VideoStitch - a company specialising in video-stitching software for live-streamed 360-degree video - has created a small camera that can live-stream virtual reality (VR) video in a simple, "plug and stream" configuration, at a relatively accessible price.
The Orah 4i - which supports full HD video streaming for devices such as the Oculus Rift, as well as standard streaming for lower-end devices - has four fisheye lenses and is fitted with a standard tripod mount.
The camera attaches to a "stitching box" - a compact, Linux-based computer purpose-built to combine the four cameras' feeds into a contiguous VR stream - via an Ethernet cable. The stitching box, which also provides power to the camera, and can be plugged into a small battery to make the setup portable, has 120GB of on-board memory, and Bluetooth, WiFi and LAN connectivity.
Critics have hailed the Orah 4i's simplicity and relatively low cost, suggesting that while live-streaming 360-degree video is not new, cost and complexity of the rigs involved make the process inaccessible to most amateurs.
Setups capable of 360-degree live-streaming are complicated, "hacked-together" and hence potentially unreliable, writes The Verge's Sean O'Kane, adding purpose-built setups are "unreasonably expensive for anyone without a professional budget," and low-end 360-degree cameras do not support live-streaming.
The camera is "made for prosumers - good enough quality for power users but probably not something you'll see on a Hollywood set," writes Mashable's Kellen Beck.
The Orah 4i rig is available for pre-order starting at $1 795 (about R27 000), which will increase to $3 595 (about R54 000) by the time it starts shipping in July.
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