Solving the Challenge of Volumetric Video Production and Streaming: An End-to-end Perspective of Technologies and Device Ecosystem Capabilities and Performance

Volumetric models and assets are great elements for content creators to use in the development of appealing immersive experiences. We can think about live sport events with the entire scene captured as volumetric elements and streamed to the mobile devices of thousands of consumers. However, distribution to consumers of high-quality immersive experiences using volumetric assets has been challenged by a number of factors including visual fidelity, bandwidth, latency, and device processing power. Content creators have been constrained from expressing the full potential intended for their original experience. In this paper you will learn about methods to stream volumetric video assets from an end-to-end perspective including an overview of production systems and suitable volumetric compression profiles (using point cloud compression) that can be used to render on any display for a wider reach: VR headsets, AR glasses, and flat screens. An ecosystem overview with device capabilities and performance is presented, and further included an analysis of content and end-user security functionality. Finally, this paper explores the evolution and opportunities of volumetric video streaming using 5G Cloud/Edge infrastructure to process and distribute volumetric content to any device, minimizing device processor power consumption, minimizing overall delay, and providing the best possible user experience.