WheresMyMedia and VR Video bring VR to ATSC 3.0

Friday, January 5th, 2018
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WheresMyMedia and VR Video Bring VR to Broadcast

  • Using the Next Generation Television Standard ATSC 3.0 WheresMyMedia and VR Video Bring VR, AR and 360 Video to Broadcast and Cable

NEW YORK, NY — NAB Pilot Innovation Challenge Award winners VR Video and WheresMyMedia announce LiveWorks, a joint project to bring AR, VR and Live 360 Video to broadcast for release at the 2018 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 9-12, 2018. The next TV standard ATSC 3.0 has been officially adopted by the FCC as of November 16th, 2017, paving the way for next-generation television services such as the LiveWorks broadcasting platform.

Leveraging the new abilities of ATSC 3.0, LiveWorks will not only be a robust platform for the production of broadcast quality immersive content, but also enable it to be seamlessly and simultaneously delivered over the air, over the top, to web and mobile. “There are countless uses for live 360 video and related immersive content to be delivered over the air, cable, satellite, and broadband content. ATSC 3.0 will allow those both with and without an Internet connection to experience immersive and VR content,” says LiveWorks founder and CEO Edwin Rogers.

LiveWorks will be the first available platform for curating and delivering immersive content to next-generation enabled televisions and devices. Integrated into existing systems, LiveWorks will allow for immersive content to be distributed alongside traditional broadcast content. HD live feeds can be switched, mixed and overlaid onto the live VR feeds in real-time along with 3D graphics and other interactive and immersive content. When asked about the possibilities of broadcasting immersive content such as 360 video over ATSC 3.0, Sam Matheny, EVP of Technology and CTO at NAB said, “Next Gen TV using ATSC 3.0 provides wonderful new opportunities for delivering interactive content, including VR and live 360 video. We’re excited to see new use cases being developed for testing.”

Supporting 4K video at up to 120 frames per second with potential future 8K support, ATSC 3.0 is the ideal platform to facilitate immersive content and Internet delivery mechanisms. ATSC 3.0 standards support seamless switching on over the air and Internet streams. This allows for advanced viewer engagement, tracking interaction, and viewer preferences. This provides not only new ways for advertisers to monetize content, but also a whole new kind of content to monetize.

“Imagine a world without TV ads as you know them, where advertising is more like artful product placement that is part of the story. The story can change based on your preferences, and so can the products contained within it. The ads are games or stories where you can earn rewards in addition to learning more about the product. Advertising should be a fun dynamic experience for the viewer,” explains William Steele, CEO of WheresMyMedia VR.

Stations and networks that are early adopters of ATSC 3.0 will be working with LiveWorks and WheresMyMedia VR to pioneer a new ecosystem for immersive content to be delivered at the highest quality simultaneously over all forms of broadcast, satellite, broadband and mobile.