User Guide Manual v1.4.0
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. GETTING STARTED
2.1 Installation
2.2 Getting started with G'Player
2.2.1 Navigating video contents
2.2.2 Placing video files into the player
2.2.3 Working with the stereoscopic videos
2.2.4 Recommended formats for the best performance
2.3 Opening a video with other players
3. TROUBLESHOOTING
1. INTRODUCTION
G'Player is a reference player that has G'Audio Sol SDK integrated. By using the G'Player with GAO
format, you will get superior object localization and better sound quality when compared to
Ambisonics. There is also a purer translation of the spatial mix from production to consumption. This is
due to the infinite amount of virtual speakers in our GAO format, as well as the use of our quality audio
engine in both production and playback.
For both GAO and FOA (First Order Ambisonics) formats, you get a video file (i.e., .mov) and an
audio file (i.e., .wav). With GAO, you also get a GAO file which contains the positional metadata of the
audio tracks.
2. GETTING STARTED
2.1. Installation
1. Launch the Oculus App from any GearVR supported Android device. If the Oculus App is not yet
installed, connect your device to the GearVR. The app installation should start automatically.
2. After you sign-in to your account in the Oculus App, click on the More tab on the lower right
corner. Then click on the Redeem Code .
3. Enter the redemption code you received from My Account page on the G'Audio website. Then
click on Install all content .
Figure 1. Installing G'Player on Oculus GearVR app
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2.2. Getting started with G'Player
Once the installation process has been finalized, click the Library menu at the bottom, and click on
the G'Player icon. Then, connect your device to the Head Mounted Display, and you will see the main
navigation page.
Figure 2. Navigation page
2.2.1. Navigating video contents
The main navigation page will have two tabs, GAO and Ambisonics , where you can upload content
to your device offline. The tab titled GAO is where the GAO format content that was placed in the
G'Player (or SolPlayer) folder resides. In the last tab titled Ambisonics, you can watch FOA format
content.
Figure 3. Playback control panel
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When you click on the screen while playing the video content, you can see the total playtime and the
elapsed time. There's also a pause feature. Whenever you wish to go back to the main navigation
page, just touch or click on the home icon.
2.2.2. Placing video files into the player
1. Hit the export option button on the Master plug-in of G'Audio Works in Pro Tools. Select the type,
audio and video formats, and then use the Pro Tools Bounce to Disk feature(from the File
menu) to bounce your project to the same destination folder. Altogether as an output, you will get
a video file, a GAO file, and an audio file.
Note: The wav file bounced by Pro Tools is separate from the ones already selected in G'Audio
Works; this file will not be needed and can be deleted later.
Figure 4. Export option on the G'Audio Works Master
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Figure 5. Bounce to Disk feature
2. Now that you have the exported files in your destination folder.
A file that starts with prefix 'GAO_', is for G'Player, or any player that has the Sol SDK integrated.
If you export with video, you will get a GAO file along with your video file. You will need both files
in order to play back your content correctly. The .gao file includes metadata that is used to
process the binaural rendering aspect. If you export audio only, you will only find an audio file and
a .gao file.
A file that starts with 'FOA_', is a 4-channel Ambisonics format that can be used on YouTube as
well as G'Player. If you chose the video container option upon export, you can choose between
the MOV or MP4 video formats. For audio, you can choose between WAV and AAC.
A file that starts with 'FOA_ST_', is a WAV file that can be used to upload on Facebook. This WAV
file can be integrated with video by using the encoder provided by Facebook.
Note: The video needs to be encoded with the Spatial Media Metadata Injector from Google when
you want to upload your content to YouTube.
3. Connect your device to the computer. You may use an app called Android File Transfer or File
Manager to locate G'Player (or SolPlayer) folder, but only if G'Player is already installed on your
Android device. Place the GAO file and video file in the G'Player folder. Make sure that the names
of the two files are exactly the same. If you wish to include a thumbnail, add a picture file and also
give it the same name.
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Figure 6. Placing files with Android File Transfer
Tip: You can download the Android File Transfer app from http://www.android.com/filetransfer. If
you connect your mobile device to your computer via USB, the app will appear.
4. Connect your mobile device to a Gear VR headset and launch the G'Player app that you
downloaded from the Oculus Store.
5. Your project can be found in the GAO tab or Ambisonics tab on the left side of the navigation
screen in G'Player. Watch and enjoy!
2.2.3. Working with the stereoscopic videos
G'Player can playback stereoscopic videos as well. Before placing your video file to the G'Player (or
SolPlayer) folder, you just need to add an identifier on your file name based on the video's
stereoscopic type.
Types
File Identifier
Example
_GSTR_SBS_LR
fileName_GSTR_SBS_LR.mov
fileName_GSTR_SBS_LR.gao
_GSTR_SBS_RL
fileName_GSTR_SBS_RL.mov
fileName_GSTR_SBS_RL.gao
_GSTR_TAB_TB
fileName_GSTR_TAB_TB.mov
fileName_GSTR_TAB_TB.gao
_GSTR_TAB_BT
fileName_GSTR_TAB_BT.mov
fileName_GSTR_TAB_BT.gao
Side-by-side
Top-bottom
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2.2.4. Recommended formats for the best performance
While G'Player can play a variety of formats, follow the recommended specifications below for the best
performance.
Recommended video format
Video Codec
H.264
Container
.mov
Frame Rate
30 fps
Bit Rate
Under 50 Mbit/s
Recommended audio format
Audio Codec
WAV
Sample Rate
44100 Hz
48000 Hz
Audio Channel
Less than 12 channels
Less than 8 channels
2.3. Opening a video with other players
You can also playback your output content to the other VR players like YouTube or Facebook.
1. Hit the export option button on the Master plug-in of G'Audio Works in Pro Tools. Select FOA or
FOA+Stereo as the type, and then select the audio and video formats as well. Then use the Pro
Tools Bounce to Disk feature(from the File menu) and bounce your project to the same
destination folder. Altogether as an output, you will get a video file and an audio file.
Note: The wav file bounced by Pro Tools is separate from the ones already selected in G'Audio
Works; this file will not be needed and can be deleted later.
2. Now that you have the exported files in your destination folder.
If you select FOA as the output type, there will be an exported file that starts with 'FOA_'. It is a
4-channel Ambisonics format that can be used on YouTube. If you chose the video container
option upon export, you can choose between the MOV or MP4 video formats. For audio, you can
choose between WAV and AAC.
If you select FOA+Stereo as the output type, there will be an exported file that starts with
'FOA_ST_'. It is a WAV file that can be used to upload on Facebook. This WAV file can be
integrated with video by using the encoder provided by Facebook.
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3. Add the 360 video metadata to your content. YouTube and Facebook requires you to add a
metadata to a video file indicating that the file contains 360 video.
YouTube
Get the metadata injector from YouTube's Upload 360-Degree Videos page. Open your 360
video and select My video is spherical (360) if it is not done so automatically. Also select
My video has spatial audio . When you have those two check marks, click the Inject metadata
button. You will get a video file with _injected in the name.
Figure 7. YouTube metadata injector
Facebook
Get the Facebook 360's Spatial Workstation Encoder from Facebook Spatial Workstation
page. Mix the exported Ambisonics+Stereo wav file with your video file using the Encoder.
4. Upload the video file, which is now injected with the 360 video metadata, to YouTube or
Facebook. Using this method, however, every sound track in your spatial mix is spatialized,
including the ones you selected as non-interactive on the G'Audio Works Slave.
3. TROUBLESHOOTING
If you have any questions or need some clarification, please contact us at [email protected]
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