To Take On Facebook, Twitter Brings 360-Degree Video To Periscope

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Twitter will soon bring 360-degree live video to its live-streaming platform Periscope. On Wednesday, Periscope said the launch is in partnership with a small group of popular users.

Twitter following in Facebook’s footsteps

A wider roll-out of the feature will take place over the coming weeks. A wait list for Periscope users has been set on the platform where users interested in learning when the feature will drop for them can sign up for a notification.

“With 360 video on Periscope, you can experience moments with the broadcaster and take a look around?— it’s one step closer to actually being there,” Periscope said in a blog post.

The navigation options available to viewers are the same as those available elsewhere, such as on Facebook Live Video. Users will be able to watch different parts of the broadcast using their phone and tapping and scrolling around the screen. On the desktop version, they can click and drag to change the point of view.

This launch comes a few weeks after the micro-blogging firm added a feature to make broadcasting live video from its app a lot easier for its 317 million users. This is in line with the steps taken by its rival Facebook, which released live video features to U.S. users of its popular Instagram service. The social networking giant even announced plans to release a 360-degree live video feature for its 1.8 billion users.

Users will need a special camera

Twitter has always been boasting about the auto-play Periscope video on its platform, and it recently introduced a “live” button, fully integrating the live-streaming service into its mobile apps. This means it won’t be compulsory for users to have the Periscope app installed on their phone to be able to utilize the 360-degree video feature, notes Digital Trends.

However, users will first have to get their hands on the Insta360 Nano camera to be able to use the feature. The video camera — priced at $199 — clips onto the back of compatible devices. It offers a pair of sensors with the capability of putting out 3K footage at 30 frames per second.

At the time of launch, broadcasting 360-degree video live will be limited to Twitter’s “select partners,” but anyone will be allowed to watch them. The partners won’t receive any payments from Twitter for using or promoting the products, said a company spokesperson.

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