Which leads us to the focal point of this article: a detailed examination of the 3D live streaming platform offered by Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF). A platform constructed in a global first and developed by a consortium led by Keio-NUS CUTE Center (CUTE), it is now in public beta offering local and international users a ‘virtual Singapore’ experience. This project involves building a sophisticated 3D model of Singapore that involves creating a virtual environment containing a comprehensive and coherent discussion of Singapore and the rest of the world. A sizable effort was put into recreating large urban landscapes as 3D micro-models, including the recreation of historical contexts and the chronological development of certain places in Singapore. This platform has high anticipated utility over the next decade in fields ranging from education and urban planning to simulation and serious gaming to train and study complex systems and decisions.
This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide to streaming services Singapore. By streaming services, we are referring to businesses like Spotify, Netflix, and even the lesser-known Hulu, that offer both audio and visual content right to your device. To keep things relevant, we will solely discuss the local availability of these services and any specific restricted content. However, to appreciate the value of 2D streaming services, it is important to understand the local infrastructure supporting these services.
Overview of Streaming Services in Singapore
When we speak of streaming, it comes in several forms. First is audio streaming, typically offered by local and international music stations such as Lush 99.5FM and BBC Radio. Video streaming comes by way of standard and high definition videos. High definition is quickly becoming standard as it offers much higher visual clarity at a relatively small increase in bandwidth cost. An example is the World Cup 2010 matches being streamed live in HD to both local PCs and mobile devices. Last and somewhat least known is internet protocol television (IPTV) streaming. With the (now stalled) Next Gen NBN, we can expect to see more IPTV services come to future households. An example of this is Mio TV. With quick and easy access to movies, TV shows, and video clips, it is an alternative to the regular cable subscription.
Today, Singapore boasts one of the fastest growing economies in the world. As the nation’s wealth continues to grow, people now demand more and more services to be brought to them. One such service is the on-demand digital content delivery, or streaming. Since the inception of streaming, Singapore has been a keen adopter of the technology, quickly embracing new forms of streaming. This includes the video on-demand services provided by the local cable TV providers, and the more recent online video platforms such as YouTube. With a variety of means now available to consume digital content, it is the opportune time to ask what streaming services in Singapore are available today in Singapore.
Importance of 3D Live Streaming
In comparison to the general streaming method, 3D live streaming has a higher data capacity in concept and a longer way to go as a commercial product. It provides a more immersive experience for viewers, more so than any other form of media. Whether the viewer watching in an anaglyph 3D stream with red-cyan glasses, a stereoscopic stream on a 3D TV, or hopefully in the future with a true three-dimensional experience using some form of holography or volumetric displays, it offers a unique experience that could eventually become the norm for watching media. So far, 3D technology has been relatively successful in cinemas, with films such as Avatar grossing huge amounts of revenue. In fact, statistics have shown that films in 3D are more than twice as successful in terms of revenue than in 2D. This is because viewing a 3D film in a cinema offers a unique experience that simply cannot be replicated on a 2D screen and is essentially what they are hoping to bring to home viewers. With the increasing popularity of Virtual Reality (which I mentioned in a previous article to be stepping into marketability), there is potential for VR technologies to converge with 3D media at some point, giving a fully immersive three-dimensional experience for the user. While it is not certain and has a long way to go before reaching this point, it is still a possibility in the relatively near future.
Popular Streaming Services in Singapore
There are four major OTT players in Singapore. They also produce on-demand content. Some of these OTT services are paid and some of these OTT services are free. The four major OTT players in Singapore are Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO Go. Netflix is a subscription-based OTT service which allows paying members to watch a wide variety of award-winning TV shows, movies, documentaries, and more on thousands of internet-connected devices. The vast variety of content it has really makes it suitable for everyone, from children to the elderly. Netflix offers three membership plans which are Basic, Standard, and Premium. Each membership plan will be charged every month, and members are able to change between the three plans at any time. Netflix has a vast collection of indie and foreign films, reality shows, very popular documentaries, and no ad or interruption to any movie or show when watching. Disney+ is not available in Singapore at the moment. This is because Disney has signed an exclusive OTA deal with Disney’s Southeast Asia distributor which makes Disney+ not going to be available in Singapore in the near future. According to a Disney spokesperson, they don’t have a Singapore launch date yet for their Disney+ service.
Netflix
In conclusion, while Netflix has been a rather successful provider in the video on demand (VOD) industry, the change into 3D live streaming is essential to keep up with the future of advancing technology and services. With a wide 3D consumer range, Netflix has the capability to add another level of video entertainment for both offline and streaming internet viewing.
This is where Netflix would require to obtain new content. Unlike 3D video games, which can be played with any 3D-capable electronic devices, Netflix would need to target consumers who have purchased a 3D television set, providing more in-depth content for these users.
With a wide variety of two-dimensional (2D) content, it was recently announced that Netflix is planning to dive into 3D live streaming in the near future. This will potentially increase subscription rates, encourage existing subscribers to prolong their subscriptions, and promote new sign-ups. In being able to do so, it would be essential for Netflix to sign up for additional programming right acquisitions specifically for 3D content to cater to the needs of the 3D consumers.
In comparison with the United States, Netflix services in Singapore are rather limited due to differences in programming right acquisition. For instance, the United States has a larger number of TV shows and movies over the Singaporean Netflix. In order to gain access to Netflix U.S., it is required to download a VPN and mask the user’s location. This way, the device will connect to a DNS server in the United States, tricking Netflix into thinking that he or she is connecting from the U.S. This allows access to the larger library of US Netflix content. Viewers can compare the difference in content between the two by using the website Flixed.
Launched in Singapore in 2016, Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services in Singapore with more than 195 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries, and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Prices start at SGD10.98 a month.
Disney+
In the 2.2 section, the author suggests subscribing to Disney+. It’s new to Singapore, and 3D live streaming can get you easy access to the platform by just connecting your TV to the web and then signing up for Disney Plus through the TV. Disney Plus is currently offered in an unsupported 3D version in Singapore, but according to Disney Boss Bob Chapek, it could be coming to the platform in the future. Seeing as Disney already has a plethora of 3D content in their arsenal from their subsidiaries like Lucasfilm, Marvel, and Pixar, it makes sense that Disney would want to leverage this content using 3D technology. At the time of writing, Disney+ does not yet support 3D live streaming. A step in the right direction would be for Disney to release a 3D version of their app, which they already offer in Japan. Despite this, you can still access 3D content by subscribing to the platform and taking advantage of free trials provided to new users.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is an online streaming service from Amazon. The membership provides consumers with discounted shipping from Amazon and streaming of various titles from the Prime library for a fixed cost per month. Amazon Prime Video has traditional TV series and movies as well as original content from Amazon. These titles can be downloaded on selected devices for watching at any time. Amazon Prime Video has a wide variety of movies, TV shows, documentaries, and kids programs. Amazon Prime Video can be streamed on various devices, including selected smart TVs, game consoles, streaming media players, and iOS and Android phones through the app. Amazon Prime membership is provided with a 30-day free trial to test out the benefits, and they offer a reduced student version of the membership.
HBO Go
Most importantly, users who reside in regions where HBO has proper TV coverage will be able to get HBO Go for free. This is quite similar to the situation of Hulu, which is heavily subsidized for users who reside in the US. Pricing information is rather hard to come by but it is stated in a PCWorld article that HBO has plans to make Go available through various platforms with a cable TV subscription. This means that the average HBO subscriber will have access to Go at no extra costs. Price plans are available for users who wish to access Go without a cable TV subscription, but the lack of information makes it hard to decide if HBO Go is truly worth the money spent.
Given that HBO Go is relatively new to the market, not much publicly available information can be found on HBO Go’s website. A search on Google resulted in HBO Go’s website directing the user back to the HBO’s main website. This indicates that HBO may not have built a separate website for Go yet. The lack of a dedicated website indicates that HBO Go may still be in its beta phase and could potentially be rolling out to more regions in the future.
Testing is the process of evaluating a system or its component(s) with the intent to find whether it satisfies the specified requirements or not. Usually, testing is carried out on a piece of software in hopes of identifying any bugs or gaps in the program. Testing in software development can be done at the coding level or at the GUI level.
Many may be familiar with the HBO (Home Box Office) as a TV channel. In recent years, HBO has increased the number of shows and movies they produce. With the advent of technology, HBO decided to jump onto the streaming service bandwagon. HBO Go is a service provided by HBO. It is an online streaming service which allows users to stream HBO’s vast library of content which includes original TV series, movies, documentaries and more via the internet. This service is similar to the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.
Advancements in 3D Live Streaming Technology
The trend of 3D live streaming is certainly promising because of the advancement in the internet speed and the hardware. 3D live streaming is very bandwidth heavy and without a high-speed internet connection, the video quality will suffer. As technology continues to improve, the bandwidth required for 3D live streaming will decrease and it will become more accessible to more users. The same goes for computer hardware. In another 5-10 years, even mid-range computer hardware will be able to handle 3D video streaming. Currently, high-end hardware is needed for the best quality 3D streaming. High definition content is now becoming more and more the norm. 3D TVs and movie theaters are also becoming more and more prevalent. It’s only a matter of time before the advent of 3D TV and movie streaming enters the home. There is no doubt that 3D live streaming is the future of the internet, as the internet becomes more and more a hub for all forms of entertainment.
How 3D Live Streaming Works
Rather than projecting light onto a 2D plane, 3D live streaming has brought forth a new element to video broadcasting. By using two color cameras, the colored images are digitized and compared. Where the images overlap is then highlighted to produce a video stream. This means the video is in a sense ‘reconstructed’ using depth information to provide two images for the left and right eyes like a 3D film/TV screen. The difference being 3D TV and video display have yet to provide an easy way to broadcast 3D content, like those from services such as Sky TV’s on-demand 3D TV service. This has the potential to change with internet streamed 3D video as the technology grows. Two types of 3D live streaming exist, with the most common type being stereoscopic video. This is the same type of video that would be displayed on a 3D TV, allowing viewers to watch the footage using traditional 3D glasses and have images appear to pop out of the screen. Anaglyph 3D is an older version of 3D video where two video streams are superimposed on each other with a different base color image. Viewers use colored 3D glasses to filter the images to separate the color channels to the correct eye. This is a low-cost method of 3D video; however, being monochrome and wearing a pair of colored glasses is often unappealing to the average viewer.
Benefits of 3D Live Streaming
An interesting feature available in 3D streaming is “the ability to switch camera angles”. TV programmes with this feature allow viewers to select from a number of different camera shots. This always keeps the viewer interested and adds an element of interaction to the medium. Now, a similar feature can be applied to live streamed events. Let’s say for example there is a concert being streamed in 3D. With the camera angle feature, online viewers can change between different camera angles from around the stage. This can give a more comprehensive experience to the viewer who would otherwise be fixed on one view during a 2D stream.
There are several benefits of 3D live streaming beyond the current stereoscopic version. The obvious greater depth perception will bring more realism to the viewer. This can be useful in the medical field where 3D offers a more realistic and practical model for surgeons. Live streaming a medical procedure in 3D has obvious benefits as the students viewing can watch it as it occurs. Depth perception in 3D streaming can also be beneficial to the telecommunication industry, everybody would like to feel as if the person they are talking to is really there, 3D streaming moves one step closer to making that a reality.
Challenges and Limitations of 3D Live Streaming
There are a number of factors affecting the success of 3D streaming, technological and environmental. There are still compatibility and growth issues of the technology. Data storage, bandwidth, and transfer rates continue to be a problem. Without the ability to store the data to be streamed, there isn’t much point in the transfer. A typical two-hour 3D movie uses up around 600 GB of data. High-level rendering is not yet capable over the 3D medium due to data transfer limitations. Light field rendering is a new and growing technology in terms of rendering images. Unfortunately, light fields are a complicated collection of data, impossible to compress to a file size and quality suitable to stream. Some 3D media such as medical imaging demand very high image quality in order to display all necessary details. Perhaps the largest current issue with 3D streaming and broadcasting law restrictions regarding the internet and 3D media. Many restrictions surrounding television may be applicable to streaming, and currently these overlap and confuse the situation. There is very little legislation specifically regarding 3D image transfer stating what can and should not be done. Fernandez & Trakhtenbrot (2013) argue that some 3D media should, in fact, be sent over a virtual private network rather than the public internet. Unfortunately, at the current time, there is not enough information on the potential regulations and how different types of content might be affected. Finally, there are much greater regulations and even restrictions preserving national and international security on anything related to 3D image transfer of military and intelligence data.
Future Trends in 3D Live Streaming
Significant developments in the area of 3D streaming technologies could be anticipated in the following couple of years. With 3D TVs hitting the market, the demand for 3D specific contents is going to elevate. The present 3D live streaming technologies are generally using one channel to transmit both left and right images and hence diminish the essence of 3D, i.e. depth. Therefore, stereo video transmission techniques of side by side and top and bottom methods will gain popularity. With the recent success of the transmission of BPL matches to Singapore, we can foresee a 3D specific channel for sports transmission. At the same time, 3D cinematic effects will become an integral part of movies and hence the release of 3D movie previews and promotional events will surge. All these will give rise to a demand for 3D live streaming services in Singapore The growth of remote gaming approach and continuous integration of broadcast quality will drive the awareness and desire to bring 3D recording and sharing functionalities to a broader range of predominantly visually oriented computer users. With this will come an increased demand for such provision through technological platforms that range from high-performance PC and console-based applications to various portable devices.
Choosing the Right Streaming Service and Equipment for 3D Live Streaming
Selecting a streaming service is quite possibly the most critical decision to make when aiming for a 3D live stream. The chosen service should be able to support an encoded Side by Side (SBS) 3D video stream and have the ability to embed the stream to a web page. Currently, there is only one free streaming service that is known to support a 3D video stream and that is Justin.tv. Despite the popularity of Own3D.tv and Livestream, these services will not be effective as currently there are no embedding capabilities and both only support Anaglyph 3D (the old red/blue 3D) which is undesirable. At this stage Justin.tv is the only known free service to support 3D streaming, however there are limitations to the service. Aided Justin.tv only allows a video resolution of 800×600 and the maximum video bitrate is 500kbps. In order to bypass these restrictions, it is a possible option to contact Justin.tv directly and apply for premium broadcasting. Unfortunately the lack of free services in 3D streaming means that it is necessary to pay for a service. HighDef2D will run tests on various paid HD streaming services in Singapore in the future and update this guide at a later date. When considering a paid streaming service, it is quite likely that the cheaper services will not support 3D streaming. Ustream is a good choice for a streaming service and they now have a paid HD service available. It is likely that Ustream will extend 3D and 2D integration to their HD service as the 3D market grows. At this time, the best paid service known is NVIDIA 3D Vision Live. This service was intended for 3D gaming and 3D photos however it fully supports 3D video and broadcasting at the highest quality. A benefit to using NVIDIA’s service is its unlimited bandwidth, however it does require the user to have a set of mildly expensive active shutter glasses to view the stream. On the whole the best opportunity to stream 3D at the highest quality is to invest into the NVIDIA 3D Vision Live service.
Factors to Consider When Selecting a Streaming Service
However, if you are a serious 3D hobbyist or a semi-professional looking to showcase and promote your 3D content, it would be far more beneficial to use a paid streaming service. A paid service will generally offer better quality video streams, technical support and improved online tools such as a user-friendly GUI, more features, and fewer restrictions. These are all important factors to consider and will be detailed later in the essay. If you are a serious 3D professional who is looking to offer the best quality 3D content and viewing experience, or if you are a 3D content developer who is looking to market 3D products, paid streaming services in Singapore are the way to go.
When considering a streaming service to broadcast your 3D content, think about who your audience is. If the answer is that you have no specific audience, and you are creating the 3D content purely for the love of 3D and because you can, it would not be feasible to use a paid streaming service unless it offers a trial period which allows you to test the service to see if it meets your requirements. If your 3D content is for friends and family and will not be broadcast to the public, a free streaming service might be sufficient.
Recommended Equipment for 3D Live Streaming
On the other hand, the hardware required for 3D streaming is more specific and somewhat complicated. Firstly, the capture card will need to be replaced by an HDMI 1.4 compliant card. This is because HDMI 1.4 allows for the Full HD 3D format “Frame Packing” that squeezes together the left eye and right eye frames into a single video frame with the same resolution as the original frames. After the left and right eye images are sent to the TV, the TV displays the 3D picture by interlacing the left and right images. When a HDMI 1.4 compatible PC is connected to a 3D TV, the TV will automatically switch to the recommended 3D display mode, making sure the PC screen refresh rate and the display mode are both suitable for 3D signal display. Before outputting 3D content, the PC graphics card settings will also have to be changed to ensure the resolution and refresh rate are set correctly. An alternative to using an internal capture card is using a HDMI 1.4 compatible capture device that accepts a HDMI cable from the PS3 or Xbox, then outputting the 3D footage via the USB port on a laptop or PC. This recorded footage can then be edited on a PC and uploaded in the same way as the console game footage. Unfortunately, the cost of 3D capture cards and compatible devices is quite high. Regular 2D HDMI capture cards can start from $40 USD, however, a HDMI 1.4 capture card or compatible device may cost anywhere between $200 to $300 USD.
Tips for a Successful 3D Live Streaming Experience
Like any internet-driven activity, faster is always better. In this segment, we will discuss strategies and specific tactics for getting the fastest, most reliable stream from your location to your viewers. We will detail traditional online streaming via today’s HTTP protocol and also outline the steps to streaming your content via a Content Distribution Network (CDN). We will explain and compare the costs of using a CDN service and show evidence from our testing that a good quality stream can be achieved using the free CDN services available. When doing a live stream encode, CPU usage is always going to be the biggest factor regarding the quality of your stream. Whether you are using a single PC to stream your content or using a server to capture content to encode on another machine, choosing the right settings and the right hardware can be a difficult task. We will discuss optimal settings for popular encoding software as well as take a look at the x264 codec, which is currently the best option for high quality at the lowest possible bitrate.
