Is this the next leap in VR?
A small step for 360 content, a huge step for VR.
Twitter launched Periscope live 360 yesterday. Making it possible for vloggers to up their game with more immersive content. 360 degree video footage is streamed live through a smartphone.
It is rolling out to select influential social media users. Because you will need additional hardware to start using this. A small 360 degree camera is plugged on top of an iPhone (Yes, only iPhone for now). This device syncs with your Periscope app to stream the content live through Periscope. People watching the livestream can look around by tilting their phone or by swiping around. Take a look at the footage shot yesterday (click the link below).
Twitter (and thus Periscope) just barely beat Facebook by going live with this feature. Facebook announced the support of live 360 content within Facebook just a few weeks ago. Facebook has the ambition to take this same step into live 360 video. Mainly because Facebook has ambitious plans for live VR (see video below). The question is whether they have the additional hardware to start recording live 360 content.
Being able to look around gives people watching the video a sense of freedom because they have control over where to watch, instead of watching what the vloggers wants you to see. Besides this sense of freedom it enables a larger interaction. People watching can see things the vlogger can not see and interact with the vlogger in real-time about it. The combination of live footage and 360 degree of freedom is the kind of interaction that really makes a difference compared to fixed video footage. From a behavioral point of view the extremely high velocity of interactions can make live 360 video highly engaging (and addicting). People will spend lots of time here.
From a behavioral point of view the extremely high velocity of interactions can make live 360 video highly engaging (and addicting)
Off course creation of live 360 degree content is a big deal for VR. Being able to completely immerse yourself in the live scene of a vlogger, journalist, concert or anything else is what will leap VR forward. Undoubtely Periscopes first version of live VR will take off right away with influential vloggers having big audiences.
Predictibly there is also a lot of potential to get live 360 content recording to the mass public. Additional hardware that is still needed to plug onto your smartphone will undoubtley go to market. And there will be a point in time where your smartphone has the ability to record in 360 degree right out of the box. With VR devices being distributed more and more, support for live 360 content is just around the corner.
A true battleground is shaping up.
A true battleground is shaping up around live 360 content. Twitter really needs this to create a new market for themselves. Facebook really wants live VR to go big and will push this in every possible way. The big question is where is Google in this game? They have a great VR device on the market. They have a video platform (the big Y) supporting 360 content. Will they develop the needed 360 degree @ content recording hardware themselves? One thing is for sure, they can not rely on Twitter or Facebook to publish their live 360 content on Youtube.
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