As a part of our ongoing mission to showcase the virtual reality industry’s hottest startups we headed over to River, Rothenberg Ventures’ new accelerator program for VR, for an inside look at (a ‘VR Snapshot’ if you will) each of the 13 companies (selected from a group of 200) in the program, before their big demo day Monday.
Virtual reality has the power to take us anywhere we want to go, it is what makes the medium so unique. Oftentimes however it can take us there only by ourselves, and while the experiences may be amazing they sometimes feel empty without someone to share it with. Memories grow when we can share them with our friends, that shared experience is something that will be incredibly important for VR – people don’t want to be amazed alone. That is why for me most of the concert experiences that I have seen in VR have had a bit of a hollow echo to them.
vantage.tv is looking to change that with its new social virtual reality events platform that lets you experience a concert, in 360, from multiple angles, with your friends enjoying right along side you. We sat down with Juan Santillan, vantage.tv’s CEO, to learn more about the platform which will be making its debut Monday.
Who is vantage.tv?
VR is going to disrupt many markets but more importantly it will disrupt the geographic requirements of the real world; location becomes irrelevant. Our minds will travel to places independant of our bodies. Going to events like concerts, sports and other types of shows is one of the most exciting experiences we have in our life, we make special connections with the sports teams, artists and with the people we go with.
vantage.tv is replicating the thrill and experience of going to physical events using virtual reality, more importantly, having this experience with friends. We want to be the largest venue in the world; a place where fans and friends get together VIRTUALLY to enjoy their passions.
What is your team’s background?
The founding team has been working with immersive technologies for the last 6 years. The team has produced 360° content and immersive experiences for concerts, sports and entertainment events; has worked with the Black Eye Peas, Coachella, Nascar, Austin City Limits, PGA Tour, and AT&T among others. This experience allows our team to create the best VR events platform for both content creators and fans.
When did you guys start working together?
We have been working together for 6 years and vantage.tv was born in the summer of 2014. We proved our workflow and technology by live-streaming Austin City Limits music festival to 200 Oculus Rift DK2 users. We live streamed 15 hours of the event and confirmed that the experience was all the fun and entertainment we hoped for so the project moved forward.
Where are you guys at with your projects?
We are coming out of stealth mode during our River Demo day and will be showcasing the latest advances in our technology. This will will start our fundraising and we’re aiming for a public beta in Fall 2015.
Why is the work you are doing important?
Because VR is only going to be relevant for users if there is a good amount of compelling content. VR is a tool to provide experiences and shouldn’t be seen as the experience itself. Most of the content being generated right now is more about proving the technology, rather than focusing on the content itself and as such, has very high costs and low repeatability. This means that people are only getting a taste of what’s to come. We have championed a workflow that is built on low-cost, highly scalable tools which will enable far more, quality content to be produced and delivered to more people in a shorter period of time. This will translate into more content, compelling more people to explore and experience what VR can provide. This will translate into demand that will further drive VR, enabling even more experiences.
What kind of funding have you received, and from who?
We got through our initial beta by bootstrapping. Since then River (Rothenberg Ventures Virtual Reality) has invested $100k to help us take the next big step forward by improving the quality of our experience and add features not seen anywhere else. This goal will be realized at the Rothenberg Founders Field day on April 27th.
How can people experience what you are doing?
We will launch our public beta Fall 2015. More information will be forthcoming at https://vantage.tv
UploadVR will be getting a full hands on with the new social concert experience Monday at Founders Field Day, so be sure to look out for our reaction. Also, stay tuned for the rest of the River profiles as they prepare for their big graduation day.
