Facebook is investing significant resources to ensure that it is at the forefront of virtual reality. Through its newsroom it has stated that “360 video on Facebook is the first step” toward developing a VR experience for it’s users. It reports that millions of people are now watching 360 videos on Facebook every single day.
Key Points
* 20,000+ 360 videos have been uploaded to Facebook.
* Hundred’s of 360 videos added on daily basis.
* Millions of Facebook users are watching 360 videos each day.
* New dynamic streaming technology is being introduced which quadruple the resolution quality of 360 videos.
Summary
360 video is captured using a camera system which is able to record footage of a complete 360 view of the scene. When this video is uploaded to a video sharing platform like Facebook or YouTube the user is able to pan and rotate so that they can change their viewing perspective and watch the action from different angles. This can create a more interactive and immersive experience.
You can see examples of how 360 videos are being used by brands on YouTube here: 5 examples of 360 video advertisements.
The growth of video on Facebook has been enormous in 2015. Facebook has moved quickly into new areas of video including live streaming video and 360. It is also investing heavily in developing the technology to ensure that it stays at the forefront of virtual reality.
To improve the viewing experience Facebook is introducing dynamic streaming technology. This works to improve both the resolution quality while increasing speeds. It does this by displaying only the pixels that the viewer is looking at in the highest quality rather than the whole 360 degree view. This is achieved by creating dozens of different variants of each 360 degree video. When the view changes Facebook rapidly displays a different variant showing only the high resolution version to the viewer. Facebook claims that this will quadruple the resolution while reducing the required bandwidth by four times.
The 360 video experience has proven to be popular with Facebook viewers and creators. The social media giant reports that already 20,000 360 videos have been uploaded with hundreds more added each day.
Learn more about video on Facebook with our Facebook Video Statistics for 2016 Infographic.
RESOURCES
Facebook Newsroom. (2016 February 21). New Steps Toward the Future of Virtual Reality. Retrieved from: http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/02/new-steps-toward-the-future-of-virtual-reality/