Hot on the heels of YouTube’s 4K 360 Live streaming announcement, yesterday Facebook announced their initial support for 360-degree live streams, called: Live 360.
According to Facebook:
“Today, we’re excited to announce a new way to go live on Facebook: Live 360. Live video on Facebook gives people an immediate, authentic window into what’s happening in the world right now; 360 video immerses viewers fully into the scene, letting them explore on their own and experience a new environment. We’re excited to combine these two formats with Live 360 video. Live 360 transports people into new experiences—right as they happen.
Live 360 video will be available to more Pages via the Live API in the coming months, and we look forward to rolling it out more broadly for all Pages and Profiles in 2017.”
The first Live 360 video will be released today at 12pm Pacific time/ 2PM ET, via National Geographic’s Facebook page. It will feature a live stream of scientists emerging from 80 days of isolation in pods at Utah’s Mars Desert Research Station.
“They will take you behind the scenes to explore the living quarters, see how the scientists suit up in their space suits, and take a rover out for a spin across the Martian landscape. This first Live 360 will also include a Q&A with a line-up of science experts, writers and thinkers, and will take questions from the Facebook audience.”
Lots of 360 live streaming news coming out this month, including today’s announcement of the release of the much anticipated Orah 4i live streaming 360 camera. We wouldn’t be surprised to see other camera manufacturers soon follow suit.
Sean Earley is the Executive Editor of AR/VR Magazine & co-founder of RobotSpaceship Podcast Network. He is the Director of New Biz Development and Publishing at KEMWEB, a musician, producer & consultant. He loves guitars, VR and coffee.
