Advanced Television

Harmonic, Blue Man Group team for VR experience

April 24, 2017

At the 2017 NAB Show, Harmonic is showcasing its 360-degree immersive virtual reality (VR) technology with a demonstration featuring pre-recorded content of Blue Man Group from their stage at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

“Harmonic and Blue Man Group share a passion for stunning imagery that entertains and awakens the senses in new ways,” said Doug Baldinger, vice president, creative development at Blue Man Productions. “This is the first VR experience for Blue Man Group. We look forward to working with Harmonic at the 2017 NAB Show and bringing our energy and music to life in the virtual reality domain.”

The 360-degree VR demonstration will feature 8K production by Digital Immersion and Tiledmedia’s Tiled VR Streaming technology integrated with the Harmonic PURE Compression Engine, Viaccess-Orca’s Connected Sentinel Player for secure playback and Samsung Gear VR headsets. Through HEVC tiling technology and world-class compression, broadcasters and other content providers can deliver an immersive VR experience to head-mounted devices with the utmost efficiency and video resolution 10 times higher than that offered by existing, commercially deployed VR services.

“Harmonic and its ecosystem partners are setting the benchmark for VR video quality and bandwidth efficiency,” said Bart Spriester, senior vice president, video products at Harmonic. “Collaborating with Blue Man Group makes this demonstration all the more exciting, as they truly exemplify innovation in entertainment, blending beautifully with the technology innovation being showcased by Harmonic. If you’ve never seen Blue Man Group or experienced the mesmerising power of VR technology, stop by the booth and enjoy a one-of-a-kind show in native UHD resolution.”

Categories: Articles, Content, VR