Viaccess-Orca, Harmonic, VideoStitch Demo 360-Degree Virtual Reality Solution
Viaccess-Orca is showcasing an end-to-end virtual reality technology demonstration with partners Harmonic and VideoStitch. Through this virtual reality ecosystem, content owners and pay-TV operators will be able to deliver premium content in 360 degrees and leverage their video infrastructure (including streaming, UHD encoding etc.), enabling a more engaging, personalized, and immersive television experience for viewers.
The virtual reality ecosystem features Harmonic’s Electra X3 advanced media processor, ProMedia X Origin multiscreen media server, ProMedia Xpress high-performance transcoder, and WFS workflow system for video compression, encryption, and streaming. They have been integrated with VideoStitch’s Studio V2 post-production 360-degree video stitching software. By applying cutting-edge image processing techniques, such as color correction, exposure, and panorama orientation to camera-capture images in real time, the Studio V2 software transforms content, enabling it to be viewed in the virtual reality realm. In addition to managing this end-to-end ecosystem, Viaccess-Orca brings viewers’ engagement around premium content to a new level. Viaccess-Orca’s VR-enabled immersive user experience leverages both its Connected Sentinel Player offering for secure playback and its COMPASS personalization platform to make the most of the unique insights gained from this new TV environment.
The pre-integrated ecosystem is designed to accelerate the deployment of a fully immersive television experience by content owners and operators. Compatible with readily available smartphones, the solution will make virtual reality become a reality for viewers sooner rather than later. The IBC demonstration features a consumer-grade head-mounted display connected to a smartphone that will decode Ultra HD 2160p50 HEVC Main 10.
“Virtual reality technology has the potential to revolutionize television, especially for premium content, both episodic and live, such as sports. With this technology, content owners and operators can provide a truly personalized experience, redefining the way that viewers discover and interact with content to drive user engagement and gain insight into customer preferences,” said Alain Nochimowski, EVP Innovation at Viaccess-Orca. “By teaming up with Harmonic and VideoStitch, we are laying out a complete roadmap to address premium content providers’ needs with regards to virtual reality — including live capture and stitching, encoding and distribution, as well as playback experience and content protection.”
“Harmonic works with a rich ecosystem of technology partners to improve the type of television experiences content providers, broadcasters, and service providers can deliver,” said Thierry Fautier, Vice President, Video Strategy, Harmonic. “Our advanced encoding technologies are at the heart of the virtual reality ecosystem. By supporting a wide range of standards and video formats, including MPEG-4 AVC, MPEG-DASH, HEVC, Ultra HD, Harmonic video infrastructure solutions enable content owners and operators to deliver industry-leading video quality at a low total cost of ownership.”
“We are excited to partner with Viaccess-Orca and Harmonic on this innovative demonstration at IBC2015,” said Nicolas Burtey, CEO, VideoStitch. “Utilizing our software, content owners and operators can blend multiple cameras into one virtual reality video, covering the full spherical 360 degrees, with no blind spots, to enable a more engaging television experience. Moreover, we are now able to deliver this experience in real-time thanks to our breakthrough technology.”