At the NAB Show in Las Vegas, GoPro revealed GoPro VR, which consists of a 360-degree rig for GoPro cameras, spherical video stitching software, and a platform to share and view 360 video content.
GoPro cameras have been used in rigs designed to capture spherical and panoramic video made by third parties, such as Google’s Jump setup. GoPro has now officially joined the VR bandwagon and launched its own setup for recording spherical videos, called the Omni. The custom rig holds six Hero4 Black cameras and features hardware that links the cameras together for pixel-level synchronization.
The Omni camera system pairs with the GoPro Kolor software suite and automatically stitches the six feeds together to create 360-degree videos. The software package includes Autopano Video Pro and Autopano Giga, which allow you to fine tune the video stitch for the highest video quality.
GoPro has also launched the GoPro VR video sharing service. The company created companion apps for Android and iOS devices that will let you view the content that others have created. You’ll also be able to share your own content on the GoPro VR video service, if you have your own Omni camera rig. The Android and iOS applications are available today. GoPro has loaded the service with content recorded by the company’s sponsored athletes for now.
You can pre-order the Omni rig today. The full kit, including the six cameras, the Omni rig and the Kolor stitching software is available for $5,000. If you happen to already have six GoPro Hero4 Blacks (a $3,000 value) you can order just the Omni rig for $1,500, but you’ll still need to buy the software to stitch the videos, and the GoPro Smart Remote that controls the unit from afar.
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