Facebook adds features, integrated cameras to make Live 360 more accessible
Today, Facebook announced updates to Live 360, its video feature which fully immerses viewers into a scene, giving them the opportunity to explore and experience new environments virtually.
The new updates, which include Live 360 Ready Program, 4K resolution, Donate Buttons, Scheduled Live and Post-Live Experience, will improve and simplify the Live 360 experience for both creators and audiences.
Joining Chetan Gupta, Product Manager for 360 Video/Live 360 at Facebook to make the announcement, Caitlin Ramrakha, Product Marketing Manager at Facebook said “Since rolling out Live 360 to all Pages and Profiles in March, we’ve seen incredible uses of the medium. People have shared moments like weddings and vacations with their friends, and publishers and creators have immersed audiences in unique experiences, like going behind the scenes at a sports team’s warmup or on stage with a band during a show.”
Live 360 Ready Program
First, Facebook is excited to launch the Live 360 Ready Program — an array of third-party 360 cameras and software solutions, vetted by its team, that provide great Live 360 experiences on the platform. Today, the Live 360 Ready Program includes 10 cameras and 7 software suites that span a wide range of options, whether you simply want to go live via your phone to share personal moments, or you’re a professional publisher who needs robust camera and software solutions to pull off a complex production.
Each camera’s app or web experience will enable you to interact with your friends and followers through direct access to Facebook’s native reactions and comments. You’ll be able to recognize Live 360 Ready cameras and software offerings by the Facebook Live logo on their packaging or website. The current list of Live 360 Ready cameras and software includes:
- Cameras: Giroptic iO, Insta360 Nano, Insta360 Air, Insta360 Pro, ION360 U, Motorola (to be added at 11.30am ET], Nokia Ozo, Z CAM S1, 360Fly HD, 360Fly 4K, and 360Fly 4K Pro
- Software: Assimilate SCRATCH VR, Groovy Gecko, LiveScale, Teradek, Voysys, Wowza, Z CAM WonderLive
Camera or software companies can visit facebook360.fb.com/live360 to learn more and download information about joining the Live 360 Ready Program.
4K Support and Watch in VR
Facebook now supports up to 4K resolution for Live 360 streams, meaning viewers can enjoy Live 360 moments in much higher fidelity. And for the first time, viewers will soon be able to enjoy Live 360 videos streamed at 4K in VR. Live 360 broadcasts will be available to watch in VR — both while they’re happening and after they’re over — in the free Facebook 360 app for Gear VR, available on the Oculus Store. Facebook is excited to see all the great moments you share in 4K with Live 360, and how your friends and followers experience these moments in fully immersive VR.
Donate Buttons with Live 360 and Scheduled Live
Facebook is also bringing two popular Facebook Live features to Live 360: donate buttons and Scheduled Live, both of which can be added to broadcasts through its Live API.
With donate buttons, Verified Pages can raise funds for a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit when they stream in Live 360, or a nonprofit can add a donate button to their own Live 360 broadcast to encourage viewers to support their cause.
Scheduling a Facebook Live broadcast lets people know when to tune in and helps your broadcast get off to a strong start with the audience already in place. With Scheduled Live — now available to Live 360 broadcasts via the Live API or Facebook’s live streaming tools — you can let your followers know the exact date and time your Live 360 broadcast will be. An announcement post will be published to News Feed, enabling your fans to opt in to a one-time reminder notification that will alert them when you’re about to go live. We hope this scheduling ability helps you build buzz and anticipation for your Live 360 moments!
To learn more about adding the donate button to Live 360 or setting up a Scheduled Live 360, visit www.facebook360.fb.com/live360 to download our Live 360 Getting Started Guide.
Post-Live Experience
To ensure that the great experience of watching Live 360 continues even after you’ve stopped streaming, Facebook is also adding stabilization to Live 360 for Profiles when its algorithm detects that a broadcast may be a little shaky.
Once you’ve finished a Live 360 broadcast, you can also use Facebook’s Guide tool to direct viewers to the most important parts of your broadcast. The tool allows you to set up points of interest throughout your broadcast and auto-direct the field of view to those points of interest. You can access 360 Guide through your 360 Controls tab once you ‘Edit’ your video. Learn more about Guide here.
To understand the points of greatest interest in your Live 360 broadcast, you may want to refer to Heatmap, Facebook’s tool to help you understand which parts of your video your audience engaged with the most. You can access Heatmaps (for broadcasts with at least 20,000 unique active viewers) from the Page Insights surface.
Lastly, you can crosspost your Live 360 broadcast once it’s over to help get even more distribution. Learn about crossposting videos here.
Weekend of Live 360
Facebook is partnering with Blend Media and their network of talented 360 creators to share a series of Live 360 moments around the world this weekend using a range of the cameras listed above. Follow Facebook’s 360 Page to watch these streams from Friday, July 28, through Sunday, July 30.
