Video stitching is becoming more and more of a relevant topic for the display industry, assisted by the growth of virtual reality. Stitching the output of several image sensors together is essential in 360° video capture, and must be done in real-time for live video, such as sports or news. Several companies were showing solutions at NAB in Las Vegas recently.
UK-based Argon Design was launching a hardware-based stitching technology called Argon360. It is available as an IP core now, for incorporation into an ASIC, and is available for FPGA implementations. The hardware is scalable and enables real-time stitching.
Clifford Dive, Argon’s VP of business development, said: “Market research indicated a number of excellent software-based stitching solutions for use in post-production, but also an unsatisfied demand for a high performance real-time solution. After considering a number of approaches, we concluded that a hardware-based design would have the performance and scalability required to address a broad range of market needs for panoramic video, from live broadcast to consumer action cameras.”
StereoStitch launched its 3D 360 Video Stitching software product, which can be used to live-stitch 3D video, or for projection of VR concepts (e.g. content recorded using drone-mounted 3D cameras).
As well as stitching, the tool features colour correction as well as stereo and 3D generation in a single (mobile GPU-compatible) process, which can be embedded into a camera. Real-time throughput reaches 60fps.
360° ‘cinema-quality’ live-streaming technology was shown by VRLive and Radiant Images. As well as being demonstrated, it was used to help people who couldn’t physically attend NAB to experience the show; downloading the VRLive app enabled users to live stream the camera feed to a smartphone or VR headset. This enabled live stitching and distribution of content.
VRLive is a network for VR and 360° live-action content. Its partner, Radiant Images, is a digital cinema innovator and rental house. Two stands (Codex and Band Pro) were using camera rigs from Radiant to enable a VRLive live stream.
