Are Unreal Engine Broadcast Graphics Ready For Live TV?

Unreal Engine has been a powerhouse in the game world for years. Now it is starting to drift into broadcast. Epic did not just add a few features. They built an actual graphics system right into the engine. And it is free to download. That alone should get the attention of anyone who works in live production.

In this video I walk through what I learned after putting Unreal’s broadcast tools through a quick test inside our flypack at DuneVision.

Why Unreal Matters for Live Production

Unreal is a real time rendering engine. That is its entire purpose. Games, film, simulation. All of it needs instant response and high quality.

Epic lets you use the full engine for free. You only start paying once your projects hit real money. For most people who are learning it, the cost is zero. This is in contrast to other broadcast production software such as Viz or Xpression where a designer license can be thousands of dollars to even learn how to use the software.

Epic has added a real broadcast workflow. You get:

• A rundown panel that feels familiar if you have ever used Viz Trio

• NDI output and DeckLink output for switchers

• Editable fields for text and data

• Animation tools that act a lot like After Effects or Blender

You can build insert graphics, animate them, and control them live. And you can do it on hardware you already own.

What I Built

I kept my test simple. I wanted to see what the system could do without going overboard. So I built a basic score bug. Nothing too flashy. Just something you would expect to see on a small sports show.

Here is what I did:

• I mocked it up in Affinity Photo

• I brought the reference mockup into Unreal as a texture

• I built the layout with planes and text

• I animated it with the motion design tools

• I ran it from the rundown like an operator on a real show

It worked. It looked fine. It animated in and out, not without the masks acting a bit strange until I messed with it a bit.

Where It Still Struggles

This is where you can tell the broadcast features are still new and growing.

• The operator workflow feels slower than it should

• Recalling pages isn’t as responsive as what you’d expect as an operator. A lot more clicking between windows to get things to playout

• Masks broke the graphic until I did some messing around with it, but it really felt like a glitch

• Layer priority feels awkward and takes extra effort

None of this is a deal breaker. You just would not want to run a full time network show with it today. It needs more polish.

How It Compares to Traditional Systems

Right now Unreal is:

• The strongest renderer available

• The most flexible tool creatively

• The best place to build complex three dimensional looks

• The most future friendly option based on pure engine power

What it does not have yet is the refined day to day workflow that Viz, XPression, and Chyron have already figured out. I would not throw this at an Xpression operator and expect them to run it as an operator. You need the full editor open to run your graphics which can obviously create some issues. Even programs like Xpression that has the editor built in separates the operator views a lot better from the designer views.

Unreal wins on power and cost.
Traditional systems still win on reliability and operator comfort.

Why I Am Paying Attention

At DuneVision we live in the world of sports, events, and live production. We spend our time in trucks and with our flypack. The show's look always matters to us.

Unreal gives small crews a chance to create graphics that feel larger than the budget behind them, if you have the design and Unreal skills.

Epic is also shipping updates at a fast pace. This is not an abandoned feature set. Every update brings the broadcast tools closer to something that can be used on major shows.

That is why I am learning it now. I would rather be ready when the rest of the industry catches up.

Watch the Video

In the video above I walk through:

• How Unreal’s broadcast tools work

• What it looks like to build a small score bug

• What feels solid and what feels rough

• Why this is worth watching as it develops

If you work in design, switching, or live production, or if you are simply Unreal curious, this gives you a quick look at where things stand right now on the Motion Design end of things in the context of live TV.