philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

FCC chairman visits Stanford for virtual reality lesson

Bailenson favors a scenario where users download 3-D content of an environment to a local computer, and the only data sent over the internet is the tracking information of the user’s body actions – where you look, what your hands touch, where your feet walk. Sending small packets of tracking data would lessen the burden on the network and also allow for faster, smoother response times, improving the immersive feeling of the experience.

Another area of concern for Wheeler was privacy, from both user-to-user and user-to-business perspectives. Virtual reality can provide the illusion of privacy, Bailenson said, but sophisticated users – or computers – can actually infer a lot of personal details from data collected in virtual spaces.

“Virtual reality technology is becoming incredibly immersive, to the point where we’ve shown that your brain processes it in much the same way it does real-life experiences,” Bailenson said. “We absolutely need to consider how this medium will affect people.”

See the full story here: http://news.stanford.edu/2016/06/22/fcc-chairman-visits-stanford-virtual-reality-lesson/

Samsung Launches Virtual Reality Camera, Content Creators Initiative

Samsung — which makes the VR Gear goggles — has rebranded its Milk VR content portal as Samsung VR, and with that move, it has expanded to now let consumers upload and share their user-generated VR content.

To make this content, the company also launched its previously announced Samsung Gear 360 camera in the U.S., where it is available for $350.

The Samsung Creators initiative will include seminars and classes about VR content creation, the first of which will be held this week at VidCon in Anaheim. Leading into VidCon, Samsung is working with YouTube star Casey Neistat to spotlight emerging creators from YouTube.

In July, Samsung Creators will launch a competition for developers of VR/360 content using Samsung’s VR products. Ten winners will be chosen, one from each of the following categories: music, auto, science and tech, gaming, travel, fashion, culinary, cause-related, 4D and sports.

See the full story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/virtual-reality-samsung-launches-rebranded-904678

San Francisco Startup Lets Anyone Enter The World Of Virtual Reality

When VR decides to do art, it goes absolutely wild

Google VR has partnered with Emmy-winning animation studio Titmouse to offer HTC Vive users an art exhibition, dubbed “Two Weeks of Titmouse,” in the wilds of cyberspace. The joint effort brings together 11 of the cartooning world’s most talented artists to show off the creative potential behind Tilt Brush, the three-dimensional painting software acquired by Google last year and released on SteamVR in April. From now until June 24th, Google will be releasing all-new works of digital art every weekday. These will be available both on social media and on the Vive, where the 3D image files will be not only viewable but also manipulable.

See the full story here: https://versions.killscreen.com/vr-decides-art-goes-absolutely-wild/?utm_content=buffer16457&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Adobe Brings VR Video Editing Tools to Premiere Pro

The latest update to Premiere Pro, Adobe’s popular video editing software, released yesterday includes new tools for editing 360 degree video and stereoscopic VR video.

Adobe’s Premiere Pro is one of the most popular video editing applications today, and it’s now got improved workflow for editing VR video. Detailed last month, the new functionality for editing 360 degree video is now available for download as of the June 20th, 2016 update to Adobe Premiere Pro CC (version 2015.3).

While you’ll need to use other tools to stitch video together into a 360 degree view, Premiere will import video with an equirectangular projection and allow you to edit it like you would any other video file. Monoscopic video is supported as well as stereoscopic video in the side-by-side or over-under formats, and the software can handle video shot at any field of view (like 180 or 360 degrees) and still output it correctly, assuming you toggle the right settings.

A new 360 degree panning option, available when enabling the VR Video options, allows the editor to define the ‘forward’ facing position of the film, meaning that from one scene to the next, you can ensure that the viewer sees the intended part of the 360 degree scene without having to swivel about. The view can be configured by field of view such that the editor will be able to see what is in view and what isn’t through a particular headset.

A short introduction video, including sample 360 assets, is available from Adobe to help editors learn how to begin working with VR video in Premiere.

See the full story here: http://www.roadtovr.com/adobe-brings-vr-video-editing-tools-to-premiere-pro-360-stereoscopic/?platform=hootsuite

ASSIMILATE Announces SCRATCH VR Suite 8.5 Update for the Only End-to-End VR Toolset and Workflow

 In its continued support of all things VR, ASSIMILATE® announced today the new version 8.5 of its SCRATCH VR® Suite, the only professional VR end-to-end, real-time workflow with an all-inclusive toolset for working naturally within a 360 environment -- dailies, conform, color grading, playback, composting, cloud-based review and collaboration via SCRATCH Web®, finishing, and mastering in any format, any resolution. It’s a complete and powerful virtual reality (VR) toolset with specific creative functions for working in 360 media, enabling the highest level of quality and productivity, and it’s affordable for everyone.

The SCRATCH VR Suite 8.5 extends its headset support to now include the HTC Vive headset (https://www.htcvive.com/us/). SCRATCH VR also supports the Oculus Rift VR (https://www.oculus.com/en-us/) and the smartphone-powered headsets, such as SamsungGR (http://www.samsung.com/us/explore/gear-vr/?cid=ppc-) and Google Cardboard (https://vr.google.com/cardboard/index.html) for its online player.

See the full story here: http://www.assimilateinc.com/products/scratch-vr/

Pixar, ILM and Disney Veterans Launch Virtual Reality Entertainment Company CryWorks

Veteran VFX/CGI leaders Euan Macdonald, Hans Uhlig and Kymber Lim have co-founded CryWorks, a new immersive entertainment company aimed at creating and delivering breathtaking virtual and augmented reality experiences across existing and future platforms. Today the company announced a seed round investment led by Michael Bay's 451 Media Group, 500 Mobile Collective, and leading cross-border venture fund WI Harper Group.

Taking the same drive in innovative visual media at the forefront of visual effects and AAA computer games and applying it to new, immersive formats is part of the founding team's key philosophy. The team also recognizes the exploding VR market will act as a catalyst for creating truly new forms of entertainment and media, helping to launch new franchises and brands that transcend VR.

See the full story here: https://www.prlog.org/12567250-pixar-ilm-and-disney-veterans-launch-virtual-reality-entertainment-company-cryworks.html

Could Snapchat Be The First ‘Social Augmented Reality Platform’?

Snapchat has the potential to expand social sharing beyond merely selfies; instead the entire world would be visible through augmented reality interactive lenses, analyst Robert Peck mentioned. Snapchat lens would enable everyday objects to become interactive.

See the full post here: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/06/8134390/could-snapchat-be-the-first-social-augmented-reality-pla

The Sacramento Kings’ New Stadium Is Wired for Virtual Reality

There aren’t firm plans for exactly when virtual reality headsets or mobile VR viewers might be tested in the stands. Jacobs says that the technology will inevitably be part of the future of sports, so it made sense to create the necessary network infrastructure now.

One use case would be to offer instant replays using virtual reality to give fans relatively far from the action an up-close experience. In the long term, Jacobs says, some fans may even prefer to pay for a seat in a movie theater-like space inside a stadium with high-end VR headsets rather than a conventional seat with a poor view.

“They'd still be there to feel the roar of the crowd and be part of it but be watching in a slightly different way,” he says.

The Kings have invested in virtual reality video startup Voke. The team has also experimented with streaming action from the court to virtual-reality headsets outside the stadium. In 2015, a game against the Los Angeles Clippers was viewed by people at a school in Mumbai, India, a model Jacobs predicts could become common.

“There’s only a finite number of courtside seats,” he says. “If you can export 80 percent of that experience to people sitting in their homes, that could be a real market that doesn’t exist today.”

See the full story here: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601716/the-sacramento-kings-new-stadium-is-wired-for-virtual-reality/

Greenlight VR – VR report says consumer interest in virtual reality goes far beyond games

See the full story here: http://venturebeat.com/2016/06/21/vr-report-says-consumer-interest-in-virtual-reality-goes-far-beyond-games/