AMSTERDAM-- The future for virtual reality will be bright, if its quality continues to improve, said Rob Koenen, president of the VR Industry Forum (VRIF), during a “Masterclass on VR Technology and Industry” at the 2018 IBC Show.

Koenen looked back to the first generation of “pricey” and “clumsy” VR headphones which forced users to require expensive computers. By contrast, he said the newest wave offers standalone, VR headphones for under $200, with no wires or computers required to operate.

“Consumers and businesses alike are interested in VR and a healthy ecosystem is developing, but for it to be truly successful it needs to reach enough people, deliver a cinematic-type experience and be affordable to distribute,” Koenen said.

Koenen pointed to the progress at VRIF demonstrations at IBC’s Future Zone as an example of the format’s progress. Those included high-quality live VR360 streaming, tools for the production and playback of streaming VR360 based on the MPEG Omnidirectional Media Format (“OMAF”) and MPEG‑H spatial audio.

“Live services will be key to the success of VR; they take the VR experience to the next level,” Koenen said. “They are a now key focus for VRIF and we will document recommendations for live VR in the upcoming version of our Guidelines, which is scheduled for publication in January 2019.”

Koenen also seemed optimistic about the use of VR applications outside of entertainment, such as in healthcare and training.

“Forecasts for VR are good – IDC, for example, expects spending on AR and VR products and services to reach $27 billion in 2018 – but there is still work to be done,” said Koenen. “To ensure these projections are delivered, the industry needs to come together to focus on creating interoperable, high-quality services which are accessible and bring true value to end users.”

VRIF members include Qualcomm, Sky, Sony, Verizon and more. 

FREMONT, CALIF.—The Virtual Reality Industry Forum (VRIF) announced the general availability of its first set of VR industry guidelines. It will present them during CES 2018 next month as part of a two-hour masterclass.

Topics included in the guidelines include VR content production, distribution, security and consumption, with a focus on the delivery ecosystem of 360-degree video with three degrees of freedom (3DOF). They also incorporate:

• Documentation of cross-industry interoperability points, based on ISO MPEG's Omnidirectional Media Format (OMAF); 
• Best industry practices for production of VR360 content, with an emphasis on human factors such as motion sickness; and
• Security considerations for VR360 streaming, including user privacy and content protection.

Other topics to be addressed in 2018 by VRIF include six degrees of freedom (6DOF), live VR services and support for high dynamic range (HDR). The group will outline its 2018 roadmap and showcase VR demonstrations from Fraunhofer and Qualcomm during its CES event, with speakers from Ericsson, Intel, Irdeto, Sky, TNO, Greenlight Insights and others.

“As virtual and augmented reality continue to evolve, the VRIF guidelines serve two main purposes: first, to support end-to-end interoperability across the virtual-reality ecosystem, from production to consumption, and second, to ensure a high-quality user experience,” said Rob Koenen, VRIF. “As the industry moves towards standardized VR solutions, we are also cooperating closely with other industry organizations including MPEG, 3GPP, DVB, VR Society and ITU to facilitate technology integration for VRIF member companies and other related partners.”

The masterclass will be held Jan. 8 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Embassy Suites by Hilton at the Convention Center. Registration is now open. Member companies are encouraged to bring topics and suggestions to the various working groups for consideration.

VRIF launched at CES 2017 to further the availability of high-quality VR experiences for the benefit of consumers. It currently includes over 40 member organizations. 

This story originally appeared on TVT's sister publication TWICE.