Visbit is taking steps to make its high-resolution 360-degree video streaming service accessible to a wider audience. The company released a Unity SDK, which gives creators more options for platform support, including Google Daydream. The Unity SDK also lets content creators support Cardboard on Apple iOS devices.
Visbit’s content distribution platform is still in its infancy, but the company is making rapid advancements to its software. We first learned of Visbit’s View-Optimized Streaming Technology eight months ago in December 2016. Back then, Visbit’s technology supported 360-degree video with up to 4K resolution at “near-zero latency” over Wi-Fi and LTE signals on Google Cardboard for Android and Samsung Gear VR. In March 2017, Visbit upped the ante with the addition of 12K video support for View-Optimized Streaming.
In December, Visbit founder, Dr. Changying (CY) Zhou told Tom’s Hardware that his company focused on bringing the technology to the two primary mobile VR platforms first. Google’s Daydream was too fresh to spend the development resources on yet, but Dr. Zhou said that Visbit would add support for Daydream and other VR platforms following the VVOS beta period. Visbit’s VVOS platform is still in beta-- though now it’s an open beta--but that’s not stopping the company from expanding support to other devices.
“Unity support has been a long-time request from our customers. We are proud to bring 4K+ VR video streaming to the Unity community,” said Dr. Changyin Zhou, Visbit co-founder and CEO. “We’re also adding the Web VR Player, which dramatically reduces the difficulties of distribution and improves access for general consumers of VR and 360-degree experiences. Now content creators can generate a web link on the Publisher Portal to share their work, or embed video links on their website, while still protecting their content with domain-level privacy.”
Visbit also announced a WebVR Player that lets you access Visbit-hosted content with nearly any web-connected device. The Visbit WebVR Player works in Chrome, Safari, FireFox, and Edge web browsers on desktop and laptop computers. It also supports browsers on Android and iOS devices. Visbit’s WebVR Player supports up to 4K resolution and stereoscopic video, but it does not use the company’s VVOS technology, so you won’t see 12K videos in the WebVR Player.
Start For Free
In addition to the new WebVR Player, Visbit announced a new licensing tier for the platform. The company previously offered the “Plus” package, which is tailored for new starups, for $199 per month, and a “Pro” package tailored for established businesses for $999 per month. Now there’s a cheaper option for those who don’t want to use a mobile app: the $49 per month “Web” package.
Visbit also opened doors to the platform for beginners to learn the ropes before committing to a monthly subscription. The company now offers a beginner’s option, which gives you free access to the platform and lets you upload up to 10 videos before Visbit forces you to pay to continue.
For more information about the Visbit SDK and the pricing structure for the packages, visit the Visbit website.
Update, 7/25/17, 11:10am PT: Corrected the name of Visbit's WebVR Player.
