On April 15, Visbit announced open beta access to its 360-degree VR video streaming platform. The tool claims it can deliver 4K ultra high-definition 360 video across multiple VR platforms without bringing down a network.
Comprised of a publisher portal, VR cloud and VR player software development kit, it also promises to solve one of the most significant roadblocks to VR mass adoption: poor streaming experiences replete with too much buffering of fuzzy looking video.
Visbit can deliver uncompressed 4K VR streaming at 1080p bandwidth, buffer-free video play with almost zero startup time, and a reduced bandwidth requirement by a factor of up to six.
These numbers mean people with less-than-spectacular internet speeds can have a better user experience and content creators can showcase higher resolutionThe number of pixels in an image, typically presented as a ratio of the total pixels on x axis to the total pixels on th... More videos without bogging down networks.
Visbit features a publisher portal, VR cloud and VR player SDK to provide an all-in-one 360 and VR video streaming solution.
Why 360 requires higher resolutions
Why 4K? 6K? 12K? You see, 1080p just won’t cut it when spread across 360- by 180-degree spaces. Watching a 1080p VR video is about equivalent to watching traditional video at 480p, 4K translates to roughly 720p, and 6 to 8K compares to 1080p and 4K.
To experience this for yourself, watch Visbit’s free demo app on Gear VR and Android Cardboard to experience the difference between 4K and 6K 360 video quality.
“Our hope is that one day, content will be so clear and close to perfect human vision that users will feel like they’ve truly teleported to another place,” Visbit wrote in its blog post about the open beta launch. Lofty goal…
Ultimately, Visbit streams 360 video at 4K and beyond, delivered without download or compressionA process of lowering overall image quality by reducing the amount of data in a file in order to make it more accessible... More while saving overall data to “close the gap between VR content requirements and typical network speed capabilities.”
To make this happen, the platform utilizes Visbit Adaptive Bitrate (VABR) streaming, which quickly adapts to a viewer’s bandwidth, and Visbit View-Optimized Streaming (VVOS) technology to deliver nearly zero-latency experiences over regular WiFi and LTE (and eventually tethered VR headsets).
Visbit beta supports mono and stereoscopicVideo shot with two parallel cameras (or in the case of 360° video, multiple pairs of parallel cameras) Commonly referr... More footage, provides business insight analytics like heat maps and performance comparisons across VR platforms, adaptive bitrates and 4K and beyond streaming resolutions.
Key features of Visbit Beta
The beta launch also features a publisher portal with content management solutions, real time publishing, analytics tools and a cost center. It’s VR cloud performs transcoding, encryption, hosting and streaming ia CDN, and it’s VR player SDK allows publishers to embed a 360 VR video player into their own apps.
It’s basic features include VVOS, VABR, up to 4K video resolutionThe number of pixels in an image, typically presented as a ratio of the total pixels on x axis to the total pixels on th... More support, basic analytics, four additional seats (editors), up to 30 TB of storage, and stereo and video encryption.
Advanced features also include advanced business insight analytics including heatmaps, up to 6K video resolutions, up to 12K resolutionThe number of pixels in an image, typically presented as a ratio of the total pixels on x axis to the total pixels on th... More with zoom and offline playback, with ambisonicPertaining to audio reproduction that captures the spatial acoustic qualities of recorded sound. sound and batch uploading coming soon.
Supported on both Gear VR and Android Cardboard, Visbit expects to add Daydream, iOS Cardboard and additional major VR platforms (Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR mentioned by name) in the coming months.
Founded in 2015, the Sunnyvale, California-based company raised $3.2 million in December 2016 and launched five months of closed beta access.
During that time, it retooled and tweaked the platform in a number of ways, but it’s clear they’re still pushing limits. Just a few weeks ago, Visbit was successfully able to stream 12K video, and it recently announced that its platform would soon also support live streaming.
It’s live streaming solution, which Visbit admitted is still in its infancy on its blog, is the first foveated streaming solution that transcodes fast enough to support live streaming. Applications are now open for the pilot program
Visbit beta specs
Here are a few more specs you may want to know:
- Open beta max output 5760 x 2880 (6K) with a video frame rate of up to 30 fps
- Supports input codecs H.265, H.264 and MPEG4; and file formats MOV and MP4; and both mono and stereo (left-right, top-bottom or separated)
- Supports audio input codecs of AAC and MP3; file formats M4A and MP3; and embedded, single source or quadraphonic audio
- Development platforms for Android; iOS and Unity (mobile and desktop) coming soon
- Playback supports panSet the position in space for where audio appears to originate., gyro and VR modes
For more information, visit the Visbit website.
