Page 23 - ITU Journal, ICT Discoveries, Volume 3, No. 1, June 2020 Special issue: The future of video and immersive media

ITU Journal: ICT Discoveries, Vol. 3(1), June 2020

DELIVERING OBJECT-BASED IMMERSIVE MEDIA EXPERIENCES IN SPORTS
Fai Yeung , Basel Salahieh , Kimberly Loza , Sankar Jayaram , Jill Boyce
1
1
1
1
1
Intel Corporation , Santa Clara, CA, 95054, USA.
1

Abstract – Immersive media technology in sports enables fans to experience interactive, personalized
content. A fan can experience the action in six degrees of freedom (6DoF), through the eyes of a player or
from any desired perspective. Intel Sports makes deploying these immersive media experiences a reality by
transforming the captured content from the cameras installed in the stadium into preferred volumetric
formats used for compressing and streaming the video feed, as well as for decoding and rendering desired
viewports to fans’ many devices. Object-based immersive coding enables innovative use cases where the
streaming bandwidth can be better allocated to the objects of interest. The Moving Picture Experts Group
(MPEG) is developing immersive codecs for streaming immersive video and point clouds. In this paper, we
explain how to implement object-based coding in MPEG metadata for immersive video (MIV) and
video-based point-cloud coding (V-PCC) along with the enabled experiences.
Keywords – Immersive media, MPEG-I, point-cloud, six degrees of freedom (6DoF), volumetric video.

1. INTRODUCTION video-based point-cloud coding (V-PCC) which are
immersive media standards for compressing and
Advancements in digital media technology are streaming volumetric content. Section 4 covers in
paving the way to innovations in delivering detail the implementation of the new object-based
compelling immersive experiences with new media coding in MPEG-I V-PCC and MIV, as well as
formats. The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) providing applications and services for the
is one of the main standardization groups driving object-based approach. Section 5 then gives a
the industry effort to develop a suite of standards to conclusion of this paper.
support immersive media access and delivery. The
coded representation of immersive media (MPEG-I) 2. IMMERSIVE MEDIA FOR SPORTS
is a set of emerging immersive media industry
standards dedicated to immersive media formats Enabling sports fans to choose where and how they
such as panoramic 360-degree video, volumetric want to consume the next generation of sports
point clouds, and immersive video. Intel is working content, whether they are 3DoF, 6DoF with limited
with other leaders in the immersive media industry motion range, or 6DoF immersive media
to invest in the end-to-end immersive ecosystem to experiences, makes sports an ideal use case for
drive the worldwide adoption of immersive media. MPEG-I. In order to provide context on current
This includes everything from the production of industry practices for delivering immersive media
immersive content to the delivery of innovative experiences, we provide an overview of Intel Sports
visual experiences and immersive services. immersive work as an example.
Part of Intel’s immersive efforts is its active 2.1 Intel Sports immersive media platform
contribution to current state-of-the-art and Intel Sports partners with leagues, teams, and
emerging standards. One of its key collaborative broadcasters to give fans immersive media
efforts is object-based point cloud and immersive experiences allowing them to see any perspective of
coding and their related supplemental messages the play, personalizing the game experience
adopted into MPEG-I industry standards. This according to each fan’s preferences. The Intel Sports
provides a huge leap forward in how volumetric
6DoF video use cases are delivered. immersive media platform is comprised of two Intel
proprietary capture systems: Intel True View that
®
The remainder of the paper is structured as follows: outputs volumetric video and Intel True VR for
®
First we cover immersive media for sports by panoramic stereoscopic video.
referencing the current immersive media platform The Intel Sports immersive media platform is
architecture and workflow from Intel Sports in designed to support a large number of streaming
section 2. Then in section 3, we share the technical platforms and devices through a common video
background for MPEG immersive coding (MIV) and

© International Telecommunication Union, 2020 1