An apparatus, system, and method are described for providing real-time capture, processing, and distribution of panoramic virtual reality (VR) content. One embodiment of a graphics processor comprises a video interface to receive a plurality of images from a corresponding plurality of cameras; an image rectifier to perform a perspective re-projection of at least some of the images to a common image plane to generate a rectified plurality of images; a stitcher to analyze overlapping regions of adjacent images in the rectified images and to identify corresponding pixels in the overlapping regions and to stitch the adjacent images in accordance with the corresponding pixels to generate a panoramic image comprising a stitched combination of the rectified plurality of images; and a cylindrical projector to project the panoramic image onto a cylindrical surface to generate a final panoramic video image to be used to implement a VR environment on a VR apparatus.