Category: LIV Inc

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Latest LIV Beta Enables Green Screen Free Mixed Reality Recording on Oculus Quest

When virtual reality (VR) gamers want to record themselves playing a title in mixed reality (MR) one of the most popular software solutions is LIV. This is mostly achieved through green screening, great if you’re a developer with the space to set it up, not so much for general consumers wishing to showcase their latest Beat Saber highscores. So LIV has just launched a beta for one of the most popular headsets at the moment, Oculus Quest, allowing players to record their own MR gameplay videos without having to hand any green fabric.

LIV - Beat SaberThe process can be achieved via two methods, using a Kinect camera (Xbox One or Azure) or the latest is on an iPhone XR smartphone. Exclusive to the Apple handset due to the background removal technology LIV employs – Android solutions are being looked into – to access the LIV Camera app users need to head to the LIV Discord to request access.

As you can see from the demo video below this beta version can impressively remove any background environment the player is standing in, replacing it with the VR videogame they’re playing. Of course, this is still a beta so there are a few kinks to work out and you’ll also need the LIV PC app.

Over on Reddit, the team notes: “We are aware that setup isn’t as simple as we want it to be. Early on, our issues were largely on the bugs/performance side, but since spending the better half of 2019 working on that, we are now turning the corner. Quest support is in beta, so expect some bugs as we iron out the kinks!

“One of our areas of focus for 2020 is rethinking the App setup process (and design) to make it easier to get started, and finding the right information.”

LIV - Beat Saber

LIV left Steam Early Access last summer adding a range of features including avatars for those players who didn’t want to directly feature in their videos. Free to download and supporting most VR headsets, the software is compatible with some of the best VR titles on the market.

As LIV continues development, improving its capture solution for Oculus Quest, VRFocus will keep you updated.

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LIV Secures $2.6M in Funding to Further Expand Mixed Reality Streaming Platform

LIV, the Prague-based team behind the eponymous mixed reality game-streaming platform, has secured $2.6 million in a Series A financing round, something the company says will be used to expand its development team, accelerate its streaming technology, and to integrate more third-party games studios.

The funding round was led by Hiro Capital, a new game streaming-focused VC fund led by Inspired Entertainment co-founder Luke Alvarez, Games Workshop co-founder Ian Livingstone CBE, and Cherry Freeman, co-founder of LoveCrafts.

LIV was previously completed a Venture Round this summer to the tune of $1 million by Seedcamp, Techstars, Credo Ventures, HTC Vive, Jaroslav Beck from Beat Games, and Oculus co-founder and inventor of the Oculus Rift, Palmer Luckey. Credo Ventures and Seedcamp are also participating in the Series A round alongside Hiro Capital.

The software essentially lets you visually inject yourself into a VR game so stream-watchers can get a better sense of what you’re doing, be it in the flesh with a dedicated video camera, or through a custom avatar. If still you’re scratching your head as to what we mean by ‘mixed reality’ (the term is flaunted around by some companies to mean different things), check out the video below to see LIV in action:

Founded in 2016 by AJ Shewki, Steffan Donal, and a team of ex-competitive gamers, Twitch streamers, and game developers, the company has since released its software for free on Steam, which boasts support for a number of popular games including Beat Saber (2018), SUPERHOT VR (2017), Pistol Whip (2019), Audica (2019), and plenty more.

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“The tools used for broadcasting traditional PC games couldn’t show the intensity of what we were experiencing as players” says AJ Shewki, CEO and co-founder of LIV. “In VR, your body is the controller and that’s part of the magic. As a player, you are fully immersed in VR, but unless we can show the player’s body interacting with their VR environment, the 2D stream audience is missing out. And that’s how we got started — we wanted to level up the VR spectator experience.”

Shewki, also known by his handle ‘Dr. Doom’, says future releases of the software should include dynamic lighting, progression systems and other features as the LIV Play platform becomes a “massive scale MMO for live gaming spectator-ship.”

The post LIV Secures $2.6M in Funding to Further Expand Mixed Reality Streaming Platform appeared first on Road to VR.

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Mixed Reality Video Solution LIV Secures Funding from Oculus Co-founder Palmer Luckey

Founded in 2016, LIV was created as mixed reality (MR) capture tool for both developers and other creators to film themselves in virtual reality (VR). The company has come a long way since then and is currently on the cusp of leaving Early Access. Today, LIV Inc. has announced a successful $1 million USD funding round, with some major investors supporting the company.

LIV - Beat Saber

Based in Prague, LIV Inc. has been backed by investors including Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey; Jaroslav Beck, CEO and Co-Founder of Beat Games (Beat Saber); early-stage VC’s Seedcamp, TechStars, and Credo Ventures; plus HTC Vive and its accelerator, Vive X; and MR production specialist Splitverse.

LIV Inc. will use the investment to grow its core engineering team, further developing its solution towards videogame developers, content creators and streamers. The company has been integrated into over 150 experiences, with Beat Saber becoming its most high profile viewing experience. Additionally, upcoming support for Oculus Native SDK is on its way.

“We think that VR is the final computing platform, and in a world where VR is mainstay we need tools for creators and developers to share their experiences in real-time. In VR, your whole body is your controller, and we had to include that human nuance into the spectator experience. We’ve taken VR from a “must try to believe” experience, to something you can watch on a 2D screen whilst still really understanding the magic of 6 degrees of freedom that VR offers,” said LIV’s CEO and Founder AJ Shewki in a statement.

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“I created the Oculus Rift because I wanted the ability to transport myself into virtual worlds.  AJ and his team have taken the next step towards that goal, empowering creators and developers to present themselves and their avatars however they want during live gaming and broadcast.  I love what they have already done, and I am an investor because I am so excited about what they will do next,” said Palmer Luckey, Oculus Rift’s Creator and Oculus’ Founder.

Completely free through Steam, LIV 1.0 is available via the public beta branch on Steam, offering its latest feature, LIV Avatars.

“We have some pioneers within our field on the team and are now backed by the people and companies that created VR as we know it,” Shewki adds. “Together we are playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of the industry. Our kit is being pushed further and further afield, and all our partners, creators, and audience are as excited as us to see what comes next.”

VRFocus will continue its coverage of LIV, reporting back with the latest updates.

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Vive X 2019: LIV’s Dr Doom Talks Mixed Reality Video Capture

If you love playing virtual reality (VR) videogames and want to show how awesome they are then the best way of doing so is with mixed reality (MR) video. This style of video puts you, the gamer, inside the title to give viewers a taste of the VR greatness you’re playing. While not as easy to record as a Twitch stream, for example, improvements have been made over the years and one of the most popular pieces of software to record MR videos is LIV. VRFocus had a chat with LIV Inc’s. CEO and founder AJ ‘Dr Doom’ Shewki to learn more.

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LIV Inc. is part of the Vive X accelerator and showcased its technology during the recent ‘Demo Days’ event in May. Shewki was there to not only demo the software solution and discuss investment opportunities with interested guests, but he also discussed what was next for the application, namely fully launching out of Early Access into version 1.0.

The update is set to introduce the long-awaited Avatar feature. As mentioned, MR videos rely on players actually being seen so viewers can better understand aspects like the motion control mechanics in VR videogames. But this requires greenscreens, depth cameras or an additional web camera. The Avatar feature means you don’t need these extra pieces of hardware, you can just download the Avatar you like and away you go – pretty much.

It uses less CPU and GPU power than regular cameras, plus Avatar perspective is controllable on the fly, with 4 types of viewpoint to choose from: Selfie, Third-person, First-person, and Gamepad.

LIV

The LIV tool can be downloaded for free via Steam, supporting over 20 VR titles including Beat Saber, The Wizards, Budgets Cuts, Space Junkies, Electronauts and Superhot. The update hasn’t gone live at the moment, with the studio yet to give a specific release date.

Check out the full interview with AJ ‘Dr Doom’ Shewki below. When VRFocus has further details regarding LIV and version 1.0 we’ll let you know.

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Mixed Reality Streaming Software LIV Reveals Plans to Leave Early Access

Back when virtual reality (VR) started to reemerge as a consumer product one of the difficulties developers had was getting the immersive qualities of the technology across to new users. One avenue that proved to be particularly successful and seen everywhere today are mixed reality (MR) videos, seeing the player in the virtual world. To facilitate an easier production process LIV came along, launching into Early Access in 2018. This week LIV Inc. has announced plans to exit Early Access, updating to v1.0.0 with several new features.

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The biggest feature coming in v1.0.0 and one which users have been after for a while is Avatars. LIV Avatars only require a VR headset to use – no webcam or capture card is required. Using less CPU and GPU power than regular cameras, the Avatar perspective is controllable on the fly, with 4 types of viewpoint to choose from: Selfie, Third-person, First-person, and Gamepad.

Easily switchable using a single controller, the system will also support full-body avatars using SteamVR trackers. Going into further detail LIV Inc. states: “Avatar settings are saved against a camera profile – which means that you can set up many different cameras, avatars and behaviours all as different profiles. Switch between them instantly now using the profile dropdown.”

The other main addition is proper support for Kinect v2 on Xbox One. This means that the sensor is as fast as any normal camera, calibration is easier with faster background removal and smarter post-processing smooths out those edges. “With the performance improvements, we’re hoping to enable more of you to make use of the Xbox One’s Kinect sensor – it’s the best depth camera still commonly available, and the one we feel provides the best image today, adds LIV Inc. “So, just like any other camera in LIV, all the juicy profile improvements apply here too. You can set up advanced effects (like our LUT effect, or the mask effect) on your Kinect and easily toggle between them at runtime without any jank!”

LIV

LIV Inc. hasn’t stated when the v1.0.0 will go live but expect it to be soon. As further announcements are made VRFocus will keep you posted.

The full changelog for v1.0.0 is as follows:

  • Avatars! More about this up top, how did ya miss it?
  • Kinect support – no seriously, scroll up!
  • Per-camera tracking source controls!
  • Camera profile switching is now much faster when it can be – more here as we improve things further!
  • AMD support! It’s not 100% of the way there yet, so bear with us – it’s finally possible to get things capturing!
  • Better foreground blending for legacy titles.
  • Automatic calibration updating! Not all games support this yet, but you’ll notice that for a lot of them you’ll be able to change everything about a camera now!
  • Calibrate with games running! Just hit ‘Begin Calibration’ in the usual place and it’ll detect that there’s something running.
  • Simplified tracker management – we now expose options only if you need them, making it easier to work out what will make a difference when testing games!
  • Better feedback when changing cameras, and when capturing games.
  • New remote control commands for switching camera profiles and launching the compositor.