Nokia OZO gets VR broadcasting, 3D stitching & VR player SDK

Nokia has announced some cool new features and capabilities for its 360-deg VR camera OZO. Abilities that now come to Nokia OZO include live VR broadcasting, 3D stitching, and a VR player software development kit (SDK). Nokia considers it as strengthening and expansion of the Nokia Technologies VR ecosystem portfolio. Live VR broadcasting solution for OZO will be available to selected partners in Q2 2016 and broadly in Q3 2016. OZO Creator will ship in April with 3D VR stitching functionality, free of charge to OZO customers.

Read the full press release below,

National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Las Vegas, Nev.- Nokia Technologies today announced new solutions to complement the company’s OZO virtual reality (VR) camera, including live VR broadcasting, 3D stitching, and a VR player software development kit (SDK).

The new tools and solutions expand the Nokia Technologies VR ecosystem portfolio, which includes OZO, the first commercially available VR camera to capture full 3D 360-degree video and spatial audio. OZO started shipping to customers in the first quarter of 2016.

“With OZO, professionals have a far greater ability to create and deliver amazing VR experiences for consumers than ever before,” said Paul Melin, vice president of Digital Media at Nokia Technologies. “By making new solutions such as live broadcasting, a VR player SDK and 3D stitching widely available to OZO customers, Nokia enables the VR ecosystem to dramatically accelerate content creation and publishing.”

Details of the new offerings are as follows:

• The Live VR broadcasting solution for OZO, available to selected partners in Q2 2016 and broadly in Q3 2016, will make the VR experience stronger through 360-degree audio and video, thus enabling viewers to experience events at the same time they are occurring, regardless of location. During NAB, Nokia will be demonstrating a series of live VR experiences including performances from select artists in partnership with Capitol Records Group – a relationship that first demonstrated live full 3D VR audio & video in November at the Los Angeles launch event of OZO, where Best Coast performed on the rooftop of the iconic Capitol Records building. Attendees of NAB can view these live VR experiences from multiple booths during the conference, including Nokia Technologies, Elemental Technologies and Akamai, Nokia Technologies’ partners in the initial VR live broadcast trials.
• OZO Creator will ship in April with 3D VR stitching functionality, free of charge to OZO customers. With this new feature, Nokia Technologies has removed the complexity from 3D 360-degree footage, making it simpler than ever for creators to produce seamless, immersive content. The feature dramatically accelerates the turnaround time from content capture to consumption, making it possible to distribute refined VR experiences soon after an event has occurred.
• Nokia Technologies is also making a multi-platform VR player SDK available to OZO customers in Q2 2016. The SDK will support creation of immersive audiovisual applications and experiences with the highest quality playback of OZO content, while also providing support for standard VR video and audio formats. Nokia plans to support all major VR platforms, and does not limit customers’ ability to distribute OZO content with any other technology. This SDK removes the barriers to effortlessly creating and delivering great VR experiences to a wide audience.

Members of the VR community looking to experience OZO and its new companions are encouraged to join the OZO Pioneer Program. The program, unveiled last month, encourages innovators to create VR experiences and content and rewards creative and innovative contributions. Participants, all of whom receive a $15,000 discount on the OZO VR Camera, have the opportunity to create and share a one-minute demo clip using their OZO and are invited to provide feedback for further development of the OZO camera and VR technologies.

Creators interested in participating in the OZO Pioneer Program can sign up here and can visit the OZO Blog to see OZO content in action or to learn more. Full specifications and purchase information are available through OZO.nokia.com.