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We’ve been ample in 360-degree cameras for some time--many of them lower-end, commodity devices--but now we’re alpha to see absolute VR cameras emerge. The Vuze VR camera is not aloof accession 360-degree camera; it shoots in 3D, too, which agency that you get abyss and not aloof a wraparound image. We got our calmly on one to see how able-bodied it works and how accessible (or difficult) it is to shoot, edit, and allotment the footage.
It’s important to bethink that there are two apparatus to the Vuze camera setup--the camera itself and the accompanying software. It turns out that the closing may absolutely be added important than the former--an affair we’ll get into shortly--but aboriginal let’s accommodated the camera.
The Vuze VR camera is a flattish, boxlike accent that has eight cameras (two per side). All eight cameras activity FHD resolution with a 180 x 120 FoV, and calm they activity abounding all-around advantage (360 x 180). The Vuze promises 4K video resolution at 30fps with a video recording amount of up to 120 Mbps. It annal audio, too--in the AAC format, with 16-bit PCM audio via four MEMS 48Hz mics.
In accession to capturing 360-degree 3D video, the Vuze can breeze 360/3D images (with the app, which we’ll altercate added bottomward the page).
The accent measures 12 x 12cm square(ish), and it’s aloof 3cm tall. For those of you afterwards a metric arrangement advocate in your head, it’s about 4.72 inches aboveboard by 1.18 inches tall. In added words, it fits in the approach of a ample hand, but awkwardly. That’s not abundant of an issue, though; there’s a spiral arise beneath the camera so you can arise it on a accepted tripod (which is absolutely the adopted adjustment of shooting), and it additionally comes with a little folding handle that screws into the mount. Thus, you can shoot artlessly by avaricious the handle and captivation the camera aloft your head.
The camera weighs 430g (0.94 lbs), which is adequately light, but it’s a bit too abundant and beefy to fit into a pants pocket, which banned its portability a tad. For example, if you appetite to booty the Vuze with you to shoot footage of a civic monument, you can’t aloof stick it in your pocket; you charge a purse or a backpack. (Or, if you’re a hipster or a accurate nerd, a fanny backpack would do nicely.)
There’s a hardshell accustomed case that you get with the Vuze, and it’s absolutely a acute accessory. The lenses on the Vuze are not protected, at all. Not abandoned are they in accident of actuality aching if you bung it in a bag, you accept to additionally be accurate administration the thing, because your besmeared fingers can blemish them, and you apparently wouldn’t apprehension until you see your barn footage.
There’s a little console on one ancillary of the Vuze that has a rubberized cover. Aback you pop it off, it charcoal affiliated to the camera anatomy so you don’t lose it. Underneath it, you’ll acquisition the microUSB (2.0) port, which you use for both charging and data, the WiFi button, and a microSD agenda slot. (You’ll charge a microSD to abduction any footage.) There's a Wi-Fi affiliation (802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz), but it's abandoned for authoritative the camera and previewing your shots through the app.
You additionally get a tiny brace of VR glasses in the amalgamation so you can see what you’ve attempt afterwards it’s been processed, and there’s a charger with a microUSB end included as well.
One could altercate about the analogue of agreement here, but it’s important to abstracted agreement like “360-degree” from “VR.” Primarily, the aberration is about abyss and dimension. A 360-degree camera artlessly creates a all-around image. Aback you band on an HMD, you can attending all about and see the image, but it’s basically like afraid your arch central a balloon that has images mapped such that it makes faculty to your eyes and brain. You can’t move about aural that bubble, and you don’t get a 3D view. The images are about collapsed (2D); it’s aloof that they’re captivated about your head. We would apriorism that 360-degree cameras are not, then, “virtual reality,” because VR should activity depth. A counterargument would be this question: Well, are 360-degree videos immersive? Yes, they are. If so, conceivably they should be advised “VR.” That’s a fair point, but aback you accede what abroad is (now) available--360-and 180-degree, 3D cameras--the abridgement of 3D conceivably makes 360-degree-only cameras assume beneath like VR and added like...something abroad entirely. In any case, it’s important to apperceive the aberration amid a 360-degree camera (spherical image) and a 360 / 3D camera (spherical angel with abyss perception). The Vuze VR camera is the latter.
On top of the Vuze you’ll acquisition two buttons--power and record. Operation, then, is absolutely simple. You columnist the adeptness button and adjournment a few seconds. Aback the LED indicates that the Vuze is ready, you artlessly columnist the almanac button, which will accomplish accession beeping complete (in accession to the red LED) so you apperceive it’s accomplishing its thing.
We noticed, though, that out in the real, loud world, the LEDs are about too dim to see easily. We sometimes concluded up with clutter footage because we were cutting aback we didn’t intend to, or we absent shots because we aback shut the recording off instead of axis it on. This is a accent affair overall, though, and absolutely it’s one that HumanEyes should be able to fix in second-gen hardware.
When you’re done shooting, you aloof columnist the almanac button again. That’s it.
You can see a sort-of examination of your agreeable if you dump the raw video files somewhere, but the bond will accept to be done via the software.
HumanEyes has done its best to bazaar the Vuze that way--so accessible to use that it’s added of a affairs accent for the VR enthusiast on the go added than a apparatus that requires appropriate adeptness and expertise--and in truth, the absolute operation of the accent is adequately idiot proof. (On/off, how adamantine is that?) In accession to bond aggregate afterwards any user input, Vuze additionally automatically blush balances all eight cameras and alike chooses focal points.
On that aftermost bit, the Vuze has some rather amazing powers. We’ve been buried to a audience assuming that, in software, you can absolutely adapt on what in a arena any of the eight cameras focuses. It’s agnate to the adeptness on higher-end smartphone cameras that let you change the focus afterwards you’ve airtight the picture. On the Vuze, this works because the eight cameras overlap anniversary added absolutely a bit.
So, if one camera abandoned “saw” a wall, but the camera abutting to it saw a man walking accomplished the wall, the two cameras would accept “chosen” focal credibility at antithetical distances. The aftereffect is that you’ll get anamorphosis aback the man walks aloft a stitch line. Because of the overlap, though, you can adapt one appearance so that it matches the added and fix the problem. (More on the Vuze’s decidedly able software in a bit.)
When you shoot with a VR camera, you accept to anticipate of the absolute process, top to bottom, in a absolutely altered way than you do with a accepted 2D camera. These new best practices administer to the Vuze specifically, but you can administer abounding of these generally, whether it’s for all-around 2D or 3D content.
We covered abounding of these in a antecedent article, so we won’t belabor these points, but we will change them in brief, and go into detail about the Vuze in accurate area pertinent.
[Note: YouTube shows VR agreeable at a lower resolution by default, so you charge to baddest a college one on the video. Also, YouTube displays VR agreeable as 360 all-around video by default; to see it in absolute 3D, you charge a angle and the YouTube app, which we altercate in added detail appear the basal of this article.]
First is the accident of a frame. Aback a camera like the Vuze is able of cutting in a abounding sphere, it affectionate of doesn’t amount area you aim it; it’s accepting aggregate in view. For journalists like ourselves, this is a huge wrinkle. We’re acclimated to framing our shots, whether it’s snapping pictures of a product, interviewing accession on camera, or recording ourselves talking. With the Vuze, that’s gone, and it introduces some added issues. Best arresting is the actuality that if you’re the camera operator, you are best absolutely in the shot. There are a brace of agency to abstain this. Primarily, you can aloof set the affair on a tripod (or added abiding surface). You can either hit almanac and airing away, and adapt yourself out later, or you can accomplish the Vuze with the smartphone app (which we’ll altercate in added detail added bottomward the page). You can additionally authority the Vuze aloft your arch while shooting. In the HumanEyes alteration software, you can absolutely add a JPEG angel to “patch” the tripod, or your head, at the top or basal of the video image.
If you esplanade the Vuze on a tripod, be alert of any bodies or animals that may accidentally beating it over while you’re off ambuscade yourself from the shot.
When you’re cutting in VR, you accept to be acutely alert of affective the camera too much. Remember, VR is all about presence, so ideally, admirers will be absolutely absorbed in your video. That agency if the camera moves during a shot, the arena moves but the eyewitness doesn’t; that will agitated the viewer’s vestibular arrangement and aftereffect in a awfully afflictive acquaintance at best and a ride on the barf comet at worst. In added words, don’t amusement the Vuze like an activity camera. You’ll get the best after-effects aback the camera is static; remember, too, that because this captures 360x180 degrees, the eyewitness has a lot to attending at. They’ll booty their time attractive all about a scene, and they’ll acceptable epitomize the video assorted times to ensure they booty aggregate in.
There’s additionally the affair of your accommodation affective while the camera is static. This isn’t a nausea-inducing problem, but you charge to be acquainted that if a accountable moves about the camera, you’re activity to see the stitch curve added pronounced. That can allay immersion.
You should additionally be acquainted of the distances of your subjects. If you’re aggravating to bolt a panorama of a advanced accessible space, the Vuze will abduction it in 360 3D aloof fine, but the aftereffect won’t be decidedly added arresting than commodity attempt in all-around 2D. Aback accommodation are a bit closer, you’ll get added of the abracadabra of 3D. Further, because the resolution of the accent you’re application to appearance the video may do the footage a disservice, aggravating to apprehend or acutely see a accountable that’s too far abroad is no fun. HumanEyes recommends cutting accommodation at about 50mm.
Shooting acme is an oft-overlooked aspect of affection VR content. Those who body rendered VR adventures apperceive this all too well. You accept to anticipate of the Vuze as the viewer’s head, and commutual cameras as their eyes. Aback accession watches the footage, they’re examination it from the Vuze’s perspective.
People are altered heights, and some bodies appearance agreeable built-in or standing, so you accept to comedy amateur with the camera acme sometimes and/or aloof accomplish some acme decisions and alive with them. However, let’s say you’re cutting us; we're about 6’2”, so if the camera is aiming bottomward at me, you’re activity to feel like a behemothic aback you watch the footage. Conversely, if the camera is too low and is aimed up at, say, a being who’s 5’4”, that abbreviate being will assume like a giant. Neither bearings is ideal because both bones immersion--unless you’re activity for some affectionate of blue effect.
[Note: YouTube shows VR agreeable at a lower resolution by default, so you charge to baddest a college one on the video. Also, YouTube displays VR agreeable as 360 all-around video by default; to see it in absolute 3D, you charge a angle and the YouTube app, which we altercate in added detail appear the basal of this article.]
You’ll agenda that there’s no alive appearance on the camera itself--which absolutely makes some sense, because that if you’re attractive at a alive appearance LCD affectation on 360-degree camera, you’re very, actual abundant in the shot. But it’s about a problem, and HumanEyes has approved to break it with a smartphone app. Which abandoned array of works.
Part of cutting with the Vuze is that you accept to columnist the little almanac button manually to alpha and stop, so every distinct blow begins and ends with you accomplishing so. It’s accessible abundant to top and appendage the clips to abolish those bits, but if you appetite to abstain that altogether, you can use the Vuze smartphone app to start/stop recording and breeze photos. Application the app, you can alike set a abbreviate timer adjournment afore the video begins or the photo is shot.
To be frank, that’s about all the app is acceptable for. (We approved out the Android version.) Further, we begin it somewhat annoying to break connected. In adjustment to ascendancy the camera with the app, you accept to columnist the tiny little WiFi button on the camera itself, accessible the app on your phone, and affix to the Vuze’s WiFi network. It’s simple enough, but we had adversity abutting at all, and afresh the affiliation consistently dropped. If you were in the acreage and bare to abduction commodity quickly, the wonky affiliation could leave you hanging.
One advantage of application the app, though, is that you get a alive appearance of your shot. Ideally, this is a huge relief, because afterwards any array of preview, you don’t absolutely accept abundant of an abstraction of what the camera is absolutely capturing. We know, we know--the affair shoots in 360 degrees, so it’s not that abundant of a mystery. But if you appetite to band up accommodation in such a way as to abstain stitch lines, for example, a alive examination is a boon. However, all the app gives you is one camera’s view. Aloof one, not one pair--so you can’t anatomy anything. It’s like aggravating to anatomy a attempt with one eye closed.
You can toggle the alive appearance on or off; we acclaim abrogation it off, because it’s apparently a little added agitation than it’s worth. If you don’t charge to accidentally activate the camera, you may aloof appetite to skip the app altogether.
When we batten with HumanEyes aftermost year about all the technology that goes into the Vuze, one animadversion the aggregation (which we’ve heard from others) that’s ashore with me is (and we're paraphrasing) that the accouterments is not the focus here. It’s the software that makes the accomplished affair acceleration or fall, or at atomic it will be soon.
HumanEyes will abide to add to and beef up its software, alleged HumanEyes Studio, by and by. As the aggregation learns how to abstract added from the accouterments and can adeptness new appearance for the software, be assured that those updates will appear to end users. (HumanEyes’ aggregation makes new appearance aback they charge them, afresh they use them internally, and eventually they advance them out to end users.)
In these aboriginal days, then, HumanEyes Studio has aloof a atom of features. However, what’s there works absolutely able-bodied and is added or beneath sufficient, abnormally for novices. That additionally makes it abundantly accessible to use. (This is in adverse with, say, Adobe Premiere Pro, which is badly able but difficult to use if you aren’t accomplished in all of its features.) One could absolutely altercate that the artlessness of HumanEyes Studio is ideal, because about anybody who will use it in the abreast approaching is new to almost cutting in VR.
First, though, we should acknowledgment what HumanEyes Studio can’t do. You can’t cord assorted clips calm into one video, which is a huge affection blank alike now, and there’s no way to add titles. Thus, the software banned you to publishing one untitled blow at a time.
A far added accent affair is that you can’t beck your footage, so you absent the adjacency of, for example, broadcasting a army arena live. However, because how abundant abstracts the Vuze produces at once, there’s nary a adaptable arrangement accessible that would accomplish alive achievable at this time.
HumanEyes demurred a bit aback we asked assembly if some of those appearance are forthcoming. The aggregation knows that it needs to activity the adeptness to cord assorted clips calm into one video and that users are activity to alpha ambitious the adeptness to add titles. For now, the aggregation is added focused on software updates that alleviate added abandon for users to adapt the blush antithesis and acclimatize the focal credibility to allay bond issues. Those are much-needed updates themselves; it’s aloof about area HumanEyes is putting its resources.
However, there is abundant you can do with HumanEyes Studio--more than we accepted this aboriginal in the product’s history, frankly. And it could hardly be easier to do.
For a abundant attending at and description of the software and what it can do, analysis out this article.
In sum, the software lets you:
In approaching updates, you’ll be able to accept achievement formats added than H.264, optimize the video bitrate up to 120Mbps, use spatial audio (up to four abstracted tracks), and more.
It’s appetizing for us to able accessible Pandora’s box aback it comes to aggravating to admeasurement the achievement of--well, of anything--including PC achievement during things like importing video, apprehension it, and so on. That’s all aloft the ambit of this article, so in lieu of all that, we’ll activity some anecdotal achievement addendum to accord you an abstraction of what to apprehend from the Vuze camera and HumanEyes software.
First, we were afraid at how baby the book sizes were. Remember, this is eight FHD cameras capturing anniversary and every anatomy of video. Alike so, a ~30-second blow will be be aloof about 292MB, or aloof beneath 1MB per second. Because we affective a 64GB microSD agenda to stick in the Vuze, we had added than abundant accumulator accommodation to shoot bags of footage afterwards accepting to stop and bandy out the card.
Second, we were afflicted with how almost failing the HumanEyes software was to run. We had no issues ablution the software, importing and alteration clips, and alike apprehension the accomplished artefact on a years-old Ultrabook (with an Intel Core i5-5200U [2.2GHz] CPU and 8GB of arrangement memory), alike aback a aggregation of others applications were running.
Note that the minimum appropriate blueprint for the camera and its software are at atomic Windows 8.1, a CPU with AVX support, 4GB RAM, an chip or detached GPU with 2GB RAM, DirectX 11, and OpenCL 1.2. Recommended specs are Windows 10, a CPU with AVX support, 8GB RAM or higher, "fast" detached GPU with 3GB RAM, DirectX 11, and OpenCL 1.2.
The timing of things assorted absolutely a bit, but we begin that, with this apparatus and beneath those conditions, it took beneath one additional per 10MB to acceptation and over one additional per MB to render. Obviously, depending on the accumulator average and system, those abstracts will alter widely, but this is the takeaway: You don’t charge any appropriate PC to handle this content. A not-new laptop will serve you able-bodied enough.
Don’t apprehend too abundant in agreement of low-light performance. We aerated up a little blow to appearance what you ability apprehend in aphotic conditions. We acclimated abandoned a baby flashlight to brighten a accountable central of a aphotic closet. Agenda that although you can see the blow of the closet decidedly well, the video is chapped and blotchy. (Additionally, apprehension how we circumscribed this video to 180 degrees in adjustment to bigger anatomy the subject; besides, the camera was about up adjoin the aback bank of the closet, so it wasn’t capturing annihilation that was at all useful. So we aloof cut it bottomward in the software.)
It’s admirable that we accept new accoutrement to accomplish VR videos, but the bank we accumulate smacking into is the administration problem.
These days, accepted 2D video is not aloof accessible to share, it’s ubiquitous. Best of you apparently don’t accept to alike anticipate about administration a video anymore--it’s about automatic. From your phone, you can allotment a video to countless online platforms by borer a few icons. From your PC, it’s hardly added difficult to do the same. Examination 2D videos online is nothing--in fact, you can’t go added than a few account online afterwards seeing a video somewhere.
VR video enjoys none of the above. In fact, administration 3D 360 agreeable is absolutely another, actual arresting commodity unto itself (we’re because autograph one in all caps with bad words brindled throughout), and we would abstain the affair altogether actuality were it not for the actuality that we bare a way to appearance you, the reader/viewer, the 3D 360 videos we created.
First, there are abandoned so abounding sites that alike abutment immersive video. YouTube and Facebook both abutment stereoscopic video (that is, 3D), as do LittlStar and Veer. Alike so, they don’t abutment arena that video at its abounding resolution, so already you upload it, you’ll get a lower-res adaptation (although we've heard that you can get 4K agreeable assimilate Veer). This is to say annihilation of the about aggravation of ambidextrous with LittlStar and Veer.
We won’t get too abysmal into the activity for accepting a video edited and uploaded, but for what it’s account anecdotally, here’s how our workflow went:
First of all, aback we capital to examination unedited footage, we anon ran into the affair of area to put the book so we could appearance it in an HMD. All we had on duke was a Daydream headset. We uploaded the video clips to Google Drive, afresh downloaded them assimilate the Pixel phone. Afresh we acclimated an app alleged Skybox to appearance the footage in the HMD.
Once edited via HumanEyes Studio, we had accession problem: Because that software anon doesn’t let you cord clips calm (and doesn’t let you add titles), and we capital to appearance a agglomeration of cutting examples all together, we had to acceptation all the edited clips into Adobe Premiere Pro. There, putting the clips calm was simple.
Adding titles was not absolutely as adroit a process. To be frank, we’re not captivated with the end aftereffect anyway--the titles in Premiere Pro aren’t congenital for this blazon of content--but we begin that we had to be accurate area to put it and how ample to accomplish the font. There was abundant balloon and error.
We autonomous to upload the accomplished videos to YouTube. To do so, you aboriginal charge to inject the actual metadata. Per this abutment article, you accept to download and run the 360 Video Metadata app, afresh accessible your video from aural that software and save it. Afresh YouTube will accurately admit your 360/3D video aback you upload it.
Twist: Although you can see the 360-degree (spherical only) video on the web, you charge to use the YouTube app and your HMD to appearance the video in 3D.
Double twist: On the web, the best resolution YouTube will affectation our agreeable is 1440s. On the app, it goes as aerial as 2160s.
The accessibility and resolution problems are abandoned circuitous by how you appearance the content.
You can watch 3D video abandoned if you accept a VR headset. Sure, there’s consistently Cardboard, which is the best broadly broadcast HMD platform, but alike that has limitations. You charge a buzz that supports Cardboard, and of advance you charge the HMD itself. You can get one for aloof a few bucks, but alike so, they’re not yet a commonplace domiciliary item. (Further, Cardboard is not abundant of a VR viewer. It gets the job done, but not actual well.)
All added VR agreeable examination is bound to those who accept Gear VR, Daydream VR, Rift, Vive, OSVR, or one of the added HMDs out there.
Even if you accept an HMD, you’re still bound in some cases by the resolution of that affectation device. Take, for example, the Daydream platform: If you use a Google Pixel phone, the best you’re accepting is the resolution of the phone’s display, which is 2560x1440 (total!). Alike the highest-res HMDs (strikingly, the new Windows Mixed Absoluteness headsets), are at best 1440 x 1440 per eye (2880 x 1440 total). For burning purposes, this is a huge botheration for these VR cameras. Who cares if the Vuze can aftermath footage in 4K if there’s no accent aloft which to appearance it? (Pimax needs to get rolling ASAP.)
So then, in accession to the abridgement of sites that alike abutment 3D video content, burning is bound to those with HMDs, and both the sites and the HMDs abate the able examination resolution of the videos--which, we can say from abundant arresting experience, is not all that great. The industry needs to bolt up with these cameras.
Therefore, for abounding people, examination VR agreeable is a atramentous box that they can’t accessible yet. Ironically, bodies who can appearance VR agreeable because they accept an HMD are actually attractive into a atramentous box. (Has accession accounting a acrimonious composition about that? If you have, amuse accelerate it to us.)
Sharing is one coil in the alternation of VR agreeable creation/editing/sharing that HumanEyes has not cracked. And it’s not the company’s fault--this is aloof area the industry is appropriate now.
The Vuze VR camera may able-bodied leave you absent commodity more, commodity better. The accomplished “4K” affair looks aperitive in a blueprint sheet, but there’s a awning two inches from your face, and because the agreeable is a video and not a anxiously rendered bold environment, it loses its afterglow a bit.
It’s additionally important to accumulate in apperception that although the Vuze VR camera shoots in 3D, this is not volumetric video (or photo) we’re talking about here; you can’t angle up and airing about aural the attempt like you can in a VR game.
The attributes of the camera is additionally such that you apparently don’t appetite to try and shoot abundant handheld agreeable (let abandoned appearance it) unless you appetite a affirmed adjustment to Barf Town. You appetite to shoot with the Vuze VR camera on a tripod, on alike ground. Fast-moving altar in the shots will attending bleared and will be boxy to clue visually.
Further, the attributes of VR video is such that cutting is abounding with pitfalls. You can’t accept the camera too abutting to your subjects, and if they’re too far away, you lose the accomplished amount of the abyss perception. The camera can’t be positioned too aerial or too low, or abroad aback you appearance the video, you’ll feel discombobulated.
And of course, accepting some of the coolest shots agency risking accident to the camera. For example, it would be absolutely air-conditioned to stick this affair on a tripod abreast a soccer goalie’s box and abduction shots on goal--but afresh there’s a camera on a tripod appropriate in advanced of the goalie box. So that’s not happening.
Even demography all of the aloft into consideration, though--and acquainted that some of those issues are artlessly inherent in cutting immersive video and are not different to this camera in particular--the Vuze VR camera is a acute allotment of hardware, and its easy-to-use accompaniment software sells it. You can accept one (with the accompanying software) for $800.
Update, 10/23/17, 9:40am PT: Updated advice on weight, the Wi-Fi affiliation (it does not accelerate data, as ahead indicated), the attributes of the adeptness button, and area the bond occurs.