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the google lightfield display app for steamvr was absolutely mindblowing, and i remember at the time thinking how awesome it would be if somehow they managed to

the google lightfield display app for steamvr was absolutely mindblowing, and i remember at the time thinking how awesome it would be if somehow they managed to do it with video, and if maybe someday the rendering algorithm/bandwidth available would allow it to be livestreamed. Turns out that day is... now lol. Honestly, if you have a VR rig give their demo a shot. I can honestly say this is the one project I've seen where I would hands down quit my job immediately to become involved with it somehow if I had the option. It is abundantly clear to me that the future of media consumption and production will go in this direction. Insanely cool.

woah 6y ago
20-60x bandwidth requirements to be able to move your head around a little? Is it worth it?
- nullifidian 6y ago
  They could probably cut it down significantly by only streaming a several-inch-sized sphere of free movement, predicting what segment to stream next. There is a limitation to how fast human beings can move/rotate their heads.
- faeyanpiraat 6y ago
  Bandwidth is getting cheaper over time. Couple of years ago I got a 56K modem, and now 1gbps connections are getting mainstream.
  - eptcyka 6y ago
    What you mean is, a couple of decades ago you got a 56k modem.
- PetitPrince 6y ago
  On a flatscreen I would say it's just a gimmick. With a VR headset though, since you are constantly moving your head a little I would say it's a massive improvement over 180° 3D videos, and really helps with the feeling of "being there".
- dTal 6y ago
  20-60x the bandwidth requirements is one of the things that can reasonably be expected to improve with effort. Look at 2D video and how much better h264 is than, say, GIF. And the higher the dimensionality, the more data but also the more low-hanging fruit for compression. We had 100:1 lossy lightfield compression 20 years ago; we can likely put another zero on that, maybe more with machine learning. That's what the linked paper is about - effective representations for lightfield data. The field is just kicking off.
- VikingCoder 6y ago
  Have you tried Welcome to Lightfields? If they get that working with video, it's absolutely worth it.
PetitPrince 6y ago
Link to the app, it's called "Welcome to Light Fields": https://store.steampowered.com/app/771310/Welcome_to_Light_Fields/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/771310/Welcome_to_Light_F... And yes, I wholeheartedly recommend giving it a try.

woah 6y ago

20-60x bandwidth requirements to be able to move your head around a little? Is it worth it?

nullifidian 6y ago
They could probably cut it down significantly by only streaming a several-inch-sized sphere of free movement, predicting what segment to stream next. There is a limitation to how fast human beings can move/rotate their heads.
faeyanpiraat 6y ago
Bandwidth is getting cheaper over time. Couple of years ago I got a 56K modem, and now 1gbps connections are getting mainstream.
- eptcyka 6y ago
  What you mean is, a couple of decades ago you got a 56k modem.
PetitPrince 6y ago
On a flatscreen I would say it's just a gimmick. With a VR headset though, since you are constantly moving your head a little I would say it's a massive improvement over 180° 3D videos, and really helps with the feeling of "being there".
dTal 6y ago
20-60x the bandwidth requirements is one of the things that can reasonably be expected to improve with effort. Look at 2D video and how much better h264 is than, say, GIF. And the higher the dimensionality, the more data but also the more low-hanging fruit for compression. We had 100:1 lossy lightfield compression 20 years ago; we can likely put another zero on that, maybe more with machine learning. That's what the linked paper is about - effective representations for lightfield data. The field is just kicking off.
VikingCoder 6y ago
Have you tried Welcome to Lightfields? If they get that working with video, it's absolutely worth it.

PetitPrince 6y ago

Link to the app, it's called "Welcome to Light Fields": https://store.steampowered.com/app/771310/Welcome_to_Light_Fields/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/771310/Welcome_to_Light_F... And yes, I wholeheartedly recommend giving it a try.