Three month ago YouTube launched the VR-Mode and now it seems like they are planing the next step: 360°-Live streams. With the upcoming release of the Oculus Rift VR-Glasses in march 2016, YouTube does not only want to offer 360°-VOD videos to its costumers but also Live streams. Live 360-degree video would be perhaps the biggest step its taken since first launching support for the format.
Currently only certain cameras can live-stream 360-degree content and mostly those cameras have two or more wide-angle lenses. The biggest challenge on 360°-Live streaming is that it needs to be created automatically live out of those single shots of each lens in real time which could results in a loss of quality and requires high CPU and GPU encoding performance.YouTube has already developed technology to stitch a 360-degree video while it’s being uploaded. The GoPro Odyssey — a 16-camera rig developed by Google’s JUMP program — takes the footage from each camera and automatically stitches it together while it’s being uploaded.
We are curiously looking forward how YouTube is going to solve those issues and how it’s going to feel like for its costumers.
(ARD)