The demonstration will feature 8K production by Digital Immersion, Tiledmedia's Tiled VR Streaming technology integrated with the Harmonic PURE Compression Engine, Viaccess-Orca's Connected Sentinel Player for secure playback and Samsung Gear VR headsets. Through HEVC tiling technology and compression, broadcasters and other content providers can deliver a video resolution 10 times higher than that offered by existing, commercially deployed VR services, the companies said.

Harmonic will also host booth appearances by the performance art company. “Harmonic and Blue Man Group share a passion for stunning imagery that entertains and awakens the senses in new ways,” said Doug Baldinger, vice president, creative development at Blue Man Productions. “This is the first VR experience for Blue Man Group. We look forward to working with Harmonic at the 2017 NAB Show and bringing our energy and music to life in the virtual reality domain.”

“Harmonic and its ecosystem partners are setting the benchmark for VR video quality and bandwidth efficiency,” said Bart Spriester, SVP, video products at Harmonic.

“Collaborating with Blue Man Group makes this demonstration all the more exciting, as they truly exemplify innovation in entertainment, blending beautifully with the technology innovation being showcased by Harmonic. If you've never seen Blue Man Group or experienced the mesmerizing power of VR technology, stop by the booth and enjoy a one-of-a-kind show in native UHD resolution.”

The content was shot live on stage by Digital Immersion using an innovative VR rig to capture dynamic moves and put the viewer into otherwise impossible perspectives during the group's live performance. The video content can be viewed on YouTube, and can be streamed for viewing on Samsung Gear VR headsets at the Samsung store.