivery across all display panels.
“Sphere is captivating audiences not only in Las Vegas, but also around the world on social media, with immersive LED content delivered at a scale and clarity that has never been done before,” said Alex Luthwaite, senior vice president of show systems technology at Sphere Entertainment. “This would not be possible without the expertise and innovation of companies such as NVIDIA that are critical to helping power our vision, working closely with our team to redefine what is possible with cutting-edge display technology.”
Sphere, named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023, hosts Sphere Experiences, concerts, residencies from world-renowned artists, and premier corporate events. Rock band U2 opened Sphere with a 40-show run that concluded in March.
The Sphere Experience featuring Darren Aronofsky’s Postcard From Earth showcases the venue’s technologies, including high-resolution visuals, concert-grade sound, haptic seats, and atmospheric effects.
Sphere Studios, located in Burbank, Calif., creates video content for the venue, transferring it digitally to Sphere in Las Vegas.
Content is streamed in real time to rack-mounted workstations with NVIDIA RTX A6000 GPUs, delivering three layers of 16K resolution at 60 frames per second. NVIDIA Rivermax software accelerates media streaming, eliminating jitter and optimizing latency.
NVIDIA BlueField DPUs ensure precision timing through the DOCA Firefly Service, synchronizing clocks in a network with sub-microsecond accuracy. “The integration of NVIDIA RTX GPUs, BlueField DPUs and Rivermax software creates a powerful trifecta for modern accelerated computing, supporting the unique high-resolution video streams and strict timing requirements needed at Sphere,” said Nir Nitzani, senior product director for networking software at NVIDIA.
Sphere Studios also developed the Big Sky camera system, capturing uncompressed 18K images from a single camera, eliminating the need to stitch multiple camera feeds together. The studio’s custom image processing software runs on Lenovo servers powered by NVIDIA A40 GPUs, which fuel creative work such as 3D video, virtualisation, and ray tracing. The team uses apps like Unreal Engine, Unity, Touch Designer, and Notch for developing visuals for different shows.
The Las Vegas Sphere is establishing itself among legendary circular performance spaces like the Roman Colosseum and Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. The venue features eye-popping LED displays covering nearly 750,000 square feet inside and outside the venue.
