Vimeo launches 360° video support

Vimeo has added support for 360° videos, allowing content creators to upload, share, and sell immersive content. 

Vimeo announced the launch last week and published a collection of 360 immersive videos from its community of video makers to a new, curated 360 Cinema channel.

At launch viewers can watch 360° videos via Vimeo’s iOS and Android mobile apps using compatible devices and headsets such as Samsung Gear VR, Google Daydream and Zeiss VR One.

Vimeo said that support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are “coming soon”, and that Vimeo 360° videos can also be downloaded in HD quality to watch offline.

Creators can upload 360° videos to Vimeo in up to 8K resolution, add metadata and insert calls-to-action directly in the embedded player. They can also sell their immersive content via Vimeo On Demand.

At the same time, Vimeo is also offering educational resources to help creators learn the basics of 360° video – including in-depth tutorials on 360 cameras, pre-production, shooting and editing.

Vimeo will introduce its new 360 experience at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas this week, and said it will demo it at key festivals and events throughout the year in partnership with Zeiss VR One.

YouTube first added 360-degree video support to its service in May 2015, and introduced 360-degree live-streamed video and spatial audio in April 2016.

Google then launched its dedicated Daydream View VR headset and controller, along with Daydream and YouTube VR apps in five markets in November last year.

The Future of Music from Greg Barth on Vimeo.