On The NAB Exhibit Floor: SpherePlay

SpherePlay | Booth N3438SP-A| www.sphereplay.com

SpherePlay is dedicated to the development of technological solutions that deliver enriched immersive experiences with a maximum of realism, fidelity and user-friendliness. SpherePlay solutions allow media companies to distribute interactive virtual reality video experiences directly from their existing applications and websites.

The new Dual-X tool for the company’s Launcher VR media player is the first tool to enable broadcasters to incorporate two simultaneous video feeds — one 360 and one 2D feed — into the VR environment, Dual-X allows users to complement their VR experience with video from a conventional television feed. In so doing, Dual-X significantly reduces broadcasters’ up-front production costs while allowing them to offer all of their available content to all users.

“Dual-X is an exciting addition to our Launcher VR media player because it makes it easy and economical for broadcasters to leverage their regular broadcast content, in turn offering viewers an even more engaging VR experience,” said Christian Eve-Lévesque, CEO at SpherePlay. “The viewer could, for example, watch live immersive video of a hockey game and at the same time check the televised game show — all without leaving the VR environment. This is a game-changing capability.”

Prior to SpherePlay’s development of the Dual-X tool, the only way broadcasters could bring more than one feed into the VR experience was to burn both video feeds into one signal that simulated two different pieces of content. Now, rather than spend extra time and money producing all content in VR, broadcasters working with Dual-X can use a live stream in VR and feed linear 2D video into the experience. With access to dual video streams, viewers are more likely to see content they find compelling and are more inclined to keep using their HMDs to watch that content.

The SpherePlay Experience Manager for the Launcher VR media player makes it easy to manage both the VR and linear broadcast feeds along with other elements of the VR experience. Intuitive controls guide users through the process of uploading content, sharing the unique MediaID associated with the content, and enriching the VR video experience on the fly — even as end users watch the creation. Options for real-time customization include selecting from different cameras and multiple video feeds, changing the background image, and adding or removing widgets for elements such as the game score, a chat room, web browsing, and more.

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