As we know, volumetric video is a type of very heavy 3D data, as it is a collection of extremely detailed 3D models that change frame by frame. Streaming of such heavy data is usually a challenge for content creators as it restricts what can be done in immersive experiences and how viewers can consume it, and Sense of Space has been developing one of the best solutions out there.
Bandwidth is King
One of the aspects of good streaming is bandwidth, which defines how much data can be transmitted over a unit of time. When talking about volumetric video, bandwidth demands become much higher than commonly streamed content, such as audio, video, 3D objects, and even entire games.
For that reason, many experiences that utilize volumetric video end up choosing to not stream it, requiring that all the assets and rendering data get downloaded to the viewer’s local device. This is an issue for different reasons, such as hard-drive usage (and we all know our devices usually don’t exhibit a lot of free space), and sheer unwillingness to download an app that one might not like, or might not use more than once.
By streaming volumetric video experiences, creators and viewers don’t need to worry about downloads and installations, updates, or occupying hard drive space. But not all volumetric video streaming systems are the same.
Loading Time – Where Most Streaming Services Lose Viewers
Have you ever encountered a very slow loading bar at the beginning of an immersive experience? It’s frustrating and it just doesn’t conform with the speed most people are used to nowadays. If an experience doesn’t start right away, it might as well never start, because many viewers will give up on it and go to the next thing.
Since our system works with adaptive streaming of 3D data, we don’t need long loading times since our system isn’t downloading the whole data, or a big piece of it, we’re just streaming the first frames, and once that’s done we keep streaming the data one step ahead as the user watches it. Therefore, our Loading times are minimal, and even experiences with several minutes of volumetric video will only demand a few seconds of loading.
Native Adaptive Streaming – Smooth Experiences In Different Network Connections
An important aspect of smooth immersive experiences is adaptive streaming. Through this feature, we guarantee that experiences run fluidly across different types of network connections — either 4G, WiFi, or 5G. This allows end-users to see holograms in the highest possible quality and in the most efficient way for their specific scenario.
Our adaptive streaming solution constantly monitors the available bandwidth of the user and adjusts the volumetric video quality to match it. So the user gets the best possible quality that can be played without interruptions.
Today, Sense XR is the only WebAR player with native adaptive streaming for volumetric videos. Due to our excellent compression and optimization system and our adaptive streaming capabilities, we are able to maintain high frame rates in major browsers on desktops and mobile devices.
