Imagine your client wants to use your 360 video for a product launch with hundreds of reporters gathered in a room. You want them all to see the 360 video at the same time for maximum impact just before the big reveal. With a conventional video, you can simply use a large screen. But with VR headsets, how can you present your 360 video to their VR headsets at the same time? The scenario I described actually did happen, and the solution was VR Sync. Here’s how it works and some use cases.
Here’s a product video for VR sync:
VR Sync is a software that lets you present your 360 video or photos to multiple VR headsets, and puts you in control of the viewing experience. You can start and stop the video, fast forward, rewind, or play a queue for all the headsets at the same time. VR sync is scaleable and can be used for 1 headset to hundreds of headsets simultaneously, with or without being connected to the Internet.
In addition to software, VR Sync also has a local network for cases where Internet is not available. Called VR Sync Box, it is a router with built-in server that requires only a power supply and can present 360 photos and videos offline to several VR headsets simultaneously.
Case Studies
VR Sync has been used by Fortune 500 companies such as Ford during presentation of the Ford Shelby to more than 750 members of the press at the same time.
VR Sync was also used by Nikon at its Photokina booth to show 360 videos of the Nikon Keymission 360 to attendees using two VR booths. As attendees filled each booth, staff could begin the 360 video for the headsets simultaneously.
VR Sync can be used even without the internet. On one occasion, the United Nations wanted to present a 360 video to 150 attendees. Due to security and other reasons, there was limited access to the internet. With the VR Sync Box, staff were able to setup a simultaneous 360 video presentation within 15 minutes.
Pricing and compatibility
VR Sync can be used with most major VR headsets including Oculus Go, Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Google Cardboard and Google Daydream, but it is not compatible with Playstation VR.
The cost for VR Sync varies based on the number of headsets being used concurrently and the time period, starting at 5 euros per device for a week. VR Sync Box starts at 350 Euros for a capacity of 50 headsets, up to 2,450 Euros for a capacity of 300 headsets.
Seems to me there should be a more direct way of doing this via wireless direct from a PC in a similar way that VR cameras can transmit a liveview to a phone.
Having to upload to a cloud and then sending the content back via wi-fi seems to mainly be a way to charge per use.
The point is that the current model restricts use to pro applications. I can very well imagine a family or group of friends wanting to view the same VR content at the same time and streaming from a single source to several headsets would seem to be the way to do it.
It would be ridiculous having to pay each time one uses that feature. Imagine if Insta360 would charge you each time you wanted to stream content from the Evo to the Oculus Go !!!
This is the kind of feature that should be a normal feature of VR headsets if they are ever going to get adopted by the general public.
As stated in the article the VR Sync Box is an offline solution that does not require the cloud for locations where a (reliable) internet connection is not available. It is a product/service that’s marketed for corporate use, not for consumers. Disclaimer; I write for the parent company freelance but I’m not directly affiliated with the company or their products in any way.
Pushing the same file to multiple devices with perfect timing is not easy at all, a slight lag could mess up the sync. For local exhibitions the content is preloaded onto the device, the central box/app controls the devices but does not send the data in real-time, as far as I understand it. In your Insta360 example the Evo uses a 1-to-1 connection with the receiving device, multiple viewers would be a lot more difficult than you might assume.
Just my 2 cents.
You seem to be missing the point of my post. What I am trying to point out is that, for VR headsets to be accepted by the general public, such a feature will need to be incorporated in them as a standard feature. In this context, the pay per view per user model won’t work.
There are already examples of headsets and tablets being synched. There are also VR headsets with HDMI inputs where it is possible to send content to multiple HDMI inputs. So I am sure a solution will be found that will make this easy. Otherwise, it’s not likely that VR headsets will ever be accepted on a wide scale.