LOS ANGELES, May 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today seven
founding member companies are launching the Volumetric Format
Association (VFA), the first industry association dedicated to
ensuring interoperability across the volumetric video ecosystem.
These seven companies include founding charter member Verizon as
well as ZEISS, RED Digital Cinema, Unity, Intel, NVIDIA, and Canon.
The VFA brings together companies from key industry verticals in
the volumetric ecosystem to work together to establish a collection
of specifications driving adoption of volumetric capture,
processing, encoding, delivery, and playback.
Volumetric video is an innovative way of experiencing content in
holographic 3D, allowing the viewer a more immersive and
interactive experience. It is characterized by the process of
simultaneously capturing content from multiple cameras which can
then be viewed from any angle at any point in time. The association
seeks to facilitate collaboration, innovation, and technology
sharing of the new bandwidth-intensive industry format, in order to
drive faster development, adoption, and ecosystem growth.
"Verizon is proud to be the driving force behind creating this
group which we believe will be crucial to laying the foundation for
future innovation using volumetric video," said Denny Breitenfeld, president of the VFA and
director of volumetric technology at Verizon. "With 5G's massive
bandwidth, super-fast speeds and ultra-low latency, things like
volumetric video capture will be taken to the next level, enabling
innovators to turn real people into lifelike, moving 3D holograms
in just minutes. We look forward to working with leaders in this
industry to develop specifications that will propel volumetric
video forward."
VFA membership allows companies to share intellectual property
within the confines of the organization while protecting the value
of that IP. The VFA Technical Steering Committee has defined four
initial working groups to begin the work of building end-to-end
specifications which include Capture Acquisition, Interchange of
Data, Decode & Render, and Persistent Metadata.
3D content experiences across sports, entertainment,
productivity, enterprise services, and more are fast becoming a
reality. The VFA is working to make that reality accessible and
practical by developing specifications that will be a catalyst for
industry growth. To that end the VFA is opening membership to
innovative companies in the volumetric ecosystem. VFA welcomes
input, creativity, and collaboration as together they pioneer a new
medium.
"Canon is a strong believer in volumetric video technology as
evidenced by the new kind of sporting experience we delivered at
the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
In addition, we opened a volumetric video studio in Kawasaki, Japan that is used by the most
advanced creators," said Mr. Atsushi Date, senior general manager,
Canon SV Business Development Center. "Canon is confident that
volumetric video technology will enable the world to enjoy sports
and entertainment more in many ways that have never been
experienced before, and we have high expectations for the results
of VFA standardization. This is a big first step of many to come in
the rollout of the Canon Volumetric Business."
"As media content evolves from 2D to 3D, volumetric video will
impact industries from entertainment to a wide range of enterprise
services. In addition to the breadth of our XPU portfolio that
spans network, FPGA, CPU and GPU technologies, Intel is working
with the VFA and our ecosystem partners to bring advanced and
cost-effective volumetric streaming to a variety of customers,"
said Lynn Comp, vice president, Data
Platforms Group, general manager, Visual Infrastructure Division
& NPG Strategy at Intel. "The VFA is an important step in
democratizing end-end volumetric video solutions, enabling global
supply chains and supporting interoperable solutions and
innovation."
"Volumetric video is changing how customers experience virtual
interactions by providing complete immersion with full
interactivity that is powered by NVIDIA GPUs," said Bob Pette, general manager of professional
visualization at NVIDIA. "Accelerated computing technology is
pushing the boundaries of virtual experiences and bringing together
partners to evolve the ecosystem as a whole will be critical to
achieving the next generation of AI-driven 3D content."
"As a brand that was founded on innovation, disruption, and
pushing the bleeding-edge of image capture technology, RED is proud
and excited to be part of the Volumetric Format Association," said
Brian Henderson, vice president,
business development at RED. "We will continue to evolve alongside
this emerging industry. As a member of the VFA, we will continue to
re-define previously held standards of overall image quality,
resolution and camera performance in order to provide the best
possible images for creators and innovators to work with."
"The Volumetric Format Association is leading the way in how
content, especially in sports and M&E, is being presented, and
we are seeing the biggest shift since B+W went to color" said Tian
Pei, head of business affairs for sports at Unity. "Volumetric
technologies encompass the process of capturing, viewing, and
interacting with the real world and here at Unity we are pushing
the limits of what's possible and transforming the interactive
experience forever."
"As board members of the Volumetric Format Association, ZEISS
strives to abridge the current adoption barriers within the motion
picture industry and beyond", said Snehal
Patel, head of cinema sales at ZEISS. Patel continued, "with
over 100 years of experience in optical design and innovation,
ZEISS is primed to provide key insights into lens technology and
its relation to Volumetric workflow. Furthermore, through the VFA
specifications, ZEISS hopes to contribute to the accuracy of lens
metadata which will play a vital role in the volumetric user
experience."
As the VFA members move rapidly towards establishment of their
specifications, companies interested in joining the organization
should reach out by email to info@volumetricformat.org or see
https://www.volumetricformat.org.
About VFA
The Volumetric Format Association (VFA) is an international
industry consortium leading the way to a unified volumetric video
ecosystem by defining a set of open specifications that encourage
partnership and collaboration while reducing fragmentation for the
entire industry. Our members are the industry leaders of video
capture, broadcast, and delivery. With membership roles for
Enterprises, Innovators, and Adopters, VFA has a place for all
companies on the cutting edge of video technology. To learn more
visit https://www.volumetricformat.org/.
Media Contact
Elizabeth Rose, Volumetric Format
Association, +1 8583495741, elizabeth@standardshub.io
Denny Breitenfeld, Verizon,
908-418-1262, denny.breitenfeld2@verizon.com
SOURCE Volumetric Format Association