HP Live Photo App Lets You View Photos as Augmented Reality Videos

Still photographs are easy to print and share, but how would you go about sharing a video with someone physically, without having to pass them some kind of tablet computer? HP has a solution: it’s called Live Photo, and is an app that uses augmented reality to view videos “embedded” in printed photographs.

Live Photo basically turns your iPhone into a “portal” into the photograph. Point it at a printed photo that was created with the Live Photo system, and it comes to live on your phone’s screen. After a very brief “loading” message, the image is magically transformed into a moving video.

The app is powered by HP’s augmented reality platform, Aurasma, and is designed to transform how photos and greeting cards are shared and enjoyed.

To create a Live Photo print, you’ll need to choose a video 45-seconds in length or shorter through the app. You’ll then be presented with a grid of stills extracted from the video.

Choose one, add an optional fun template around the image, and print it out through the app. Live Photo prints have a small blue origami icon that indicates that it has a video hidden “within”.

That print can then be enjoyed as the original video by anyone who has the HP Live Photo app installed on their phone.

To get started with making and enjoying your own live photos, head on over to the Apple App Store to download the free app. Reviews so far have been quite positive.