Tag Archives: pov

Omnipresenz Livestreaming Service Gives You a Human Avatar: The Epitome of Living Vicariously

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A Spanish company called Omnipresenz is trying to come up with a revolutionary way of interacting with the world. Its eponymous service aims to let you see, hear and act through another person anywhere in the world. Omnipresenz avatars will be equipped with a head-mounted camera and streaming software so you can interact with her and the world around her online. It’s Twitch taken to its extreme.

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As I said, Omnipresenz works a lot like Twitch, except the avatar can move while she’s streaming. Using the Omnipresenz software, you’ll be able to chat with an avatar and have a say on her actions: where to go, what to do and so on. Naturally, you’ll be able to see and hear her surroundings from her point of view.

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As with Twitch, your inputs will merely be suggestions. Avatars are not slaves, and they – hopefully – won’t blindly follow viewer requests. Besides, if you’ve been to Twitch then you know that even the modestly popular streamers have hundreds if not thousands of simultaneous viewers, so you won’t be the only one with a request.

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As you’ll see in the video below, Omnipresenz will also encourage viewers to perform good deeds through their avatars. Viewers can vote on good deeds that the avatar can perform and then pool their money to enable the avatar to act out those deeds.

Pledge at least €10 (~$12 USD) on Indiegogo to become an Omnipresenz beta viewer as a reward. That pledge will get you two hours per week with an avatar. Initially, Omnipresenz will only have a few avatars and only in Barcelona, but if all goes well it will surely expand to other countries. Perhaps someday even professionals or celebrities will be avatars. The company is also planning on enabling avatars to capture 360º videos, which viewers can check out on a virtual reality headset for the ultimate immersive experience.

There are so many ways that Omnipresenz can go wrong. Twitch users – heck, anyone who’s beholden to an anonymous crowd – sometimes endure unfair criticisms and prejudice, not to mention the juvenile remarks that has become par for the course on the Internet. Then there’s the potential for addiction. Why bother struggling with your mundane existence when you can go online and “be” anywhere and anyone with just a few clicks? When you can live your idol’s life and even possibly tell her what to do? That may seem absurd to you, but that is a legitimate allure to many people.

But I believe that the potential benefits of Omnipresenz far outweigh its drawbacks. As the company itself said on its website, mobile livestreamers can not only be interesting or convenient – they can be life-changing. You can hire avatars to scope out potential travel spots. To watch a concert, a sporting event or any other live performance. To report on current events from a citizen’s perspective. To engage with your loved ones or help strangers thousands of miles away. To go to class for you. Just kidding. Actually I’m sure that’s going to happen. The point is this is exciting and awesome. I’m not sure if Omnipresenz will be the one to nail its execution, but I sure hope it becomes real.

[via Creative Applications]

Phantom Drone Carries GoPro into Active Volcano and Survives

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There are all sorts of things you can do with a flying drone aircraft or quadcopter carrying a camera. You could do the obvious and chase your dog or cat around the house. You could have it follow your significant other around to make sure they’re not causing trouble.

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One thing I would not have thought of doing with a camera-packing drone is send it into the caldera of an active volcano. I would expect the hot gas and flying molten lava to destroy the drone in short order. I would be wrong, at least in this instance. Recently, Shaun O’Callaghan’s DJI Phantom quadcopter drone carried a GoPro into an active volcano on Tanna Island in Vanuatu.

You can see in the video that lava and gas are flying everywhere and going all around the camera and drone. I can’t believe the thing survived, but Shaun says the drone says no harm came to it or the camera during filming.

[via DroneHire]

New Video Shows Stratos Skydive from Jumper’s Point of View

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Just over a year ago on October 14, 2012, daredevil Felix Baumgartner made history with his daring jump from 128,000 feet – setting a record for the world’s highest skydive. Baumgartner exceeded speeds of 825 mph and broke the sound barrier without the use of an aircraft. One of the coolest things about the jump was that there were cameras everywhere to capture the record setting feat.

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Video footage captured by some of those cameras has already been viewed, but there were cameras attached to the balloon and to Baumgartner himself, much of which hasn’t been shared publicly. The footage from the cameras attached to the balloon and Baumgartner have now been put together and used to create a documentary commemorating the entire launch. To go along with the upcoming documentary, Red Bull has now offered up footage of the jump from the Baumgartner’s perspective.

The video includes embedded statistics such as air speed, elevation, and biometrics. Check out the 9-minute-plus clip above to see this epic feat from the jumper’s point of view. Be sure to set the video to 1080p and full-screen mode for the best experience. It starts out chaotically, but gradually lulls you into a strange calmness as Baumgartner gets closer to the Earth.

[via Forbes]

Sony’s HDR-MV1 Music Video Recorder helps your band break out of the garage, into YouTube

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DNP Sony's HDRMV1 Music Video Recorder wants to help your band break out of the garage, into YouTube

Here at IFA, Sony thinks it has just the thing to help struggling musical artists become breakout successes. Say hello to the $300 HDR-MV1 Music Video Recorder. Set to take on the likes of the Zoom Q2 HD, this stereo field recorder / HD camcorder might just be the best ticket to getting high quality music videos on the web painlessly. The POV-style shooter features 120-degree stereo microphones that record in AAC or uncompressed linear PCM (CD quality), and there's also an input for external mics. Better yet, you can manually set levels and check them using the onboard 2.7-inch screen and speaker -- a four-way toggle switch lets you change settings.

The back houses a replaceable battery and a Micro SD card slot, and the rear gives you access to HDMI, line in, headphone and USB ports. Video gets captured at 1080/30p by a wide 120-degree Carl Zeiss lens and a back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor that's ready to handle low light situations. Recording is simply enabled by hitting a red record buttons at the top of the unit. To keep things extra worry-free, the recorder also features automatic Audio Lip Syncing. Lastly, on-board WiFi lets you share your clips with Sony's PlayMemories Mobile app, while NFC allows for tap-to-pair with Android devices. Aspiring video rock stars can get their hands on the Music Video Recorder this December. For now, get a closer look in the embedded galleries. %Gallery-slideshow79390% %Gallery-slideshow79405%

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Source: Sony

Sony slims down its Action Cam, intros wearable Live-View Remote (eyes-on)

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DNP Sony slims down its Action Cam, intros wearable Liveview remote

Sony has released camcorders and cameras for a variety niches here at IFA, including a new HD action cam, the HDR-AS30V. It's immediately noticeable that the second-gen model is 25 percent smaller and 35 percent lighter than the original, making it even less cumbersome when clipped onto a helmet -- especially compared to a GoPro. As far as the layout goes, not much has changed; you'll find USB, line-in and HDMI ports at the bottom, with the power and record buttons still on back. The rear panel also opens up to give you access to a microSD card slot and the battery compartment. The side features the same basic info LCD with two selection buttons, so you'll still make need to make use of its onboard WiFi and a smartphone -- or the new Live-View Remote (details in a bit) if you need a viewfinder.

You'll find stereo mics and a fixed Carl Zeiss lens at the front with a 170-degree viewing angle, though you'll only get a 120-degree field of view with SteadyShot enabled. Lastly, there's the obligatory tripod mount at its underside. The new bits are essentially a backlit Exmor R CMOS censor, GPS and NFC. Full HD videos can now be captured at 1080/60p (last year's model topped out at 30p), while 720/120p and 720/60p settings are available for slow-mo videos. As a bonus, it can also take 11.9MP images and shoot at interval timing. Using Sony's PlayMemories Home app, you'll be able to sync up video from two of the new Action Cams, rotate the orientation of your clips, and add overlays based on GPS data.

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Source: Sony

Thanko Mitamanma Megane HD Camera Glasses: Google Glass Minus Google

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While there are many futuristic uses for the heads-up display in Google Glass, several people I’ve met who were wearing them used them primarily to capture images and videos from their personal point of view. So if you don’t want to spend $1500 on a pair of real Google Glasses, you can get the camera part for less than 1/10th that cost.

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Made by Japan’s Thanko, the Mitanmanma Megane HD Camera Glasses(JP) are designed so you can capture POV video on the cheap. Just place the glasses over your eyes, press the button, and start capturing video to a microSD card. Unlike Google Glass, however, that’s all these glasses do. If you start asking them where the nearest Starbucks is, you’ll be waiting a very long time for an answer. They don’t capture still images, and they won’t make appointments for you either.

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Unlike other video glasses, these ones are quite minimal, weighing in at just 2.1 ounces (though a regular pair of sunglasses weighs about 1/4 of this). Also, they can’t be worn over other eyeglasses like Google Glass. They’re capable of capturing a (suspect) 1920×1080 resolution AVI format video at 20 to 30fps. They’re supposed to run for about 30 to 40 minutes on a charge. Here’s some craptacular sample video so you can check out the image quality:

I’m not sure if the frame rate gets any better than that, so they look like they’d be good for capturing animated GIFs and Vines more than full-motion video. Still, what do you want for a hundred bucks? You can get a pair of the Thanko Mitamanma Megane HD Camera Glasses from Japan Trend Shop for $112(USD) plus $12 for worldwide shipping.

Google Glass monthly update improves photos with HDR, captions

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Google has committed to pushing software updates to its Glass headset each month, and a post on Google+ reveals this month's tweaks are focusing on pictures. If you're a fan of using the device for POV shots, it should take better pictures by capturing a sequence of images for improved low-light performance and HDR pictures in bright situations -- check out a gallery of enhanced images at the source link below. Also new is a prompt to add a caption after you take a picture. Users can tap their headset, speak the caption and it's automatically inserted. Last month's XE5 update addressed a wider range of issues, but this one will make sure any impromptu pictures (with your subject's full awareness and permission for the photo, we're sure) are high quality.

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Source: Project Glass (Google+)

iSpy R/C Tank Lets You See Where You’re Driving

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Remote control toys that are controlled by an iPhone or an iPad are nothing new. We’ve written about remote control cars using smartphones as controllers in the past. Anoter remote-controlled toy designed to work with the iPhone or the iPad is controller has turned up called the iSpy Tank.

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The coolest part about this remote controlled tank is not that you can control it with your iOS device, but that the remote-controlled tank also has an integrated camera. This lets you see exactly what the tank is seeing on the screen of your mobile device. That means you can control the car without line-of-sight to the vehicle, from a range of up to 20 to 30 meters (~65 to 98 ft.) away.

The remote-controlled toy can also capture still images or record videos. Control is handled using an app that runs on the smartphone and the app can send the video directly to a computer using your Wi-Fi network. The iSpy Tank is available right now for $99(USD) over at iHelicopters.

Panasonic HX-A100 Wearable Camcorder: The You-Man Show

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There are a lot of people out there who feel the overwhelming need to share everything about their daily lives. I’m sure you know these people, the sort who have to tweet pictures of what they had for breakfast and lunch and are constantly updating their Facebook status to show what they’re doing right that moment. If you happen to be this sort of person, Panasonic has a new wearable action camcorder unveiled at CES 2013 that will let you stream your life to people who care.

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The wearable camcorder is called the HX-A100 and it is both waterproof and dustproof with an IPX8 rating. That means the camera can be used in up to 5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes without damage. The wearable camcorder also has integrated Wi-Fi connectivity allowing you to broadcast live streaming video on Ustream in full HD resolution. It can also be mounted to a helmet or a backpack and has an ear hook allowing you to mount it on your ear as well.

It can record full HD resolution at 60 frames per second, 720p resolution at 120 frames per second, and 640 x 360 resolution video at 240 frames per second. Panasonic fits the camera with a low light optimized F2.5 lens and the camera features “Level Shot” for automatically correcting tilted images. The camcorder also features integrated image stabilization to reduce blurriness. The camera’s internal battery is good for 140 minutes of shooting on a single charge (with Wi-Fi turned off.)

While you might not want to wear this thing during your everyday life, it might be cool for streaming live action shots – assuming you have a smartphone Wi-Fi hotspot in your other pocket, and a decent cellphone signal.

The HX-A100 camera can be pre-ordered now for $299.99(USD).