The first glimpse at NextVR’s camera rig for recording stereoscopic 360 degree video for VR has been revealed in new photos. The camera platform uses the six of the RED Epic Dragon cameras to capture up to 6K resolution in stereoscopic 360 degree video.
The camera system, weighing in at more than 30 pounds, combines three stereo pairs of RED Epic Dragon cameras which are capable of recording up to 6K resolution video. RED charges $31,200 on their website for each Epic Dragon camera’s body alone, bringing the cost to a little more than $180,000. Combined with lenses, the system would well exceed $200,000.
The price is worth it, says NextVR CEO David Cole.
“The Dragon sensor used in this rig is the finest in the digital film industry. The image quality is incredible,” Cole told me. “Using the RED Dragon cameras as a basis provides an advantage in resolution, dynamic range, frames-per-second (critical for live sports), low-light performance, and connectivity to broadcast equipment.”
The company isn’t selling the camera system—they’re using it to produce recorded and live content. The company recently announce that they will have content pre-loaded onto Samsung Gear VR and will also have compatibility with the Oculus Rift.
See Also: NextVR Raises $5 Million for Live VR Broadcast Tech, Content to Come Pre-loaded on Samsung Gear VR
“The technology behind the new NextVR Virtual Reality Digital Cinema Camera System is partially based on the three-dimensional video and camera technologies that several of the company’s engineers and producers designed for use in films like the IMAX® Journey to the South Pacific 3D, as well as Dolphin Tail, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Underworld, The Last Reef 3D and Great White Sharks 3D,” says the company.
The RED Epic Dragon is capable of recording up to 6K video. Even so, NextVR says they can stream the content over an average home internet connection using their proprietary streaming solution.
“We can get the full [stereoscopic] 360 comfortably into 8mbps. We demonstrated 6mpbs recently. Key to it all is our differential compression and transmission standard that allows different portions of the 360 to be transmitted at varying frame rates and resolutions,” said Cole.
The company will be showing their camera system at the RED Digital Cinema booth at IBC2014 this week in Amsterdam.