YouTube doesn't want you missing out on sold out concerts anymore. That's why, starting today, you'll be able to watch live events like concerts, sports and perhaps one day news events all through 360-degree video streams.
YouTube has played host to 360-degree videos for months, but today marks the first time you'll be able to watch actual livestreams in virtual reality.
To deepen the experience, it will also enable spatial audio that "allows you to listen along as you do in real life, where depth, distance and intensity all play a role."
The news comes via the Google Blog where the Mountain View-based company focused on how 360-degree video and audio could be used in the short term to tune into select concerts at Coachella, an annual music festival that takes place in the desert of Southern California.
The more immersive livestream technology, it says, is the product of a collaboration with VideoStitch and Two Big Ears, two companies that specialize in 360-degree videos and spatial audio, respectively.
And while watching bands like Of Monsters and Men and artists like Calvin Harris in real-time in VR sounds like a great way to introduce the concept, the new technology has far-reaching implications
This could be the technology we use to livestream the Mars landing when it happens in the next 20-25 years. It could be how we tune into news and possibly peek into war-torn countries to survey the situation for ourselves without risking life and limb.
- Speaking of YouTube, check out our video review of the HTC 10
