360-Degree Videos Can Now be Uploaded and Viewed on YouTube

This week YouTube announced that it now supports 360-degree videos. That's right – you can upload and view 360-degree videos, which are a lot like watching a video through Google Maps' Street View. As the video plays you can click any part of the the screen and drag around to view different areas of the surrounding panorama. It's kind of like playing an open world video game like Grand Theft Auto, where you can control the game's camera to look around, except you're seeing actual recorded events instead of a game environment. Although, several animated game-like 360-degree videos have already surfaced on YouTube.

How Can You Film and Upload a 360-Degree Video to YouTube?

There are a variety of cameras on the market that can film 360-degree video. Some of the more popular options include the PixPro SP360 from Kodiak, 360cam from Giroptic, Bublecam, RICOH Theta, Samsung SNF-7010, and the Allie from IC Real Tech. These cameras typically cost in the $300-$1000 range.

For those of you willing to take a trip to the YouTube Space studio in L.A.,Creator Tech is letting visitors try out the special cameras and produce their own 360-degree videos with assistance from staff. This offer is supposed to stay active through April.

For now, uploading a 360-degree video to YouTube is a complicated process detailed on Github. However, the site has plans to streamline and automate the process. Of course, since 360-degree videos typically have larger file sizes, expect a longer upload time than with conventional videos.

Viewing 360-Degree Videos on Android Devices

One of the best ways to watch a 360-degree video is to use the YouTube app on an Android smartphone or tablet. With this method you can simply move the device to look around the panoramic video, kind of like peaking into a different world through the screen of your Android. It should be noted that this feature will only work if your device has the right motion sensors built in. That means you couldn't use this feature on a Windows tablet or phone, even if you were running an Android emulator like Andy.

Coming to Other Platforms Soon

If you don't have an Android device, fret not, because 360-degree videos will work in the Chrome browser, which means you can watch them on any device that runs Chrome. However, if you want the most functionality from the videos, at the moment, watching them on an Android device in the YouTube app is the best way to go.

YouTube has made it clear that it will be looking to expand 360-degree videos to other platforms like iOS in the near future. There are also plans to make 360-degree video viewable on virtual reality devices like the Oculus Rift, which is of course is the best possible way to view such content.

To see an example of a 360-degree video on YouTube, check out the embedded video below, or see our list of the Top 5 360-Degree Videos on YouTube: