Introduction
Virtual productions come in every form and shape, often raising questions about the necessary tools needed for the shooting of production and the number of these tools needed at a given time. Aximmetry is no different in this regard.
You may only need one Aximmetry license to meet your production requirements (and the question may only be which license to pick) or you may need more licenses at the same time.
In this document, we discuss the different virtual production use-case scenarios that require the use of multiple Aximmetry licenses, and some notable special cases as well.
NOTE: Aximmetry requires one license per computer/workstation in every case.
NOTE: Multiple licenses can be used one at a time on the same computer/workstation. You can learn more about this at How to Install Aximmetry.
IMPORTANT: If your production requirements do not include any of the points below, then a single Aximmetry license can meet all your requirements.
This document continues on the basis that you are already familiar with at least the basics of the type of virtual production of your choice and the different versions of Aximmetry. If not, then we recommend first reading the following documents:
- Introduction to Different Studios for Virtual Production
- Introduction to Which Aximmetry Edition is Right for You
Special Note
Aximmetry allows for the joint use of multiple computers (and thus licenses) in a Multi-Machine environment. The word "machine" is used here as a synonym for computer/workstation.
This solution requires 1 designated computer to act as a control machine and allows for the use of up to 9 slave machines (sometimes referred to as render machines).
NOTE: The control machine requires a person to operate it.
NOTE: The slave machines are controlled by the control machine, they do not require studio personnel to operate them during production.
NOTE: You can learn more about the Multi-Machine environment here: Introduction to Multi-Machine Environment
You Need More Than One License IF
In the Cases of Green Screen and AR Production
IF you need to render the virtual scene from 2 or more points of view simultaneously (e.g. because you use a separate studio switcher, or you want to record all camera angles of a live production separately).
- You will need one Aximmetry PC (and thus license) per camera set up in a Multi-Machine configuration.
- You will have a composite output from all PCs, each rendered from its camera angle, each can be outputted via any supported output option or can be recorded internally by Aximmetry.
The control machine can be used to render output AND control the slave machines at the same time:
Or to only control the renderers (for redundancy purposes),
License requirements
- If you use virtual cameras (no camera tracking): you will need a single Broadcast Edition license for the control machine, and a Studio or Professional Edition license for each slave machine depending on your need for SDI input/output.
- If you use tracked cameras with an object tracking system: you will need a single Broadcast Edition license for the control machine, and a Studio or Professional Edition license for each slave machine depending on your need for SDI input/output.
- If you use tracked cameras with a professional camera tracking system: you will need a Broadcast Edition license for each machine.
- If you use Augmented Reality (AR) elements in your production: you will need a single Broadcast Edition license for the control machine, and Broadcast Edition license(s) for the machine(s) rendering the AR elements.
- In case of additional machines, their license requirements depend on the points mentioned above.
NOTE: For short-term, occasional use, the SDI support is also available as a rental service for the Studio Edition.
In the Case of LED Wall Production
An LED Wall-based virtual production is more complex than the previous examples. Because of this, we discuss the cases where you need multiple licenses in two points: first based on the LED Wall outputs, and second, based on additional production requirements.
IMPORTANT: The number of licenses you'll need is the sum of your results of the first (LED Wall Output Requirements) and second (Additional Production Requirements) points together! For example, if you need 1 more license because of the output requirements, and 1 more because of an additional production requirement, then you'll need at least 2 more licenses, in other words, a total of 3 licenses.
Based on the LED Wall Output Requirements
IF you need more output ports than the number of GPU output ports available on your computer/workstation.
- Depending on your need, you will need at least 1 more Aximmetry PC (and thus a license).
IF your computer's/workstation's computing capacity is insufficient to render the LED Walls' outputs (and the production requirements do not allow for the FILL to be set to freeze).
- Depending on your need, you will need at least 1 more Aximmetry PC (and thus a license).
IF your computer's/workstation's computing capacity is insufficient to render the LED Walls' outputs and the Augmented Reality elements (AR)(and the production requirements do not allow for the FILL to be set to freeze).
- Depending on your need, you will need at least 1 more Aximmetry PC (and thus a license).
NOTE: Example of the use of multiple Aximmetry PCs (and thus licenses) for an LED Wall-based virtual production.
Based on Additional Production Requirements
IF you use tracked cameras (one at least) and the use of animations (e.g: animated 3D models (AR elements excluded), videos, slideshow) crossing the border of the physical LED Wall and the set extension is required.
- This requires one additional Aximmetry PC (and thus a license) for rendering the animations.
IF you use multiple tracked cameras and the use of animations (e.g: animated 3D models (AR elements excluded), videos, slideshow) is required while switching between the cameras.
- This requires one additional Aximmetry PC (and thus a license) per camera.
License requirements
- For LED Wall production you will need a Broadcast Edition license for each machine.
Redundancy
- When a failsafe studio setup is required.
NOTE: For example, during a live show, the last thing you want to happen is for your machine to crash causing the rendering to stop. To avoid this scenario, you can either set up identical machines rendering the same content, or you can set up a multi-machine configuration where a control machine (a machine that controls what the other machines render) can take the rendering responsibility from a slave machine in case of a crash or failure. You can learn more about machine redundancy here.
License requirements
- For setting up identical computers/machines (independent from each other) for rendering the same content, you can use the same license as the one used for the primary computer/machine.
- For setting up a Multi-Machine configuration (recommended), you need at least one Broadcast Edition license for the control machine, and one license for the slave machine. The second/additional license(s) can be any Aximmetry edition, depending on your production requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have a very strong PC, can I render all the outputs on a single PC?
Currently, it is not supported, it will be in the future.
I have two (or more) GPUs in my PC, can I render all the outputs on a single PC?
Currently, it is not supported, it will be in the future.
NOTE: Although Aximmetry can handle multiple GPUs, it currently cannot use them to output multiple different outputs at the same time. (See Preview of Multiple Cameras)
NOTE: Using multiple GPUs, in general, is not yet supported when you work with Unreal Engine scenes.
Recommended Hardware
Please also see our recommendations for Aximmetry SE and Aximmetry DE.
For a more detailed hardware recommendation, please refer to the Introduction to Supported Hardware.
