LG’s G5 smartphone uses Analogix integrated circuits (ICs) in its DisplayPort over USB-C technology that combines data and video on one cable to the LG 360 VR virtual reality headset, said Analogix Monday. Head mounted displays (HMD) require high resolution and fast refresh rates to give consumers a fluid and immersive VR experience, and USB-C connectivity allows an HMD to receive power without the added weight of a built-in battery and other electronics, said Analogix. Using DisplayPort for VR applications allows for “uncompressed, low-latency signaling, low-power transmission and robust embedded clocking that minimizes the number of wires,” Analogix said. Existing VR headsets are either tethered to a PC or “force users to carry a phone in front of their face,” said Ramchan Woo, LG vice president, smartphone product planning. By connecting the LG 360 VR to the G5 via USB-C, users get a lightweight, portable HMD solution, said Woo. Existing tethered VR devices have two separate cables to the HMD, noted Analogix Marketing Vice President Andre Bouwer. More mobile devices are coming equipped to work with accessories using DisplayPort over USB-C, potentially enabling the LG 360 VR to work with other USB-C devices and “opening new possibilities for consumers,” said Bouwer.
Hulu’s virtual reality (VR) app will offer surround sound for movies and TV shows via Fraunhofer's Cingo immersive audio headphone rendering technology for mobile devices, Fraunhofer and Hulu said in a Thursday announcement. Immersive audio is “crucial for virtual reality experiences to create a full sense of presence,” they said. Users of Hulu’s VR app will benefit from movies and TV shows streamed using the HE-AAC surround sound audio codec and rendered for headphones through Fraunhofer Cingo, they said. HE-AAC, deployed in more than 8 billion devices, is the native surround sound audio codec for Android, the underlying operating system of Samsung phones paired with Gear VR, the companies said. Android’s HE-AAC implementation includes support for loudness and downmix metadata known from the broadcast TV world, as well as other features that allow the sound to be tailored for an optimum user experience in any environment, they said. Consumers can experience Hulu with surround sound by downloading the Hulu VR app from the Oculus Gear VR Store, and Cingo is available from Fraunhofer as a product-ready software implementation for mobile device manufacturers, chip set vendors and providers of multimedia services, they said.
Sky is launching a “major new commitment” to original virtual reality content through the creation of Sky VR Studio, a “dedicated in-house VR production unit,” the European entertainment company said in a Thursday announcement. The first pieces of “fully immersive VR content” to be produced by the unit will be released Friday in the form of two films shot during Formula One racing in Barcelona, it said. The footage will “transport viewers to the pit lane, into the team garages, and out onto the track,” it said. The films will be released on Facebook’s 360 Video platform, and also on the Oculus platform, viewable on Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift headsets, it said. Sky will look to distribute content through a dedicated Sky VR app later in the year, it said. “Over the coming year, Sky VR Studio will drive the creation of cinematic, fully immersive VR content, producing more than 20 individual films, across a unique range of Sky content -- from major cultural events in news to some of the biggest sporting events on the planet.”
NextVR and Fox Sports signed a five-year deal that will see virtual reality coverage of Fox-carried sports events, the two said in a news release Wednesday. The two have tested such programming in HD virtual reality coverage of the Premier Boxing Championships and the Auto Club 400 NASCAR race and have a planned test of Sunday's Daytona 500, the two said. NextVR Chairman Brad Allen said that "this wide-ranging agreement is proof that our technology provides an exciting and compelling option to witness great sporting events in virtual reality." The two said future announcements of virtual reality programming on Fox Sports will be forthcoming and available on the NextVR portal, which will have a dedicated Fox Sports section.
Best Buy said it will begin taking orders for the long-anticipated Oculus Rift virtual reality headset Feb. 16 in conjunction with “select” gaming PCs “optimized to work with the device.” The headset “should be available later this spring,” said the retailer Tuesday. The headset is being sold with a PC that meets or exceeds recommended system specifications for the Oculus Rift VR headset to ensure "the full Rift experience,” Best Buy said. Shoppers can choose from seven PCs, including models from Asus, Dell and others, said Best Buy, predicting a “breakthrough year for VR.” Bundles ranged Tuesday from $1,499 for the Oculus Rift VR headset and Asus G11CD-B11 desktop package to $3,149 for the VR headset and Alienware 51 Series desktop package.
There's a "schism" between true virtual reality and 360 video, said Michael Davies, Fox Sports senior vice president-field and technical operations, in a Thursday news release. Davies thinks 360 video is more “attainable” and can be consumed on multiple devices, while full VR requires more specialized equipment and proprietary players, he said. Fox Sports is continuing “the growth of live production capabilities” for drones, said Director-Technical Operations Brad Cheney. “We are also testing new hardware which gives us better lenses, cameras and stability in the air.” Fox Sports is “in continuous dialog with the governing bodies, venue management teams and local officials to make progress as technologies change,” Cheney said. He said drones would be used in golf coverage and motor sports coverage in 2016.
Hardware and content companies are banking on strong consumer interest in virtual reality (VR) to drive a market that Tractica forecasts will reach 200 million shipments through 2020. A “golden era of investment and product development” will bring “highly capable” head-mounted displays (HMD) to commercial deployment from companies including HTC, Oculus and Sony, with gaming applications expected to drive interest over the forecast period, said Tractica. By the end of 2020, HMD shipments are forecast to reach 76.7 million units annually, and 52.2 million accessory devices -- comprising gamepads, controllers, hand-tracking devices, locomotion devices and VR vests and suits -- will also ship during the period, said the researcher. With the “second coming of virtual reality,” industry participants need to ensure that products are “fine-tuned prior to release in order to avoid a disappointment in this high-potential new category,” said analyst Craig Foster. Games specially designed for VR are slowly rolling out with some publishers fully embracing the new medium and others “watching the space cautiously to determine the appropriate level of investment,” Foster said.
Virtual reality software company Envelop VR raised $5.5 million in Series A funding, bringing its total backing to date to $7.5 million, it said. The company will use the funding to grow product and business teams with the goal of having its Envelop Virtual Environment software available when VR headsets from Oculus Rift and HTC reach the mass market later this year, said the company. The software enables enterprises and consumers to create, work and play in a VR environment and will allow developers creating VR content to be able to work while in their VR headsets, instead of having to switch between them and their 2D computer monitors, said the company.