The Future of Videos?

By: Matthew Manross

You may have heard about these new 360 degree videos. Early last year, YouTube released their first 360 degree video. These videos are intractable, meaning YOU get to decide where to look and what to see. If you are on a tablet or phone with a touch screen, you can change the cameras view by moving the device up and down, or also by swiping with your finger. If you are on a computer, you can use the keys W, A, S, and D to change the view of the video.

So how do these cameras work? Basically, there are multiple cameras with overlapping fields of views, this allows a full 360x180 degree field of view. The images are then connected using a technique called "Stitching". And finally the final result is a regular video file that can be played in full 360 degrees. Shown to the right is an example of Bubl's 360-degree camera.

There is no doubt that these videos are pretty cool, but are they the future for videos? If you wanted to buy one of these cameras right now, it would be quite expensive. The video quality right now is also not the greatest, and can look kind of fuzzy. More prototypes must be designed in order for the quality of video to become better. One last serious concern is the usefulness of these videos. Are people willing to keep moving there device up and down, or left and right to look around? Most people watch videos because they are simple and do not take much effort to start up.

You can click here to see an example of a 360 degree video and decide for yourself!


Works Cited

"How 360 Video Works ? - 360 VR Video Software | VideoStitch." 360 VR Video Software VideoStitch. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

Zhang, Michael. "The First 360-Degree Interactive Videos Have Arrived on YouTube." PetaPixel RSS. 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

Image Credit

http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/05/bublcam-360-degree-camera/