GoPro Will Release a Consumer 360 Degree Camera, YouTube Will Support HDR Video
There are always new technologies coming out of CES, and this year's show was no different.
During a keynote, YouTube's Robert Kyncl mentioned that the company will be supporting HDR video, joining streaming companies like Amazon and Netflix. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range video, and it's a display format that improves subtleties in contrast, giving you a lot more detail throughout the image, especially in places that would normally be crushed, muddy, or overexposed. We're seeing plenty of TV makers jump on the bandwagon with support on their newest 4K TVs, but we'll likely see the technology in all of our displays sooner or later. As many have noted in the industry, HDR will probably have a more profound impact on the watching experience than increases in resolution (and most higher-end cinema cameras can already export proper HDR images in post).
In addition, around 55 minutes into the keynote, GoPro CEO Nick Woodman let it slip that they would be developing a "more casual" spherical camera for consumers, which likely means a whole new design with front and rear cameras, as opposed to the rig you see above. They'll join other major companies like Nikon in creating a simple-to-use 360 camera that does most of the work for shooters. GoPro is positioned well to introduce a simple 360 camera to the masses.
If you'd like to watch the whole keynote, here it is, and you can jump to 38 minutes for the discussion between Kyncl, GoPro CEO Nick Woodman, and Chris Milk, music video director and CEO of VRSE, a VR company:
The amount of video we're watching according to the keynote is staggering, and apparently the only two things we spend more time on are working and sleeping (though I'm sure eating and other activities have to be up there). In the next 5 years, video is going to make up most of internet traffic, which really isn't that surprising when you consider how much video is being watched, and how the quality continues to increase. With 4K and HDR, the bandwidth requirements are only going to get more insane, especially as people cut the cord and move to internet-only video services.
As for GoPro's 360 camera, we don't have any specific details yet, but it's likely a lot more difficult to create that technology than the spherical rig we've already seen.
Source: CES
