Our readers might remember Google Jump. The Mountain View giant designed a system for 360-degree filming aimed at virtual reality platforms, and at that time, GoPro appeared as its main partner. Now GoPro has presented its commercial solution inspired by Jump, officially named Odyssey. By combining a total of 16 Hero4 cameras, GoPro has created a very powerful tool for developers... as long as they can afford it.
The development of content for virtual reality needs to undergo a drastic acceleration. We are less than six months away from the official debut of the Oculus Rift, while other competing projects look to make the first move before then. If we try to gauge consumer interest, I believe Microsoft's HoloLens presents itself as a much more attractive option, regardless of it still being far off on the calendar... and of it being augmented reality. Why do we have doubts? Because all virtual reality headsets must be much more than a compact super-monitor placed in front of our eyes. Virtual reality still needs content, and at the same time, developers need tools that are up to the task.
When Google introduced its Jump system, all specialized media agreed: What once was hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment would now be just under twenty thousand. An important aspect to highlight is that Jump can be used with any camera, but one of the first names interested in exploiting this technology is GoPro, and that leads us to the introduction of Odyssey. The Odyssey system is nothing more than the first commercial edition of Google Jump, equipped with a total of 16 Hero4 cameras, all accompanied by an equal number of microSD cards and connectivity modules. Odyssey also includes all the necessary cables, a case to facilitate camera transport, and of course, the circular support.
Once operational, the Odyssey system can capture spherical 8K video at 30 frames per second, and the output format is mp4 (after digital stitching) under the H.264 codec. The availability of the Odyssey is limited to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Brazil, though interested parties must first register. How much does it hurt? Exactly $15,000, of which eight thousand belong to the Hero4 cameras.
