[Lester]

Unreal 5 opens up the possibility of photorealistic sets, whenever broadcasters get round to upgrading their kit.

It will be very interesting to see whether broadcasters begin to experiment with extended reality. This could be as simple as having an LED wall behind the presenter (eg BBC NBH Studio B), but with the perspective shifting as the camera moves to create a more realistic backdrop. This could have been very interesting with some of the stuff the BBC was doing in B for the recent local election coverage, where they had fake corridors and workstations on the upper level.

At the more extreme level you can have an entire set where the walls and floor are LED displays, allowing you to have an entirely virtual set (with what's on the wall shifting perspective as the cameras move). It's similar to a green-screen studio except the talent can see the set around them, and people blend in to the set much more convincingly. You also don't have to worry about problems with keying, and those on set don't have to worry about not wearing the same colour as the backdrop. You also get genuine reflections on elements like glass and the floor without having to fudge it like broadcasters currently do in virtual sets with chromakeying.

(skip to 2m15 if you just want to see the effect)

That looks truly amazing ... 👏