- [Jared] The Sphere is the newest attraction
in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada.
In this video we'll go on the inside,
see the different levels, learn about the building
and the incredible technology on the inside.
This building is redefining entertainment as we know it.
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The Sphere is an entertainment venue
that was completed in September of 2023.
It has an incredible light show on the outside.
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There's no limit to what this building can display.
The inside contains seats for about 18,000 people,
and it has the biggest wraparound
LED screen in the entire world.
For comparison,
here's the size of the largest IMAX theater screen.
It's about 18 times smaller.
The official name of the building is the Sphere,
but it's also referred to as the Las Vegas Sphere
or the MSG Sphere.
But if you just say Sphere,
most people will know what you're talking about.
It's almost like they've redefined the meaning of this word.
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It took five years to build
and it cost 2.3 billion US dollars.
It's now owned by Sphere Entertainment Company.
The building stands 112 meters high.
For comparison,
here's the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower.
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Alright, geography time.
This is the United States.
The state of Nevada is here,
and this is the city of Las Vegas.
The popular place to be is commonly referred to
as the Las Vegas Strip or just the Strip.
It's a place known for as extravagant resorts, casinos,
entertainment, and nightlife.
It's always been known for its bright lights,
but just recently it got a whole lot brighter.
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The outside of the Sphere is called the Exosphere.
This is the part that has the giant screen
that wraps around the entire building.
From far away, it looks like one big continuous screen,
but it's actually made up of 1.2 million lights.
As you get closer, you start to see what's going on.
Each of these lights are made of LED modules,
but they're nicknamed Hockey Pucks
because of their size and shape.
They're about as big as the palm of your hand.
Each module has 48 light emitting diodes
or LEDs capable of showing any color.
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If you're walking by the Sphere,
you can actually see these lights up close.
There's no fence and they let you walk right up to it.
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For some people, seeing that giant emoji face
on the Las Vegas skyline is a bit much, but hey,
there's always surprises when you're in Vegas.
If you want to visit the Sphere,
you've got a few different options.
You can go see a concert.
As of early 2024,
these are the bands currently playing at the Sphere.
Or you could go see "Postcard From Earth."
This is an hour long movie specifically filmed
to show inside the Sphere.
You want to get to your show early
because there's a lot to see inside before the show.
There is some parking right next to the Sphere,
but you can also use some
of the parking garages nearby like this one.
You can also take the monorail,
which can help you get within walking distance.
If you're coming from the Venetian,
that's this hotel right here,
you'll have direct access into the Sphere.
The pedestrian bridge will take you straight there
without needing to go outside.
Right up next to the Sphere, there are three entrances,
the west entry, east entry, and plaza entry.
Most people will use the plaza entry to get inside.
They'll confirm your tickets, do a security check,
and you'll be on your way.
There are nine floors inside of the Sphere,
but most visitors will only be concerned with these seven.
The other two floors are likely a basement
and a sky deck lounge,
but there's not much public information on these.
We came in through the event level
and next we'll explore the main level.
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There's actually a lot to see here.
This area in the middle is called the Atrium.
When you're walking through it,
it may feel a little bit like a science fiction movie.
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One of the highlights of your visit
will be saying hello to Aura the Robot,
considered to be the world's most advanced humanoid robot.
She uses AI to interact with those around her
and have real time conversations.
There are five of these robots around the atrium floor.
You'll notice there are four rings
in the middle of the floor.
This is to demonstrate the speakers
which are behind Aura the Robot.
Inside each one of these circles,
you'll hear different sounds.
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As soon as you step outside of the circle,
you can no longer hear it.
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Later in the video, we'll learn more about the speakers.
Up above is a large holographic display.
It's made of 420 individual SmartV HYPERVSN displays.
These are kind of like fans that spin really fast.
There are four LED strips
that spin faster than the eye can see.
Then images can be displayed, which look, well, holographic.
It's like something straight out of Star Trek.
This technology isn't just being used
in the Las Vegas Sphere.
Many other places around the world are using it as well.
Escalators can take you up to the next floor
so you can find your seats.
Many of the floors have places to get food and drink,
and there's also plenty of restrooms as well.
There are also elevators
and stairways, which can be used if needed.
To find the way to your show,
you'll need to use the entrance closest to your seat.
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Let's look at the seats.
There are four sections, 100, 200, 300 and 400.
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The floor area is usually standing room only.
You can get to here through the event level.
For 100 seating, you enter from the main level.
For the 200 seating you can enter from the terrace level,
and then the 300 seating from the lower gallery level.
The 400 seating you can enter from both
the lower gallery level and the upper gallery level.
Some people have mentioned
that the upper level seats are actually quite steep.
If you look closely, you'll notice two areas of seating
that look a little bit different.
These are the private suites.
There's the lower level suites
and the upper level suites making a total of 23.
It's a way to reserve individual rooms
for a bit more of a private experience.
The screen wraps around the entire back wall,
giving each viewer a completely immersive experience.
It's the biggest theater screen ever built.
The movies must be shot on a special camera
called the Big Sky.
This shoots footage at a much higher resolution
than a regular movie camera.
A regular movie camera only sees
pretty much what's right in front of it,
but the Big Sky camera has a much wider field of view
to match up to the screen that it will be shown on.
While filming, they have to angle the camera up
so that the action happens
towards the bottom part of the screen.
Inside the Sphere, the bottom part of the screen
is most visible to the audience.
This is where their focus will be.
Right now, there's only one movie
that's been made for the screen, "Postcard From Earth,"
The movie we talked about earlier.
This is currently showing at the Sphere.
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There are 160,000 speakers
that are directly behind the screen.
Here's a closeup look at what these speakers look like.
They are a lot more advanced than regular speakers.
These are the same speakers that were mentioned
earlier in the video behind Aura the Robot.
They use something called beamforming technology.
This can direct sound to specific areas in the audience.
With typical speakers, sound disperses and spreads out
so everybody in the room hears the same thing.
However, with beamforming technology,
it's possible to focus these sound waves
in a specific direction.
This technology is so precise
that it can do things like personalize the language
of different parts of the audience.
So for example, these seats might have the audio in English,
and these seats might have it in Spanish,
these seats in French.
It is said that this is headset sound without the headset.
It's absolutely incredible.
Many of the seats have something called haptic technology,
which means they will vibrate along with the show or movie.
Combine this with other simulations such as as fog,
scent, and wind, and this creates
a completely immersive experience,
making you forget that you're in a theater.
The Las Vegas Sphere is the first of its kind,
but it might not be the only one.
There are rumors that more Spheres might be built,
but at this point, nothing is set in stone yet.
But is it worth all that effort?
Is it really as good as they say?
Don't take my word for it.
You'll have to go see the Sphere for yourself.
My name's Jared.
Consider supporting these videos
on Patreon by clicking here.
Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.
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