SK Telecom today announced that it will unveil its
360-degree live broadcast platform named '360 Adaptive VR Live Streaming
Platform (hereinafter referred to as "360 VR Live")' at the Mobile
World Congress (MWC) 2017 to be held in Barcelona, Spain, from February 27 to March 2.
360 VR Live is an innovative end-to-end broadcast system that enables
users to produce and livestream ultra-high-definition (UHD) 360-degree
virtual reality (VR) video with low latency using a 360-degree camera.
The platform produces UHD VR content through its differentiated
stitching technology. When it comes to creating 360-degree visuals, it
is important to seamlessly stitch multiple videos or images taken by the
360 camera. Based on multi-band blending algorithm, the platform
stitches images in multi layers to produce a seamless 360 VR content
without any distortion. In terms of frame rate, it supports 60 frames
per second (FPS), which is translated into two times higher image
quality than that of its competitors.
Moreover, 360 Live VR has significantly reduced the bandwidth
required for transmitting 360 video data. Generally, live streaming of
360 VR video requires up to six times greater bandwidth than traditional
broadcasting. However with the platform, the size of the 360 VR video
file is reduced by 35 percent, while not compromising the image quality
thanks to dynamic tiling.
In addition, applied with 'T Live Streaming*,' an innovative
real-time streaming technology developed by SK Telecom, 360 VR Live
creates a better environment for live broadcasting of 360-degree VR
video by dramatically reducing latency from over 20 seconds to less than
five seconds.
*SK Telecom developed T Live Streaming in May 2016
by customizing 'MPEG Media Transport (MMT),' a standard developed by
the Moving Picture Expert Group (MPEG)*, to the mobile network
environment.
360 VR Live creates a truly immersive experience by providing
realistic 3D audio: Based on binaural rendering technology, 3D audio
recognizes, in real time, the user's accurate location including the
direction of his/her eyes and provides sounds consistent with the user's
location.
For instance, while watching a live travelling content, users will
feel as if they themselves have teleported to a distant and exotic
location not only because of what they see but also because of what they
hear.
The volume of sounds – e.g. background noise, voices, etc. –
changes according to what the user is looking at: When the user looks at
the tour guide, the voice of the guide will be heard loud and clear.
Then, when he turns his head to the right to enjoy the scenery, the
voice will be heard louder in his left ear than right ear. When the user
looks back, the voice will be smaller for both ears.
SK Telecom plans to commercialize 360 VR Live initially in the
enterprise market for broadcasting companies and social networking
sites. The company will also open its application programming interface
(API) to build a new media ecosystem. With the API, individuals and
small content developers will be able to create and offer 360 VR Live
services.
"Immersive live VR broadcasting will become widespread in the 5G era.
SK Telecom will focus on building a new media ecosystem by joining
hands with diverse partners," said Park Jin-hyo, Senior Vice President and Head of Network Technology R&D Center of SK Telecom.
About SK Telecom
Established in 1984, SK Telecom is the largest mobile operator in Korea by both revenue and number of subscribers. As of December 2016,
the company holds around 50 percent of the market, with 29.60 million
mobile subscribers including 21.1 million LTE subscribers. It has
reached KRW 17.092 trillion in revenue in 2016.
SK Telecom has led the advancement of mobile technologies ranging
from 2G to 4G, and is currently setting important milestones in its
journey to 5G. The company is not only leading innovation in the field
of mobile network, but also providing IoT, media, home and platform
services.
SK Telecom is determined to play a significant role in the Fourth
Industrial Revolution by achieving innovations and promoting shared
growth with other players in the industry.
For more information, please visit www.sktelecom.com/en or contact skt_press@sk.com.
SOURCE SK Telecom.
No comments:
Post a Comment