Analysis of Live VR Services in Faye's Moments Live 2016

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Analysis of Live VR Services in Faye's Moments Live 2016"

Clement Butler
5 years ago
Views:

Email: hwilab@huawei.com Huawei official website: http://www.

com/en/ilab Analysis of Services in Faye's Moments Live 206

Huawei ilab may supplement or amend related information at any

This document is copyrighted by Huawei ilab, and photos from the

Do not distribute this document without permission.

1 Huawei official website: Analysis of Services in Faye's Moments Live 206 Copyright Statement This document is developed by Huawei ilab. Huawei ilab may supplement or amend related information at any time without prior notice. This document is copyrighted by Huawei ilab, and photos from the Internet are copyrighted by their original authors. Do not distribute this document without permission. After being authorized by Huawei ilab, state the source "Huawei ilab" when distributing this document. This document cannot be used as a basis for investment or research decisionmaking, or as a basis or proof for ethical, responsibility, or legal purposes, either expressed or implied. Released by Huawei ilab, December 206

2 Faye Wong is one of the most famous pop singers in China. Faye's Moments Live 206 was held on December 30 in Shanghai. Digital Domain, Tencent Video, and WhaleyVR jointly delivered the live VR, providing fans who were not at the concert with fascinating and immersive visual experience. The admission charge, 30 yuan, could not stop eager fans. More than 90,000 subscribers watched the concert live on WhaleyVR, and altogether over 20 million subscribers were on Tencent Video. More than 2 million users booked for the live VR concert. appreciate the stage effect that traditional live OTT cannot provide. In the past, good shooting locations were offered to live OTT. This time a good shooting location was offered to live VR, and a large screen was provided for detail display. The concert provided 4K (3840*920) VR panoramic video, whose visual effect was equivalent to that of a 240p TV. It also offered live OTT videos with 080p image quality (920*080). The visual effect equaled to that of a Full HD TV. The bandwidth requirement of 4K VR panoramic videos in this concert was 2 Mbit/s, twice the bandwidth requirement of live OTT videos (080p). In the future, the resolution of VR panoramic videos will be upgraded to 8K. Accordingly, the bandwidth needs to be increased to 5 to 7 folds. The resolution of live VR videos is expected to rise to 8K in 207. Content production: Professional 360 cameras are capable of shooting 8K/60 fps panoramic videos already. From the perspectives of user experience and network impact, Huawei ilab analyzed the details of the live VR. The results are as follows:. has become a new normal. Faye Wong's concert marks another milestone in the live VR industry. Besides, the highly-anticipated Spring Festival Gala 207 will also be live in the VR mode. is widely used in sports events, hot news events, concerts, press conferences, and some other fields. Many Internet celebrities have tried VR webcasting as well. Currently, there are over 20 live VR platforms in China. Traditional OTT live platforms (over 200) have gradually supported the live VR function. 2. provides users with unique experience. However, the video quality requires further improvement. Faye Wong's concert provided users with three degrees of freedom (3DoF) experience and a strong sense of presence. The visual effect was so wonderful that they felt the singer was right in front of them. Users could Content delivery: Content Delivery Network (CDN) technology is mature. 00M broadband access is becoming increasingly popular. Terminal: It is anticipated that the screen resolution of flagship mobile phones will rise to 4K in The improvement in live VR experience presents new challenges to network. Improvement in DoF experience: Currently, live VR supports only 3DoF VR videos. Users feel like sitting on the fixed seats, and can only see the scenes around them. In the future, with the help of light field camera, spatial orientation, and other technologies, 6DoF VR videos will come out, providing more lifelike and immersive experience. Users can walk around in the field and see different scenes. In this case, a lower-latency network is required. Integration with social network: Technologies as gesture, facial expression, and motion recognition have matured for commercial use, promoting the integration of live VR and social network. As a result, the bandwidth requirement presents nonlinear growth with the increase in the number of users. 0 02

technologies. It is divided into professionally generated content (PGC) and user generated content (UGC).

in the FOV Projection mapping Coding CDN PGC (Professionally Generated Content) UGC (User Generated Content) Sports

broad audience Wide influence Strong sense of participation of audience Low presence of hosts Small-scale on-site

Display Restore the spherical space information Decoding VR headset Audio and video capture: uses 360 panoramic cameras

Currently, professional 360 cameras can shoot live videos in 8K resolution and at the frame rate of 60 fps and above.

Through 360 panoramic images and spatial sound effect, live VR makes audience feel that they are at the concert

With the help of gesture, facial expression and motion recognition technologies, users can interact with other people.

All of these enable users to get immersive watching experience.

Audio effect Scenario Witnessing and participation Sessions Live Broadcast Environment Hot spots Real-time live video

divided into three parts: content production, content delivery, and content consumption.

The common mode of projection includes equiangular projection (cylindrical projection) and polyhedral projection.

3 Content Consumption Content Production. Brief Introduction to Applications technology enables users to get immersive and lifelike experience with the help of VR technologies. It is divided into professionally generated content (PGC) and user generated content (UGC). Category Application Scenario Scenario Feature Audio and video capture Real-time stitching Compute the spherical images in the FOV Projection mapping Coding CDN PGC (Professionally Generated Content) UGC (User Generated Content) Sports events Concerts Variety shows News events Outdoor sports Show fields Life Gaming Large-scale on-site environment with a broad audience Wide influence Strong sense of participation of audience Low presence of hosts Small-scale on-site environment with a narrow audience Limited influence Low sense of participation of audience Strong presence of hosts Display Restore the spherical space information Decoding VR headset Audio and video capture: uses 360 panoramic cameras to capture omnidirectional visual information. Currently, professional 360 cameras can shoot live videos in 8K resolution and at the frame rate of 60 fps and above. Stitching technology: stitches images captured by 360 cameras from all directions to a space ball. Through 360 panoramic images and spatial sound effect, live VR makes audience feel that they are at the concert personally. With the help of gesture, facial expression and motion recognition technologies, users can interact with other people. With force feedback technology, users can even shake hands with their idols. All of these enable users to get immersive watching experience. Friends Instant sharing Commentator/ Host Facial expressions and actions Ambience Elements of Live Broadcast Experience Audio effect Scenario Witnessing and participation Sessions Live Broadcast Environment Hot spots Real-time live video Novelty Authenticity Live experience in different phases Listen to the 3 Join in the webcast A live VR program is mainly divided into three parts: content production, content delivery, and content consumption. 2 Watch live TV programs 4 Immersive live VR Projection mapping: converts the space ball into plane media format. The common mode of projection includes equiangular projection (cylindrical projection) and polyhedral projection. Coding technology: Currently, is the mainstream standard. The nextgeneration coding technologies that are widely accepted in the industry are H.265 and VP9. Network transmission: CDN is generally used. Watching device: VR headsets. The resolution of the flagship VR headset in 206 reached 2K and the refresh rate hit 90 fps. 360 Cameras Product Vendor Professionallevel Consumerlevel Jaunt One J-24G Red Dragon Surround 360 Jaunt NextVR Facebook Maximum Resolution 8K 6K 8K Highest Frame Rate 20 fps 00 fps 60 fps Odyssey Google 8K 30 fps Gear 360 Samsung 4K 30 fps THETA S Ricoh 080p 30 fps 03 04

7 3 9 25 3 37 43 49 55 6 67 73 79 85 9 97 03 09 5 2 27 33 39 45 5 57 8 5 22 29 36 43 50 57 64 7 78 85 92 99 06 3 20 27 34 4 48 55 62 69 76 83 90 2.

4 Broadcast and Network Analysis of Faye Wong's Concert 2. The watching experience of the live VR concert was so great that users felt that the singer was right in front of them. The ambience was warm and users could interact with others on the bullet screen. Without obvious lagging, the live video was smooth. But the image was not clear enough. The video was shot by Kronos and Zeus 360 cameras from Digital Domain. The maximum resolution of Zeus was 8K, and the frame rate was 75 fps. However, the resolution of mainstream flagship VR headsets (including flagship mobile phones) was 2K, which was fit for users to watch 4K VR videos. Live OTT Resolution 3840* * * * 080 Coding Protocol High@L5. High@L4. High@L3. High@L4. Projection Mode Plane 2.2 Users' Watching Behavior and Its Impact on Traffic Head turning: enables users to watch various scenes in different directions. It does not change the network traffic rate, because the live VR used full-view transmission solution, transmitting 360 images to the terminal that computes and deals with the images within FOV. Frame Rate Average Bit Rate of Video Live Streaming Protocol HLS HTTP-FLV (Tencent web) HLS (Android) HTTP-FLV (Tencent web) HLS (Android) Flv live (Tencent) 2.3 Comparison with Live OTT Broadcast.Traffic features: The traffic consumed by 4K VR panoramic videos doubles that of live OTT videos (080p). 2.Real-time processing comparison: During the tests, compared with live OTT, the live VR presented better real-time performance. (The finding is at variance with the theory analysis and needs to be further verified.) 3.Bandwidth requirement comparison For 4K live VR videos, the resolution of the entire image is 3840*920. The watching experience equals to that of a traditional 240p TV screen. The typical bit rate is 7.8 Mbit/s and the bandwidth requirement is 2 Mbit/s. For live OTT videos, the resolution is 920*024, the typical bit rate is Mbit/s and the bandwidth requirement is 6 Mbit/s. Now the VR is at the entry level. The ultimate experience in the future requires G bandwidth at least and network upgrade is needed. 0 Traffic wave of (8M code stream) Traffic () Walking around: The images do not change and the traffic is not affected. Currently, the live VR supports only 3DoF videos. Users feel like sitting on fixed seats and watching the things surrounding themselves. *Interaction: While watching the video, users can interact with other people on the bullet screen or send and receive gifts. It costs a little traffic. * For audience to watch the concert from multiple locations, Digital Domain deployed 2 sets of shooting locations respectively on the stage and in the audience, that is, 4 shooting locations altogether. It provided audience with different watching points by switching the signals of cameras Traffic wave of live OTT (3.4M code stream) Traffic () 05 06

3. Content Delivery Network (CDN) of Broadcast IT giants and carriers roll out CDN and the number of nodes keeps increasing, providing a transmission platform for the good VR experience of users.

The Promising live VR Industry According to a VR/AR industry report released by Goldman Sachs in 206, the market space of live VR industry will reach $4.

5 3. Content Delivery Network (CDN) of Broadcast IT giants and carriers roll out CDN and the number of nodes keeps increasing, providing a transmission platform for the good VR experience of users. CDN Tencent Alibaba Baidu Number of nodes Over 500 nationwide Over 50 outside China Over 500 worldwide 4. Prospect of Broadcast 4. The Promising live VR Industry According to a VR/AR industry report released by Goldman Sachs in 206, the market space of live VR industry will reach $4. billion in 2025 and the user base will be up to 95 million. 30 data centers worldwide According to the Statistical Report on Internet Development in China released by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) in July, 206, there are over 200 live platforms with users up to 325 million, representing 45.8% of all netizens. China Telecom Cover 3 provinces across China start-ups emerge in large numbers and many film & movie giants begin to transform and make a move into the live VR market. China Unicom Total bandwidth 40T 20T / / / Note: The preceding data is from the websites of these companies. The related data of China Mobile is unavailable yet Consumer 360 cameras (such as Insta360, Samsung Gear 360, Ricoh THETA, and Protruly Darling VR mobile) keep springing up and personal live platforms (such as Huajiao, Yizhibo, and 3D BoBo) have also begun to support live VR function. Therefore, there will be more UGC in the live VR platform, making it more abundant and diversified in its content. 4.2 The Development Trend of live VR Broadcast Spatial audio: greatly enhances the sense of presence in the live VR of music scenarios. Interactive modes: add and set up proper interactive modes in the live. With technologies as gesture recognition, facial expression recognition, motion sensing, and 3D human body modeling, the introduction of social network will accelerate the development of live VR industry. Fun AI: With the development of AI, more and more AI stars have come into people's lives, such as Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Xiaoice. In the future, with the combination of AI and VR, the hosts may change into virtual icons, such as miku in Japan. Huawei ilab has always been committed to VR-related researches. Huawei expects to work together with partners in the industrial chain to build a good VR ecological environment, promote the maturity of the evaluation standards for VR experience, advance the VR development, and build a Better Connected World. company NextVR (Sports events) Tencent Video WhaleyVR (Variety shows) LeTV (News conferences) (Fashion shows) NYT VR (News events) platform Facebook, Twitch (VReal), YouTube, Twitter, Huajiao, 3D BoBo 07 08

VR Big Data Report 2016

VR Big Data Report 2016 VR Big Data Report Copyright Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 2017. All rights reserved. This document is developed by Huawei ilab. Huawei ilab may supplement or amend related information at any time without