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NextVR announces live VR content portal for Qualcomm phones
NextVR has been streaming 360-degree virtual reality video to Samsung Galaxy devices for awhile now -- but to access it, you needed to have the right phone, the right app and a Samsung Gear VR headset. Soon, accessing this streaming VR content will be a little easier: NextVR announced today that it's creating a live-streaming virtual reality portal that will work on any android device running Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor. Yes, that includes Samsung's next Galaxy device too, but the CPU will find its way to flagship devices from other manufactures as well, ensuring that NextVR's content will be available outside of Sammy's walled garden. That's good news for everybody. [Image credit: Getty Images]
The first NBA game of the season will be streamed in VR
NextVR has announced that it'll stream tonight's opening game of the NBA season to all of its users in virtual reality. If you have a Gear VR (and compatible handset), then you'll be able to watch the Warriors take on the Pelicans as if you were court side. It's early days for the technology, so virtual viewers will only have one viewing angle during the event, although it'll switch to another for the pre-game ring giving ceremony. In an interview with Wired, NextVR's Brad Allen revealed that users will also be limited to a 180-degree view. Instead of being able to turn around and see the audience around you, you'll be shown the NBA, Turner and NextVR logos. Viewers will also be listening to the sounds of game as if they were there, rather than listening to a commentator, although that could well change with future broadcasts.
CNN will live stream the Democratic debates in VR
CNN has announced that it's going to live stream the full Democratic presidential debate in VR on October 13th. The move comes after the success of VR highlight clips that the channel made available following the recent Republican debate. As with the previous event, the network has teamed up with NextVR, letting users of Samsung's GearVR to experience the hot, political action as if they were sat in the Las Vegas audience. CNN hasn't revealed if it's planning to ask Bernie Sanders to leap towards the camera to make the whole thing more immersive, but a little part of us can hope, right?
Oculus Connect 2 virtual reality event will stream live in VR
Tomorrow when the folks at Oculus show off the latest developments in their plan for VR world domination at the Oculus Connect 2 event, a select few will be able to experience remotely just as if they were there. If you have a Samsung Gear VR you can download the Next VR app and get your 360-degree immersion, just like I experienced with the first live stream several months ago. One day we'll all put on headsets and take a virtual trip to press events like Oculus and OnePlus, but since that's not universally available yet, we will be there liveblogging all the action. Assuming you have a compatible Samsung phone and one of the plastic Gear VR headsets, the app will be available before the keynote speech starts at 1PM ET tomorrow. (If you're not VR ready yet, yes there will be an old-school 2D live video broadcast as well.)
Fox US Open broadcast has live VR streams, drones and 4K cameras
We haven't connected cutting edge TV tech to golf much since 3D met the Masters, but Fox is promising a live streaming virtual reality setup this weekend during the US Open tournament. It's working with NextVR -- the same company that brought a Malibu beach sunrise streaming live in 180-degree VR to my house in Michigan -- so that viewers can pop into any of five camera rigs around the course and peek around like they were really there. According to Fox, this is believed to be the "first live multi-camera VR broadcast experience in history." This is still in the demo phase so the easiest way to watch is to actually be at the event in one of the properly equipped hospitality areas, or at a Fox Sports location in New York, Vancouver or LA. Even if you can't catch the live feed, NextVR will have the video ready for its portal that is coming to the Oculus Rift and Gear VR headsets.
'Light Field' 3D maps take VR broadcasting to the next level
Ever since I experienced a live 3D virtual reality broadcast for the first time, I've been giving demos of the technology to anyone who will sit still long enough for me to put a Gear VR on their head. Across the board, the reactions have included at least two things: "This is amazing," and, "Can you move around like you're really there?" Now, NextVR says the answer to that question is yes, since it's adding "Light Field" (aka plenoptic) capture technology to existing rigs (like this 6K unit shown above) that will let viewers look around the scene with full six degrees of freedom. This is similar to the tech Lytro uses for its cameras that lets you change focus after a picture is taken -- and just got a $50 million investment to implement on VR. According to NextVR, its patented approach creates a 3D geometric model of the scene (shown after the break) ready for headsets like the Oculus Rift, Sony's Project Morpheus or even augmented reality units like Microsoft's HoloLens or Magic Leap's... whatever it is.
The first live VR broadcast brought the beach to my backyard
On Saturday morning in Ann Arbor, Michigan, it was about 30 degrees outside, but I was in my backyard enjoying a 75-degree day at the beach. That's only possible because I was testing out the first attempt at streaming virtual reality from one place to another -- in this case from Laguna Beach, California, to a Samsung Gear VR headset strapped to my head. Thanks to technology from the folks at NextVR, I could see and hear everything in 3D as though I was actually there, looking around in a virtual reality environment while on the phone with co-founder David Cole. NextVR's demo reel takes viewers to a prerecorded NBA game, beach scene or Coldplay concert, but until now, no one outside of its labs has actually used the technology to visit another place via a live feed. A couple of years ago, we talked to the company about its plans to distribute live video in a virtual reality environment and today that dream came true.
'Virtual Reality Camera System' uses 6 Red Dragons to make 360-degree video magic
Oculus/Facebook, Samsung, Sony, Google. We're about to be flooded with virtual reality hardware, but what about content? While John Carmack works on the gaming side, the folks at NextVR (formerly Next3D) have been developing camera rigs to record live video in full surround that will let VR units put you anywhere in the world you want to go, and here's the latest one. Red Camera's Jarred Land spilled the beans, posting pics of this "Virtual Reality Camera System" which links six of his company's 6K Dragon cameras together in a rather monstrous-looking array. There should be demo footage on display at the IBC conference, but based on what we've seen from NextVR already, the potential is high. There aren't any cameras pointing up (or down) but previous systems from NextVR have used fisheye lenses to expand their range, and we expect something similar would be in store for this. NextVR is providing video to go along with Samsung's Gear VR headset when it launches and it's working with Oculus too. Judging by this setup more video experiences -- whether live streamed or recorded -- will be coming to the VR space soon.
