Blackmagic’s New Camera is the World’s First for Immersive Live Broadcasting
Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine Immersive 100G, the world’s first immersive cinema camera designed specifically for live production with Apple Immersive Video.
The camera promises a new sensor design compared to the previous Cine Immersive camera, with a dual 8K by 8K capture capability and 16 stops of dynamic range (for comparison, the previous Cine Immersive delivered 8,160 by 7,200-pixel resolution per eye and also 16 stops of dynamic range).
Blackmagic says that it uses the same RGBW sensor design as the URSA Cine, but the new dual sensor layout features larger photo-sites and the “unique” architecture provides equal amounts of red, green, and blue pixels for what the company says is “incredible” color super sampling.
“This means it is optimized to deliver incredibly rich colors and provide the ultimate in image quality and flexibility, even at the high frame rates live immersive video requires,” Blackmagic says.
The camera is equipped with the URSA Live Encoder, which allows the camera to be used for immersive productions and is able to encode live video into ProRes for output as SMPTE-2110 IP video via the high-speed 100G Ethernet port (hence the 100G in the camera’s name).
Blackmagic says the camera isn’t just being announced today, it has already seen use: it was deployed for a series of live Los Angeles Lakers games earlier this season, which are currently available to watch on the Apple Vision Pro.
“Apple Immersive places Apple Vision Pro users at the center of live events and stories as they unfold. Spectrum Front Row in Apple Immersive is directed and produced for Vision Pro with a feed of up to 150 Mbps and seven unique viewing angles: the scorer’s table, the area beneath each basket, a high-and-wide view of the arena, the player tunnel, the broadcast booth, and a roaming courtside perspective for interviews and commentary,” Apple said of its immersive broadcast earlier this year. “The broadcast team features Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mark Rogondino and three-time NBA champion and former Lakers forward Danny Green as an analyst.”
“Live immersive production is here, and it’s extraordinary,” Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO, says. “URSA Cine Immersive 100G makes it possible, and the images from this camera are just incredible to watch. It truly feels like you’ve been transported to the middle of the action. From sports to concerts, this opens up an entirely new world in live production.”
The Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive 100G will be available sometime in Q3 2026 for $26,495.
Image credits: Unless otherwise noted, images provided by Blackmagic Design
