Matthew Zinn, a former TiVo executive, has been named general counsel and corporate secretary of Jaunt, the San Mateo-based cinematic virtual reality producer and publisher.

Zinn reports to Jaunt president and CEO, George Kliavkoff.

RELATED: Jaunt VR App Hits PlayStation VR

Zinn previously was SVP, general counsel, corporate secretary and chief privacy officer of TiVo, which completed its merger with Rovi last September. Zinn, a key voice in the contentious debate around the CableCARD and separable set-top security, is also late of MediaOne Group and Continental Cablevision.

RELATED: Stakeholders Weigh In on Set-Top Decision

“Matt brings a wealth of experience to Jaunt, not only in the legal realm, but from a business perspective as well,” Kliavkoff said in a statement. “His extensive experience with both established and emerging media companies is a perfect match for Jaunt, as we continue to witness the rapid growth of VR and the related evolving mediums. I am excited to have him as a member of the team and am looking forward to the contributions he will be able to make to the business . ”

Zinn holds a juris doctorate from the George Washington University National Law Center and a bachelor’s of arts degree in political science from the University of Vermont.

Jaunt’s VR app supports platforms such as iOS, Android, Samsung Gear VR, Google Daydream, PlayStation VR, the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Web browsers.

Jaunt has raised more than $100 million, and counts The Walt Disney Company, Sky and Google Ventures among its backers.

Jaunt, the startup that specializes in cinematic virtual reality cameras and systems, said it has hired Jean-Paul Colaco as chief revenue officer.

RELATED: Jaunt VR App Hits PlayStation VR

Colaco, who reports to Jaunt president and CEO George Kliavkoff, previously was SVP of advertising at Hulu, and was SVP of advertising and business development at Vessel, the OTT service that sold its technology and software to Verizon last fall. Colaco is also late of spent more than a decade The Walt Disney Company in roles that includes SVP of business development.

“In looking for Jaunt’s first chief revenue officer, it was clear that JP was the best person for the job,” said Kliavkoff, in a statement. “With broad experience and a proven track record for generating revenue within the digital video space, he is the perfect complement to our management team. Personally, I am excited to work with JP again and believe Jaunt’s momentum will only accelerate with his help.”

RELATED: Verizon Deals for Vessel’s Tech

The hiring of Colaco follows the recent appointment of Jaunt CFO Fabrice Cantou.

Jaunt’s VR app supports platforms such as iOS, Android, Samsung Gear VR, Google Daydream, PlayStation VR, the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Web browsers.

Jaunt has raised more than $100 million. Its backers include The Walt Disney Company, Evolution Media Partners, China Media Capital, Highland Capital Partners, Google Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Axel Springer, ProSiebenSat. 1 SE, The Madison Square Garden Company, Peter Gotcher, the late Blake Krikorian, and Sky.

Jaunt, a startup that specializes in cinematic virtual reality cameras and systems, has teamed up with AbelCine in a deal that will give its rental program a national reach.

Under the deal, AbelCine, a company that provides video gear and services to the production and broadcast communities, will offer the Jaunt ONE camera for rent. Additionally, AbelCine will provide training, workshops and other educational tools for shooting in VR, they said.

Rental pricing from AbelCine was not immediately available. However, Radiant Images, another Jaunt partner, is reportedly renting the Jaunt One starting at $4,500 per day.

RELATED: Jaunt Becomes a VR Content Distributor

“As we continue to open the Jaunt pipeline to the expanding community of VR creators, AbelCine is a perfect partner to not only get the Jaunt ONE camera in the hands of filmmakers, but also to educate them on the opportunities in VR,” said Koji Gardiner, VP of hardware engineering at Jaunt, in a statement.

AbelCine announced the deal in tandem with NAB Show NY, taking place this week at the Javits Convention Center.

Jaunt has raised more than $100 million. Its backers include The Walt Disney Company, Evolution Media Partners, China Media Capital, Highland Capital Partners, Google Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Axel Springer, ProSiebenSat. 1 SE, The Madison Square Garden Company, Peter Gotcher, the late Blake Krikorian, and Sky.

RELATED: Jaunt, Sky Tighten VR Ties

Jaunt, a startup focused on cinematic virtual reality production and publishing, and Sky have forged a new cross-app VR content deal that tightens ties between the companies.

Under the agreement, Jaunt has launched a stand-alone offering, called Sky World, within the Jaunt app that will feature a selection of Sky’s news, sports and cinematic VR content. Sky World is starting off with 10 VR “experiences,” including content focused on Suicide Squad, Star Wars and former soccer great David Beckham.

RELATED: Jaunt Becomes a VR Content Distributor

Sky World is initially offered in the Jaunt VR app for a handful of platforms, including iOS, Android, Gear VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Desktop 360.

The deal also supports a VR content exchange between the two companies’ applications. Sky launched its VR app earlier this month.

Sky is also an investor in Jaunt, which has raised more than $100 million.

Founded in 2013, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Jaunt has quickly become one of the bigger names in the virtual reality space. The company has perhaps the widest suite of VR offerings: a professional-grade VR camera system (the 24-lens Jaunt One); a suite of VR software solutions (including a cloud-based media manager and VR video player); and a free app with more than 100 cinematic VR videos.

It’s that last item that makes Jaunt stand out, according to Adam Somers, engineering manager for the company, and the reason is simple. Unlike most VR apps out there today, the Jaunt VR app will be ubiquitous upon release Oct. 13, working across platforms and devices, including Android and iOS, the Gear VR, the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, and the PlayStation VR system.

Somers sat down with Chris Tribbey to go over the company’s VR plans, the challenges VR companies face, and the importance of smartphones when it comes to the future of the technology. An edited transcript follows.

NTV: Would you say we’re still in the early days of VR apps, or has the category hit its stride? Why or why not?

ADAM SOMERS: When I joined Jaunt in 2013, we were five people in a tiny office tinkering with 3D printers, action cameras and Legos. Oculus was still a private company just coming off its Kickstarter campaign, and neither Google Cardboard nor Samsung Gear VR existed.

Now we have grown substantially and you could say what started as a loose-knit collection of hackers has become a full-blown industry. That said, we are absolutely in the early days of VR apps. The next three years will see exponential growth as more VR headsets hit the market, brands become more experimental with the medium, and people come to the realization that the smartphone they already own puts the power of VR in their pocket.

NTV: What are the top technical challenges behind VR app creation, development and distribution? What’s being done right, and what can be done better?

AS: As an app developer, Jaunt is intimately familiar with the challenges of VR app creation, but we are also a distribution platform for cinematic VR experiences. We have learned a lot about the challenges that content creators face and the process of multichannel distribution can be absolutely daunting. That’s one of the primary pain points we’re working to solve at Jaunt. We’ve created the only distribution hub that is truly platform-agnostic, capable of seamlessly delivering cinematic VR content to every VR platform. Creators can focus on making great content, and Jaunt seamlessly transcodes and distributes that content across apps on any device — iOS, Android, Gear VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

NTV: What VR app categories (gaming, sports, news, etc.) have worked best to date, and are there categories that haven’t been properly explored yet?

AS: One of the areas that has taken off the fastest is the music category. We’ve already worked with some amazing artists, across all genres, who are more open to pushing creative boundaries and trying new things. VR enables them to connect with their fans in an entirely new way. Paul Mc- Cartney took fans into his home studio for example; that’s an experience no front row ticket could ever buy you.

Travel content has also done really well. The power of virtual reality really lies in its ability to transport people anywhere in the world. So why not head to Nepal one day and the beaches of Rio the next.

NTV: What VR app features are absolute necessities, what features are worth exploring, and what features are overrated or unnecessary?

AS: VR presents a number of must-have features in order to provide a great immersive experience. First and foremost is performance. VR apps must be able to work smoothly at the elevated frame rates and resolutions required by head-mounted displays. This can be a challenge for streaming video applications, which is why Jaunt has put a lot of energy into optimizing our video encoding and streaming technologies.

Also important is responsiveness. Loading screens in VR is very frustrating to users. Jaunt has gone to great lengths in order to minimize loading times in our app and website, which led to some impressive innovations in streaming for 360º video.

Last, but certainly not least, is spatial audio. Audio cues have a direct impact on your sense of presence in the real world, so it is critical that all VR experiences provide spatial audio that reacts to your head motion. That’s why the majority of our content provides soundtracks authored in Ambisonic B-Format or Dolby Atmos.

For cinematic VR, one feature worth exploring is volumetric video or light fields. Room-scale experiences provide the greatest sense of immersion, and commercially viable volumetric video would be a real game-changer. I also think social will play an important part in the future of VR. As can been seen in some of the popular mobile apps, people love being able to share their experiences and ‘tune in’ to what’s going on in their friends’ lives. VR provides an unprecedented opportunity to connect people in a way that feels real but is still completely digital. This is an area that should be explored deeply, and I can’t wait to see what’s on the horizon.

NTV: Just how difficult is it to make sure VR apps work across platforms and devices? And is the VR industry hurt at all when apps are tailored to just one headset or platform?

AS: Making VR apps work across platforms and devices is challenging, for sure. Aside from understanding the ins and outs of each computing platform, developers must deal with the idiosyncrasies of the various head-mounted displays and make sure the app adapts properly in order to provide a high-quality, comfortable and immersive experience. Add to that a matrix of PC and smartphone devices to support, and you have a beast of a challenge on your hands! That is why game engine platforms such as Unity and Unreal Engine are almost essential for VR development. The engines do a lot of the heavy lifting for you so you can focus on your technical edge and design a great experience around it.

Jaunt develops for each and every VR platform out there. At this stage, it is important that developers try to be as cross-platform as possible in order to reach a wide audience and boost adoption of VR as a medium.

Jaunt, a startup that specializes in cinematic virtual reality fare, has appointed media industry vet George Kliavkoff as chief executive officer.

Kliavkoff  replaces Arthur van Hoff, who has served as interim CEO and will resume his role as chief technology officer. Kliavkoff will relocate from New York City to Silicon Valley, the company said. Former Jaunt CEO and company cofounder Jens Christensen stepped down earlier this year.

Kliavkoff joins Jaunt from Hearst Corporation, where he was co-president of Entertainment & Syndication, the operating unit managing Hearst's interests in cable television networks, including ESPN, Lifetime, A&E and History; television production and distribution; newspaper syndication; and merchandise licensing. He was also president of Hearst Ventures. Prior to that, Kliavkoff was chief digital officer at NBCUniversal, and served on the board of Hulu, and was an executive vice president for Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM).  

Jaunt has raised more than $100 million and counts The Walt Disney Company, Evolution Media Partners, Google Ventures, and The Madison Square Garden Company among its backers. Of recent note, Jaunt announced it was working with VR content creators via a new publishing program. In addition to a VR publishing platform, its products also include the Jaunt ONE camera and Jaunt Cloud Services (JCS).

“George’s strategic vision and expertise scaling innovative global media companies are exactly the right combination to take Jaunt to the next level,” van Hoff said, in a statement. “His proven track record for introducing forward-thinking video technology platforms to mainstream audiences makes him an exceptional fit for us. The board and I are thrilled that he is joining the company.”

“I have been consistently impressed by Jaunt and am excited to lead the team at this point in the company’s evolution,” added Kliavkoff. “Jaunt is set to dramatically change the way people enjoy immersive content, and the company is setting the bar in innovation and cinematic storytelling excellence in virtual reality.”

Founded in 2013, Jaunt said it has already built more than 100 cinematic VR experiences, and its app is available on iOS, Android, Gear VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Desktop 360.

Jaunt, the “cinematic” virtual reality specialist that counts Disney among its backers, is targeting VR content creators with a new program that will offer a curated mix of fare that will be made compatible for several VR platforms.

The new Jaunt Publishing program will enable partners to publish their content directly to the Jaunt VR app. The program is not exclusive, as content makers can distribute their product via other means.

Jaunt said the aim is to enable content providers to upload their content once and have it transcoded and prepared for multiple VR platforms, noting that it currently supports iOS, Android, Samsung Gear VR, the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, desktop 360 and the PlayStation VR, a new offering for Sony PlayStation 4 consoles that’s set to debut in the U.S. on October 13.

Jaunt said an internal review board will judge which VR content is approved for its curated portal, which will feature content in genres such as Film, Travel, Music and Sports.

Those who make the grade will get access to Jaunt Cloud Services (JCS), a cloud-based VR production software suite, publishing tools, support for spatial audio formats such as Dolby Atmos, and processing and preparation for distribution to supported platforms. Every piece of approved content is affixed with a dedicated deep link/“smart” URL that’s accessible on platforms with the Jaunt VR app.

“With adoption of cinematic VR still in its early days, we’re forced to make some tough choices when it comes to the experiences that we publish on our platform,” the program details note.

Examples of VR fare offered via Jaunt early on include The Pulland Invasion!, a new animated VR short from Baobab Studios, which is backed by Comcast Ventures.

Per the FAQ, Jaunt’s new program is ad-free (it will renegotiate agreements that require ads). While “overt” ads are prohibited, Jaunt does allow logos and brand bumpers that are “not overly promotional.”

Jaunt adds that “[m]onetization is in the roadmap, but it’s not currently an option. When the time comes, Jaunt will work directly with the owner of the content to establish an agreement and mechanism for payment.”

Jaunt, which has raised more than $100 million, is backed by The Walt Disney Company, Evolution Media Partners, China Media Capital, Highland Capital Partners, Google Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Axel Springer, ProSiebenSat. 1 SE, The Madison Square Garden Company, Peter Gotcher, Sling Media co-founder Blake Krikorian, and Sky.  

Jaunt, a startup that specializes in virtual reality content, said it has netted a $65 million C round led by new investors The Walt Disney Company, Evolution Media Partners and China Media Capital.

Jaunt noted that Disney’s interest in Jaunt is owned by a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

The latest round comes more than a year after Highlands Capital Partners led a $28 million Series B in the Palo Alto-based startup. Jaunt, founded in 2013, has raised more than $100 million. Other new investors in the C round include ProSiebenSat.1 SE, Axel Springer SE, and The Madison Square Garden Company. Fenwick & West and The Raine Group advised Jaunt on the transaction.

Jaunt, which has developed a platform for creating and distributing premium live-action VR, said the new funds will enable it to scale up VR production, and advance its professional-grade camera hardware and software production tools and deliver content to a wide range of mobile devices and VR hardware.

Jaunt, which recently introduced a fifth-generation camera system called Jaunt ONE, will also use the funds to grow its teams in Palo Alto headquarters and its new Los Angeles-based  studio.

“This round further illustrates our commitment and dedication to advancing the scope of cinematic VR – for filmmakers, storytellers, and audiences alike,” said Jens Christensen, CEO and co-founder of Jaunt., in a statement. “With the support of these world-class companies, we will explore new avenues, building on our leadership position to deliver amazing VR experiences using best-in-class tools, technology, and creative teams.”

“When Jaunt launched a little over 2 years ago, VR was the domain of a few enthusiasts like us,” added David Anderman, Jaunt’s chief business officer. “Fast forward to today, with the ability to view VR content on any current smartphone, and a half dozen head mounted displays launching in the next 12 months, the addressable number of users will instantly be in the millions, and quickly grow from there.  We look forward to supplying great content to all those users and contributing to the success of VR as a new content medium.”

Expanding its interest in the world of streaming video, Sky has invested $500,000 in Pluto.TV, a Los Angeles-based online video platform that aggregates video into more than 100 thematic “channels.”

Pluto.TV, which assembles those channels using a mix of data and a team of “specialist editors,” offers content in general areas such as music, news, sports, comedy, entertainment and more specific, niche genres such as hip-hop, surfing, video gaming, art and fashion.

Pluto.TV, currently offered in the U.S., supports apps on iOS- and Android-powered mobile devices, the Google Chromecast, Amazon Kindle Fire and Fire TV, and on Web browsers.

Sky said the investment and business relationship will provide the U.K.-based service provider with insight into content consumption trends and how people are finding and watching TV.  Sky, which says its content reaches more than 30 million people,  noted that it opened up a dedicated office in San Francisco earlier this year to help it continue to forge new partnerships with tech startups.

“This partnership enables Sky to draw on the ground-breaking work Pluto.TV are doing to help viewers discover and enjoy the best of online TV through an intuitive and editorially rich TV platform.  As we learn about new trends in the way people watch TV, we look forward to sharing our own expertise in content creation, packaging and promotion,” Emma Lloyd, director, corporate business development at Sky, said in a statement.

“We look forward to collaborating broadly with Sky to rapidly grow and deliver our online video platform globally across web, mobile and connected TVs,” added Tom Ryan, Pluto.TV’s CEO.

Sky recently invested another $700,000 in Roku, the streaming media player and apps platform company, a follow-on to Sky’s earlier $12.2 million investments in Roku. Sky has also invested in Jaunt, a virtual reality camera and content firm, and in 1 Mainstream, an online video delivery startup.

Jaunt, a startup that makes cameras, software and other tools for the creation of "cinematic" virtual reality content, has landed a $28 million Series B round led by Highland Capital Partners and participation by Google Ventures.

Existing investors Redpoint Ventures, British Sky Broadcasting, Dolby chairman and DigiDesign founder Peter Gotcher, and Sling Media co-founder Blake Krikorian also participated in the round, which takes Jaunt’s total funding beyond $34 million. It announced initial funding of $6.8 million in April.

Jaunt said it will use the funds to scale up its operations, including the building of additional cameras (see image above) and the expansion of its production team. Jaunt, a Palo Alto-based company founded in 2013, noted previously that its cross-platform viewer renders content for devices such as the Oculus Rift, the VR device that is now part of Facebook following its $2 billion acquisition of Oculus VR. But Jaunt's latest FAQ also says that its intention is to be “device agnostic.”

Jaunt adds that it is currently in post-production on several projects, but has not announced a release date for its content. It’s currently working with New Deal Studios to product what it claims will be “the first narrative cinematic VR content every shot in Hollywood.”

It’s initial business model will focus on the distribution of its VR player and content, but Jaunt said it might also develop a consumer-ready camera and offer production services.

As a part of the funding round, Alex Taussig, partner at Highland Capital, will join Jaunt’s board, which also includes Tim Haley, partner at Redpoint Ventures; Gotcher; and “board observer” Stuart Murphy, director of entertainment channels at Sky.

The company’s advisors including Babak Parviz, VP at Amazon; Brad Wechsler, chairman of IMAX; award-winning director Mark Romanek; and Bernd Girod, professor of electrical engineering, Stanford University.