Ten Ways in which Virtual Reality Differs from Video Streaming

TL;DR

This paper explores the unique characteristics of Virtual Reality compared to traditional video streaming, highlighting implications for system and network design to better support VR experiences.

Contribution

It provides a detailed comparison of VR and 2D video streaming, proposing considerations for rethinking system and network support tailored to VR's unique needs.

Findings

VR has distinct characteristics affecting rendering and transmission

Implications for designing VR-specific caching and prefetching mechanisms

Guidelines for rethinking network support for VR applications

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) applications have a number of unique characteristics that set them apart from traditional video streaming. These characteristics have major implications on the design of VR rendering, adaptation, prefetching, caching, and transport mechanisms. This paper contrasts VR to video streaming, stored 2D video streaming in particular, and discusses how to rethink system and network support for VR.