In its first ever attempt at virtual reality (VR), DirectTV has launched a new app that would take boxing fans directly to the ringside during matches.
The Big Knockout Boxing (BKB) VR app is available for Google Cardboard as well as Samsung Gear VR headset-compatible smartphones. While live boxing fights are not available on BKB yet, you can catch the immersive VR highlights after downloading the app from Google Play, the App Store or Oculus™ Store.
To provide immersive experience through the app, DirectTV filmed the fight by a five-camera system designed to capture the event from the audience’s perspective earlier this summer. DirecTV is also making 360-degree footage of the fight available on Samsung’s Milk VR.
“We know that VR can be a deeply engaging entertainment medium. It delivers a compelling sense of ‘being there’ that’s unmatched by any other technology. We believe that much of VR’s growth will be mobile driven. As the technology evolves, we hope to find new ways to use VR to enhance not just BKB, but all sports experiences,” DirectTV vice president Jon Molod said.
Full Press Release
DIRECTV Launches First Virtual Reality App
New Big Knockout Boxing Virtual Reality App Delivers Immersive, 360 Degree Sports Experience to Consumers; Now Available for Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition and Cardboard Viewers
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — DIRECTV, now part of the AT&T* family, is taking its first jab at Virtual Reality (VR). We’re giving boxing fans a ringside seat with the new Big Knockout Boxing (BKB) VR App.
The new app delivers highlights from the June 27 BKB fight event at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. You can experience the blows and knock downs on your VR ready smartphone as if you were actually at the fight.
The BKB VR app is now available for Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition and Cardboard (Android and iOS) headsets. You can also watch immersive BKB fight highlights in Samsung Milk VR, a premium virtual reality service. With the BKB VR app on the Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition, you can select different fight highlights and close up camera feeds. Download the BKB VR app now from the Oculus™ Store, Google Play, and Apple App Stores.
“We know that VR can be a deeply engaging entertainment medium. It delivers a compelling sense of ‘being there’ that’s unmatched by any other technology,” said Jon Molod, vice president of Digital Entertainment Products Group, DIRECTV, part of the AT&T family. “We believe that much of VR’s growth will be mobile driven. As the technology evolves we hope to find new ways to use VR to enhance not just BKB, but all sports experiences.”
The BKB VR app was designed as a short form immersive experience focused on presenting a selection of the most exciting fight moments. The app’s immersive content was filmed by a five- camera system designed to capture the event from the perspective of a fan in the audience.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
About AT&T
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