Sky, Ericsson and Technicolor are among a group of 28 companies that have joined forces to form the Virtual Reality Industry Forum (VRIF).

The aim of the VRIF is to encourage the adoption of common, interoperable technical standards for end-to-end VR systems.

Other goals of the VRIF, which was launched at CES in Las Vegas, include the creation of voluntary best practice guidelines and the promotion of VR services and applications.

However, the not-for-profit organisation won’t develop any new standards relating to VR.

The VRIF grew out of a series of informal meetings that were initiated by the DTG, which manages the technical specifications for digital terrestrial TV in the UK.

“We hope to ensure that the VR industry avoids the fragmentation of standards and formats that has plagued audio-visual media in the past,” said Ericsson vice president business development David Price.

“We expect that many of those involved in the original informal discussions will join VRIF shortly.”

VRIF founding members

Akamai Technologies, Arris International, b<>com, Baylor University, CableLabs, Cinova Media, Dolby Laboratories, DTG, DTS, EBU, Ericsson, Fraunhofer, Harmonic, Huawei, Intel, Irdeto, Ittiam, MovieLabs, NABPilot, Qualcomm Technologies, Technicolor, TNO, Sky, Sony Pictures, Vantrix, Verizon, Viaccess-Orca and Orah.

Sky chief engineer broadcast strategy Chris Johns added: “VRIF will seek to establish best practices to ensure a high-quality user experience, and we believe this is crucial for the market to take off.

“We all expect that 2017 will be the year when intense consumer interest in VR spurs a quantum leap in the user experience.”