[Chemy JMHT]

VRs Big Surprise: 3-D Worlds Have Little Appeal

More people care about movies and TV shows than immersive 3-D games.

Companies such as Samsung and Facebooks Oculus promote their virtual-reality headsets by highlighting awe-inspiring 3-D experiences for gaming and virtual travel. But one of the most popular activities among early adopters of the technology is less novel: watching 2-D movies and TV.

Its been a surprise on the VR circuit because much of the work is driven by people coming from the gaming world, who are fairly dogmatic about what VR means, says Anjney Midha, founder of the San Francisco venture capital fund KPCB Edge. Figuring out what people want to do with headsets is crucial if companies such as Facebook are to make the devices widely popular.

Midha says consumer interest in a new way to view 2-D content shouldnt be surprising given the popularity of watching movies and TV on mobile devices with small screens. A 2-D video viewed using a VR headset can fill your visual field as if you were watching on a giant home cinema screen, even if youre in fact in a cramped dorm room or the middle seat on a budget flight. Virtual-reality apps from Netflix and Hulu even surround their 2-D content with a virtual theater, room, or beach scene to enhance the experience. Flat content is less likely to make you uncomfortable or nauseous, as 3-D content can.



In China, where many companies have launched relatively low-cost mobile VR headsets, watching movies and TV is their primary use, says Midha. He predicts that viewing conventional videos is whats most likely to drive mass adoption of VR hardware in the next few years. Airlines are already expressing interest in giving passengers headsets as a way to offer better in-flight TV and movie viewing than is possible with seat-back displays, he says.

Companies that make VR headsets dont provide detailed data on what people are using them for. But Netflixs app, which offers only 2-D content, is listed as one of the most popular for the Samsung Gear VR, which uses a smartphone as its screen. A 2-D video viewer, VR Cinema, is one of the most popular apps for headsets built around Googles cheap mobile VR technology, Cardboard, with over a million downloads.

Despite their focus on interactive 3-D experiences, some large headset companies have shown signs that they recognize flat videos importance. Hulus app is bundled with the Oculus Rift headset, for example (it also offers some immersive 360 video content). Oculus CTO John Carmack says the company worked with Netflix on its VR app because it was needed if Gear VR was to be successful.

Meanwhile, Sony is betting that flat content will be just as important as the 3-D kind to its virtual-reality headset launching next month. The company has been promoting the devices cinematic mode, which displays conventional movies and TV or games on a large virtual flat screen. TV and movie content could help buy time for Hollywood companies trying to figure out what really works in VR.



William Carter, a cofounder of startup headset maker Expanse, says theres room for products focused entirely on 2-D content. When you slot your smartphone into his companys forthcoming headset, you can watch Netflix and Hulu or play conventional 2-D mobile games. The $80 device cant simulate depth. But it offers significantly higher resolution than VR headsets, because it doesnt need magnifying lenses or a separate display for each eye.

Midha says that designs like Expanse could be successful for a time but will ultimately fade away when the displays in VR headsets capable of 3-D improve. Carter says his company plans to adapt its product line to take advantage of new technologies as they become affordable.

Source: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/6...little-appeal/

[pkcable]

I was thinking a certain type of film might be pretty popular. How shall we say this, on a family friendly forum? "Adult" entertainment.

[Chemy JMHT]

LOL well the other thread where we were talking about "adult" uses of the VR, I know it may sounds weird, but for VR Video Chatting willbe a hit fo sure a VR Skype or something for couples, integrating the webcam and with a software to eliminates the headset from the face of the partner.

I'm sure we will see a lot of weird/interesting things in the near future.

We are in the experimental age of this technologies, and we are the rats in this laboratory so, they (the developers) will test everything that come to their minds with us, and those things that works will stay a little bit longer.

[pkcable]

Remember that Battlestar Galactica spinoff? Caprica? They had a VR sub world some of the characters, in particular, the "intelligent" human form cylon used to visit for entertainment etc.

[Sim_8_3]

I vaguely remember Caprica on SyFy? You know what I would love to see in VR, the old Battlestar Galactica and you get to play as Starbuck or Apollo or even a Cylon

[Sim_8_3]

Go figure, why would people want to see 2D in VR, when you can see 2D without VR? Makes no sense.

[Chemy JMHT]

Actually I did it once, you have a more movie teathre like experience, remember your screen could be 27" (at least that's my computer screen) but in VR your screen could be like 250", also I watched a TV series in a 150" or something but i the moon, were some nice 45 minutes of TV lol.

But the main problem is having enough movies or whatever in VR, you may have some 3D to watch (I never tried) but it's really easy to have a 2D movie to watch.

[pkcable]

This is what I mean...