GoPro announces new VR app and pricing for its Omni camera rig

GoPro continues to flesh out its virtual reality ecosystem, announcing a new VR video platform along with pricing for its smaller VR camera rig. The six-camera Omni setup, unveiled last week, will sell for $5,000 — a sticker price that puts it out of reach of most amateurs, but that's more accessible than the $15,000 needed to buy the company's professionals-only, 16-camera Odyssey rig.

For $5,000, Omni-buyers will get the six Hero4 Black Cameras needed to run the cube-shaped system, as well as the hardware and software necessary to stitch footage together into 360-degree video. Alternately, videographers who already own six GoPros can spend $1,500 to get just the bare-bones frame. Preorders for both packages will be available from the company's site today starting at 8AM PT.

GoPro is also launching a new platform for sharing 360-degree videos today. GoPro VR will be available on the web, and as an app for both Android and iOS from 8AM PT. It's not clear what exactly the platform will look like, but it seems it will be a rebranding of Kolor Eyes — a "spherical content" website and app that GoPro inherited from its purchase of French VR company Kolor. (The URL http://vr.gopro.com currently redirects to the company's Kolor Eyes platform.) GoPro says that the site and apps will showcase "original content from GoPro and a global community of artists," suggesting a mix of the company's sponsored athletes and select user-generated content. The apps will also work with VR headsets.

And while GoPro VR will distribute content over the web, the company will also be showing off its tools for broadcasters at the NAB conference this week. These include custom camera rigs (such as "motorcycle on-board video recording systems, integrated goal-post systems, [and] player-worn golf hats") as well as a new system for broadcasting live 360-degree video, powered by GoPro's HEROCast software. Basically, GoPro wants to get its VR content in front of your eyeballs, one way or another.