Leading into TwitchCon — the world’s top gathering of livestreamers — we’re announcing the RTX Broadcast Engine, a new set of RTX-accelerated software development kits that use the AI capabilities of GeForce RTX GPUs to transform livestreams.
Powered by dedicated AI processors called Tensor Cores on RTX GPUs, the new SDKs enable virtual greenscreens, style filters and augmented reality effects — the kind of techniques used by major broadcast networks — all using AI and without the need for special equipment.
Livestreaming of video games has become a cultural phenomenon. Over 750 million people around the world tune in to watch people play video games. TwitchCon is where this global movement comes together. More than 50,000 streamers and fans will converge in San Diego this weekend to meet their favorite gamers and learn about the future of livestreaming.
RTX Brings AI to Livestreaming
NVIDIA GPUs are already the most popular choice to power the PC games played by streamers. They’re also used to encode and stream video to platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, Huya and Douyu.
With the RTX Broadcast Engine’s AI-powered capabilities, NVIDIA is announcing a new way that RTX GPUs can enable more immersive livestreams — all without special cameras or physical props.
The new SDKs include:
- RTX Greenscreen, to deliver real-time background removal of a webcam feed, so only your face and body show up on the livestream. The RTX Greenscreen AI model understands which part of an image is human and which is background, so gamers get the benefits of a greenscreen without needing to buy one.
- RTX AR, which can detect faces, track facial features such as eyes and mouth, and even model the surface of a face, enabling real-time augmented reality effects using a standard web camera. Developers can use it to create fun, engaging AR effects, such as overlaying 3D content on a face or allowing a person to control 3D characters with their face.
- RTX Style Filters, which use an AI technique called style transfer to transform the look and feel of a webcam feed based on the style of another image. With the press of a hotkey, you can style your video feed with your favorite painting or game art.
NVIDIA and OBS Bringing RTX Greenscreen to Gamers
In addition, we’re working with OBS, one of the leading livestreaming applications, to integrate RTX Greenscreen. With it, livestreamers will be able to remove their background environment or instantly teleport themselves anywhere — in this world or in virtual ones. This feature will be showcased at TwitchCon for the first time and available in the coming months.
“NVIDIA has been at the top of my list when it comes to streaming and recording equipment. I’m continually impressed with what they’re doing,” said Hugh Bailey, author, OBS. “And their technology is impressive with RTX features like RTX Greenscreen.”
Livestreaming Ecosystem Supports NVIDIA Broadcast SDKs
The RTX Broadcast Engine will enable streaming applications throughout the ecosystem to create immersive tools and effects for broadcasters to engage audiences and drive viewership.
“The new RTX Broadcast Engine is an exciting advancement that will allow developers in our app store to create powerful new tools for streamers with NVIDIA RTX GPUs,” said Ali Moiz, CEO of Streamlabs. “We’re thrilled to continue working with NVIDIA as they introduce new features to the Streamlabs developer community, and look forward to implementing this new technology.”
“We have collaborated with NVIDIA over the years on many projects and the introduction of the NVIDIA RTX Broadcast Engine is by far the most exciting,” said Miguel Molina, director of developer relations at XSplit. “For the XSplit team, we are excited to integrate these new tools into our suite of apps, enabling our users to create better content by maximizing the potential of NVIDIA GeForce RTX.”
In addition to RTX Broadcast Engine, leading applications such as OBS, XSplit, Huya, Douya and Streamlabs have deployed the NVIDIA Video Codec SDK for fast, high-quality streaming. Three new integrations made their debut this month:
- Twitch Studio, a new, easy-to-use application for new livestreamers currently in beta, has integrated the Video Codec SDK to enable high-quality livestreaming.
- Discord, the world’s leading gaming chat application, just released a new group broadcasting feature called “Go Live,” which uses NVIDIA GPUs and the Video Codec SDK to accelerate broadcasting games in Discord.
- Elgato is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of video capture cards for gaming. It recently integrated the Video Codec SDK into the software of its new 4K60 Pro MK.2 capture card for recording 4K at 60fps video in High Dynamic Range.
Developers can learn more about the RTX Broadcast Engine and apply for early access at developer.nvidia.com/broadcastengine. Or stop by the OBS booth at TwitchCon, booth 1823, where we’ll be showing off RTX Greenscreen in OBS, new RTX Studio laptops and upcoming RTX games.
