诺基亚归来，以虚拟现实的名义

诺基亚最近推出了一款售价6万美元的专业摄影机Ozo，可以360度全景拍摄虚拟影片。诺基亚特地选择在洛杉矶发布产品，目的就是尽可能吸引不远处好莱坞的关注，因为这款新品的主要潜在客户都在好莱坞。

正努力探索360度视频硬件领域的产品已然不少，如今诺基亚Ozo也挤入了这个市场。无论你是音乐电视导演，还是电视节目记者，Ozo都可以实现从各个角度实时拍摄，真正360度无死角。

三星已推出虚拟现实头盔Gear VR，其他即将上市的产品包括Oculus旗下的Rift、HTC的Vive，以及索尼的电子娱乐硬件PlayStationVR，届时购买了虚拟现实设备的用户可以体验虚拟现实长片或短视频，也能看直播。

Ozo研发部门——Nokia Technologies总裁拉姆齐•海达穆斯表示，虽然已有公司成功尝试180度实时拍摄NBA篮球比赛和MTV音乐盛典，但Ozo能实现360度全方位无死角的视频直播。

为了展示新品的功能，诺基亚将与美国唱片公司Capitol Records合作，首次利用虚拟现实技术实时直播一场音乐会。女子民谣乐队Best Coast在Capitol Records的圆柱形碟盘建筑顶层表演，两英里外的产品发布会现场可以同步看视频直播。

海达穆斯指出，从头戴虚拟现实设备的角度来看市场是很拥挤，Facebook旗下的Oculus VR、HTC、Valve、索尼和三星等厂商都推出了类似设备，但拍摄虚拟现实视频的工具领域并没多少竞争。

“我们的摄影机为专业的内容生产商服务提供全面服务，在这个领域我们的产品是独一无二的，”海达穆斯说，“除了无死角地拍摄3D立体视频，我们的技术还支持录制360度环绕音频。在虚拟现实世界，最终效果的呈现一半以上都要靠音频。”

科技顾问公司Digi-Capital的董事总经理蒂姆•梅瑞尔认为，虽然诺基亚目前在市场上领先，但其他公司都计划2016年发布全景视频摄像机，竞争者包括Bubl、诺基亚的合作方Jaunt、GoPro、Lucid、Matterport, Otoy和Lytro等等。

“诺基亚毕竟基础深厚，也有把握时机的能力，所以赢得了先机，但独占市场的时间不会很长。”梅瑞尔这样预测。

海达穆斯说，好莱坞八大影业公司之一20世纪福克斯正在使用Ozo，相关拍摄项目的细节会稍晚公布。20世纪福克斯旗下数字影视制作公司Red Digital Cinema的创始人、未来主义者泰德•史奇罗维斯是诺基亚研发Ozo的重要合作伙伴之一。

为了增进与电影人的合作，Nokia Technologies筹备在好莱坞设立办公室。海达穆斯此前曾与专业电影音效制作公司Dolby Technologies的好莱坞工作室合作，使用Ozo制作几十段全景视频时接触过一些导演和电影制片商。科幻电影《越空狂龙》的导演马可•布拉姆贝拉是很早就开始用Ozo拍摄虚拟现实短片的电影人。他说，跟之前的虚拟现实摄影机相比，Ozo最重要的改进之处是能现场回放拍摄的镜头。

不久之后，Nokia Technologies还会提供Ozo的出租服务。海达穆斯透露，公司还计划推出一款价格更亲民的“产销一体”虚拟现实摄影机，让更多内容生产商的受众有机会用上全景相机。

“几十年来我一直努力践行科技以人为本，而今摆在眼前的是一个借助之前毫无可能的体验将人类联结起来的机会。有了这些设备，故事讲述者和观众之间的情感联系可以提升到前所未有的程度，这是以前不敢想象的。”海达穆斯说。

梅瑞尔预计，全景视频市场现在还刚刚开始，到2020年，虚拟现实视频创造的收入可能达到50亿-100亿美元。

虚拟现实市场增长的关键是，如何让全景视频内容更方便获取。海达穆斯说，Ozo支持Oculus Rift、PlayStation VR和HTC Vive等市面上所有的虚拟现实平台设备。

海达穆斯表示，除了在好莱坞挖掘商机，Nokia Technologies也在与美国国家航空航天局合作，在休斯敦的国际空间站宇航员训练基地拍摄虚拟现实内容。与此同时，诺基亚也在与NBA等体育联赛商议实时拍摄比赛实况。

“全景视频应用的机会太多了，”海达穆斯说，“给新闻记者一部Ozo相机，让用户决定看什么，就可以促进观众积极参与新闻事件。在病人面前放台摄影机，可以协助培训医学院学生；在交战地带放上相机，就能让用户看到整个战场。”（财富中文网）

译者：Pessy

校对：夏林

Nokia has introduced a $60,000 Ozo professional virtual reality camera that can film in full 360-degrees. The company made the announcement in Los Angeles in hope of creating the most buzz possible in Hollywood, which it sees as a prime customer for the new technology.

The camera is among the first of what is expected to become a crowded field of 360-degree video hardware that will let everyone from music video directors to television reporters film every angle of an event simultaneously with no blind spots. Owners of virtual reality headsets like the Samsung Gear VR and the upcoming Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Sony PlayStation VR will be able to experience long and short-form virtual reality video as well as live events.

Ramzi Haidamus, president of Nokia Technologies, the unit that created the new camera, says that while other companies have done 180-degree livestreaming of NBA games and MTV’s Video Music Awards, Ozo provides the first full 360-degree livestreaming option for video makers.

To show off the camera’s capabilities, Nokia is filming the world’s first, live, 360-degree virtual reality broadcast of a concert through a partnership with Capitol Records. A performance by the band Best Coast on the roof of the Capitol Records building will be livestreamed two miles away to the launch event.

Haidamus says that while the virtual reality market is crowded in terms of head-mounted displays from manufacturers like Facebook-owned Oculus VR, HTC, Valve, Sony, and Samsung, the content creation side remains wide open.

“We have the first product in the category, a VR camera designed top to bottom for professional content creators,” Haidamus says. “In addition to capturing accurate 3D stereo video with no blind spots, we provide the technology to capture 360-degree audio. In VR, audio is more than 50% of the story.”

While Nokia Technologies is first to market, tech adviser Digi-Capital managing director Tim Merel says other companies plan to premiere 360-degree video cameras this year. They include Bubl, Jaunt (a Nokia partner), GoPro, Lucid, Matterport, Otoy andLytro.

“Nokia’s historical strength and timing will help it try to take a leap on the competition, but it will not be alone for long,” Merel says.

Haidamus says 20th Century Fox has been using Ozo cameras, although details on those projects will be announced at a later date. Ted Schilowtiz, the in-house futurist at 20th Century Fox, was one of Nokia’s key partners in developing Ozo.

Nokia Technologies is opening a Hollywood office to further these relationships. Haidamus, who previously worked with Hollywood studios at Dolby Technologies, contacted directors and filmmakers early in the process to produce dozens of pieces of 360-degree videos using the camera. Demolition Man director Marco Brambillo was one early filmmaker to create short virtual reality film using Ozo. He says one thing that separates Ozo from previous virtual reality cameras is the ability to see live playback of what he filmed.

Nokia Technologies will, in the near future, make its new camera available for rental. And Haidamus says there are also plans for a more affordable “prosumer” virtual reality camera down the line to open up the 360-degree camera to a broader audience of content creators.

“I’ve been in the business of connecting people for decades, and this is an opportunity to connect people to experiences that was never possible before, and to create a level of empathy between the storyteller and the viewer that was never imagined,” Haidamus says.

Merel says that while the 360-degree video market is in its early stage today, virtual reality video could grow to the $5 billion to $10 billion revenue range by 2020.

One of the keys to growth is adding to the availability of 360-degree video content. Haidamus says Ozo supports all virtual reality platforms coming to market including Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, and HTC Vive.

Beyond the Hollywood opportunities, Haidamus says Nokia Technologies is working with NASA to capture virtual reality content in Houston, where astronauts train for the international space station. And Nokia is also in talks with sports leagues like the NBA to livestream games.

“There are many opportunities for 360-degree video,” Haidamus says. “To give a news reporter an Ozo camera and let the user decide what to look at makes viewers active participants. You can put the camera above a patient and train medical students, or you can could place the camera in a war zone and capture the entire battlefield.”