Nreal and Accedo Bring AR TV Streaming to its Mixed Reality Glasses
Accedo has partnered with the China-based Augmented Reality glasses manufacturer Nreal to bring augmented reality video viewing to its customers. A demo of an AR sports broadcast along with other examples showcase the breadth of new viewing experiences that are possible with Nreal’s tech glasses, even with the conventional image formats.
Nreal’s recently unveiled Nreal Air glasses seem like a step backwards at first glance when compared to the original Nreal Light glasses. For instance, the Air does not have the cameras with which the Light orients itself in the room, that means no room tracking anymore.
Nreal is, instead, fully optimizing its Air glasses for application scenarios that Light users mostly focused their device usage on: video streaming. The Air glasses are capable of displaying a digital 130-inch screen from a distance of three meters or a 200-inch screen from a distance of 6 meters with a pixel density of 49PPD at 90Hz.
Sports Screening with Nreal Glasses on Multi-screens
The fact that video streaming in augmented reality can be more than just an image on a digital monitor has been demo’d in Nreal’s partnership with Accedo XR, a cross-platform solution that enables video providers to rapidly launch their Extended Reality (XR) experiences via templated designs.
In its partnership with Nreal, the company developed a sports broadcast demo, a use-case that now extends the capabilities of these mixed reality glasses.
Through Nreal glasses, users can see inside a large digital screen with the game itself. Next to it on a second screen are additional statistics along with 3D infographics that float freely in space. The same principle works with documentation.
Through its own platform, Accedo supports DRM content for internet media services that wish to prepare videos for immersive streaming. The demo with Nreal was filmed through the Nreal Light glasses although the output should be the same with what you’d get with the new Nreal Air glasses.
The partnership between Nreal and Accedo will enable OTT providers to introduce their content to the lightweight Nreal AR glasses. Accedo also announced that new video formats like the 360/180 VR videos along with volumetric video will be added as these formats see widespread adoption in the mainstream market. OTT services are able to fully customize the mixed reality experience or to integrate with an existing Accedo XR video player.
Nreal says that its partnership with Accedo now allows it to offer an industry wide unique framework that will make it easier and secure for OTT providers to deliver video content in an innovative and dynamic new format through both of its mixed reality glasses.
Challenge with AR Streaming
The demo showcased by Accedo and Nreal still has a challenge: proper AR streaming doesn’t just run by itself. There is still a dearth of video content that is made specifically for AR as the market size is still too small. Magic Leap has in the past showcased AR-video demos but these remained just that, demos, and never transitioned into concrete use-cases.
For broadcasts such as Nreal Light’s and Accedo’s demo to be available as standard content streaming formats, the video glasses technology would have to be more widely available and spread across numerous manufacturers, just like the virtual reality headsets. Accedo also supports Oculus Quest 2 headsets and smartphone AR which somewhat broadens the potential user base.
Perhaps, Apple might give tailwind to immersive video streaming. The iPhone company is reportedly working on two tech glasses one of which is a VR-AR device that is set to launch in the coming year. In 2020, Apple acquired the startup NextVR that specializes in XR streaming. Facebook might also be working on some streaming service for its Quest platform that works for both AR and VR.
https://virtualrealitytimes.com/2021/10/21/nreal-and-accedo-bring-ar-tv-streaming-to-its-mixed-reality-glasses/https://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Nreal-600x335.jpghttps://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Nreal-150x90.jpgTechnologyVirtual Reality NewsAccedo has partnered with the China-based Augmented Reality glasses manufacturer Nreal to bring augmented reality video viewing to its customers. A demo of an AR sports broadcast along with other examples showcase the breadth of new viewing experiences that are possible with Nreal’s tech glasses, even with the conventional...Sam OchanjiSam Ochanji[email protected]EditorVirtual Reality Times - Metaverse & VR