888Poker Goes Full Circle With 360 Degrees of Coverage

A new technology has been announced and is beginning to be used, allowing fans on the far side of a screen to get closer to the action. 360 degree live streams make it seem like you’re in the room while watching the stream. This immersive experience was debuted by 888Poker at an Asper’s event allowing you to see the whole room, not just the table, giving you all the excitement without having to leave the house. Virtual reality is beginning to take the world by storm, and it is likely that the future will hold many virtual reality poker events . With the availability of technology and with the right knowledge, you may be able to recreate the 360 degree live stream for your own poker event.

360 degree video is a panoramic video that uses multiple cameras. More often than not, these cameras are small, compact, and offer excellent image quality and wide angle lenses, similar to Go-Pro cameras, in order to reduce the effects of parallax . All of the cameras must be recording at the same time, and preconfigured with the same settings in order for the clips to be blended into each other seamlessly and to create the 360 degree effect.

Now, with the popularity of 360-degree video, this unique filming experience has led to many sites and software options that can help people to produce cinematic 360-degree video and virtual reality broadcasts through real-time software at home. They do this through helping users stitch their videos together in a seamless way. As long as all the cameras being used are positioned in the right place for a poker event, anyone can recreate a 360-degree live stream, to some degree.

Some cameras offer a different experience, with a rig that allows users to mount several Go-Pros to the same rig, allowing the whole room to be recorded at precisely the same time with overlapping fields of view, making sure that there is no blind spot whatsoever. Video stitching allows the videos to turn into a single, high resolution panoramic video , and typically covers a field of view in a world map style of geometric projection (or many other projections depending on how you want your viewers to view it).

Although some of these rigs had been available before, the Aspers event was definitely a significant step for 360 degree streaming used commercially. With the popularity of gambling increasing after the ESPN live stream of Chris Moneymaker winning the World Series Of Poker, it is no surprise that many casinos and software developers are looking for an even more immersive way to involve and captivate their audience, with many believing that live streaming could even improve the poker industry .

Although 360 degree stream is similar to virtual reality it does have many differences. The 360-degree live stream at Aspers could potentially have paved a way for virtual reality to join into casino technology. Through the different camera angles caused by the number of cameras that are recording, viewers are able to change their perspective, giving a stronger sense of involvement and an even more immersive experience .

The 360-degree videos don’t just show the poker table when it comes to a poker event. Instead it shows the whole room, so viewers don’t have to leave their home to have the full casino experience. 360-degree technology and videos will be the future of poker events, and although it may be difficult to use this at big tournaments now, it is likely that special cameras, lenses, and an improvement of technology will lead to the 360-degree viewing experience being the norm.