At YouTube, we are focused on enabling the kind of immersive and interactive experiences that only VR can provide, making digital video as immersive as it can be. In March 2015, we launched support for 360-degree videos shortly followed by VR (3D 360) videos . In 2016 we brought 360 live streaming and spatial audio and a dedicated YouTube VR app to our users.in a joint effort between YouTube and Daydream , we're adding new ways to make 360 and VR videos look even more realistic.visual acuity which is 60 pixels per degree of immersive content. We are however limited by user internet connection speed and device capabilities. One way to bridge the gap between these limitations and the human visual acuity is to use better projection methods.Better Projections equirectangular projection . Initially, we chose this projection when we launched 360 videos because it is easy to produce by camera software and easy to edit.
It has high quality at the poles (top and bottom of image) where people don’t look as much – typically, sky overhead and ground below are not that interesting to look at.
It has lower quality at the equator or horizon where there is typically more interesting content.
It has fewer vertical pixels for 3D content.
A straight line motion in the real world does not result in a straight line motion in equirectangular projection, making videos hard to compress.
Drawbacks of equirectangular (EQ) projection
skybox and other special effects.
Equirectangular projection saturation map
Cubemap projection saturation map
Equi-angular Cubemap or EAC . The EAC projection’s saturation is significantly more uniform than the previous two, while further improving quality at the equator:
Equi-angular Cubemap - EAC
Creating Industry Standards mesh format draft standard on github inviting industry experts to comment and are hoping to turn this into a widely agreed upon industry standard.upload recommendations .Anjali Wheeler, Software Engineer, recently watched "Disturbed - The Sound Of Silence ."
