Live Free-Viewpoint Video in Immersive Media Production Over 5G Networks

5G is a key tool for the cloud-based wireless production of audio-visual contents. By providing higher throughput and lower latency than previous mobile network technologies, as well as flexible allocation of network resources, it enables that some content production pipelines, which are currently implemented using wired connectivity, are provided on top of a 5G network. This brings down production costs, reduces environmental impact and increases operational efficiency. In particular, live immersive production services, such as free-viewpoint video (FVV), can be provided in a much more efficient way. In this paper, we address the challenge of producing and streaming FVV services in real time through 5G networks. We have adapted a state-of-the-art FVV system to integrate it within a 5G architecture, using three key technological enablers: mmWave radio access network to support the uplink traffic requirements from FVV cameras, multi-access edge computing to run video processing algorithms with minimum latency, and end-to-end slicing to guarantee a sufficient quality of service (QoS) within the production pipeline. We have built a field trial over the production network of a telecommunication operator, including a mmWave pilot deployment, edge cloud processing, and remote content production, involving three different locations across Spain. We have measured the key performance indicators at the relevant parts of our trial deployment, showing that, with existing 5G technology, it is possible to achieve live FVV production, although with some limitations. We have also analyzed such limitations, obtaining some insights on how the next generation of 5G networks can overcome them to achieve higher quality of experience (QoE).