Microsoft Shows AR/VR Concept That Could Revolutionize How We Work

Microsoft owns the enterprise computing space. Windows-powered PCs run a huge portion of the global workforce. Today, the company demonstrated how its Windows Mixed Reality initiative could potentially be used in that massive market.During the keynote address of its annual Build conference, Microsoft invited members of the Cirque du Soleil team up on stage. The members each donned a Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality headset and started showing the crowd how these products can be used in enterprise collaboration.

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Rakuten TV

Rakuten TV (previously known as Wuaki.tv) is a video-on-demand (VOD) streaming service within the Rakuten's services group family, offering thousands of hours of high quality movies and TV series for subscription (only in Spain) rental and purchase. Rakuten TV’s extensive catalogue includes content from major Hollywood studios including Warner Bros., Disney, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, and local distributors and independent labels, giving consumers access to new releases, blockbusters, classic movies, local independent movies and TV series on the device of their choosing. Rakuten TV’s content can be streamed to Internet-connected PCs, laptops, Chromecast, gaming consoles, tablets, iPhones and Smart TVs.

OTHER ARTICLES
Technologies, Virtualization

Should You Buy A PSVR In 2020?

Article | July 27, 2022

At 5+ million units sold, Sony’s PlayStation VR (PSVR) is thought to be the most successful VR headset on the market. The kit’s had a great run since launch in 2016, but should you buy a PSVR in 2020? Just under two years ago, we stated that you should “definitely” buy a PSVR in holiday promotions. The price, paired with a growing library of games, made it an easy recommendation. But this industry moves quickly and there are a lot of new factors that complicate the question of if PSVR remains a worthy purchase.

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Technologies, Business

Netflix versus Amazon Prime Video – depth versus breadth

Article | July 20, 2022

The first half of 2021 has been a year of continued change and disruption for subscription video. The global incumbent subscription video on demand (SVOD) leaders, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, have been busy signalling to the financial markets how they intend to entrench their market dominance in light of the ongoing market acquisition pushes unleashed by the D2C disruptors following the D2C ‘big bang’ moment of Q4 2019 – Q2 2021. Netflix announced in January that it was no longer going to borrow on the financial markets to fund its day-to-day operations – specifically for its content acquisition budget, which is now driven predominately by commissioning original content for its service. This leaves the SVOD leader with $14.9 billion of outstanding long-term debt to service as it seeks to live within its means by commissioning future content from its ongoing cashflow. In Q1 2021 alone Netflix spent $500 million on servicing this debt pile versus $1.7 billion in net income generated over the same period.

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Virtualization, Media and Broadcasting

Hi-Res audio: It’s all about a maturing market

Article | July 13, 2022

Music streaming contrasts sharply with video streaming. While the video marketplace is characterised by unique catalogues, a variety of pricing and diverse value propositions music streaming services are all at their core fundamentally the same product. When the market was in its hyper-growth phase and there were enough new users to go around, it did not matter too much that the streaming services only had branding, curation and interface to differentiate themselves from each other. Now that we are approaching a slowdown in the high-revenue developed markets, more is needed. Which is where Hi-Res comes in.

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Technologies, Business

AR in B2B Sales: What to Expect

Article | August 3, 2022

The potential of augmented reality technology goes beyond games and photo filters. It can benefit B2B businesses, especially their sales departments, in more ways than one. B2B sales is about converting potential clients into customers by using all the features and benefits of your product or service. Highlighting the profit the clients will make using your product or service is your priority. But how does augmented reality (AR) play into all of this? Here are three interesting use cases of AR in B2B sales for you to look at: AR in Exhibitions: Stand Out From the Crowd At exhibitions, if you do not stand out among your competitors, you might not attract any visitors to your stand. AR can bring your stand the footfall you expect. At 2017’s North American International Auto Show, Ford used AR to attract visitors. A visitor could sit inside the car and simultaneously see what was happening under the car’s hood on a big display screen. The experience impressed visitors and earned Ford brand visibility. AR in Data Visualization: Present Interactive Insights AR helps in presenting the value of your product or service in an interactive 3D visualization. A great example of this would be IBM’s Immersive Insights, a visualization tool that presents data in 3D space. Spectators can explore and understand data insights without feeling burdened with just numbers. This technology has potential in the B2B sales space as it can simplify complex data visualization and attract your prospects with visual appeal. AR in Product Presentations: Realistic and Immersive Experience There are always aspects of your product or service that you need to highlight in front of your prospective clients in unique ways so they can see the value of your offering. AR allows you to present your product in a realistic way. IKEA used AR to help clients try their furniture in their offices and apartments by superimposing it on their surroundings with the IKEA Place app. Realtor.com and industrial machines like CAT also help customers see what the offerings look like so that they can make informed decisions even without physically interacting with the product or service. Wrapping It Up Using AR in B2B sales is still an evolving concept, but can become a substantial tool in the toolkit of B2B sales teams that want to try new things to boost their numbers.

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Spotlight

Rakuten TV

Rakuten TV (previously known as Wuaki.tv) is a video-on-demand (VOD) streaming service within the Rakuten's services group family, offering thousands of hours of high quality movies and TV series for subscription (only in Spain) rental and purchase. Rakuten TV’s extensive catalogue includes content from major Hollywood studios including Warner Bros., Disney, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, and local distributors and independent labels, giving consumers access to new releases, blockbusters, classic movies, local independent movies and TV series on the device of their choosing. Rakuten TV’s content can be streamed to Internet-connected PCs, laptops, Chromecast, gaming consoles, tablets, iPhones and Smart TVs.

Related News

Google making AR/VR more immersive on consumer devices

Google | June 22, 2020

A team of Google researchers has created a new technology to take the immersive augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences to a new level. New research shows the ability to record, reconstruct, compress, and deliver high-quality immersive light field videos, lightweight enough to be streamed over regular Wi-Fi. “We’re making this technology practical, bringing us closer to delivering a truly immersive experience to more consumer devices,” said Michael Broxton, Google research scientist. Photos and videos play a huge role in our day-to-day experience on mobile devices, and “we are hoping that someday immersive light field images and videos will play an equally important role in future AR and VR platforms,” he added. Wide field of view scenes can be recorded and played back with the ability to move around within the video after it has been captured, revealing new perspectives. In recent years, the immersive AR/VR field has captured mainstream attention for its promise to give people a truly authentic experience in a simulated environment.

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Google making AR/VR more immersive on consumer devices

Google | June 22, 2020

A team of Google researchers has created a new technology to take the immersive augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences to a new level. New research shows the ability to record, reconstruct, compress, and deliver high-quality immersive light field videos, lightweight enough to be streamed over regular Wi-Fi. “We’re making this technology practical, bringing us closer to delivering a truly immersive experience to more consumer devices,” said Michael Broxton, Google research scientist. Photos and videos play a huge role in our day-to-day experience on mobile devices, and “we are hoping that someday immersive light field images and videos will play an equally important role in future AR and VR platforms,” he added. Wide field of view scenes can be recorded and played back with the ability to move around within the video after it has been captured, revealing new perspectives. In recent years, the immersive AR/VR field has captured mainstream attention for its promise to give people a truly authentic experience in a simulated environment.

Read More

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