Samsung brings the power of Virtual Reality to the people

This week saw the Samsung Gear 360 – a camera which enables users to shoot their own 360-degree video for mobile viewing and VR content for Samsung Gear VR, powered by Oculus – go on sale on a limited basis in the US, supported by an initiative to encourage people to create virtual reality (VR) videos.

According to Samsung, the camera, which was introduced at this year’s Mobile World Congress and has been on a slow worldwide release programme, will be available for purchase at a price-point of $349.99 to those attending the VidCon event in Anaheim, California. Additional availability is expected later in the year.

Samsung has also relaunched its ‘Milk’ VR video service which supports user-generated content under the moniker Samsung VR. Users can load their own 360-degree videos to the Samsung VR platform for sharing and for the first time view them in Samsung Gear VR.

Below you’ll find a demonstration on how to upload and play your own VR 360-degree videos in the Samsung Gear VR.

Finally, Samsung also announced Samsung Creators, a new initiative to encourage content generation over Samsung VR technology in a bid to boost the sector.

“We want to bring the power of VR technology directly to the people,” said Samsung Electronics America’s chief marketing officer Marc Mathieu. “To help creators learn and perfect the art of VR storytelling, we’ve built an entire VR ecosystem that pushes beyond the frame and empowers them to develop unforgettable, immersive stories, and inspires us all to do the same.”

At VidCon 2016 this week, Samsung Creators is providing seminars and classes to help accelerate this new medium. Leading into VidCon, Samsung Creators has been working with YouTube personality Casey Neistat to curate content from YouTube that will premiere at the event.

VR & AR World 2016, London
If you’re interested in finding out more about this year’s VR & AR World conference in London, visit the official event website.

 

Is Virtual Reality a TODAY issue?

Fundamental VR‘s Richard Vincent looks at how Virtual Reality is a TODAY issue, with over 1 billion people having access to the platform…

“The next platform”, that’s how Mark Zuckerberg describes Virtual Reality (VR) as he explains Facebook’s $2BN acquisition of Oculus. Facebook are betting big and moving fast and it’s time all marketers really woke up to what’s happening. 

Future Gazing
Like the adoption of mobile, the start will be slow, but the acceleration will be intense! It has taken 10 years to go from 1 million to over 2 billon smartphones, and like smartphones, VR headsets are likely to be in the 1-2 million volume in the first year, but imagine a world where the adoption mirrors smartphones, imagine 10 years out the possibility of 2 billon devices! And here’s the thing, the price point for these devices will be below most leading smartphones (Samsung has just launched the new Gear VR at $99).

It’s here and it’s now!
Don’t let the future gazing distract you into thinking that immersive VR experiences are something to think about for the future. TODAY, over 1 billon people can access a form of VR through 360˚ video content being played out on digital channels they occupy most. With a smartphone (or a Chrome/Firefox browser) they can access full 360˚ content on their Facebook wall and on YouTube. Your audiences are bumping into this content right now! The early indications are that people love this content with high levels of retention on video plays.

Here’s an example of Fundamental VR‘s awesome 360-degree videos. Whilst watching the video, try clicking and dragging the screen to explore different views!

Have you considered how your brand is going to embrace VR or 360˚ video story telling? Is it in your planning cycle? We think its part of the future, but what do you think?

 

VR & AR World 2016, London, 18 – 20 October

If you’re interested in finding out more about this year’s VR & AR World conference in London, visit the official event website.

GMA takes viewers on a live immersive 360 VR safari

Good Morning America (GMA) viewers were recently taken on a 360 VR safari in Tanzania. With segments incorporated into the two-hour broadcast, GMA on Safari was the first GMA event to be simultaneously broadcast live in 360 degrees.

GMA, produced by Disney–owned ABC, took the audience on a live, immersive virtual reality tour of the ‘Great Migration’, a natural wonder of Africa which begins at approximately the same time each year in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania.

“The migration is the continent’s greatest concentration of large mammals, where more than two million wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle graze in the lush surrounds of the crater, the world’s largest inactive volcanic caldera.”

GMA showcased the wildlife using a total of five DJI drone-mounted camera systems operated by Skynamic, plus a stationary Immersive Media IM360 virtual reality camera. The latter enabled GMA viewers on Internet-enabled devices to see and control their own experience from any phone, tablet, desktop or VR headset, with live 360-degree images creating the illusion of actually being there.

For the remote production concept to work, all video, audio, co-ordination and IP signals had to be individually linked to the gallery in the US. Through its London bureau, ABC turned to Presteigne Broadcast Hire to source the technology, project management and system design for the deployment of the vendor’s IP Mesh system.

“GMA needed the fixed VR and drone-mounted cameras to be able to transmit from anywhere in the immense Ngorogoro Crater.”

“This proved to be a challenge because, while the Ngorogoro Crater is home to the lion, elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard, and black rhinoceros, it is decidedly not home to IP infrastructures or mobile phone data coverage.” Presteigne project manager Martin Sexton

In addition to the 360 VR cameras, GMA needed a fully remote HD production setup with three RF-linked jeeps, wide angle cameras and a long-lens camera.

“All of the technology had to be able to transmit in HD from anywhere within the 260 square kilometres of the 610-metre deep crater.”

“We’re experts in establishing RF systems, often in very challenging locations and conditions, but the scale of the crater and surrounding area was, quite literally, a new order of magnitude,” added Sexton.

To resolve the issue, a wide area NETNode IP mesh system from Domo Broadcast was deployed between the crater and the base camp, interfaced at the base camp with Presteigne’s Idirect-based technology working on the Melcom satellite network. This was used for the live VR pictures, off-line uploads, and other IP/Internet based services.

Wide area, low delay HD RF circuits were then added for the roving jeeps to service video and audio from the drones, plus a presenter camera and further long-lens camera system with a stabilised Canon HJ40 lens and accessories.

One wide area return vision system fed an HD low delay quad split of all local sources from the base camp back to the presenters’ roving vehicle to enable live commentary on the pictures from the separate jeeps. Four wide area RF co-ordination networks were established to cover the entire crater for presenter IFB, plus producer, director and engineering talkback.

 

VRAR World 2016, London, 18 – 20 October

If you’d like to connect with other professionals from the world of virtual and augmented reality, hear expert speakers discuss the use of VR and AR in a range of industries and learn how this technology can be used going forward to benefit your business, visit the VR & AR World event website to find out exactly what you can expect from this year’s event.

 

Our top 5 VR & AR videos of the week

Here at VR & AR we live all things virtual and augmented reality, so we come across a lot of really cool stuff!  We’ve selected some of the best bits that June has brought us so far, and now we’re sharing them with you! Enjoy!

Take a virtual distillery tour – Into the mind of the Malt Master

Jump into a virtual reality tour of the Glenfiddich distillery. Whilst watching this super cool video, try grabbing and dragging the screen to take a look around. Unfortunately, technology doesn’t allow tasting… yet.

Unleash your inner artist!

Fancy yourself as a modern-day Van Gogh? The Tilt Brush by Google allows you to paint from a new perspective in virtual reality, with no need to worry about getting paint out of the carpet or cleaning your brushes.

Christoph Niemann’s awesome augmented-reality covers

We love how these magazine covers burst into life with awesome animation when viewed through the Uncovr app (which is free, by the way). Be sure to turn up the volume for extra jazz.

Unlock the world around you with the Blippar app

Because technology doesn’t quite make discovery easy enough, download the Blippar app and you can find out more about the world around you. Give it a try – it’s free to download and fun to use!

Microsoft HoloLens – review of the mixed reality headset

The Verge reviews the developer edition of Microsoft’s mixed reality headset; HoloLens, running through some of the pros, cons and differences when compared to the Oculus Rift.

VR & AR World 2016

If you’d like to find out more about this year’s VR & AR World, including speakers, agenda and sponsorship information, visit the VR & AR World event website.