General Questions

What is IDEA?

IDEA is the Immersive Digital Experiences Alliance – a group of like-minded technology, infrastructure and creative innovators working to facilitate the development of an end-to-end ecosystem for the capture, distribution, and display of immersive media.

Why is IDEA being created?

IDEA was formed  to create a suite of specifications and tools to facilitate the interchange of next generation immersive media. We believe such specifications need to be:

  • Royalty-free and Open Source
  • Built on established technologies already embraced by content creators for representing complex immersive images and environments
  • Not constrained by legacy raster-based approaches
  • Extensible – in order to allow continued improvements and advancements
  • Based on real-life requirements and priorities across the entire ecosystem, including content creators, technology providers and network operators.  No one group has all the answers.

How is IDEA’s vision different than other standards currently in use or under development?  

Currently, there is no existing standard nor formal specification that addresses the wide variety of display formats available now and in the near future —  from XR headsets to advanced light field panels. This is the gap that IDEA intends to fill with its media format. IDEA’s specifications will also provide for interface  with proven content creation technologies, including 3D modelling tools. Further, IDEA’s specifications will support immersive media distribution over commercial networks, which currently is not supported by legacy standards or specifications.