VideoStitch is a Paris-based start up specialising in 360º video products and has developed post production software to stitch videos together from several GoPro cameras.
Its latest product is VideoStitch Live, a realtime version that promises to give users “a great new out-of-body VR experience.”
It combines six GoPro streams into a fully spherical video stream. This content is then rendered through a media server to be viewed using an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset or a tablet, and is claimed to be as realistic as being there. The combined stream from the GoPros gives a 360º x 180º view, allowing users to see all around them, with no black hole in the video. The system can work with more professional cameras, but VideoStitch chose the GoPro as it meant the resulting package could be compact and inexpensive.
VideoStitch Live is claimed to be “the fastest engine out there, capable of stitching 4K and above videos in realtime, thanks to its scalable GPU-based architecture,” using nVidia’s CUDA parallel computing platform and programming model, together with Windows or Mac software.
Suitable applications for the technology include sport (including immersive action from the competitor’s point of view), training videos, attending a concert from the best seat, or tourism videos that allow users to experience being in some of the most beautiful places of the world.