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Turnkey virtual production product now supports the popular FreeD protocol, and is expanding commercial availability to customers in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan

SEATTLE, Aug. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting August 8, 2022, HTC's new virtual production product VIVE Mars CamTrack is available for general purchase in the US, Canada, and Europe, with availability in Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan to follow in the coming months. VIVE Mars CamTrack enables studios of all sizes to create professional-grade virtual production content more easily, flexibly, and affordably than ever before.

In addition to expanding the commercial availability of VIVE Mars CamTrack, the Mars team has also added support for the popular FreeD protocol to better serve the virtual production community. FreeD is an industry standard protocol for the camera's positional data which is used by established AR and XR solution providers. FreeD support is a part of HTC's ongoing effort to make virtual production more accessible to studios everywhere, by giving users more options and flexibility for implementing their camera tracking data.

VIVE Mars CamTrack has the following highlights:

• Plug-and-play with FreeD and Unreal Engine's LiveLink, with no additional installation required
• Highly compact, lightweight, and portable, supporting a wide range of shoot environments
• Includes a full suite of professional-grade features at an affordable price, lowering the barrier of entry for studios of all sizes to leverage virtual production
• Multi-cam tracking, with support for up to three cameras
• Easy-to-use calibration for nodal offset and lens distortion
• One-click origin reset
• Genlock and Timecode support, offering synchronized output between real and virtual actors
• Robust wiring to reduce latency

"We're excited to see the amazing content that the virtual production community will create with VIVE Mars CamTrack," said Raymond Pao, Senior Vice President at HTC VIVE. "By expanding the availability of Mars and adding FreeD support, we're bringing the power of virtual production to tons of studios and individuals worldwide, in a small package and at a price point that won't break the bank. Everyone who wants to bring their vision to life on the screen should have the opportunity to do so – that's our goal behind VIVE Mars CamTrack."

Putting together a virtual production shoot has traditionally been costly and time intensive. VIVE Mars CamTrack greatly streamlines this process by shrinking a complicated workflow into a compact, plug-and-play, modular device. Furthermore, Mars' portability makes it easy to take on the road and shoot in many different scenarios – opening even more creative possibilities for scenes.

VIVE Mars CamTrack will be shown during the SIGGRAPH 2022 conference in Vancouver, Canada, in cooperation with Departure Lounge and Arcturus.  To learn more about VIVE Mars CamTrack and to place an order, visit the product website here. To view the press kit, click here.

About HTC

HTC VIVE is the premier virtual reality (VR) platform and ecosystem that creates true-to-life VR experiences for businesses and consumers. The VIVE ecosystem is built around premium VR hardware, software, and content. The VIVE business encompasses best-in-class XR hardware; VIVEPORT platform and app store; VIVE Enterprise Solutions for business customers; VIVE X, a US$100M VR business accelerator; and VIVE ARTS for cultural initiatives. For more information, please visit www.vive.com.

SOURCE HTC VIVE