Category: VR Video

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Bigscreen’s ‘VR Cinema’ Showing Interstellar, Star Trek, Transformers, & More This Month

Bigscreen has released the latest lineup of big-name movies premiering this month in its recently released ‘VR Cinema’ feature.

A virtual reality movie theater always has felt like an obvious shoe-in for VR, a sentiment illustrated by some of our earliest articles covering VR cinema pioneers and the apps they chose to build. Since then of course, VR headset owners have been given numerous ways to enjoy films alone or with others, but for the most part those movies were self-provided, with the VR headset merely acting as an immersive viewing vessel for you (and your friends).

Image courtesy: Bigscreen

Bigscreen announced in December that they were looking to help evolve the movie VR experience by licensing studio films and giving Bigscreen users the opportunity to buy and watch them together in virtual theatres (either in private or in public virtual form). Ticket prices range between $4–$5 and can be purchased from Bigscreen‘s website directly.

The company has announced which movies will be available this month:

Image courtesy Bigscreen

January 10th to 16th

  • 3D
    • Star Trek Beyond (2016)
    • Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
    • Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
  • 2D
    • Interstellar (2014)

January 17th to 24th

  • 3D
    • Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
    • Ghost in the Shell (2017)
    • Terminator Genisys (2015)
    • Top Gun (1986)

Think of the service like renting a movie from Amazon, but you watch virtually in a public theater in the style of the movie.

One of the biggest technical and experiential benefits of viewing 3D movies in VR though is the ‘perfect’ stereoscopy as each eye has a discrete view of its intended frame with no ‘cross-talk’ or dimming as is common with most passive 3D experiences in traditional cinemas.  Granted, we’ve not yet tested the 3D quality available via the streaming service, so just how good the image is remains to be seen.

Image courtesy Bigscreen

Up until now, Bigscreen software itself—which lets you join rooms with friends and share your own media or watch free media channels in public rooms with others—has been entirely free. The paid films are offered in partnership with Paramount; Bigscreen is putting special emphasis on its 3D films, as streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video typically only serve up 2D versions, even to those who have 3DTVs.

Bigscreen says its working on additional ‘VR Cinema’ content, including private movie rentals to watch with friends, more movies, a drive-in movie theater environment, and themed movie events like ‘horror week’.

The post Bigscreen’s ‘VR Cinema’ Showing Interstellar, Star Trek, Transformers, & More This Month appeared first on Road to VR.

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Australian Artists To Create VR Experience From Their Journey To Antarctica

Two Australian digital artists will board the RSV Aurora Australis next year to document the journey from Australia to the Antarctic, with the aim of creating a virtual reality experience upon their return.

The artists, Dr Adam Nash and Dr John McCormick (collectively known as Wild System), have experience in creating mixed reality artworks and installations. Their artistic Antarctic expedition next year will be made possible thanks to support from the Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship and two Australian universities.

While aboard the ship, they will document the journey using “cutting-edge technologies, such as drones, portable motion capture system, ambisonic recordings, LiDAR scanning and still, 360 and video cameras.” This will allow them to map the journey and then convert the recordings into an immersive experience available after their return.

The ship they’ll be travelling on, the RSV Aurora Australis, is over half a mile long, accommodates 166 passengers and currently serves as a “multi-purpose research and supply ship.”

Given the scale of both the ship and the journey, there’s potential for the artists to create a really unique VR experience from the trip. Speaking about the project, Dr McCormick said, “It is a lifelong dream to travel to Antarctica. We want to create a work that honours the spirit of those who have explored the world’s last great wilderness area.”

The resulting immersive experience will be available in “galleries and festivals, and via mobile, gaming and virtual reality technology.” It’s unclear whether the experience will be publicly available on VR headsets, or limited to VR headsets at the aforementioned galleries and festivals. Let’s hope it’s the former – it would be quite cool to take a trip to the Antarctic from the comfort of one’s own home!

The artists will begin their journey in January of next year.

The post Australian Artists To Create VR Experience From Their Journey To Antarctica appeared first on UploadVR.

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DIE FANTASTISCHEN VR – FANTAVENTURA: Neue virtuelle Musik-Experience der Fanta 4 bei Magenta VR (Sponsored Post)

Die Fantastischen Vier sind seit 30 Jahren aus der Musiklandschaft nicht mehr wegzudenken und dieses Jubiläum wird mit einem ganz besonderen musikalischen VR-Piece  gefeiert. Die kreativen Köpfe aus Stuttgart haben eine psychotropische VR-Erfahrung zum Song “Tag am Meer” auf Magenta VR veröffentlicht.

FANTAVENTURA: Virtuelles Remake

FANTAVENTURA

Das VR-Piece der Fantas besteht aus Videoaufnahmen der Band, Animationen und 360°-Aufnahmen. Ihr könnt euch in dem Video mit einem VR-Headset frei bewegen, mit Fischen spielen und ihr dürft es euch sogar in einem SEAT 600 gemütlich machen.

Für die Umsetzung der VR-Erfahrung holten sich die Fantas Grimme-Preisträger Georg Tschurtschenthaler (gebrueder beetz filmproduktion) und den Medienexperten Oliver Ihrens (Radar Media) als Produzenten ins Boot. Für die Gesamtumsetzung sind die VR-Spezialisten von High Road Stories verantwortlich. Gedreht wurde unter anderem bei Volucap, in Deutschlands einzigem volumetrischen Studio auf dem Filmgelände Babelsberg.

Zum Projekt sagt Smudo: “Mit meiner Begeisterung für VR habe ich in meinem Umfeld einige Leute infiziert. Und so kam irgendwann vor drei Jahren die Idee auf, dass man zum 30-jährigen Jubiläum eine VR-Experience produzieren könnte. Das Ziel war es, ein Produkt auf höchstem Niveau zu kreieren, ohne das man vorhersehen konnte, wo die technologische Entwicklung von VR-Produkten genau hingehen wird.“

Und Michi Becker gänzt: „Pionierleistung ist das, was uns neben der Musik immer wieder antreibt. Wir sind stolz darauf, dass wir Partner gefunden haben, die uns ermöglicht haben, FANTAVENTURA zu realisieren und zudem eine der erste Bands zu sein, die mit einer Technik experimentieren dürfen, die in ein paar Jahren normal sein wird.“

FANTAVENTURA steht für Mobile-VR-Brillen als 360-Grad-Video in der kostenlosen Magenta VR App der Telekom ab sofort bereit und als 6DoF-Version wird das Video im Oktober 2019 auf Steam erscheinen. Ermöglicht wurde das Projekt durch die MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg, die Deutsche Telekom und den spanischen Automobilhersteller SEAT.

Wer noch keine VR-Brille besitzt, findet aktuell die Mirage Solo besonders günstig im Store der Telekom. Für nur 99 Euro ist das All-In-One Headset derzeit im Angebot.

(Quelle: Telekom)

Der Beitrag DIE FANTASTISCHEN VR – FANTAVENTURA: Neue virtuelle Musik-Experience der Fanta 4 bei Magenta VR (Sponsored Post) zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

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Amazon Launches ‘Prime Video VR’, Commits to Building up VR Video Library

Amazon today announced the launch of Prime Video VR on Oculus Quest, Go, and Gear VR. In addition to bringing the entire Prime Video catalog onto the headsets, Amazon is also for the first time adding VR content to its Prime Video library.

Amazon has now followed other major content streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube into VR. The company today announced the launch of the Prime Video VR app which allows Prime members in the US and UK to stream the entire Prime Video content library, and also allows non-members to stream their library of purchased content. The app is available on Oculus Quest, Go, and Gear VR for free. A voice search feature makes it easy to search for content without relying on the virtual keyboard.

Image courtesy Amazon

Amazon is also committing to bringing VR content to Prime Video VR. At today’s launch the library includes 10 “curated” 360 videos, and the company says it has plans to “continue to add new VR-specific titles.” Amazon’s announcement highlighted 3 of the 10 pieces of VR content:

  • INVASION!: This Emmy-award- winning VR experience tells the story of menacing aliens who try to take over Earth and destroy anyone trying to stop them. The citizens of Earth are able to rise up and defeat the invaders – but these citizens aren’t humans. They’re two of the cutest, sweetest, cuddliest creatures of our planet: two little white bunnies, and in this story, you’re one of them!
  • Return to Chernobyl: Go on a haunting journey inside the ruins of Chernobyl, guided by Aleksander Sirota — who was just 9 years old when he survived the disaster. Today, he is a tour guide bringing throngs of visitors through his notorious hometown, despite the still dangerous levels of radiation.
  • Greenland Melting: To understand why Greenland’s glaciers are melting faster and faster, FRONTLINE and NOVA, two flagship PBS series, teamed up with Emblematic Group, xRez Studio and Realtra to bring this story to life as never before. Stand in front of glaciers, fly at low altitudes over some of the world’s most stunning scenery, and dive beneath the ocean’s surface to learn what NASA’s studies are revealing.

It isn’t clear if the app supports anything beyond monoscopic 360 playback for its VR-specific content, but we’d certainly hope to see 3D supported at a minimum, as well as the VR180 format which has been growing in popularity thanks to stereoscopy and increased quality compared to 360 playback.

While Hulu, YouTube, and now Amazon have all expanded their video streaming libraries with 360 content specifically for viewing in VR, Netflix has not.

SEE ALSO
Amazon to Begin Selling VR Apps Through New HTC Partnership

HBO meanwhile had launched its first VR apps, HBO NOW VR and HBO GO VR, on Google’s Daydream back in late 2016, but ultimately pulled those services from the platform in January 2019, likely relating to Google’s fading interest in their Android VR initiative.

The post Amazon Launches ‘Prime Video VR’, Commits to Building up VR Video Library appeared first on Road to VR.

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Amazon Prime Video Comes To Oculus Quest And Go With Voice Search

Amazon Prime’s video service is now available on Oculus Quest, Oculus Go and even Gear VR.

The streaming service joins Netflix, YouTube and other services like Showtime, ESPN and Fox Now in bringing streaming video content to the Quest standalone VR headset. The addition of Amazon Prime to Oculus Go and Gear VR will be a welcome surprise as well for owners of those headsets.

The Amazon Prime app includes voice search as well as some 360-degree video content. We hope to see some of these apps add support for offline viewing. Right now we generally suggest the 64 GB Quest headset is enough storage for most people, but that recommendation could change if some of these video apps start to support offline viewing.

Amazon says the service is available to customers in the United States and United Kingdom. Prime members have access to the Prime Video catalog of content, including VR videos, while non-prime members can only watch their personal library in VR.

Amazon lists Invasion! from Baobab, Return to Chernobyl, and Greenland Melting as some of the VR video content available in the app at launch. You can download the Prime Video VR app from the following links for Oculus Quest, Oculus Go, or Samsung Gear VR.

Bigscreen recently updated its service to support social co-watching of more than 50 TV stations. While Amazon Prime is a single-player experience, the service allows people to add on services like CBS and HBO. This means that between Bigscreen, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and YouTube, Facebook’s VR headsets are now home to some of the best streaming content available on the Internet.

The post Amazon Prime Video Comes To Oculus Quest And Go With Voice Search appeared first on UploadVR.

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Google to Shutter Jump VR Video Service in June

Google seems to be taking somewhat of a step back from VR, as Variety reports the company will be shutting down its Jump program for good next month.

Google posted an updated Jump FAQ recently regarding the shutdown of the VR video service, outlining that Jump will officially go offline on June 28th, 2019.

The ability to upload video will be suspended on June 26th; the 27th is the cutoff date to back up whatever files you may have uploaded via the service. Any later than that, and all Jump-related files will be deleted from Google’s Cloud Services for good.

In an all too brief statement, Google says the shutdown is due to “the emergence of a number of alternative solutions for creators,” which they maintain saw usage of Jump Assembler decline.

Photo by Road to VR

In Jump’s wake, the company suggests that VR filmmakers make use of third-party stitching software such as Mistika VR and the Nuke Cara VR plugin. Both are said to work with either of the platform’s officially supported rigs, the GoPro Odyssey and YI HALO, the latter of which cost a cool $17,000.

Google first introduced Jump back in 2015 as camera platform that essentially followed Cardboard’s path of providing an open design for all to use. Besides establishing build guidelines for makers and manufacturers alike, Google also provided Cloud Service storage and Jump ‘Assembler’, which was tasked with stitching the camera’s multiple video feeds into a contiguous 360 scene.

SEE ALSO
Facebook Has Four Separate Social VR Apps and None of Them Are on Quest

Where Google is headed next with VR, we’re not sure. It seems over the past few months that the company has taken a noticeable step back from VR. Google’s first big pullback came via a shutdown of its internal VR film studio Spotlight Stories in March. At this year’s I/O developer conference early this month, Google’s VR platform Daydream wasn’t even mentioned; the company’s upcoming smartphone Pixel 3a won’t support Daydream either.

Some of this may rest on the shoulders of a less than stellar launch last year of the only standalone VR headset to use the Daydream platform, Lenovo Mirage Solo. It was by all accounts a pioneering initiative to bring 6DOF headtracking to the masses, although its launch was marred by a lack of ready-made 6DOF content, a lack of 6DOF controllers, and a $400 price tag that wasn’t positioned well against the $200 Oculus Go at the time. It also seemed stifled from the beginning, as HTC, a previous hardware partner pledging Vive Focus to the platform, decided to pull support and launch their headset in China under the Viveport mobile store.

Whatever the case may be, we’ll have all eyes on Google’s VR division in the coming months to see if this is a full-blown pull back, or a strategic retreat.

The post Google to Shutter Jump VR Video Service in June appeared first on Road to VR.

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NextVR Finally Available on Vive via SteamVR

NextVR, a company specializing in live VR broadcasting of sports and entertainment content, has finally launched their app on SteamVR after several months of listing it as “coming soon.” While the app has previously been available on Vive via HTC’s Viveport platform since early last year, Vive users who exclusively use SteamVR haven’t had access.

NextVR is a leading figure in the world of VR video, offering some of the highest quality and best produced made-for-VR video content available anywhere; the company handles both production and distribution of content.

The NextVR app launched initially way back in 2015 on Gear VR, and eventually found its way to Daydream. In the second half of 2017 it began rolling out to PC VR platforms starting with Windows VR, and became available the Oculus Rift, Vive (via Viveport), and Oculus Go in 2018. Now with the app’s launch on SteamVR this week, the immersive video platform is available on every major VR platform and headset.

Image courtesy NextVR

The SteamVR version of the app also supports the Rift and Windows VR headsets but, as noted, it’s been available to those headsets for some time now on their official platforms.

NextVR’s app offers content captured at live events like sports, concerts, and more, but also features a handful of original productions like a made-for-VR ‘paranormal investigation’ show called Paranormal Evidence. The company also broadcasts a handful of live events, including live broadcasts of some NBA games. A full schedule of upcoming content is available on the NextVR website.

SEE ALSO
NHL Releases All-Star Game Highlights in VR, Promises More VR Content to Come

Last year NextVR demonstrated upcoming support for 6DOF video and has been rolling out impressive higher fidelity content which takes better advantage of higher resolution displays in headsets like the Samsung Odyssey and Vive Pro.

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I Had No Idea How Fast Dragsters Really Are Until I Saw Them in VR

I’m not a drag racing fan but I’m at least a somewhat familiar with the sport: two cars line up on a short straight course and race to see who reaches the finish line first. I’ve seen some videos, I’ve read some articles, and I’ve seen the scary wipeouts clips. But never appreciated how insanely fast some of these cars really are until I saw them in VR.

I thought I pretty much knew what I was in for when I strapped on my Oculus Go and jumped into the NextVR app, which recently added highlight footage captured at the National Hot Rod Association’s 2018 Auto Club Finals in Pomona, CA. I was just checking in to see what kind of content had popped up in the app lately. “Oh, drag racing? That sounds interesting.”

NextVR’s 180 degree stereoscopic VR cameras offering a front and rear view from the starting line | Image courtesy NextVR

With VR cameras placed at key positions near the starting line and along the track, I got a closer perspective of the sport than if I’d actually paid to sit in the stands.

Watching as some of the cars and crews lined up at the starting line, I thought I knew what I was in for, especially as some of what I now realize were just test runs were not unexpectedly fast. But when the cars lined up for real and hit the gas, one thought popped into my mind: “holy $%@#.”

Dragster accelerate insanely fast. I thought I ‘knew’ that already, from the bits and pieces I’ve seen through regular video over the years, but it wasn’t until seeing it in VR that I went from ‘knowing’ it to ‘feeling’ it. As soon as I took off the headset I wanted to look up exactly how fast these cars go.

Top Fuel dragsters, the fastest category of drag racing cars, apparently reach an excess of 300 MP/H (482 KP/H) in less than four seconds. A speed record set last year by Tony Schumacher put him at 336.57 MP/H (541.65 KM/H) in 3.667 seconds.

To put that into perspective: one of the world’s fastest production cars, the Porsche 918 Spyder, reportedly accelerates 0–60 MP/H (96.5 KM/H) in 2.2 seconds. In the same time, a typical Top Fuel dragster would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 MP/H (321 KM/H). To get an even better perspective: go watch a Top Fuel dragster in VR, if not in real life.

After being amazed at seeing how fast the cars accelerated and blasted past my perspective after reaching their stride further down the track, I was reminded of the unique power of live-action VR content. The addition of depth and a proper sense of your own human scale is not just a nice bonus, it’s a transformative property for media. Traditional video can capture people, places, and dialogue well, but it simply doesn’t do a good job of conveying scale or space, and that’s why I never appreciated how fast dragster really are until I saw them in VR.

Image courtesy NextVR

VR filmmaking hasn’t found out exactly where it fits just yet. There doesn’t seem to be significant benefit to directly translating, say, a sitcom into a VR video production, or plopping a 360 camera down as an afterthought to some traditional video production. Attempts to tell theater-like narratives in VR—where the user has a central perspective— are steadily maturing, but generally speaking, VR filmmakers are still sorting out what kinds of stories are best told using the strengths of VR.

I don’t have the answer, but even seeing something as straightforward as two super fast cars racing down a track in VR gives me a hint that the answer will deeply rely on depth, human scale, and a sense of spatial awareness that only comes from VR.

The post I Had No Idea How Fast Dragsters Really Are Until I Saw Them in VR appeared first on Road to VR.

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NHL Releases All-Star Game Highlights in VR, Promises More VR Content to Come

America’s National Hockey League today announced a new VR video experience, captured during last weekend’s NHL All-Star Game, which is now available via the NextVR app. The league is further promising more VR highlights to come from “select 2019 NHL marquee events.”

Available today via the NextVR app on every major VR platform, NHL is releasing a VR video highlight reel from the All-Star Game, an exhibition match up featuring top talent from the hockey league. The event was hosted last weekend in San Jose, CA, and marks roughly the halfway point of the NHL season.

NextVR is a leading producer of broadcast-focused VR video content, and shoots some of the top quality live-action content viewable in any VR headset, typically consisting of stereoscopic 180 degree footage up to 60 FPS. The company was on hand to capture highlights from the All-Star Game, and the footage is now available globally for free in a new NHL channel within the NextVR app.

And that new channel also heralds more NHL content to come from NextVR, the companies say. While specifics have yet to be revealed, “VR post game highlights from some of the NHL’s biggest events” is purportedly forthcoming. And though NHL’s VP of Business Development, Chris Golier, says that the VR content will make “[fans feel like they are at a live NHL game,” so far no plans have been announced to stream full NHL games in VR, live or on-demand.

And while NextVR produces some content which makes its way to the social-enabled Oculus Venues app, this particular NHL content is currently only available through the company’s own NextVR app which lacks any social functionality.

SEE ALSO
NextVR's Latest Tech is Bringing New Levels of Fidelity to VR Video

The announcement with the NHL is good news for NextVR which has been in the VR space since the very beginning—and has repeatedly snagged opportunities to produce VR video content with top sports leagues—but has struggled to find real traction with its content. Earlier this month the company laid off a significant portion of its workforce, saying that it was “staffed for a pretty explosive growth curve” which didn’t pan out as expected.

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Eminem’s VR Documentary ‘Marshall from Detroit’ Now Available on Rift, Go & Gear VR

VR film production house Felix & Paul Studios debuted Marshall From Detroit at Sundance 2019 last month, a short virtual reality documentary featuring famous rappers Eminem and Sway Calloway. Now Oculus platform users can hop into the limo with Eminem too on his pensive ride through the streets of Motown.

Update (February 22nd, 2019): Oculus has released ‘Marshall from Detroit’ for free on Oculus Rift, Oculus Go, and Gear VR.

The original article announcing the film follows below:

Original Article (January 23rd, 2019): Marshall from Detroit is a 3D, 360-degree video featuring Marshall Mathers (Eminem) and Sway Calloway. Directed by Caleb Slain, the short film takes the viewer on a night ride through Detroit, featuring a candid conversation about the rapper’s thoughts and views on the city.

Created by Felix & Paul in partnership with Oculus, the full 21-minute VR experience is set to premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier exhibition starting tomorrow. Marshall from Detroit is being shown alongside Traveling While Black, another Felix & Paul production.

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Samsung's New Galaxy S10 Lineup Announced with Gear VR Support

There’s no word on when Marshall from Detroit will land on headsets for home users, however we’re betting it will come to the Oculus platform sometime soon (see update).

The Emmy Award-winning studio has created many original immersive experiences including MIYUBI, the Nomads series, Strangers, The Confessional, and the Space Explorers series. Felix & Paul have also created several productions for existing franchises such as Jurassic World, Cirque du Soleil, Wild, and Isle of Dogs. High-profile collaborations have seen VR experiences created for NASA, SpaceX, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, LeBron James, President Bill Clinton, Wes Anderson, Brie Larson, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Murray to name a few.

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