Ateme’s advanced video compression technology is used for the VR near-live coverage in Ultra High Definition (UHD) of Sunday’s ultimate football showdown between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, in partnership with Fox Sports and LiveLike. Altogether, they’re teaming up to offer a virtual and interactive lounge during the game that presents highlights from the game in near real-time via the Fox Sports VR app for iOS and Android devices. Thus, each viewer equipped with VR handset can experience the game in the same way as sit in a VIP lounge in the stadium.
   

For this major event, six Ultra HD cameras placed in strategic location are used for a complete immersion in the action. Ateme plays a major role in this technological first, as each camera is streamed in OTT using Titan, the Ateme’s software-based encoder-transcoder. Supporting any codec, any resolution up to UHD, Titan delivers the highest video quality at minimum bitrates, which reduces the high bandwidth necessary to provide the service to the consumer home.

“We have worked very closely with Ateme for many years. The scalability and bandwidth efficiency of Titan Live and Titan File matches our VR broadcast specificities as well as our customer’s requirements”, says Fabrice Lorenceau, founder and LiveLike head of production. “On top of that, they provide a pristine video quality, which is crucial to get the best user experience”.

“We’re proud to participate in VR development, and make VR streaming delivery become a reality. The challenge here was to lower the bitrate at its maximum to reach the wider possible audience, while maintaining high video quality,” says Michel Artières, CEO of Ateme.