Nokia announces next-generation technologies for the advancement of virtual reality with OZO Reality vision and partner ecosystem

Press release

Nokias next generation of world-class OZO solutions sets a new standard for the creation, delivery and experience of immersive content

Strong ecosystem support for OZO Reality Platform with new and expanded partnerships including Akamai, AWS Elemental, Harmonic, NeuLion, Youku and more

19 April 2017

NAB Show, Las Vegas, NV, U.S. - Driven by an ongoing commitment to push the boundaries of possibility in virtual, augmented and mixed reality, Nokia today unveiled its next generation of immersive technology solutions. Through its best-in-class tools for the creative community and an unparalleled partner ecosystem, Nokia is delivering the next step towards OZO Reality, a higher level of consumer experience defined by superior immersion, new creative possibilities, and increased efficiency for the creation, delivery and experience of immersive storytelling.

There is virtual reality, and then there is OZO Reality: our vision for the future of virtual and mixed reality experiences, seamlessly blending the real with the virtual and transcending time and space. We are developing new innovations that work together to empower storytellers, enable audiences to participate in content anywhere on any platform, and deliver on the promise of transformative experiences that help the human family feel more together, said Paul Melin, VP of Digital Media, Nokia Technologies. As VR and AR fast approach a tipping point that will lead to explosive growth, OZO products and technologies are well-positioned to be key drivers for the future of an industry that could top $100 billion in less than a decade.*

At NAB 2017 in Las Vegas, Nokia will unleash an ambitious slate of new technologies and enhancements to its OZO product line-up. The total system update includes OZO , a significant upgrade of Nokias industry-leading professional VR camera solution, coupled with OZO Creator, Nokias completely updated VR image processing and stereoscopic software now including mixed reality enablement. This powerful combination produces generational advancements in image quality and efficiency in the creative process. Nokia has also significantly enhanced OZO Live, the highly-regarded scalable 3D 360 livestream solution, with spatial audio mixing and the unique spatial audio technology OZO Audio.

Nokia is announcing a major step in solving the problem of delivering immersive experiences over existing networks. The new OZO Reality Platform, including OZO Deliver, OZO Player SDK, and Nokia VR format extensions, enables higher-quality experiences to reach broader audiences by allowing for delivery and playback interoperability. These technologies enable a broad ecosystem of partners to deliver higher resolution, spatial audio, and support for mixed reality experiences for content captured with any high-quality VR camera system.

Nokia will showcase at NAB its industry-leading technologies across every step of the virtual reality workflow:

CREATE

OZO - The industry-leading professional virtual reality camera solution that captures stereoscopic 360 video and 360x360 spatial sound receives its most significant update yet:

Paired with OZO Creator, OZO produces professional-grade images that have better dynamic range and better color so that they are sharper, cleaner and more natural than ever before.

Enabled through the rich stereoscopic data captured in RAW format, OZO is the only VR camera that creates depth maps ready for 3DFX compositing and mixed reality experiences.

OZO Creator - Combines powerful RAW image processing with easy-to-use and efficient post-production tools that seamlessly integrate into VR production workflows:

The completely new ISP (image signal processing pipeline) delivers next-gen visual quality for content shot with OZO and VR cameras.

In addition to best-in-class stereoscopic stitching, OZO Creator now features depth map export and Nokia VR distribution format extension support to enable mixed reality content that deliver new advancements in creative control and quality.

OZO Live - Produce live 3D 360 experiences to professional broadcast standards.

New spatial audio mixing capabilities allow for the creation of customized audio mixes for each camera feed, incorporating both ambient audio and sound reinforcement from multiple audio feeds, with output in 5.1, ambisonics, or OZO Audio format.

Worlds first public demonstration of dual-UHD output for 4K per eye resolution live streaming that unlocks unprecedented quality alongside OZO Lives renowned reliability and professional broadcasting at scale.

DELIVER

The backbone of the OZO Reality Platform is a set of technologies and format extensions, developed by Nokia and embraced by a broad ecosystem of partners, which enable the real-world delivery of 360 video and mixed reality experiences with unprecedented efficiency and uncompromised quality:

VR format extensions - Nokias VR distribution and streaming format extensions now enable higher resolution, depth carriage, and spatial audio.

OZO Deliver - A software component that enables OZO Reality Platform partners to ingest and manage advanced immersive experiences, and to deliver them at lower bandwidth to broader audiences.

EXPERIENCE

Depth-enabled mixed reality, spatial full-sphere sound and support for 4K, 6K and 8K resolution enable audiences to experience immersive presence in the way creators envisioned:

OZO Player SDK - Native code that can run in an existing video app for turnkey playback of VR content:

Provides a single interface to efficiently develop for all major VR and 360 video platforms and apps.

Now features depth rendering with occlusion to provide real-time integration of mixed reality elements like advertising and game-engine created elements.

OZO Audio - Advanced spatial audio technology with 3D recording and playback capabilities, designed specifica

LINK:	http://www.nokia.com/en_int/news/releases/2017/04/19/nokia-announces-n...
	See more stories from nokia

Most recent headlines