虚拟现实流工具和工作流程, Part 1: Gear and Pre-Production
在本系列文章中, I will discuss the tools and workflows that I used in a recent testing project to see how VR compares to 2D video and audio as an educational tool.
去年五月在纽约的流媒体西部, I walked by the Mobeon booth and watched live virtual reality streaming before my eyes. 的 experience stuck with me, and like many video producers, I became very intrigued with VR. 大约四个月后, 我和我妻子在开计划会议, 我最小的女儿, 她的科学老师, 计划我女儿今年的科学项目. 现在是加勒斯高中的二年级学生, 我的极客女儿建议我做一个虚拟现实项目, 主要是因为她想要一个Oculus头显. 回忆着我走过的梦乡, 在实践中可能会令人困惑, 我脱口而出, “Let's produce an experiment to test how VR compares to 2D video and audio as an educational tool.她的老师立刻签了字，我们都同意了.
几天后，我打电话给Mark Alamares，他是 Mobeon2015年11月《百家乐软件》封面故事的作者 虚拟现实流媒体准备好黄金时段了吗. 我主要是想了解这里的地形, but I also wanted to know if Mark could help me get the tools to produce the video necessary for the tests. 令人惊讶的是, 马克对这个主意不太感兴趣, advising that the state of the technology was more bleeding-edge than production-ready. 当然，到那个时候，想要退出已经太晚了. 我必须让它成功.
在本系列文章中, I will discuss the tools and workflows that we used to make this happen. 第一篇文章将讨论我使用的设备, 并且是经过一些测试后编写的, 在实际拍摄之前. 同样的道理。 第二篇文章，这将详细说明内部操作 VideoStitch Vahana VR, the program that accepts the input from the multiple camera rig and stitches it into a VR presentation. 的 第三篇文章 会讨论拍摄，测试，和经验教训吗.
As a caveat, these articles don’t attempt to provide an overview of the market in any sense. Basically it's here are the tools that we used, and here’s how we used them. For an overview of particularly the camera side of the VR market, check out the 前面提到的Alamares的VR文章.
概述
在高层次上，要生产和消费VR，你需要三个要素. First, you need a camera, or camera rig, capable of capturing a 360º view. Second, you need the software to stitch it all together and to output a file for viewing. 第三，您需要一个查看环境，可能还需要查看硬件. Given the extreme input/output requirements of VR production--like six simultaneous HDMI inputs from the Go Pros--you'll need a very hefty computer to capture the incoming streams.
Mobeon did come through with the camera and production station necessary to make all this happen. 我所讨论的所有硬件都可以出租
Let’s take a look at the gear and software that I used, and the viewing environment.
齿轮
为了拍摄视频，我使用了 360年的自由 载具见 图1(下面) 配有六台GoPro Hero4相机. 该设备本身售价499美元, 而这些摄像头每个售价约为350美元, 使摄像机的总成本约为2美元,600. You’ll need a special tripod or mount, plus a six port USB charger to keep the cameras running. Note that Mobeon inserted a fan into the rig to help prevent overheating, 但是在测试大约一个小时后, 一两个摄像头会关闭. I’m glad this happened beforehand, so I knew to plan accordingly for the shoot.
图1. 装有摄像头的自由360钻机. 点击图片查看完整尺寸，
Alamares提供了软件和运行平台. 软件是VideoStitch Vahana VR, 价格是2美元,695 and is in charge of capturing and stitching the six incoming HDMI streams into a cohesive presentation (see YouTube demo below). 在第二篇文章中，我将描述该软件的工作原理. 图2(下面) shows a screen grab from a YouTube video you can watch to get a feel for overall operation.
图2. 点击这里观看360年的自由视频.
计算机是一种大型便携式系统 忍者系统 名为虚拟现实站16-16(成本:约25美元),可接受8个HDMI输入和8个HD-SDI输入(下面的图3). 如你所见, 这个单位很庞大, with three full HD displays that unfold out from very large lunchpail design. 该系统由一个3驱动.0 GHz i7-5690 CPU with 8 cores and 16-threads running 64-bit Windows 10 with 32 GB of RAM. Graphics is supplied by an NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan X, which retails for around $1,000.
图3. 忍者系统 VR Station 16-16. 单击图像以查看其全尺寸.
VideoStitch已经 文件完备的系统需求. GoPro HDMI输入的推荐采集卡来自Magewell, while VideoStitch recommends BlackMagic DeckLink gear for HD-SDI capture. 忍者系统有两个 Magewell XI400DE-HDMI PCI Express视频采集卡(每个899美元，B&H). 然而，HD-SDI捕获是由一个 AJA Corvid 88 8通道I/O卡，售价2795美元&H, with HD-SDI output supplied by the BlackMagic Design DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G. 当然，您可以围绕Vahana软件构建自己的系统, but if you want it to be portable you’ll need a very hefty system very much like the one Shinobi supplied.
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