David Farnor | On 28, Jan 2016

GoPro has teamed up with Periscope to enable live streaming directly from their cameras.

Periscope, which was acquired by Twitter almost exactly a year ago, has enjoyed rapid growth in the last 12 months, as the live-streaming platform hit 10 million users in August 2015. While footage normally involves people doing everyday things from the POV of their smartphone camera, though, the addition of GoPro footage will give the app’s stream of content an extreme splash of style.

Owners of GoPro HERO4 Black or Silver models can now toggle between broadcasting from their iPhone’s camera to their GoPro directly from the phone screen at the touch of a button. (Broadcast functionality is currently only available on iOS, but users will be able to view GoPro broadcasts from any platform.)

The company describes it a “like a production switchboard”, using Periscope to flip between the two different angles, so users can set up a two-camera shot for more dynamic story-telling in real time. Those worried about losing GoPro footage, meanwhile, can rest easy: the video will still be recorded locally on the camera’s micro SD card even when broadcasting through Periscope.

Live broadcasts from GoPro can now be shared directly to Twitter’s home timeline, enabling GoPro users and Periscope broadcasters to expand their reach to their Twitter fan base.

Pablo Jablonski, Periscope iOS Engineer, comments: “As a skier myself, I’ve always loved extreme sports, and I love how GoPro can show us all of the crazy things these athletes can do. As an iOS engineer on Periscope, bringing these two technologies together has been a the fulfillment of a longtime personal wish. Starting with X Games and moving forward, Periscope and GoPro together will bring these LIVE moments to all the fans.”

While the partnership will help to give Twitter’s live-streaming app the edge over rival Meerkat, the deal is even more important for GoPro. It follows an announcement at CES 2016 that the extreme camera giant has also been working with YouTube to develop a 360-degree immersive GoPro format. Together, these agreements will prove instrumental in establishing the giant’s hold over the extreme sports video market.

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