If you are still fascinated by the 3D experience, you are in for a huge technological treat. The viewing experience - be it on televisions or on mobile phones - is poised for another massive advancement as 360-degree viewing enters the scene. What was introduced as the next-generation video technology just a year ago, has now turned into a downloadable reality with Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am offering it on mobile app.

The pop star's digital media company, will.i.apps, is offering an app titled BEP360, which gives the user the power to enjoy the immersive video technology for the Black Eyed Peas (BEP) song 'The Time (Dirty Bit)' the first single from new album, The Beginning.

It has been 30 years since the first music video aired on MTV. While music videos have become more elaborate over time, the experience of watching a flat video hasn't changed much - until now, the promo for BEP360 reads.

This app is the first release from will.i.apps, the company founded by Will.i.am and Edo Segal of Futurity Ventures aimed at helping artists create mobile apps to showcase their music.

BEP360 is currently available for the iPhone, iPad Touch and iPod. The app, priced at $2.99, can also be downloaded from will.i.apps website, where you can also view the making of BEP360 and demo of BEP360.

Besides allowing the users to explore and experience the world captured in the music video, which happens to be a wild party scene, the app also comes with several other interesting features. An augmented reality view brings the latest album cover to life. The photo session enables users take pictures of the band members in a virtual 360-degree photo shoot. A virtual map displays comments and pictures posted by other fans. Fans can also take pictures with the virtual band members in the AR view and share them. The app also incorporates BEP's Twitter feed as well as a puzzle game.

What is 360-degree video technology?

360-degree technology enables viewers to be part of and interact with the environment in the video. This means that you can choose to stay with the subjects or objects in the frame or chose to take a look around.

A Google Street View-style 360-degree camera is used to shoot the video. Following this, a custom flash player tailors the footage together. Once the process is complete, the user can use the mouse or other controllers to look around as the video plays.

A company called Immersive Media first experimented with the same 360-degree cameras used by Google's Street View cars to come up with the 360 degree viewing experience. The first demo of the video system hit the media in January 2010.

Later in December 2010, a Dutch 360-degree video company yellowBird announced a hookup with YouTube that lets users post 360-degree videos. [See Videos]

The technological trends continue to take the path into conceding complete control to the audience from interactive media to crowdsourcing. With the 360-degree videos, the world has come a long from when the directors had the authority to portray and frame the video or movie to giving full control to the viewers to indulge in the distractions of the environment. Those who have tested the 360-degree videos have already begun to love it for various reasons including the fact that it satisfies the voyeur and the spy in all of us. On the other hand, the people who produce the videos are happy that the technology tempts people to replay the videos umpteen number of times - which is a huge boon for artists suffering the ramifications of low attention span of the audience.

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