Cinegy joins European ImmersiaTV project

Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital video processing, asset management, video compression, automation and playout has been invited to join ‘ImmersiaTV’, an EU consortium of university technology incubators, research institutes, and commercial entities collaborating to research and develop the future of home entertainment, including virtual and augmented reality.

The narrative possibilities of visual media have developed dramatically over the last 120 years, from the first flickering silent monochrome films to UHD video with multi-channel audio. It is only in the last 20 years that the possibility of immersive video has emerged, and only in the last few years has the technology for displaying immersive video emerged at viable consumer price points. However, the industry is still only beginning to explore paths to suitable technologies, devices, and content delivery.

Cinegy Managing Director Daniella Weigner said, “Although numerous companies and researchers have developed software and hardware to create immersive experiences based on video game technology or multi-camera 360 degree video, they have largely resulted in short-lived ‘wow!’ experiences, much as innovations in early cinema thrilled audiences by placing them in the path of a moving train. However, the effect soon wore off.

“The questions ImmersiaTV intends to answer are how, exactly, can immersive technologies contribute something substantive and enduring to entertainment? How can the technology be used to tell a story or help drive a narrative? And will consumers ultimately accept and embrace the new experiences being offered?”

Cinegy will work alongside Belgian national broadcaster VRT; the Polish Supercomputing Centre; Portugal’s innovative production house, Lightbox; and Paris-based immersive video experts VideoStitch among others in the consortium.

Cinegy’s specific role is to provide the production tools and depth of experience needed to handle disparate video streams, whether omni- or unidirectional, within the production chain, as well as provide support for integration, testing, and evaluation of ImmesiaTV’s eventual end-to-end production and delivery infrastructure.

Weigner added, “Cinegy innovations were crucial enablers at the dawn of HDTV, and have currently placed us at the forefront of the migration to UHD. We will now play a major part in defining what many believe to be the new frontier of broadcasting, so watch this space – or should I say, immerse yourself in the experience.”

For more information on ImmersiaTV, visit https://www.immersiatv.eu/

This project has received funding from the Horizon 2020 ICT 15 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 668619.

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