technology to provide multi-camera viewing. Last year, the company did a real-world proof of concept with France Télévisions Lab and partners during an international tennis event, involving the synchronisation of multiple camera feeds. “They wanted to offer instant transition between four angles of a tennis match, so we encoded four HD angles into a single 4K stream. It needed to be displayed and synchronised across different devices, including set-top boxes or mobile phones.” Verizon has also called upon VisualOn to provide synchronisation solutions for multiple big-screen TVs in sports venues, and allow them to display ads simultaneously. “Our customers use our SDK to develop their own applications, with minimal infrastructure change,” says Yang. “The key technology is syncing multiple streams within the same device, across multiple devices – and different locations.” Getting control of the synchronisation issue allows for brand-new ways of viewing live content. There is the opportunity to not simply contribute four, five or ten angles for a sporting event, but to use a whole network of cameras to administer a full 360x180° view of a live show. VisualOn’s technology for this is called SurroundView 4D.
“If you have multiple angles in a live event, the viewer can just swipe the screen and pick the perspective they want to see. The key technology is how to smoothly transition between the different angles instantaneously.” SurroundView 4D offers the opportunity for a Matrix -style ‘bullet-time’ view on a sporting event. BUILDING A WATCH PARTY The linchpin of the technology is the accurate measurement of where the player is, along with a single time-reference point to which every stream and player can sync. One of the major challenges VisualOn has overcome is the fragmentation of devices – streams need to maintain sync, not just in the digital world, but also on the diverse bits of hardware on which they are being played. VisualOn’s technology is also being used in an SDK for companies wanting to develop
‘watch party’ features, which have become increasingly popular as people have sought new ways to connect during the pandemic. The technology required for VisualOn WatchParty operates
STREAMING COMPANIES NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT THEY CAN DELIVER THAT IS BETTER THAN THE BROADCAST TV EXPERIENCE
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