At the 2017 NAB Show, Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in video
delivery infrastructure, will showcase cutting-edge innovations in 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. In addition to the cutting-edge demo, Harmonic will host booth
appearances by the highly acclaimed performance art company.
“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 mesmerizing
power of VR technology, stop by the booth and enjoy a one-of-a-kind show in native
UHD resolution.”
The striking Blue Man Group content was shot live on stage by Digital Immersion
using an innovative VR rig to capture dynamic moves and put the viewer into
otherwise impossible perspectives during the group’s live performance. The video
content can be viewed on YouTube, and can be streamed for viewing on Samsung
Gear VR headsets at the Samsung store.
Additionally, at the 2017 NAB Show, experts from Harmonic and Tiledmedia will
present the state-of-the-art in VR streaming and bandwidth reduction during a
session at the Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology Conference. The
presentation, “Streaming UHD-Quality VR at Realistic Bitrates: Mission
Impossible?,” will take place on Monday, April 24 from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. in room
N260 at the LVCC.
Beyond developing innovations in VR technology, Harmonic is a founding member of
the VR Industry Forum, which is committed to driving the widespread availability of
high-quality audiovisual VR experiences by creating end-to-end interoperability of
VR across key media and entertainment sectors.
Further information about Harmonic and the company’s products is available at www.harmonicinc.com
