The Twitch for virtual reality, as SLIVER.tv has been commonly described, is doubling down on its efforts in eSports, announcing this week that it would live stream top tournaments in 360-degree virtual reality.
On Wednesday, the digital technology company officially launched its VR Live Cast and Live Replay platform for league operators to stream top gaming titles, such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota2 and League of Legends, through the new medium.
“SLIVER.tv’s VR Live Cast technology helped us introduce live VR spectator experiences in eSports at ESL One New York and Intel Extreme Masters Oakland in impressive fashion,” said Stuart Ewen, Product Manager at ESL, the world’s largest gaming organization. “Broadcasting Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends in-game footage in a VR environment is something that would not have been possible without SLIVER.tv’s expertise. We’re looking forward to watching this technology grow and evolve as we broadcast more and more events in VR.”
SLIVER.tv BETA tested its offering at Intel Extreme Masters Oakland in November, the first eSports tournament broadcast live in virtual reality via website, smartphone or VR headset through SLIVER.tv’s platform. Viewers also had the ability to have a full immersive experience through downloading the SLIVER.tv GearVR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive apps. Compared to its first test at ESL ONE NY in October, IEM had 13x more video content consumed while drawing over 130,000 unique viewers.
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Through SLIVER.tv’s “Virtual Camera Array” technology, viewers are taken to a 3D gaming world in a 360-degree virtual reality experience. In addition, its VR Live Replay offering it combines machine vision and proprietary algorithms to select worthwhile moments for fans and then creates slow-motion effects for a closer view of the action. The instant replay is sent back into the live 360 VR stream, which tournament organizers can then choose to embed in existing broadcasts.
Mitch Liu, Co-founder and CEO of SLIVER.tv, said that with the new platform he hopes to “deliver an out of this world experience to eSports fans worldwide.”
“We’re truly excited about our VR Live Replay platform as it delivers a new and dynamic perspective on eSports spectating beyond today’s current static streaming experience,” he said in a statement. “By leveraging our virtual camera array technology, we’re able to generate both immersive 360 and regular video highlights, replays and special effects from angles that’s never been seen before.”