David Cole, Co-Founder of broadcast VR video company NextVR, speaks with Tony Reale from NextWaveDV.com at last weeks NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Show in Las Vegas about the significance of the company’s use of light fields in broadcast VR video.
Next VR have been pushing at the forefront of broadcast virtual reality video for some time now and their recent announcement that they’re working with light field technology aims to keep them at the bleeding edge.
Light field cameras offer the ability to capture the intensity and directionality of light, making them ideal for producing auto-stereoscopic recordings of scenes. In summary, the process allows a viewer to have some degree of ‘peek around’ in a pre-recorded video, for virtual reality this mean positional head movement in 3D videos.
Light fields are important for VR. Not only does it give you a radically different and more immersive experience than static stereoscopic 3D video, it makes for a more comfortable VR video experience. As Cole states “…it gives you a much more accurate model of your head [and neck] … your natural torso and neck and head movements are represented inside the vide which sells presence so incredibly strongly.” and goes on “…we think that once you see it, it’s going to set the bar.”
Our thanks to Tony Reale from NextWaveDV for sharing the interview with us.