NBA All-Star Game on Apple Vision Pro Remembers NextVR

Apple’s new immersive video on Vision Pro condenses four minutes of the 2024 NBA All-Star Game.

Apple’s video from the February event joins previous releases including the Super Bowl and the format’s first script, Submerged, as Apple continues to build a library of “Apple Vision Pro-only” content.

The video is notable because it resembles the work of NextVR, which Apple acquired after the company used industry-leading 180-degree 3D image streaming technology to live stream a significant number of NBA games to a range of VR headsets. For example, the long-dead NextVR app is still listed on Meta’s storefront, where the page serves as a reminder to Quest owners that Apple still reserves its high-quality immersive content exclusively for its own $3,500 headset.

The footage in the new NBA All-Star video gives Vision Pro owners a closer look at the action, including on-court views of dunks from behind the backboard, and a particularly memorable shot on the court as the ball flies directly into the camera. . But as Bloomberg correspondent Mark Gurman notes, “the only thing that will matter is the live broadcast. It’s just a gimmick at this point.”

Reports suggest Apple may be targeting $2,000 for its next Apple Vision headset, but even now Apple is ignoring the market of potentially millions of Quest owners and even owners of PSVR 2 and PC headsets that are a generation better than Samsung’s Gear VR headsets and Oculus Go. which NextVR has spent so much time and money broadcasting NBA games live.

“All in One did what we expected,” CEO David Cole told UploadVR back in 2019. “The audience size is growing very well right now due to a number of factors.”

NextVR has even begun developing technology to begin filling in the occlusion gaps in its footage on the path to total 6DoF freedom for viewers. Although Apple’s software can post-process depth on flat frames, the comfort and freedom of moving around a scene is still not possible even in properly shot stereoscopic spatial videos shot with an Apple Vision Pro or iPhone.

Meanwhile, a startup called Gracia is using expensive studio 3D scanning rigs and incredibly high loading requirements to bring full 6DoF freedom to PC-based headsets today. Bridging the gap between such filming and live streaming of sporting events remains an unresolved technical challenge.

Meanwhile, Apple appears intent on re-establishing the NextVR legacy for its headsets with a new generation of ultra-high-end cameras mounted in places where fans will be able to sit in a better position than anyone in the actual stands. Could Apple’s $2,000 headset reach a big enough market for the tech giant to invest in camera placements and the rights to stream a full slate of NBA games live, like NextVR did? Notably, the Apple TV app is available on Android, and by this time next year there will be a lot of people with Meta Quest 3 and 3S headsets who would like to find a seat on the court or behind the backboard at the stadium. NBA game with Apple owners.