By Jason Hardy, Vice President for Client Strategy and Chief Technology Officer for Artificial Intelligence, Hitachi Vantara
When the first IMAX movie debuted in 19701, it was a revelation—a cinematic leap forward that redefined how stories were told on the big screen. Not only did IMAX employ new lenses, sound equipment and lighting, it also projected film frames that were ten times larger than the standard 35 mm films2 of the day onto a six-story-high screen. The result was a unique, immersive cinematic experience that delighted audiences.
However, the entertainment industry’s use of new technology has dramatically advanced since the pre-digital era, transforming the way content gets created and consumed. Today, that same spirit of innovation is alive at Sphere, a next-generation entertainment venue that opened its doors in Las Vegas in the fall of 2023.
Sphere is more than just an architectural marvel; it represents a new frontier in immersive experiences. The spherical structure measures 366 feet high and 516 feet wide at its broadest point, totaling around 580,000 square feet.3
It’s size is awe-inspiring, but what happens inside truly captivates audiences. The venue is designed to engage the senses on a level never before possible. Sphere deploys a variety of experiential, next-generation technologies, such as a wraparound 160,000-square-foot 16K LED screen and theater seats equipped with 4D capabilities4 and vibrations that work in tandem with elements on the screen, creating an all-encompassing visual spectacle. Sphere has harnessed these integrated technologies with the goal of elevating the audience experience and engaging the senses with a variety of interactive experiences.
For example, added environmental effects such as breezes, temperature changes, and scent, turn the “Postcard from Earth”,5 a film that Academy Award-nominated director Darren Aronofsky made for Sphere, into an immersive, visual experience for audiences. It isn’t just watched; it’s felt.
And that’s just on the inside. On the building’s exterior, Sphere’s stunning exosphere is estimated to be the world’s biggest LED screen with 1.2 million LED puck lights, each containing 48 LEDs. Adding to the brilliance, each diode can display 256 million different colors6.
Sphere is a canvas that allows artists to express themselves in entirely new ways, enabled by the data processing software from Hitachi Vantara that helped power its LED screens.
Applying its extensive expertise in the development and deployment of data and storage solutions for customers, Hitachi Vantara worked closely with the integrator, 7th Sense, and the Sphere team to ensure that the technology could handle the unique data processing demands of the project.
The big part is giving people an experience they’ve never seen before. Providing such an immersive experience used to be exclusive to organizations like Disney and other organizations in this space. Now, any artist using the Sphere canvas can provide their audience an experience unlike any other.
That shift is largely driven by the increasing role of advanced technologies in creating these immersive experiences within the entertainment industry. And Hitachi Vantara’s expertise plays a crucial role in helping organizations store, parse and deploy data to make that happen.
For example, Hitachi Vantara’s data processing software helps power the LED screens at Sphere, which is continually streaming an immense amount of data – both to Sphere’s interior LED display plane as well as to its fully programmable LED exterior.
It's a tremendous amount of information to deal with. But we are also looking at what is next, including options around generative AI and what role it can play in the future.
The 3-year project also required Hitachi Vantara engineers to come up with creative work arounds to allow for Windows to operate more efficiently, especially with the expected scale of information. When the job was complete, Hitachi Vantara had helped usher in a new chapter in the entertainment industry’s deployment of technology.
Hitachi’s involvement began with a formidable challenge: streaming video content on a scale never seen before. Aronofsky’s "Postcard from Earth" required a system that could handle over 500 gigabytes a second of throughput, response times faster than a camera flash, at sub five milliseconds of latency to handle the 12-bit 444 quality content that makes up the feature.7
The screen is divided into 27 different sections, each with its own 4K images. Every quadrant is a section of an asset of the film that is carved out for that section of the screen. All the segments play back perfectly synchronized across different servers, different feeds, and different data sets.
An additional challenge facing Hitachi Vantara was to ensure the media was delivered fast enough so that the data all played back at the same time. Sphere needed delivery at extremely low latency and high throughput if this was going to work.
If you are off by one or two frames, viewers will notice it. So, we were really focused on making sure to have this high bandwidth content get processed as quickly as possible.
To pull it off, the critical centerpiece was Hitachi Vantara’s storage platform, Hitachi Content Software for File, a software-defined, distributed parallel file system storage solution. Hitachi Content Software for File consists of 27 interconnected nodes, with 4 petabytes (PB) of flash storage for playback within Sphere and streamed in real-time to 7thSense media servers, each streaming ultra-high definition 4K video at a smooth 60 frames per second.8
The requirement was 12 milliseconds between the time the data was asked for and when it needed to be delivered on-screen. We wound up averaging 1.2 millisecond response times. From our perspective, that was awesome!
The project represented a myriad number of technology challenges, particularly when it came to the way that the data needed to get processed, streamed, and projected. But working in tandem with Sphere’s team, Hitachi Vantara engineers pushed the boundaries of the possible when it comes to imagining streaming immersive, high-resolution video content on such a massive scale.
At the end of the day, it's about taking a technology that we are very comfortable with and stretching it beyond its known limits, in turn, redefining what the platform potential is.
Hitachi Vantara’s technology helped launch a unique attraction that has garnered great reviews9 and attracted an increasing numbers of visitors10 to Las Vegas ever since Sphere officially opened its doors.
This achievement aligns with Hitachi's vision of harnessing the power of advanced technologies to push the boundaries of what’s possible. As a leader in the technology industry, Hitachi continues to set new standards, driving innovation that transforms industries and enhances the human experience. Sphere is not just a testament to this vision but also a glimpse into the future of entertainment that Hitachi is helping to shape.
Learn more about Hitachi’s technology deployed at Sphere and talk to a Hitachi expert.
Vice President for Client Strategy and Chief Technology Officer for Artificial Intelligence, Hitachi Vantara
As Vice President for Client Strategy and Chief Technology Officer for Artificial Intelligence, Jason Hardy is responsible for the creation and curation of Hitachi Vantara’s AI strategy and portfolio. He is defining the future and strategic direction of Hitachi iQ, the company’s AI Platform, and cultivating a level of trust and credibility across the market by fostering strong working relationships with customers and partners, and leading public facing events. Jason represents the company externally by communicating the company's vision and value proposition for AI and by collaborating with key partners to develop comprehensive go-to-market strategies.
Prior to his current role, Jason served as the CTO for Hitachi Vantara’s Data Intelligence portfolio. He brings more than 20 years of experience tackling complex data-driven problems for the world’s largest organizations, addressing critical areas such as digital transformation, object storage technology, artificial intelligence, and high-performance data analytics.
Jason's deep expertise extends beyond technology. Drawing on his experience consulting with hundreds of global clients on data strategy, he incorporates a strong customer-centric perspective into his work. He frequently speaks at industry events, sharing valuable insights and best practices on leveraging emerging technologies to achieve optimal business outcomes.
