Facebook and YouTube videos have become a complete phenomenon around the globe. Billions of hours of video content are uploaded on these two platforms and billions of people watch them everyday. 360 degree video is an innovation that has been introduced just recently in Facebook and YouTube. If you haven’t watched a 360 video on Facebook, I would suggest you to do that as it is a treat to watch. 360 video Facebook or YouTube gives you a complete view of the scene from all sides. So if you are planning to upload a video of your party or trip, it is best to upload 360 degree video on Facebook or YouTube and your friends will be impressed. But wait, how to upload a 360 degree video on Facebook, YouTube? Yes! The process is not like the normal video uploading.
Upload 360 Degree Videos to Facebook and YouTube
on Facebook
According to Facebook, in order for you to upload a 360 video, the video file which you are uploading must have a 360 video metadata in the file. If you are capturing the video which has a spherical 360 camera, the metadata will be automatically embedded in the video file. In that case, you can upload the video file like normal to Facebook or YouTube. Among the famous camera which support 360 video include Allie by IC Real Tech, 360fly, Giroptic 360cam and Ricoh Theta. But if you are shooting the video with your mobile or camera which lacks the 360 spherical camera, you will have to follow the following procedure to upload a 360 video.
You should first follow the normal steps to upload the video. Just hit the Photo/Video at your Timeline where you write your status.
You shouldn’t “publish” the video after uploading it. Click on the advanced tab, instead.
Now we have to use the 360 video controls given by Facebook in order to make the video 360 degree and set the complete orientation. For that, go to “This video was recorded in 360° format”.
You can now set the field of view and initial camera orientation by clicking on the 360 controls tab.
Now click on the “publish” button to publish and share the 360 video on Facebook with your friends.
Now let’s see how to upload 360 degree video on YouTube.
on YouTube
YouTube’s process of creating and uploading a 360 degree video is very simple and straightforward. Among the cameras suggested by YouTube for these kinds of videos are Kodak SP360, Allie, and the Ricoh Theta.
If you do not have the cameras which automatically insert the 360 metadata in the file to be uploaded, YouTube has a special mechanism which you should follow to upload a 360 video.
Download YouTube 360 app. (Windows, Mac).
After downloading the above files, just unzip them and install the 360 Video Metadata app.
Now select the video file of the video which you made using your camera or smartphone camera.
Select the box “Spherical” and click Save as. You should not select the 3D Top-bottom tick box. Give a name to the file and it will be saved. This new 360 based file will be saved at the location of the original video file.
Now just upload this file to YouTube. It’s your 360 degree video.
360 videos take a little more time to get uploaded. So be patient.
That’s it. This is how to upload a 360 degree video to Facebook or YouTube. In case of any hiccup of confusion, comment on this post and we will get back to you.