YouTube will today begin supporting 360-degree live streaming on its service, confirming reports from earlier this year stating that such a feature was in development. One of the first videos to take advantage of this more immersive format will be this year’s live stream from music event Coachella, where select performances from the festival will now be live streamed in 360 degrees.
Also new today is support for spatial audio for on-demand YouTube videos, the company says.
For YouTube creators, all that’s required to take advantage of this new feature is a camera that supports the technology. Other than that, there’s no change to the current live streaming process, YouTube tells us.
YouTube additionally announced today the support of 1440p 60fps resolution for live streams on its service.
...no extra technology or headsets required to watch 360-degree live streams — they’re available on any device, including desktop, tablet, iOS or Android.
YouTube has been working with camera and software vendors, including VideoStitch, Two Big Ears, ALLie, Vahana VR and Orah 4i, it says.
Starting today, anyone will be able to do live 360-degrees on YouTube, the company says. Coachella will happen on the weekend, and will be the first high-profile example of the new live streams on the site.
See the full story here: http://techcrunch.com/2016/04/18/youtube-rolls-out-support-for-360-degree-live-streams-and-spatial-audio/
Sheikh laid out a world where users could play a poker game with friends over VR that is so sensitive that you can read their tells. He describes what it could mean to people who live far away from their families to be able to interact with them through a headset. And he said that eventually his team hopes to make VR social interaction "indistinguishable from real life."
Of course, this will all take a lot of work.
A study released Wednesday by Greenlight VR predicted that it will take six to eight years for virtual reality to go fully mainstream.
See the full post here: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/technology/article/Facebook-wants-to-broaden-the-virtual-reality-7251885.php
“We believe that this experience perfectly complements our educational exhibits,” says Toby Forer, General Manager of the Sea Life London Aquarium, which also offers live animal exhibitions but no interaction programs. “There are some species and creatures which we do not believe are suited to life in captivity (including cetaceans) but we are now able to bring some of these awe-inspiring animals to our visitors through cutting edge technology and incredible BBC Earth footage.”
See the full story here: http://www.care2.com/causes/could-we-offer-wildlife-encounters-without-holding-animals-captive.html
[Philip Lelyveld comment: interesting bio of Bippar founder]
Had Ambarish Mitra not dropped out of his school at 16, he probably would have been an engineer living off a handsome six-figure salary, which he never wanted because of his love for the Internet. So he started with being a runaway teen, a slum dweller, a magazine subscriptions seller on Delhi streets to a tech entrepreneur at 17 in 1997. His story, now with UK-based Blippar – a global $1.5 billion valuation visual discovery app, is nothing short of a classic rags-to-riches tale.
After doing a couple of tech start-ups including an IPO in 2000, few tech jobs in start-ups and an insurance company AXA in London, Mitra’s next big eureka moment came in 2010 in the form of augmented reality, image recognition and machine learning. He along with his friend Omar Tayeb (now co-founder and CTO, Blippar) were having drinks in a pub in one of south-west England’s remote village when the duo came up with the idea.
“Blippar was literally born out of a joke. Looking at the £20 bank note that I put down for the bill, I cracked a joke to Omar that imagine if the Queen of England came out of it; but Omar, who had a dark sense of humour, took the joke too seriously and built the first prototype of Blippar app,” says Mitra.
See the full story here: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/274223
[Philip Lelyveld note: News Corp Australia is not Fox News Corp.]
News Corp has signalled plans to put augmented reality at the centre of its future technology by investing in technology firm Plattar as the media company moves into one of the hottest new corners of tech.
News Corp Australia chief technology officer Alisa Bowen said AR represented the “next wave of consumer engagement” as Facebook, Samsung, and Sony develop new products to experience games, movies and more.
According to Bowen, Plattar’s cutting-edge technology adds layers of digital information — videos, 3D models, live streams, images, audio — directly on items in the physical world.
See the full story here: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/news-corp-in-augmented-tech-play/news-story/25eca7894340826ee26741d02ede3e56
[Philip Lelyveld comment: this is a good list. It isn't in any order. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is missing.]
After spending time with the recently released consumer editions of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive virtual reality systems, here are the 10 best VR titles out now:
— "Adr1ft": If the film "Gravity" was a video game, it would be "Adr1ft." The weightless saga for Oculus casts players as an astronaut struggling to survive while exploring a shattered space station.
— "Elite: Dangerous": While the open-world space simulator "Elite: Dangerous" has been out for two years, a VR edition adds another level of immersion by placing players in the cockpit of their spaceship.
— "EVE: Valkyrie": This sci-fi dogfighter — one of the first full-fledged games to be created for modern-day VR — convincingly pits online gamers against each other in out-of-this-world locales.
— "Fantastic Contraption": In this physics-based puzzler, there's a wacky frenzy as players are tasked with constructing virtual inventions to navigate a glowing pink blob across increasingly more complex levels.
— "Hover Junkers": Duck! The controllers for the Vive are transformed into a gun and a hovercraft's throttle, in this addictive multiplayer shooter that implores players to use their whole body.
— "Job Simulator": This could be the first-ever VR sitcom. "Futurama" meets "Portal" in Owlchemy Labs' quirky game where players take orders from robots in such roles as line cook and store clerk.
— "Space Pirate Trainer": For those gamers who've ever wanted to dodge bullets with their whole body like Keanu Reeves in "The Matrix," this arcade-like game will have them muttering, "Whoa."
— "The Lab": Valve didn't release a new "Half-Life" game alongside the Vive, but they did create a dynamic "Portal"-themed mini-game collection boasting high-fidelity archery and realistic VR vistas.
— "Tilt Brush": One of the most impressive VR experiences isn't a game at all. Google basically designed a 360-degree version of Photoshop where users can craft sculptures with everything from paint to rainbows.
— "Vanishing Realms": In this clunky but captivating fantasy game, players are cast adventurers who must wield swords, shields, bows and magical wands as they navigate dungeons and fight skeletons.
See the original post here; http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b2e7170f79a249d2aad612963d875ea1/virtual-reality-check-look-10-best-vr-experiences
Organizers have teamed up with Vantage.tv to let fans in Indio and abroad experience the festival in virtual reality. Each festivalgoer has already received his or her own cardboard virtual reality headset. Using the Coachella VR app — available for iOS, Android, and Samsung Gear VR — they can go on tours of festival and campgrounds, see 360-degree photos from previous years, and watch exclusive interviews with performers including Matt & Kim and Gallant.
Fans outside Indio can also experience the fest via the app, as long as they have a VR headset. (\
See the full post here: http://kfmbfm.com/dsc/coachella-gets-teched-out-with-virtual-reality
https://killscreen.com/articles/virtual-reality-showrooms-turn-your-living-room-into-a-universal-storefront/
YouTube will today begin supporting 360-degree live streaming on its service, confirming reports from earlier this year stating that such a feature was in development. One of the first videos to take advantage of this more immersive format will be this year’s live stream from music event Coachella, where select performances from the festival will now be live streamed in 360 degrees.
“We believe that this experience perfectly complements our educational exhibits,” says Toby Forer, General Manager of the Sea Life London Aquarium, which also offers live animal exhibitions but no interaction programs. “There are some species and creatures which we do not believe are suited to life in captivity (including cetaceans) but we are now able to bring some of these awe-inspiring animals to our visitors through cutting edge technology and incredible BBC Earth footage.”
Organizers have teamed up with Vantage.tv to let fans in Indio and abroad experience the festival in virtual reality. Each festivalgoer has already received his or her own cardboard virtual reality headset. Using the Coachella VR app — available for iOS, Android, and Samsung Gear VR — they can go on tours of festival and campgrounds, see 360-degree photos from previous years, and watch exclusive interviews with performers including Matt & Kim and Gallant.
Using the dedicated app, Mashable reports that those equipped with a VR headset can go on tours of the festival's site thanks to a team up with Vantage.tv.
