VR video has been given a major boost by Google's announcements today.
With Google's ambition to take a central role in the creation stack for VR video, the landscape has changed significantly.
While 360 video has been available on YouTube for a number of months, full VR headset support will not only drive broader interest in the technology, it will provide content creators access to the distribution and monetisation opportunities.
Google's Jump VR video strategy is a significant development for the nascent VR video market. Until now the tools to render and assemble 360 video to generate convincing and immersive VR video have been largely limited to proprietary solutions from small VR-specific production companies. With Google's ambition to take a central role in the creation stack for VR video, the landscape has changed significantly.
Google Jump promises high quality production of 360 videos to make properly immersive VR video, which can then be distributed via an improved version of YouTube. If the assembler is easy to use and generates high quality VR video, Google's new platform is likely to play a significant role in driving VR adoption through the creation of more content. But, if content is poor and unconvincing this may have the opposite impact and undermine broader adoption of VR technology and content.
Google's support for VR headsets and Jump generated video on YouTube is a significant milestone. While 360 video has been available on YouTube for a number of months, full VR headset support will not only drive broader interest in the technology, it will provide content creators access to the distribution and monetisation opportunities of the platform's massive user base. VR video has been given a major boost by Google's announcements today.
