VR

Vendors say improved rendering and tracking systems will drive U.S. sales. In addition, many boast “trackless” technology, that reduces the cost and complexity of setting up and maintaining a virtual set. Above, a ChyronHego virtual set at WTLV Jacksonville, Fla.

Turner Sports has partnered with Intel to broadcast weekly NBA on TNT games in virtual reality beginning with the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend, which will be held Feb. 16-18, 2018. In the multi-year deal, Intel will become the exclusive provider of VR for the NBA on TNT and deliver live content for weekly matchups via its Intel True VR technology.

DTS, a global provider of high-definition audio solutions and a wholly owned subsidiary of Xperi Corporation, Tiledmedia, a provider of flexible and affordable, low-latency delivery of extremely high-resolution video content to consumer […]

On The IBC Exhibit Floor: Accedo Accedo | Stand 14.E14 | www.accedo.tv Accedo will  be presenting its latest VR capabilities of the newly launched Accedo One platform, together with Nokia OZO.   Accedo […]

Broadcast Solutions | Stands O.EO2 & 8.A74 | Website: http://www.broadcast-solutions.de The German-based system integrator will show its full expertise on the largest outdoor stand of the show, focusing on system […]

Virtual reality has emerged as one of the hottest new areas, with Facebook, Google and Microsoft pouring resources into development. Facebook’s $2 billion purchase of Oculus in 2014 signaled how important the platform finds the area. Publishers and marketers have followed suit with their own experiments in VR. Digiday Research surveyed 172 executives from media and marketing companies to uncover their approaches to VR — and the development of the market. Here are the key findings.

When it comes to virtual reality, few publishers are as committed as The New York Times, with its dedicated VR app and Daily 360 feature, helped by funding from tech giants Samsung and Google. Another early mover, USA Today, is entering its second season of its weekly VR show, VRtually There. But outside those two publishers and a handful of others, there’s less to crow about.

A key factor limiting the amount of quality virtual reality content available today is the cost of producing it relative to the number of people who have the technology to can view it. Imagine how that value proposition would change if the number of people who own a headset doubled in the next 12 months. If respondents to a survey by research firm Magid are to be believed, it’s a possibility.

Like search and advertising before it, Google is setting the stage to dominate VR and AR by going all-in on mobile.

Video in the new At Bat VR app won’t be in VR. Rather, the app places you behind home plate and shows you graphical depictions of each pitch, including a colored streak (red for strikes and green for balls) tracing the ball’s trajectory. The data come from sensors Major League Baseball already has installed in all of its stadiums.

AR, mixed reality, VR, immersive computing: how many terms can reality take? The AR-VR turf wars have begun.

The main takeaway from Facebook’s F8 developer conference was that the social media giant is making big bets on augmented and virtual reality. Worldwide revenues for the augmented reality and virtual reality market are projected to approach $14 billion in 2017. But that’s forecast to explode to $143 billion by 2020. But Facebook is hardly the only company making big AR/VR plays.

NextVR made sports history by broadcasting weekly NBA games in virtual reality. The next step is getting people to watch.

A new Reuters Institute report VR for News: The New Reality? by Zillah Watson, who has led the editorial development of VR experimentation at the BBC, examines ongoing developments in VR, the major challenges — both in terms of content and application, and technology — and what the future of VR might look like for news organizations around the world.

Ventuz Technology | Booth SL5627 | Website: www.ventuz.com  After the integration of the two technologies prior to IBC last year, Ventuz Technology and Ncam will now showcase a joint installation. […]

Accedo | Booth SU9205CM | Website: http://www.accedo.tv/ Accedo will demonstrate a new approach that enables an exciting and immersive virtual reality (VR) sports experience. Accedo is also joining with key […]

Timecode Systems | Booth C2746 | Website: www.timecodesystems.com Timecode Systems designs and manufactures timecode hardware and software solutions that make it easier to capture, log, search, and synchronise content captured […]

The graphics systems broadcasters rely on daily to make news, sports and weather reports more appealing and informative have advanced quite far — so much so that quality has become a given. To differentiate themselves, vendors now are focusing on the finer points like tighter workflow integration. But that’s just one of the many trends broadcasters can expect in graphics systems on the exhibit floor at the 2017 NAB Show. (Ross Video photo) Click here to access TVNewsCheck’s NAB 2017 Resource Guide listing of broadcast graphics vendors and products, or here to download it as a PDF.

Now that Samsung’s brought virtual to the masses with Gear VR, it’s looking to build a more powerful standalone system. Oh, and it’s interested in AR too.

Turner Networks will stream select games from the final rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in 360-degree virtual reality on Oculus-powered Samsung Gear VR headsets. Those with the necessary Samsung hardware and the NCAA March Madness Live VR app will be able to view games from the tournament’s Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds, as well as the Final Four National Semifinals and the National Championship. They can choose to pay $2.99 a game or $7.99 for a package of six.

Advocates of a mainstream existence for virtual reality and augmented reality content generally bet that the pathway to that existence is a header — as in helmets, goggles or something else people wear on their heads. Mobile devices rate a distant second, as in smartphones or Google’s Cardboard product. But after Digital Hollywood’s annual Media Summit last week in New York City, all bets are off.

The media and entertainment company is launching DMG VR, a new unit focused on immersive storytelling. As part of that effort, DMG is unveiling Arcturus, a company focused on interactive narrative experiences and technology, that it incubated under the DMG VR umbrella.

CNN is making a grand entrance into the immersive medium of VR with a new effort called CNNVR. It says it is launching the VR unit to “transport users to the front row of global events.” CNN has already worked on nearly 50 pieces of 360-degree content, so the main news is that there is now a more centralized home for viewing the content and a more formalized internal structure for producing it.

Done right, interactive videos can be a big hit with consumers. But high costs and fickle audiences can make them risky.

Every year broadcasters roll out some spectacular new technology to add a bit of sizzle to their production of the Super Bowl, and this year’s contest in Houston will be no exception. Fox Sports along with its partner Intel will deploy “Be The Player,” a high-tech system that relies on 38 4K cameras and two racks full of Intel Blade servers to give fans a point-of-view perspective of an individual player on the field. Above: The Fox Sports Super Bowl LI broadcast team will provide game coverage from this booth overlooking NRG Stadium in Houston. (Fox Sports photo)

From the first live ad to the first virtual reality broadcast to the first local spots sold on the online broadcast, this game is shaping up as a pioneering one, if not a ratings smasher.

On Stage, the new virtual reality show co-produced by Hulu and Live Nation, launched on Hulu’s VR app Thursday. The first episode features performer Lil Wayne, while the second, featuring Major Lazer, will debut later this year.