HDR Wireless Live streaming(Flow Tours) - 4K resolution in YouTube Live

THETA Media
, ,
#1

Please enjoy the archive video(live streaming) in YouTube app or new tab of desktop browser to control FOV manually.(Click or tap “YouTube” button at the right bottom)

I, Toyo(IKOMA360), successfully tested the alpha version of HDR-WLS(Wireless Live Streaming) Plugin for 4K resolution of YouTube Live. Our exclusive model(Isoflavone) walked along the Yao station(Kintetsu Railway) with holding Ricoh Theta Z1 and Mobile Wi-Fi Router(HWD36) at night.

Notes;

  1. Do NOT grab the current version of the plugin in Theta Plug-in store. It doesn’t work now. If you hope to test it, please contact Flow.Tours to get the alpha version. However, you need to install it into Z1 through adb command and use Vysor to give the permission.(required developer mode of Z1)

  2. Needs connection speed of 20-30% less than that of video bitrate.

    IMG_3499_s2
    IMG_3499_s2800×450 55.5 KB

In this case, I set it “16Mbps” in my Flow Tours account.

  1. Other settings are written as below.

Video format: HDR Equirectangular
Encoding: H.264
Bitrate: 16Mbps(depends on the network speed)
FPS: 24(tested 20FPS)
Exposure Compensation: 0
RTMP URL: extracted from YouTube Studio.
Stream Key: same as above.

Next “Walk in 360” will be broadcasting during daytime, but it’s under negotiations with Isaflavone.

IMG_3500_s2
IMG_3500_s21200×675 225 KB

Feel free to post your comments below.

Thanks,
Toyo

2 Likes
#2

Nice job! Thanks for posting it.

What time of night is that? Osaka looks empty.

How does this compare to non-HDR streaming?

#3

hi, @craig ,
I provided Toyo(IKOMA360) APK directly to help me a bit testing, as he was familiar with installing APK directly to Z1 and I was happy to include him in this “alpha” test, this stream was set to 20 FPS only, video is smoother when set to 24 or 25 FPS (30FPS may work through my own platform only as I see). I’m still finetuning UI/website, actually exposing more and more options, that could be controlled through flow.tours account. Purpose of test is heating, FPS, keyframe interval, encoding CBR vs VBR, differences and effect on quality/stability/streaming length. Also including HDR and non HDR streaming.

If you or someone else would like to play with, I can provide APK directly, just let me know please!

Thanks,
Laszlo

2 Likes
#4

Do you have side-by-side comparison of HDR and non-HDR video, especially in light conditions where there is light and dark areas (like street in Osaka that is dark and lights from a shopping district causing the light sensor on the camera to register different values for different parts of the scene)

You should write in the comments of this video that you are the developer and are open for beta tester applications.

HDR Wireless Live Streaming plugin: Walk in 360 with THETA Z1 - YouTube

Also post in the Facebook Groups.

Oh wait, the camera needs to be in developer mode. This limits the number of people…

3 Likes
#5

yes, Toyo posted to some FB groups, I also created one for my plugin: Redirecting...

Nadir logo generation also works, after beta testing users who buy plugin will be able to change and put their own logo through my website. And also I’m creating a data flow, so that once stitching can be manipulated by users directly, I will create a workflow so that each camera will be able to be adjusted stitching through website UI, but that will be covered only after beta test. Now through testing with direct APK installation I rather call “alpha” test or pre beta… Beta test will start once plugin is in the store available.

Laszlo

2 Likes
#6

How can I get the apk?

#7

I will send you a link in private message. Do you have better upload bandwidth in place?

#8

No, my bandwidth is still poor. My city is currently sending out surveys to residents about interest in fiber to the home. If my city implements it, I will buy it if the price is reasonable, under $150/month.

I think that other cities have it for $100/month approx, which is OK as we work from home. My city does not offer fiber to the home and there are no fiber cables in the streets, so it will take a long time. :frowning: Kind of unbelievable.

Plug-in Testing

Setup works wonderfully.

Easy setup. The camera settings page is really nice.

image
image1039×752 23.4 KB

There’s a gap in the stitch line on YouTube.

NOTE: I have poor upstream resolution, the video from the plug-in is much higher quality, I just can’t stream it to YouTube.

image
image781×587 94.5 KB

You might want to change the favicon to your company logo.

image

Change the favicon | Theming HowTos | Drupal Wiki guide on Drupal.org

2 Likes
#9

hi, Craig,
thanks a lot for testing the workflow! There will be some more options exposed to be able to control later, after beta test. I’m preparing plugin already so that wouldn’t have to update it again after beta testing, only if some critical gap is found in plugin. additional features that will be public after: SRT (low latency format), stitching calibration workflow, to make stitching better and save for streaming next time with adjusted stitching.

Your bitrate was so low that you couldn’t see the image quality, I hope you will get that fiber soon! That black line was there because of extra low resolution during the stream… In h.264 it makes no sense going below 10-12mbps bitrate, especially when h.264 is used.What about mobile network speed in the area, that’s also bad?

Yes, favicon should change for sure, thanks! It’s a Drupal driven backend there, that’s why I left there the official favicon for now. After finishing plugin I will come back to my platform.

Regards,
Laszlo

2 Likes
#10

Hi, I’ve tested again.
You can compare those results as below.

case 1.

Resoltion: 4K 30fps
Bitrate: 20Mbps
Sampling: 48.0Khz

The official Wireless Live Streaming plug-in(ver.1.1.4)
IMG_3508

In-app window:

case 2.

Video format: HDR Equirectangular
Encoding: H.264
Bitrate: 16Mbps
FPS: 24
Exposure Compensation: 0

HDR Wireless Live Streamin plug-in(alpha version)
provided by Flow Tours.

Network speed: 7Mbps(4G LTE) Rakuten Mobile UN-LIMIT6(approx.3,300JPY/m)
IMG_3507

Conclusion:
Both of plug-in are very, very easy to start live streaming. If you use tethering network in your smartphone, no extra devices are needed except Z1. However, the battery drain is a pain in the neck!

You may say “Hang a mobile battery connected in USB-C.”
No way!! I hate it.
Ricoh is right. They will support removable battery in the next model.

Hope you enjoy.
Toyo

2 Likes
#11

hi, @Juantonto ,
thanks for sharing! This was a real life test for sure and this is the key here. Original Ricoh Wireless Live Streaming plugin got also much better end of last year compared to how it worked before…

Some fundamental differences without going technical:

  1. During development of my plugin my assumption was to prepare for the worst use case: to assume worst network behavior (mobile network packetization has to work properly as much as possible without showing lot of garbage… video data can be called garbage and garbage collection is important, how and when to drop that garbage during live stream, during packetization). Need to modify libraries, optimize, finetune as much as possible, we do not build everything from scratch but finetuning, integrating, optimizing is very time consuming.

  2. Ricoh plugin assumed the optimal network in this case, that is available all the time.

  3. HDR quality, not sure if it was visible but my plugin provides higher quality even if video bitrate was less than 20, which was set at Ricoh plugin.

  4. It wasn’t really visible, but HDR plugin was providing sharper image quality during stream even if it was set to lower bitrate video

  5. About 95% of first video was not watchable for me, I will do some tests comparing these plugins at my home too… and will try to provide fair network, so will be able to compare use case, “what if network quality is superb for both plugins” so clearly network/packetization is better in HDR WLS plugin vs Ricoh’s WLS plugin, but what if there is a really good home network, with 30mbps upload speed or more?

  6. Clearly into HDR wireless live streaming plugin I’m put LOT of additional effort and it will be commercial once released. Not sure about it’s price, but probably 30-50USD for a year (or more), but I’m also thinking about some other options. Clearly during beta testing , I will see how many users are interested, etc. and will decide after.

Laszlo

#12

hi,

I did my best to provide a fair test, I know that original Ricoh’s Wireless Live Streaming plugin is not handling network so efficiently and may not be optimized for mobile network streaming, compared to my plugin “HDR Wireless Live Streaming”…

Here is the Ricohs live stream test:

I used 4k , 30FPS and 20mbps

Here is the stream from “HDR Wireless Live Streaming” plugin:

I used 4k, 24FPS and 20 mbps bitrate.

The available network bandwidth was around 40mbps for upload or more.

I noticed some audio sync issues at Ricohs plugin, and also some ticketing was still there… and I’m not referring to wind of course.

Feel free to share these.

#13

wow, there’s a big problem with the Wireless Live Streaming Plug-in that the HDR Wireless Live Streaming (Flow Tours) plug-in solves.

Have you considered this type of selfie stick for the battery drain problem with the Z1?

I have not tried it.

Sabrent Bluetooth Selfie Stick with built-in 5200mAh battery Charger (GR-SSTK) | GR-SSTK

#14

Looks nice. I use a monopod with 10000mah battery attached to bottom. I like to put it down during streaming and testing…

Will do some tests recorded on my platform too, to compare also when streaming in h.265, its much better then through youtube in h.264.

Laszlo

#15

Hi, @craig @jcasman @biviel
Today’s live streaming.

Hope you enjoy!
Toyo

And stay tuned!

3 Likes
#16

is the live event at 5:30pm PT (in 10 hours)?

Looks fantastic.

#17

hi, @craig ,
there was a good mobile network for Toyo at that location.
Next stream should be around 5:30pm in San Francisco time zone, today. For me it’s 2:30am in the morning tomorrow, which is a bit too early and too late for me. :frowning:

I’m a bit concerned about upload bandwidth in area, I asked Toyo to measure but not sure if he did so prior streaming.

image
image1914×1002 160 KB

I checked all major cellular network providers but seems that slower 4g is available only there.

@Juantonto , did you measure real upload bandwidth there?

regards,
Laszlo

#18

It looks like it is on in 5 hours. I don’t normally use live streaming, is this something that I can type into a chat box and interact with people as I see the stream?

Is he going to walk around Tokyo?

You should do a walking event around Budapest Hungary. 10am PT is 7pm in Budapest, Hungary. The lighting at night might be good to show off the HDR. You should schedule it a week in advance and then tell people to join.

1 Like
#19

Hi,
On that youtube event page, the place is highlighted in description, west south from Osaka, on a bridge. I located it on the map. Mobile network coverage is a challenge for sure for now, but at indoor locations events a proper wifi should be available. I will get a 5g phone and sim to test more outdoor. I did some tests again, mainly for checking instable network use cases, resync after network bandwidth is back…need to measure the area to make sure it will work.anyway i think the best is to stay in a smaller area, an exhibition room/building where network is granted through better wifi routers or mesh network …

Live stream on youtube has 30 second latency, but chat is there and i think interactivity is a key here. My platform with rtmp will have only ~10 second latency on same continent, which is acceptable for askinh written questions or voting on some predefined questions triggered by the guide…

#20

@jcasman and I are hoping to join in 2.5 hours to help you and @Juantonto test it.

BTW, I was informally talking to a guy RICOH who reviewed the public sample videos you posted on this site and he was impressed with the HDR quality of your technology. Nice job.

1 Like