YouTube 360 Degree Video Filetype

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Recently, I saw on YouTube that you can play videos with 360 degree panoramic views. It's on the #360Video channel (sample videos). What type of video files are these?

Also, you don't need anything like the Oculus Rift to watch these sorts of videos, you can just click and move the camera.

Best Answer

A 360-degree video file seems to be a special type of MP4 file.

I used a browser extension to download the YouTube video you mentioned.

When viewed in "VLC media player" the entire 360-degree panorama is shown, rather than a specific view.

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(EDIT: As of November 30, 2016, VLC Player now plays 360ยบ videos. )

The "Upload 360 degree videos - YouTube Help" article (link) describes how to upload 360 videos and lists some software references, including Kolor. The Kolor Eyes Free Video Player for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS will play spherical videos both online and offline.

The Linux utility file lists the video as: ISO Media, MP4 v2 [ISO 14496-14]

The Linux utility mediainfo lists the following information:

General
Complete name                            : Time Couch - VR Demo by StressLevelZero.mp4
Format                                   : MPEG-4
Format profile                           : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID                                 : mp42
File size                                : 21.3 MiB
Duration                                 : 1mn 39s
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 1 805 Kbps
Encoded date                             : UTC 2015-03-20 08:41:06
Tagged date                              : UTC 2015-03-20 08:41:06
gsst                                     : 0
gstd                                     : 99125
gssd                                     : B0AFCE0EAHM1434753175604513
gshh                                     : r8---sn-q4f7dnsd.googlevideo.com

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 1 frame
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 1mn 39s
Bit rate                                 : 1 611 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 5 691 Kbps
Width                                    : 1 280 pixels
Height                                   : 640 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 2.000
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 29.970 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.066
Stream size                              : 19.0 MiB (89%)
Tagged date                              : UTC 2015-03-20 08:41:07

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile                           : LC
Codec ID                                 : 40
Duration                                 : 1mn 39s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 192 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 201 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L R
Sampling rate                            : 44.1 KHz
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 2.27 MiB (11%)
Title                                    : IsoMedia File Produced by Google, 5-11-2011
Language                                 : English
Encoded date                             : UTC 2015-03-20 08:41:07
Tagged date                              : UTC 2015-03-20 08:41:07

Finally, the Spherical Video RFC (draft) describes the spherical video format metadata needed for 360 degree videos.

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