Image source: Fraunhofer – HHI

Virtual worlds are in high demand, whether in computer games or even in planning processes in the industry, as well as in streaming video services. The delivery and storage standard OMAF, developed by the MPEG Group, will ensure in the future that all VR devices speak the same language and are compatible with each other. The HEVC Tile Based Streaming Technology from Fraunhofer HHI will enable a significant increase in the resolution of 360-degree videos with OMAF. Thus, high-definition video footage is making its way into Virtual Reality.

The OMAF standard that has been developed includes exact technical descriptions of how the media data must be formatted and how applications must be designed. Its wording is not particularly catchy, however – by nature, it does not answer any specific questions, for example about applications and uses of the standard. This is where the Virtual Reality Industry Forum (VRIF), which counts Fraunhofer – along with Intel, Qualcomm, Ericsson, Nokia, Dolby, Harmonic, Akamai, Sony, Huawei, Technicolor and others – as a founding member, takes over. The Industry Forum is developing guidelines for the OMAF standard, as well as best practice examples for industrial companies. The guidelines, to which the Fraunhofer HHI researchers have also significantly contributed and which are expected to be developed on an ongoing basis, cover the production of VR content as well as its distribution and use.

Souce: Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, HHI