I Can't Stop Watching Videos Of The New "Sphere" That Opened In Las Vegas, And Neither Can Motorists As It's Causing Insane Traffic Backup, Because It's So Mesmerizing.
Fox 5 Las Vegas - The MSG Sphere is scheduled to officially open September 29, but on the Fourth of July, Las Vegas got a preview of what this next-generation entertainment venue is capable of on its exosphere
366 feet tall and 516 feet wide, the MSG Sphere is the largest spherical structure in the world, with the largest programmable LED screen in the world.
The exosphere was shining bright for its debut Independence Day display, in a much-anticipated reveal.
“It just super exciting,” said Bret. “We’ve been watching this thing go up for a couple years, and it’s here so we’re here to see the show.”
The Birdsong family said this virtual fireworks display was a fun alternative to the traditional shows, and it’s better for the environment, too.
So Nate's out in Vegas right now kicking ass and taking names in the WSOP Tournament, and he was posting these amazing videos on twitter last night.
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I've watched them all roughly 50 times.
This thing is hypnotic, mesmerizing, whatever you want to call it. It is FAR FAR more impressive than advertised. And I've been like a giddy little kid anticipating this thing opening.
U2 is "opening" the venue with some tricked out, insane visual production set for their Achtung Baby shows, which they teased during the Super Bowl.
But Vegas residents and visitors all got a peak at the exterior visuals this weekend as The Sphere went live for the 4th.
It sucks because he sucks, but credit where credit is due, and that credit goes to James Dolan and David Dibble for dreaming this crazy thing up.
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Dolan and chief executive officer of MSG Ventures, a division of Sphere Entertainment, Dibble, are credited with being the big brains behind this idea. Whether it was them, or people below Dolan who get paid to come up with genius ideas he can call his own, the fact remains this is fucking awesome engineering, and synergy between design and technology.
The technology is so fucking nuts that NASA asked to get involved.
NY Post - Sphere, a huge, first-of-its-kind concert and event venue in Las Vegas set to open later this year, is so high-tech, NASA has gotten involved.
The space agency is using ultra high-resolution cameras on the International Space Station to capture images of the solar system that will feature at an immersive exhibit at Sphere this fall.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory tasked an ISS astronaut with taking footage using Sphere cams.
“It will be on a free spacewalk … capturing the glorious nature of our planet looking back on it,” David Dibble, chief executive officer of MSG Ventures, a division of Sphere Entertainment, told The Post. “We’re pretty thrilled about it.”
The NASA collaboration is just one of many innovative elements of Sphere.
At 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide, it will be the largest spherical structure in the world.
Construction costs are estimated (as its still ongoing) to be more than $2.2 BILLION.
It will be big enough to seat 20,000 spectators.
And the sound might possibly blow away the visuals if that's even possible.
It will have 170,000 “ultra-direction” speakers that use wave field synthesis to provide high-end sound to concertgoers, no matter what section they’re in.
“Every seat in the house is the best house for your audio experience,” Dibble said. “We put in the Beacon Theatre to test it. The response from the artists was ‘wow.'”
The Sphere has its own studio in Burbank, CA, housed in a structure that's also a sphere (about 1/4 the size) where they produce custom content and video for the project, using one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art cameras so high def you could see the pores on a dust mite.
a 68,000-square-foot production studio in Burbank, California, will be creating content for Sphere. The campus is equipped with a 28,000-square-foot, 100-foot-high dome — one-quarter the size of Sphere — so stunning footage can be projected on the rounded walls of the Vegas venue.
Creating footage for such a huge canvas demands top-notch cameras.
The Burbank facility has developed a camera system called “Big Sky” that will use the largest single sensor in commercial use.
“Big Sky is a giant leap forward for imaging,” said Deanan DaSilva, Big Sky’s lead architect. He added that the technology, which incorporates 10 separate patents, “allows us to capture cinematic content at a level of detail never before possible.”
In the past, supersized images have been made by “stitching” together smaller images in post-production, but Big Sky will bypass that step, creating huge singular photos.
Right now the Big Sky camera is out and about across the country capturing original content of our beautiful America for the show that is opening the venue after U2, “Postcard from Earth,” which opens Oct. 6, 2023.
The Sphere is slated to be opened 365 days a year with either concerts or their original production.
There is no place better for this than Las Vegas.
I remember when this project was announced, and seeing construction begin on it a few years ago, scratching my head wondering why the hell they didn't pony up more money to find a location on the strip to put it. Being in Vegas monthly, seeing the progress of this thing, and just how truly massive it is, the comparisons that the Radiers Allegiant Field got to the "Deathstar" were unworthy. This thing, when it was black and not lit up truly looked like the Deathstar.
Now that they lit this thing up, I realize this worked out for the best not being on the strip and a few blocks off it.
After talking to friends who live there, traffic was even more awful than it's been recently in Vegas this weekend because of people just flat-out stopping while driving to snap videos and pictures of this thing. But how can you blame them? The Sphere is fucking incredible.
Anyone whos been to Vegas the past 6 months knows how brutal traffic has been all over downtown. Especially between the airport and the strip hotels. They've been digging up the strip and adjacent streets in order to lay special asphalt for the upcoming F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. Grid lock isn't even the word to describe it.
Adding this eye-candy that is The Sphere isn't going to help things.
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The only thing that sucks is those limey fucks across the pond are once again ripping us off. And they're going even bigger.
A second, even larger Sphere is being planned by Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. in London, but it’s been delayed, in part due to resistance from residents.
May have to plan my gig/trip that second weekend it's open which coincides with the Patriots playing at the Raiders again, October 15th. Done and done.
Checkout more of The Sphere here -