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What is 360-Degree Video?

360-degree video captures a spherical or near-spherical view around the camera. During playback, viewers control the visible direction rather than being limited to one fixed camera framing.

How 360-Degree Video works

Immersive video maps views surrounding a camera rig onto a rectangular encoded surface, commonly using an equirectangular projection. A compatible player projects that surface onto a virtual sphere and renders only the direction selected by the viewer or headset. The workflow adds stitching, projection conversion, spatial metadata, and viewport-aware quality concerns beyond those of conventional fixed-frame video.

Key facts

  1. Equirectangular frames commonly use a 2:1 raster, but that shape represents spherical coordinates rather than an ordinary wide camera view and must be projected for viewing.
  2. Stitch boundaries can reveal parallax, exposure, or motion mismatches because multiple lenses observe nearby objects from slightly different positions and times.
  3. A high total resolution is spread across the entire sphere, while a viewer sees only one viewport; apparent detail is therefore much lower than the full raster suggests.

When 360-Degree Video matters

Use this format for virtual tours, immersive events, or headset playback that benefits from viewpoint control. Delivery must preserve projection metadata, or players may show a distorted flat image.

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