360° Video & Gear (smartphone) VR

[DuPz0r 5361]

We're on the verge of experiencing real VR next year. What with the official release of most of the big ones, like Playstation VR, Oculus etc. Those are going to be the real interactive VR experiences. But, we're now in the age of 360° Video Cameras. Which allows us to view live sports, music videos, and even films in 360° views. This is a passive experience, but i think it's going to be a big part of our future.

Has anyone been on youtube lately? There's plenty of 360° Video examples out there, if your smartphone or browser supports it.
 

 

If you combine this with google cardboard or any other third party headgear, you've essentially got yourself an early preview of what VR is going to be like. The reason why i say preview, is because it's still early days, and it's like comparing CRT tv to 4k tv. There's so much room for improvement, and it will happen soon.

If you haven't tried watching 360° Video combined with Gear VR, then i think you should go try it, even if you grab a cheap gear. It may help you decide whether or not you'll bother spending your hard earned cash on a PS VR in the future. For me, i've known about VR on smartphones for a while, and had an idea of what it's like, but never tried it until recently. Until you actually experience it, you don't quite know how it feels. And it is immersive, and a spectacular feeling, being able to look at whatever you want, because it's all about that freedom, which simulates you being there.

 

The down sides, i feel need improvements, and hope will be sorted out by the time gaming VR is a thing, is not frame rate, or resolution, but reaction time. Smartphone VR is just not quick enough at moving with your head, and the slight lag can leave you feeling a little nauseous.

Now i got the topic out of the way, has anyone here tried Gear VR with 360° footage? And is there a particular video that stood out as a game changer for you?

I'll post a few links up a bit later.

[Qdeathstar 1763]

I doubt this will take hold for the same reason 3D ain't taking hold, it requires you to get off your ass to find the glasses, keep everything charged, and unable to tweet or look up those funny bumps you got on your shlong while watching... In short, it's a lot of work.

It'd be awfully hard to wear immersion eyewear and rip a bong load, so... At least 3/4 of the people here will pass.

[ViceMan 1380]

Plus while you're wearing that headset people could be doing... anything to the rest of you. Anything!

 

I doubt it's something i'll ever invest in, hell I hate the Wii because it's not true gaming - which as QD said is sitting on your arse with a controller. Anything that isn't that wouldn't feel natural. In terms of television again I wouldn't bother, it's like HD - yeah I could see more pixels but what's the point, the image is good enough as it is. Plus most of the stuff I watch is old British sitcoms anyway and they weren't exactly shot on equipment that was HD ready.

[gtagrl 4317]

Not quite VR, but a cool gaming feature...one small step closer to the OASIS. 

 

I'm unsuccessfully trying to find a another clip from this same show, very tech geek science nerd (Daily Planet :ike:), where VR is used for interior design. 

The company uses a drone to do a 360 scan of a building, inside and out. Then they go through the design process, and use the construction plans to recreate a VR copy of an office space...right down to natural light through the windows and what the street looks like outside. Then they slap VR goggles on the client to show them what the specs look like, standing from the inside, rather than trying to explain it using 2D paper plans or a maquette. They can change skins to demonstrate what different materials and colour would look like (tile, carpet, marble etc), scrolling through lighting fixtures, moving walls around to adjust space, etc. It uses a similar snap-to movement as street view in Google maps to get around the simulated rooms, that the VR wearer controls with a wand-thing.

 

In the demo, the guy repeats how much of what they're using comes from gaming - prop tracking, spacial relations lighting at different times of day etc. t was really cool, I hope I can find a clip.