Seattle, WA—YI Technology, provider of intelligent imaging technologies, unveiled the YI 360 VR consumer camera at NAB in Las Vegas. Developed to make high-end virtual reality (VR) video accessible to anyone who wants to create and share content, the YI 360 VR will be released in June 2017.
The company also announced the YI Halo at NAB—a 360º-capable, stereoscopic camera for the Jump platform from Google. YI Halo is aimed at professional VR creators and filmmakers.
With a handheld and mountable design, the YI 360 VR is being marketed as the first consumer VR camera to combine high-fidelity, 360º video capture, mobile apps for ease of use along with 4K instant, in-device stitching and 2.5K live streaming to sharing channels.
“Virtual reality is exciting. It promises a whole new range of opportunities for creating and sharing truly immersive experiences,” said Sean Da, CEO of YI Technology. “It can also be really intimidating. For VR to truly take off it has to be easy and fun. At YI Technology, we challenge ourselves to bring the most innovative technologies together in a way that is simple, enjoyable and useful for anyone, from kids to professionals. VR is no exception.
“Too many of today’s solutions are exciting in theory but really complicated in practice. That is why we worked so hard to perfect YI 360 VR,” Da added. “Using the best components, rigorous industrial design and many years of testing, we eliminated the cables, confusing interfaces and bulky components and added 5.7K fidelity, 4K in-device stitching and 2.5K live streaming, all in a handy, affordable package so everyone can share exciting moments live, from any angle.”
YI 360 VR Highlights
The camera delivers professional-grade video at up to 5.7K resolution at 30 frames per sec in 360º for postproduction work. This is a result of its Ambarella virtual reality SOC H2V95 chip and a pair of 220º lenses. They work with dual 12 megapixel Sony IMX377 CMOS sensors. According to Da, using the YI 360 VR, anyone can make high-quality 4K, 360º VR videos instantly.
Specs state it also captures 5.7K, 360º still photos and offers seamless in-device stitching without added software. The YI 360 VR is compact and lightweight, weighing six ounces. It’s also designed to be easily mounted to wherever shooters would put an action camera.
In addition, controls can be operated on the device or the companion YI 360 VR mobile app. The app allows users to control the camera as well as preview, playback, edit and share 360º videos from any smartphone via Wi-Fi. And the camera will record for more than an hour on one battery charge (AC power also included).
Furthermore, the YI 360 VR features up to 100Mbps Wi-Fi (dual-band Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz) to enable users to live stream 2.5K/30-fps, 360º videos or download photos and videos from the camera to a smartphone. In addition, once connected with a Wi-Fi network, the camera allows users to live stream to Facebook, YouTube and other social media at 2.5K in 360º.
The high-speed Wi-Fi also makes photo auto-sync possible. Consequently, captured photos can be automatically synchronized to any smartphone instantly so manual download is no longer needed.
YI 360 VR Pricing & Availability
At $399 SRP, YI 360 VR is now available for early ordering. It is scheduled to ship in a limited release in June 2017.
YI Technology
YI Technology is a provider of intelligent imaging technologies, products, services and platforms. Its development team consists of industry-leading experts from the U.S., China, Japan and Israel. The team has several decades of combined experience in imaging technology, algorithms, data analysis, cloud computing and also mobile applications.
The company believes the very best imaging and sensing technology should be easy to use and accessible to everyone. Its mission is to combine “the highest quality technology solutions with great value.” yitechnology.com
