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[Krejlooc]

http://uploadvr.com/watch-march-madness-live-vr/

According to a representative for NextVR, the company will be focusing solely on the Big East Tournament being held at Madison Square Garden. The company will broadcast four games on March 10, two games on March 11, and will ultimately bring that series’ championship matchup to viewers on March 12. These broadcasts will be available through the NextVR app on the Samsung Gear VR headset.

...

“As a fan, VR can make you feel as if you are at the game. We are putting the fan at the event in a front row seat, even in a seat you couldn’t buy … You’ll feel as if you’re sitting in court-side seats. TV can provide great views of course, but they can’t provide the immersive experience VR brings.”

This is not the first piece of basketball to be broadcast in VR, but it is the first NCAA event. Last year, the NBA All-star game was broadcast in VR, and earlier this year, a game between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder was also broadcast in VR.

VR broadcasts are achieved using Omnidirectional cameras placed usually in the first row, courtside, or at the scorers table. This gives the feeling of being precisely where the camera rises on the court, like you are sitting courtside. A full panoramic frame is broadcast to your VR headset, and a portion of the frame is selected using your head orientation. This lets you look in any direction at any given time, even if it's not following the action live, just as you'd be able to do if you sat courtside.

Collegiate sports have been getting into the VR game lately - Stanford has been using VR QB training for 2 years now, and many teams have sent VR headsets to recruits in football. This is the first NCAA sanctioned VR event, however.

 

[VindicatorZ]

Hell yes, I'll be watching on my Gear VR.

Although I think all this Next VR live streaming is a little bit "run before you can walk." The resolution on this stuff isnt great, and I can only imagine the lag trying to stream live. I heard the Nascar stream a few weeks ago wasn't too great.

I'm a huge VR fan, but I'm not sure if live streaming is quite there yet. But hey, gotta start somewhere.

 

[Krejlooc]

and I can only imagine the lag trying to stream live..

There is no "lag." They send you the full frame and your headset selects a portion to show you. It isnt a severside request. It is done locally.

 

[hodayathink]

They have to give those people who just pre-ordered new Galaxy S7s something to watch on their free GearVRs. This is a good choice.