Letv, Immersion to bring 4D video on smartphone

BEIJING -- Chinese online video streaming company Letv has teamed up with NASDAQ-listed haptic technology solution provider Immersion Corp. to allow viewers to watch four-dimensional (4D) videos on their smartphones.

The 4D technology has been featured in selected cinemas to simulate effects such as rain, wind, lights and vibrations.

When shown on smartphones, 4D videos seek to create an experience where viewers can feel bullets passing, racing cars coming to a grinding halt, a high-rise collapse, heart pounding, among other effects, by touching the screen.

The Chinese tech firm Letv, which has been compared to Netflix, said so far it only wants to feature touch-based simulation effects on movie trailers, as it sees mobile devices as more suitable for shorter videos and could be used as a promotional gimmick to lure people to watch the entire movie in theaters.

Letv will use 4D effects on trailers for The Expendables 3, Hotel Transylvania 2 and 007: Spectre.

The company said such features will be first rolled out in videos from its latest mobile app for devices running Google's Android operating system. That means users of Apple's iPhone will have to wait as the iOS currently does not support 4D videos.

Starting out as an online video streaming site and content provider, Letv has in recent years expanded into selling TV boxes and smart TVs. It launched its own smartphones earlier this year to compete with domestic and global smartphone makers like Xiaomi and Samsung. The company also announced in December an initiative to build electric cars with internet-enabled functions.