Sliver.tv announced that it would live stream the ESL One New York CS:GO tournament that will take place in October. CS:GO fans will be able to enjoy the matches from multiple 360-degree cameras located in various spots on the map.
Sliver.tv launched the beta of its platform in late August, which allowed fans to watch pre-recorded matches that are converted for viewing in VR. The Sliver.tv platform includes an “Auto Content” algorithm that “crawls, indexes, and records” professional tournaments and adds Sliver.tv’s “Virtual Camera Array” to the clips. Sliver.tv said that the highlight video system takes 12-24 hours to generate a 360-degree video output of the replay recordings, but it appears the company has figured out a way to add those features to live video.
“We’re looking forward to showcasing our brand new LiveVRCast technology in partnership with ESL,” said Mitch Liu, co-founder, and CEO of SLIVER.tv. “Previously, viewers could only watch recorded clips VOD, rather than live content. This will be the first event to use our turnkey live-streaming platform for tournament, league and team operators to broadcast popular eSports games like CS:GO in immersive 360 VR.”
Spectators will be able to look around the map as if their head controlled a virtual security camera. On top of the 360-degree view of the action, Sliver.tv provides a virtual 2D screen that shows the first person spectator view of the players. You can effectively watch from a birds-eye view and first person camera at the same time.
Sliver.tv’s LiveVRCast technology is device agnostic. You can view Sliver.tv clips from a web browser, or with your smartphone thanks to an app for iOS and Android devices. The gyro inside your phone controls the view of the 360-degree video, or you can use your finger to scroll. For a more immersive experience, the app also features a Cardboard mode, which allows you to view Sliver.tv clips in VR. Sliver.tv can also be found on Steam and is compatible with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, and on the Oculus Store for Gear VR.
The first 360-degree VR eSports live stream starts at 11:00am EST on October 1.
