For the most part, users of virtual reality (VR) have got used to experiencing VR content in relatively small chunks considering a lot of VR experiences average at 2-3 hours of content. Two determined men from New York have defied convention to land themselves a Guinness World Record for non-stop VR viewing.
The world-record attempt began on Saturday 15th April when Alejandro “AJ” Fragoso and Alex Christison donned their Oculus Rift headsets in the West Village apartment that was set aside for the attempt. The pair had a large supply of Red Bull and Starbucks coffee to battle fatigue and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to provide nutrition. Under the rules set by Guinness, they were allowed 5-minute breaks every hour to get food, rest their eyes or grab a very quick shower.
Fragoso and Christison are both app developers who live in Brooklyn, and they received no financial recompense for the hours spent on the attempt, though they were provided with unlimited snacks and drinks by sponsors CyberLink.
During the 50-hour session, the two watched a large variety of VR films and 360-degree content such as Rogue One Recon – A Star Wars 360 Experience, the short film Invasion! By Baobab Studios and the Great Performers VR series which features Casey Affleck, Don Cheadle and Natalie Portman.
Speaking of the difficulties in completing the attempt, Christison said to Variety: “The hardest part was being somewhat isolated in the virtual environment the entire time.”
This was the first attempt at a marathon VR video content viewing for a Guinness World Record, though a separate record is held in the UK for longest VR videogame marathon at 25 hours. The new record of 50 hours also beat the unofficial record set in Germany last year at 48 hours of content viewed.
VRFocus will keep you updated with other VR-related news as it comes in.