Virtual Reality

Rühl was a traditional TV producer until she picked up her first 360-degree camera rig in 2015.

At the RTS event, which was held in collaboration with Cambridge research institute StoryLab, she talked about her short VR film, Keyed Alike, which was produced and written by Rühl, directed by Chloe Thomas (ITV historical drama Victoria) and stars Gemma Whelan (HBO’s Games of Thrones). It is a love story about two women who meet on a London riverside covered in love locks.

Watch This Space, presented by Angela Scanlon, will see ordinary homes transformed by architects Laura Clark and Robert Jamison into extraordinary spaces.

The episodes will follow two couples with conflicting ideas about the design of their homes as Clark and Jamison work with their different visions to create a unique design.

The homeowners will be able to explore the architects' designs using cutting-edge VR technology which will allow them to see rooms in their house transform, giving them a chance to decide on which design comes out on top.

BT has revealed plans to broadcast the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League finals for free on YouTube, the BT website, BT Sport channels and the BT app for 2017.

The UEFA Champions League final will be broadcast for the first time in 4K UHD with Dolby Atmos on BT Sport and 4K UHD on YouTube, with multiple 360 degree streams on Youtube and the new BT Sport VR App, which allows viewers to choose their own camera viewpoint as well as commentary and graphics.

The latest kit from some of the leading innovators in virtual reality was available for the audience to test, before and after a panel of experts discussed the consumer appeal of the new technology.

Event chair, journalist Kate Bulkley, posed the key question to the panel: Would virtual reality telly fare any better than 3D TV? The latter had been much hyped by the manufacturers and broadcasters a few years ago before disappearing, leaving barely a trace.

The first version of the app, available for anyone to download for free, showcases a range of 360 videos from Sky and their partners.

Some transport viewers inside popular films, such as Suicide Squad and The Martian, while others invite viewers behind the scenes of iconic sports events such as Formula One and the Tour De France. A Sky News documentary titled Calais: The Jungle, will take viewers to the centre of the refugee crisis.

Sky has also announced two new virtual reality experiences which will become available via the app in the future.

The joint event – organised by the RTS Centre and IABM, the international trade association for suppliers of broadcast and media technology – was chaired by Dick Hobbs.

It featured a cross-section of industry luminaries: a vendor/service provider, Mike Knowles from Ericsson; consultants, Bruce Devlin from Mr MXF and Broadcast Innovation’s Russell Grute; a customer, former BBC and Disney executive Keith Nicholas; and IABM’s John Ive.

The television set and viewing of our childhood are gone.” So said Google’s President of Global Partnerships, Daniel Alegre, in his closing keynote to the broadcast equipment trade show NAB, adding: “A newer, better TV is rising from the ashes.”

While Alegre was referring to the rise of globally popular online content creators such as PewDiePie, the focus of the Las Vegas event was on the disruptive potential of internet technologies, higher picture resolutions and panoramic video streams.