One of the most popular open source, multi-platform media player applications in the world has now added 360° photo and video support. This makes it the first major video player to add such support to the desktop. VLC’s developers, non-profit organisation, VideoLan, teamed up with Giroptic, a 360 HD Camera company to develop the technology.
The software plays 360 degree videos right out of the box, at the moment only for Windows and Mac. VLC 3.0 will merge the functionality onto each of the platforms on which VLC player is available. Which means Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. YouTuber, Epoka e re posted up a sample of the software in action.
This project wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Giroptic, who has provided samples, cameras, code and expertise on those features.
– VideoLan
360° footage is generally better suited to more mobile solutions like phone and headsets, where accelerometers can monitor the position and update the view to match. But, having it on the desktop opens it up to more people. After all, if YouTube can play it on the desktop, why can’t we do it natively?
VideoLan say that future releases of VLC that contain the 360° features will take advantage of mobile sensors to provide feedback. They will allow the user to navigate the videos played locally the same way we currently do with YouTube and other 360 streamed content.
They also say that VLC “will probably” Support VR headsets like Vive, Daydream, Oculus and OSVR in 2017, as well as 3D audio with head tracking headphones.
You can download VLC 360 for Windows or Mac on the VideoLan website now. They also have a few sample videos you can download to test it out yourself. No news on exactly when version 3.0 will be released and the feature is seen on other platforms yet, though.
Have you jumped right into 360° content yet? Or are you still holding out for some better cameras hitting the consumer market? What are you editing your 360° footage in? And what have you been using to watch and test it before uploading it to the web? Let us know in the comments.
[via SLR Lounge]
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