In Europe, the audiovisual media are undergoing a profound crisis. Among other causes are competition from streaming platforms, the collapse of the advertising model, and audience fragmentation. The landscape is now dominated by digital technology and web giants. Traditional audiovisual players must reinvent themselves.
It is in this context that the European research project TRANSMIXR began in 2022.
Today, TRANSMIXR is coming to an end. Immersion has produced a video of its Spatial Media prototype, which we detail in this article:
The TRANSMIXR research project, part of the Horizon Europe framework program, explores innovative mixed reality and artificial intelligence solutions for the cultural and creative industries (CCI). Immersion, a member of this consortium, has focused on its XR expertise as applied to media use cases. This has led to the development of a new tool by the Immersion team called Spatial Media. The aim of this prototype is to orchestrate immersive experiences in a virtual studio, making audiovisual programs on set more interactive and agile, despite the many technical challenges involved.
TRANSMIXR: Imagining the future of media, cultural heritage, and the arts through XR and AI
TRANSMIXR brings together companies and universities from twelve countries. This consortium is made up of eight representatives from the European creative and cultural sector and twelve industrial and academic partners. The aim of this project is to imagine the future of media, cultural heritage, and the performing arts, and to prototype tools using Extended Reality and Artificial Intelligence for the entire value chain.
Immersion’s mission focuses on media use cases. The aspiration is to develop technologies and experiences that inform, entertain, and inspire, while enabling the public to actively engage in the consumption of immersive media.
To produce this type of program, it was essential to implement a creation tool capable of orchestrating this new experience. Immersion therefore designed and created an immersive media creation tool that controls every stage, from design to consumption, enabling the capture and distribution of this content to be managed.
Spatial media: an immersive ecosystem for rethinking television production and consumption
Immersion has designed Spatial Media, an innovative virtual studio prototype that reimagines television production through mixed reality. Spatial Media is a versatile ecosystem for professionals and viewers alike. It serves two complementary purposes:
- For professionals: directors can remotely manage the control room of the future using an extended reality headset. The application allows them to control virtual cameras, lighting, polls, and video streams (2D and 360°), while integrating new technologies and adapting to the needs of teams and partners. These tools optimize production and improve the quality of broadcasts.
- For viewers: live programs can be watched in 2D or extended reality. They are represented by a virtual audience, creating a collaborative atmosphere while ensuring anonymity. Viewers can interact in real time, actively participating in the program and enhancing the immersive experience through real-time polls, and explore 360° or customized sets.
This immersive platform allows presenters and directors to interact in a modular 3D environment that can evolve according to the program’s subject matter. Viewers can then gather around a virtual set or 3D model, strengthening their engagement. Spatial Media is transforming the television experience by making it more social, interactive, and collaborative, while offering creators real agility in the production of immersive content.
Renewing cultural commitment: the challenges facing TG4
TG4, an Irish television channel and member of the TRANSMIXR consortium, was the first user of our prototype.
In an ever-changing media landscape, TG4 faces a major challenge: preserving its cultural identity while captivating a younger audience. During a workshop organized at our offices in Bordeaux, we had the opportunity to analyze their needs. Their goal was clear: to design a program that reflects the richness of Irish culture and also captures the attention of a wider audience. To meet this challenge, the integration of mixed reality was considered as an innovative solution to offer an immersive and engaging experience.
During the discussions, several other needs emerged, including the issue of equipment accessibility. Limiting the experience to virtual reality headsets would have excluded part of the audience who do not have access to this type of equipment.
In addition, TG4 expressed a desire to reverse their traditional television presentation format: instead of waiting for guests in the studio, a presenter would go out into the field to meet with them.
Overcoming the technical challenges of immersive multi-user production
The development of the Spatial Media prototype presented several major technical challenges, including the creation of a real-time multi-user experience. The main challenge was to ensure a high-quality user experience with no latency and high-resolution graphics rendering. This had to be achieved while managing the various incoming video streams, namely a 2D video stream to be broadcast on the virtual screen on the set, as well as a 360° video stream.
In order to ensure more traditional 2D broadcasting, it was also essential to broadcast outgoing video streams for virtual cameras, which required a complex architecture. A central server coordinated all these operations, ensuring the synchronization of elements such as lighting and live polls.
Finally, it was important that the application be designed to be open, allowing for easy integration into existing broadcast systems and improving its accessibility.
The future of Spatial Media: initial tests in real-world conditions prove highly encouraging
In September 2025, TG4, an Irish television channel and member of the TransmiXR project, produced a live program using the Spatial Media prototype. TUS University, also a partner, and TG4 employees said they were very satisfied with the experience, particularly appreciating the quality of the work produced. All of the prototype’s features were successfully tested, including the ability to connect remote participants, fully demonstrating the platform’s potential.
Spatial Media was also presented at IBC, a conference that brings together the global media, entertainment, and technology community, and will also be at United XR next December.
Immersion’s Spatial Media prototype represents a major breakthrough for the audiovisual media sector, whether traditional TV channels or newer media such as YouTube or streaming channels. It offers an innovative solution for enriching the viewer experience as well as for design, production, and broadcasting itself.
This prototype paves the way for new formats and uses, where the viewer is no longer a mere consumer but a true participant in the media experience.
With Spatial Media, Immersion demonstrates that it is possible to combine creativity, interactivity, and technological innovation to imagine the immersive media of tomorrow.
You may wonder about the relevance and interest for Immersion in participating in the TRANSMIXR project, which is relatively far removed from our target markets. It’s true that the media are not our usual customers. Immersion has much more experience in offering solutions to players in the manufacturing, education, and academic research industries.
So why did we make this choice? With Spatial Media, it is extended reality technologies, of course, but also volumetric capture technologies that have been integrated into the heart of the prototype. It is also about collaboration, both locally and remotely, between users with different profiles, and addressing interaction challenges. Designing and developing the Spatial Media prototype as part of TRANSMIXR has enabled us to advance our research, further deepen our technological expertise and expertise in Human Machine Interfaces (HMI), and collaborate with experts in a new field. All of this feeds into our teams and future projects.
Would you like to involve us in your future research project? Visit our Research & Development page or contact us.
