Hi, I’m Leon. This is the second part of The Story Behind Owl3D. If you haven’t read part I, here’s the link.
The Turning Point
In December 2022, after realizing that a cloud-based video to VR converter wasn’t the way to go, we spent a lot of time brainstorming about our next steps. The fun part of brainstorming is the freedom to explore all possibilities. At one point, we even considered integrating cryptocurrency into Owl3D (thank God we didn’t!). Finally, after some debating and daydreaming, we landed on an idea: what if we built software that had the same (or even better) 3D conversion ability as the cloud app, but could run on every machine?
The Appeal of Desktop Software
This idea was appealing for several reasons:
1. We could bypass the need for expensive GPU servers, offering our product at a much lower price.
2. Unlimited 3D video conversion would be possible.
3. High-quality 3D content often requires more complicated editing and experimentation, so a well-optimized editor without usage limits is crucial for achieving creative goals.
Given all these reasons, we decided to try building a desktop 2D to 3D converter/editor.
Building the First Version
We spent around two months building our first alpha version. Most of our work focused on designing and crafting an intuitive user interface and ensuring our 3D algorithm could run smoothly on a gaming PC. The first version of Owl3D desktop converter supported only high-end Windows PCs with an Nvidia GPU. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a good start!
Launch and Early Success
Owl3D v1.0.0 was officially launched on February 17, 2023. A little over a year in, as I write this post on May 30, 2024, we’ve launched 34 major updates to the app. These updates include UI improvements, performance enhancements, support for more media formats (like 360 and spatial video), and making the app more powerful and user-friendly. Our users have processed more than 3,000,000 photos and 280,000 videos (many of them movies!) into 3D using Owl3D. We know Owl3D is still young and has a long way to go, but we are proud of what we’ve achieved so far.
The Power of Community
We’re even prouder of the community we’ve built. Honestly, Owl3D wouldn’t be where it is without our supportive community. Since 2022, our Discord community has played a key role in shaping the product. Many community members constantly inspire and challenge us to build features and technology we hadn’t thought of ourselves. We are truly grateful for everyone in our community.
Looking Ahead
Besides continuous speed and stability improvements, our next step for Owl3D is to make it even more powerful by introducing editing features. So far, Owl3D has been a one-click 2D to VR video converter, but AI automation has its limits. There will always be a noticeable gap between AI’s output and a masterpiece. To close this gap, we need to provide the right tools to creatives. There is currently no one-stop software that lets you convert 3D from 2D sources, edit, and output production-level 3D content. Owl3D aims to be that software. We’re very excited to work with our users to develop an end-to-end 3D conversion pipeline that can become the industry standard.
Join Us on the Journey
The future of Owl3D is still open and has plenty of room for imagination. The road can be bumpy, but our mission has been clear from day one: we want to make premium 3D experiences easily accessible to everyone. Thank you for reading this post, and I invite everyone who has read this far to join us on this exciting journey! You can find me at leon@owl3d.ai or join our Discord community here. Happy 3Ding!