5 headsets as your gateway to virtual reality this holiday

Although still quite expensive and with relatively limited content offers, virtual reality headsets are gaining ground in the mainstream among gamers and tech buffs.

Here are some top holiday gift ideas for tech-savvy users looking to step into virtual reality.

HTC Vive
This headset is the market reference in virtual reality, although it needs to be hooked up to a fairly powerful PC to enjoy the best of its abilities. The fruit of a partnership between the Taiwanese manufacturer and video games developer Valve, it comes loaded with all the technology needed to transport users into parallel worlds. It ships with wireless handheld controllers for moving around and interacting with certain objects when possible. The HTC Vive is priced from $599 (over P30,000) and is available at vive.com.

Oculus Rift
The Oculus Go, a cheaper model aimed at making VR a little more accessible, may be landing in 2018, but sector pioneer, the Oculus Rift, is still available to shop this holiday. The headset has two adjustable AMOLED screens plus a built-in microphone and audio system for full immersion in 3D worlds. Again, it requires a relatively powerful PC to get the best performance. It ships with a pair of handheld controllers. The Oculus Rift is priced from $399 (over P20,000) and is available from oculus.com.

Sony PlayStation VR
Principally aimed at PlayStation 4 gamers, this headset has two HD screens and a near-100 percent field of view. It’s a little cheaper than the sector’s pioneers, but requires an add-on camera to work, sold separately or bundled with the headset. It’s compatible with around 100 games, including “Gran Turismo Sport”, “Final Fantasy XIV” and “Resident Evil 7”. The Sony PlayStation VR headset is priced from $299 (over P15,000). For retailers, visit playstation.com.

HP Headset
Microsoft has teamed up with various manufacturers, including HP, to roll out a series of more accessible VR headsets designed to integrate with its new Windows Mixed Reality platform. This headset, complete with motion controllers, offers a particularly high-res image (2880 x 1440 pixels) and a field of view up to 105 degrees. The HP Headset is priced from $449 (almost P23,000) and is available from store.hp.com.

Google Daydream View
Considerably cheaper than competitor models, this relatively basic headset is designed to work with an Android smartphone or, in a more limited capacity, with an iPhone. It’s above all an exclusive gateway to Google’s Daydream platform, a virtual reality ecosystem promising access to spectacular content, from 3D videos on YouTube and Google Play Movies, to navigating Street View. The headset comes with a controller which has a trackpad, a gyroscope and an accelerometer. The Google Daydream View is priced from $99 (over P5,000) and is available from store.google.com. JB

source: technology.inquirer.net

Virtual reality helps drug addicts to recover in Shanghai rehab centers

Around 700 drug addicts in two of Shanghai’s five rehabilitation centers have been using a newly developed system since late September to help staff members understand the sufferers’ level of addiction and assist them to turn their lives around more quickly, the Shanghai Drug Rehabilitation Administration said.

The AI system was developed by the Shanghai Mental Health Center in cooperation with the administration, East China Normal University’s School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, and Shanghai Qingtech, a company specializing in technological tracking of eye control.

Zhao Min, deputy director of the center, said one key problem in abandoning drug habits is the difficulty for the staff and even the addicts to know how badly they are addicted.

“In the past, when they were asked whether they wanted narcotics, they said ‘no’ without exception, which was not an honest answer, obviously,” she said. “Now we can resort to the new system.”

Users wear a VR helmet with an eye-movement tracking system and then “walk into” scenes with drugs and other paraphernalia. Their eye movement, together with other biological indicators such as heart rate and skin conductivity, is recorded as an objective way to show their level of addiction.

Another way the AI system can help is that it provides addicts with a more effective desensitization treatment in order to better prevent them from using drugs again.

“Usually in the centers they are given desensitization treatment with pictures of narcotics,” Zhao said. “It’s hard for such stimulation to truly arouse their appetite for drugs. So after they leave the centers and are exposed to temptations, they might be submerged in a whirlpool of drug abuse again.”

Statistics from the National Narcotics Control Commission show that more than 85 per cent of those who abandon a drug habit after two years of compulsory rehab relapse within a year.

With such a VR system, the addicts can “walk into” hotel rooms, karaoke bars and friends’ homes and watch men and women take drugs to fully stimulate their desire for narcotics, said Kuai Shuguang, a professor at East China Normal University.

Apart from desensitisation, the system was also designed to help addicts associate drugs more with negative consequences than “a pleasant experience”, he said.

Following the VR experience in the scenes where drugs are often taken, they will view videos showing how devastatingly drugs will harm human health so as to suppress their desire for them, he said.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Oculus unveils standalone virtual reality headset

SAN JOSE, United States - Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday unveiled a new Oculus virtual reality headset untethered from computers as part of a vision to bring the new technology to the masses.

Oculus Go headsets will be priced at $199 when they begin shipping early next year, Zuckerberg said during a keynote presentation at an annual developers conference in the Silicon Valley city of San Jose.

Zuckerberg touted Oculus Go as the first product in a "sweet spot" between smartphones and powerful desktop computers.

"It's an all-new, standalone headset that doesn't require you to snap in a phone or plug in a cable," Zuckerberg said.

Oculus Go uses internal cameras, sensors and software to track movements that are translated into corresponding motion in virtual worlds rendered in headsets.

Facebook stressed its commitment to virtual reality, despite less than stellar adoption of headsets such as Oculus Rift which need to be plugged into computers.

"We want to get a billion people in virtual reality," Zuckerberg said.

"The road ahead won't be easy, but virtual reality will change the way we see the world and will make all of our lives a whole lot better."

Sony, HTC and Facebook-owned Oculus are the top players in virtual reality head gear, each striving to stake out territory in the budding market.

While Sony's VR headsets work with PS 4 consoles, competing gear requires computers that can handle the demand of processing rich, immersive graphics in real time. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Oculus Rift closes in on Vive after summer sale

Facebook’s virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift, enjoyed a surge in ownership among computer gamers in August, after a mid-year price cut took effect in July.


The Oculus Rift increased its market share among VR headset owners using PC gaming service Steam, according to the Steam Hardware and Software Survey for August 2017.

The monthly survey showed that the Oculus Rift accounted for 43.8 percent of VR headsets associated with users’ computers.

That figure represents an increase of 8.1 percent on July, when Rift ownership would have been registered at 35.7 percent, observes GamesIndustry, an upward trend that has the Rift closing in on the higher-spec HTC Vive, which was developed in partnership with Valve itself.

Both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive were launched in 2016, and both have received price drops in 2017.

For the duration of a July and August promotional sale, the Rift was priced at $399 (over $20,000) before returning to $499 (over $25,000) in September.

The Vive, whose higher price is offset by gains in room-scale movement tracking, was reduced in price from $799 (nearly $41,000) to $599 (over $30,000) towards the end of August.

As RoadToVR notes, growing awareness of Steam compatibility among Rift users and the launch of HTC’s competing Viveport service could have contributed to the change in percentage share, but the primary driver is thought to have been that Summer of Rift price drop.

Oculus VR was purchased by Facebook for $2.3 billion in 2014, and partnered with Samsung over screen technology for the former and a Gear VR visor for devices in the latter’s Galaxy range.

Sony launched a $399 (over $20,000) PlayStation VR for PlayStation 4 consoles late on in 2016, with Google’s Daydream arriving the same month along with the company’s Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones.

Microsoft and a selection of tech partners are preparing the Windows VR line for October 2017, with entry-level prices set at $399 (over $20,000) and scaling upwards accordingly. JB

source: technology.inquirer.net

PlayStation VR, almost a million units sold worldwide

One of virtual reality’s greatest hurdles right now is getting wider distribution and better accessibility. PlayStation VR appears to be in the lead when it comes to this area, as it has cumulatively sold 915,000 units worldwide as of Feb. 19, 2017.

The virtual reality system for the PlayStation 4 console was launched back in October 2016 and offered a more affordable alternative to the PC-based Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR systems. The existing PS4 consoles, which has already sold over 53.4 million unit globally, made it easier for gamers to get into VR gaming as it would only require them to purchase the PS VR headset and the PlayStation Eye camera if they did not already have one. The availability of game titles also made VR gaming on the PlayStation more viable.

Game titles have reached over 100 globally as of February 19. Better yet, the number of publishers and developers involved with creating VR titles has increased to over 360. This includes the industry’s top publishers as well as small independent teams and a range of entertainment companies from movies to music.

There are currently 220 software titles in development for the PS VR. These include highly-anticipated titles such as Ace Combat 7, Final Fantasy XV, Steel Combat, Tekken 7, Farpoint and Gran Turismo Sport. Some video content is also being created. Over 100 of these titles are expected to be released by the end of 2017.

The PlayStation VR system is currently available in 64 countries and regions worldwide. In the Philippines, it can be purchased at an SRP of P22,900 for just the headset and P25,290 with a bundled PlayStation Eye camera. Alfred Bayle/JR

source: technology.inquirer.net

Google Daydream View VR headset up for pre-orders

The Google Cardboard VR viewer gave consumers a relatively affordable gateway into the VR experience. Now Google is upping the ante as it opens the Daydream View VR headset for pre-orders.


A little more commercial-looking, the Daydream headset is draped in breathable fabric and has three colors to choose from. It also comes with a handheld controller for a more immersive experience. Google recommends using it with Daydream-ready phones like the Pixel handsets to get the most out of the headgear.

Priced at $79, the Daydream View VR headset is available for pre-order in the US, UK and Germany. Units will start shipping by November.  Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net

PlayStation VR game lets you tutor a Japanese schoolgirl

Virtual reality is about immersing the user into a digitally created fantasy world, be it on the battlefield or a roller-coaster ride. But one virtual reality game for the PlayStation VR dares to offer a different kind of experience for users—one that focuses more on human interactions than grand explosions and scary ghosts.

Previewed last year and again featured at the Tokyo Game Show 2016, “Summer Lesson” is a VR game that puts the user in the shoes of a tutor who will be working with a cute Japanese schoolgirl named Hikari Miyamoto over the course of seven days.

The user will have a 360-degree view of Hikari’s room and will also be able to interact with her through head gestures such as nodding for yes and shaking the head for no for a more immersive and intuitive experience. There will also be certain instances wherein Hikari will ask the user to lean forward such as sharing an earpiece to listen to music or biting down on an offered piece of cake.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Sony Announces PS VR release date and price tag

Since the initial announcement, many have been excited for Sony’s PS VR. Now the company finally settled on a release date and SRP.

Priced cheaper than the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the PS VR will come with a price tag of $399, according to a Gizmodo report. Even with the cost of buying a PS4 included, the overall price for a Sony VR system is still lower compared to the competition. However, there was no mention of what the VR headset will come packaged with.

Sony also included in their E3 announcement a collection of over 50 games to be released between October and the end of the following year. There are indications that this will include a Batman and Star Wars game. Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net

Life-sized virtual reality shooting game to hit Japan

What draws people to virtual reality is the prospect of being able to experience a fantastical scenario as if it were really happening. According to VentureBeat, a Melbourne-based company called Zero Latency VR is about to take it up a notch higher when it comes to providing an immersive virtual reality experience.

The company is planning to have multiple players walk around a space wearing head-mounted displays and tracking equipment. Prominent game publisher SEGA is more than happy to make this a reality. Zero Latency is about to make a permanent installation in Japan.

Players will be able to “play” in a variety of modes including fighting waves of zombies in a simulated building.

What’s more fun than sharing virtual reality space with a team of gun-toting, like-minded individuals. Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net

PlayStation virtual reality gear to launch in October

SAN FRANCISCO—Sony plans to make virtual reality — long the stuff of films cast off into a distant future — mainstream with the October release of PlayStation VR headgear priced at $399.

“Virtual reality represents a new frontier for gaming, one that will forever change the way users interact with games,” Sony Computer Entertainment chief executive Andrew House said during a press event in San Francisco on Tuesday.

Sony chose October for the launch of PlayStation VR to allow time for making enough units to meet anticipated demand and to let developers get games ready for the headsets, according to House.

The headsets are designed to plug into PlayStation 4 (PS4) consoles.

Sony touted PS4 as its fastest-selling console ever with more than 36 million of them bought since they hit the market in late 2013.

But there is competition and Facebook-owned virtual reality start Oculus is set to begin shipping its Rift headsets later this month.

Oculus has been taking orders for Rift at a price of $599 and has worked with computer makers to certify machines as powerful enough to handle the technology.

Pre-orders have also been taken on bundles combining Rift with compatible gaming computers starting about $1,500.

Buying a PS4 and PlayStation VR would add up to about half that price.

“We are proud of the price point we have been able to achieve,” House said of PlayStation VR.

PlayStation VR users will still need to buy camera and controller accessories, pushing the price up slightly, but it is considerably less expensive than rival headsets that synch to gaming computers, according to Gartner analyst Brian Blau.

“The cost of ownership of PlayStation is going to be a lot more affordable than the PC (personal computer) counterparts,” Blau told AFP after attending the Sony event.

And, since millions of PS4 have already been bought, the price of adding virtual reality is comparably lower for owners of those consoles since no computer upgrade is needed.

Game makers dive in


More than 230 developers and publishers are working on games for PlayStation VR, with some 50 titles expected to be available by the end of this year, according to Sony.

The list included French video game titan Ubisoft, which is creating an “Eagle Flight” game that lets players virtually take wing, and a collaboration between Electronic Arts, DICE, and Lucasfilm on a new “Star Wars Battlefront” title for PlayStation VR.

PlayStation motion-sensing “Move” wand-shaped controllers were used to provide “hands” in some titles demonstrated at the event

Virtual reality was a hot topic at a Game Developers Conference (GDC) taking place a short distance from the Sony press briefing.

Chip makers showed off powerful processors designed to handle rendering rich, immersive graphics in virtual worlds. Games shown off at GDC included titles tailored for PlayStation VR and rivals Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

Thirty-year-old GDC bills itself as the largest and longest-running event for professional game makers.

This year, GDC integrated an inaugural Virtual Reality Developers Conference focused on “making immersive virtual reality and augmented reality experiences.”

The virtual reality portion of GDC had to be moved to larger rooms to double the capacity in response to heavy demand, according to organizers.

In a sign that virtual reality is poised to extend beyond gaming, PlayStation VR boasted a Cinematic mode that can let people watch digital video on large virtual screens.

House promised more information on “entertainment content” in coming months.

“It makes sense that you should be able to see all kinds of PlayStation content inside the headset,” analyst Blau said.

“I think it will extend PlayStation into areas it has never been before.”

For example, Blau noted, PlayStation VR could expand to include sports viewing, streaming films or television shows, and even be put to work use by businesses.

source: technology.inquirer.net

With its new S7 phone, Samsung looks even more like Apple

NEW YORK — Apple and Samsung phones, which have been looking more and more alike over the past few years, are much closer to virtual twins with Samsung’s latest Galaxy S7.

The convergence began two years ago when iPhones got larger, mimicking Samsung’s once-innovative, plus-sized “phablets.” Last spring, Samsung started emphasizing higher quality materials and sophisticated design, just as Apple had for years. And last fall, Apple boosted the resolution on the iPhone camera, narrowing one of the major gaps it had with Samsung.

With the S7, Samsung is lowering its camera’s resolution — you read that right — to match the iPhone’s 12 megapixels.

To be sure, there are key differences. Only the latest iPhones have special features you activate by pressing harder on an icon or link, while Samsung is among the biggest boosters of virtual reality.

It’s too early to say which phone is better. Though Samsung announced the S7 on Sunday at a wireless show in Barcelona, Spain, the phone isn’t coming out until March 11. My hands-on time has been limited to controlled settings.

And for most users it may end up being a draw — Samsung leads the pack among Android phones, while Apple has its own self-contained ecosystem, iOS. For many, a choice between the two could come down to preference for one system or another — and the apps available for each.

For now, here’s how Apple and Samsung phones stack up:

Camera

For both, the rear cameras are now at 12 megapixels — up from 8 for iPhones and down from 18 for Samsung. That doesn’t mean Samsung photos are getting worse, though.

In making the change, Samsung adopted the iPhone’s 4-by-3 dimension, ditching the widescreen format it had long used. Widescreen produces vertical shots that are awkwardly tall, such that I’ve had to crop them to 4-by-3 anyway. The 6 megapixel reduction is equivalent to chopping off the excess.

The front cameras are both at 5 megapixels, after Apple boosted its resolution in the iPhone last fall. Apple also turned the screen into a flash for selfies. Samsung, ever the fast follower, is now doing the same with the S7.

Samsung is promising improvements in low-light shots, borrowing techniques from full-bodied, SLR cameras, though it’ll require extensive tests to see how well the camera performs. Even with last year’s models, Samsung cameras tend to produce brighter night shots than the iPhone. But I’ve also seen more distortion when those shots are blown up. We’ll see if that’s been fixed with the S7.

Size

Samsung’s 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 is slightly larger and heavier than the 4.7-inch iPhone 6s, but not much so. There’s a premium version of the S7 called the S7 Edge; both sides curve like a waterfall, such that the screen flows over the side to the back of the phone. The Edge screen is 5.5 inches, but much of that comes from the curvature. The phone itself is taller, but just a tad wider and heavier.

Compared with the 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus, though, the S7 Edge is smaller.

Extras

Neither the iPhone nor the S7 phone lets you replace the battery with a spare. But the S7 does let you add storage. And the base model is 32 gigabytes, double what the iPhone offers for starters.

Unlike the iPhone, the S7 is waterproof. There’s no need to keep USB and other ports sealed, as past waterproof phones did. The S7 also offers wireless charging; you simply lay the phone flat on a charging base. However, wireless charging is typically slower than plugging in a USB charger.

Apple and Samsung both let you unlock phones with your fingerprint rather than a passcode. And both let you make payments with a tap at some retail stores. The Samsung Pay service works with a greater range of merchants, but with credit cards from fewer banks and in fewer countries for now than Apple Pay.

Shortcuts

The latest iPhones and the S7 Edge have shortcuts to common tasks, such as taking selfies. With the iPhone, you hard press on an app icon. With the Edge, you swipe from the right edge. That swipe also gets you headlines, frequent contacts and favorite apps.

Apple lets third-party app makers create their own shortcuts, while Samsung does not.

Virtual reality

Samsung is ahead of Apple, though it faces competition from other Android manufacturers, including LG.

Samsung already has its own VR headset, while LG is coming out with one. They won’t work with each other’s phones or any other Android phone. Both companies will soon sell 360-degree cameras for taking VR video. Apps on the phone will ease sharing with friends and viewing on the VR devices.

Availability
The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus have been available since September. There has been speculation that Apple is coming out with a smaller model soon, but it’s not expected to have all of the advanced features found in the 6S phones.

Advance orders for the S7 phones started this week. March 11 is the release date in the U.S. and several other markets. TVJ

source: technology.inquirer.net

VR games coming to Facebook soon — report

Here's something awesome coming to gamers on Facebook: virtual reality gaming.

Facebook's chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer hinted at this at the F8 Developer Conference in San Francisco, tech site Mashable reported.

"Why is VR going to work now, when it didn't work in the '80s and '90s? ... Each one of these core tracks of technology had to hit a minimum core viability...to get to that sense of presence to sense that you're truly there," Mashable quoted Schroepfer as saying.

According to Mashable, Schroepfer also said the prospect of VR gaming could come "this year," and that people may soon play games in VR on "something" shipped by Oculus.

But Mashable also quoted a Facebook spokesperson as saying this was not intended as an announcement of availability for Oculus Rift's consumer version.

"You're going to be able to do it in something shipped by Oculus. This is going to be incredible," he said.

Schroepfer also showed a demo for the game EVE: Valkyrie, where users are in the cockpit of a spaceship.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Oculus VR told Mashable, when asked if Oculus Rift would be for sale this year: "Nah. When we are ready to announce consumer, we will shout it from the mountaintops."

Oculus chief scientist Michael Abrash said during the keynote that VR done right "truly is reality, as far as the observer is concerned."

But he added VR today "is good enough to create experiences, but just barely."

He also said consumer-ready VR headsets could take "a year or two" before they are ready for realistic VR experiences. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com