360 rumors

YouTube has added heatmaps to popular 360 videos, showing where viewers are looking. Update : Scott of  Foundry 45  shared a video of a heatmap.  See below. YouTube added 360 heatmaps to analytics tools, letting you see where viewers are spending the most time looking.  Last year, heatmaps were added by Facebook, but the threshold was quite high at 50,000 unique viewers (not views).  YouTube's heatmap has a threshold of only 1,000 views . To see the heatmaps for your videos,  click here .  You can also go to your Video Manager and then see the new 360 Heatmaps tool under Analytics.  You can see the heatmap and how it changes as the video plays. Update : Scott of Foundry 45 shared this video of a heatmap: There is a separate heatmap for desktop viewers and for mobile viewers.   In my videos, it seems that desktop viewers are much more likely to look around, while mobile viewers stay mostly in the original view. Sample 1 (top: desktop; bottom:...

At Google I/O 2017, Google announced that YouTube apps for TVs will now allow you to watch 360 videos and look around using your remote control, making it possible to view 360 videos with your friends. Here's a video preview: With 360 video on the @YouTube app, you'll feel like you're the middle of the action from your couch, on the biggest screen you own. #io17 pic.twitter.com/Y3LmQaKD54 — Google (@Google) May 17, 2017 I tried this with Google Chromecast 2 and with the YouTube app on my Amazon Fire, but only saw the equirectangular version.  I'll keep testing and trying it out on my other equipment. In any case, for 360 video creators, this is awesome news because it expands the audience for 360 videos.  Hopefully, this also leads to an increased interest in 360 cameras, especially among those who don't already have one.

Young360 created a very good tutorial for watching YouTube in full resolution on the Samsung Gear VR headset . Samsung Gear VR ( reviewed here ) is the most popular VR headset, with 5 million users as of January 2017.  It is my favorite platform for watching 360 videos because of its much more accurate head tracking compared to Google Cardboard (Oculus Rift and HTC Vive also offer accurate head tracking but 360 videos don't utilize positional tracking anyway, so there's little incremental benefit from using a Rift or Vive to watch YouTube). However, one of the Gear VR's peccadilloes is that when watching YouTube videos (in 360 or otherwise), the resolution would often be less than the highest available resolution.  At the same time, Google doesn't want to create a YouTube app for Gear VR because Gear VR is competing directly with Google Daydream (which does have a YouTube app). Thankfully, Oculus has updated the Gear VR's software to make it easier to watch YouTube...

Apparently, YouTube supports 8k 360-degree videos. Someone uploaded the Insta360 Pro sample videos to YouTube and they were saved as 8k!  I'm not sure how long they'll stay there because it's a violation of Insta360's copyright but anyhow I'm glad YouTube enables sharing of 8k 360 videos. BTW, even my VR-ready PC with a GTX 1060 6GB had a hard time playing the video at 8k. RELATED POSTS Sample photos and videos from Insta360 Pro

360 videos need to be stabilized to avoid making viewers dizzy (especially if viewed in a headset).  However, not all 360 cameras include image stabilization, and the ones that do don't always have effective stabilization.  Fortunately, it's easy to add image stabilization to your 360 videos simply by uploading them to Facebook. Facebook will automatically attempt to stabilize a 360 video when you upload it.  That's part of the reason it takes a while before the 360 video shows up on your post. To test this capability, I took a test video using an Insta360 Nano and Freeline Skates. In the first part of the video, I skated on concrete.  In the second part of the video, I was skating on asphalt. This was a very difficult video test for several reasons: first, the asphalt was little bumpy.  Second, I was turning a lot, not just going straight.  Third, I was holding the camera at various positions and sometimes inverted (to get closer to the skates).  Four...

Learn about 360 filmmaking and livestreaming from these experts in these free masterclasses, sponsored by Nokia and Upload VR: - 360 Filmmaking Best Practices with Alex Henning (Dec. 13, 7pm PST). - How to Live Stream a Concern in VR with Juan Santillan (Dec. 15, 7pm PST). The classes will be broadcast on YouTube in 360 format.  Here is the link to register .

One of the first entertainers to embrace 360 video is Conan O' Brien, one of my favorite standup comedians.  Some skits on his Conan talk show on TBS are livestreamed in 360 on the Team Coco YouTube channel using four Nokio OZO cameras .   Past shows can be seen on the Conan360 playlist: If you have the Samsung Gear VR , you can also see them within the Samsung VR app, under the category Conan 360. Check it out!  The Aquaman skit (currently #7) is hilarious!   Warning : NSFW (but you shouldn't be watching VR at work anyway)!

Strangely, there is no YouTube app yet for the Samsung Gear VR.  However, you can still watch YouTube 360 videos with the Gear VR using the Samsung Internet Browser. 1. Install the Samsung Internet browser app from the Oculus store. 2. Using the Samsung Internet browser, go to youtube.com. 3. Search for the 360 video you want to see. 4. When the video loads, look at the bottom of the video to see if you can change the settings (looks like a gear).  If you can change the settings, change it to the highest available resolution.  If the setting doesn't show up, sometimes you just have to wait a bit for the resolution to improve. 5.  Click on the bottom right of the video, then click on the square to maximize the view. 6.  When the view is maximized, look at the top of the video, on the left side, where it says "More".  Click on that and choose the type of viewing (360 2D or 360 3D top-bottom are the most common ones for 360). You can also use the Gear VR to wa...

The iOS version of the Ricoh Theta S app now allows sharing to YouTube directly.  This makes uploading 360 videos much more convenient for Theta users.

Just a reminder that the Democratic National Convention is being livestreamed in 360.  There are several ways to watch: YouTube DNC 2016 app Huffington Post / RYOT Last week, the Republican National Convention was also livestreamed in 360 on YouTube and the RNC app. Please note these links do not imply any political endorsement of either party.

For the first time, the respective conventions of the two major political parties in the US will be livestreamed in 360. The Republican National Convention is being livestreamed in 360 now on YouTube.  Here is the link . The Democratic National Convention next week will also have a 360 livestream on YouTube.  Here is the link . Please note these links do not imply any political endorsement of either party.