HTC Vive Review: A Mesmerising VR Experience, if You Have the Space
We go hands on with Valve and HTC’s new room-scale virtual reality system the Vive and discover that with incredible VR experiences come great real estate requirements.
4 Videos That Take You Inside Valve’s ‘The Lab’
The HTC Vive is here, and we’re finally allowed to show you The Lab, Valve’s Portal-themed playground of VR demos that gives you a beautifully cohesive tour of what’s possible with room-scale VR. To get a better look at just what it had to offer, we popped into four of our favorite (and also patently ridiculous) demos.
HoloLens Enterprise Mixed Reality Development with Object Theory
HoloLens development kits started shipping last week following Microsoft’s Build conference and there were also a number of NDAs that were lifted, which allowed some companies to start talking about their HoloLens projects for the first time. One of those companies was Portland’s Object Theory, which was founded in July 2015 after HoloLens engineer Michael Hoffman left Microsoft Studios to co-found Object Theory with serial entrepreneur Raven Zachary, who sold his previous iPhone app development company to Walmart Labs.
I had a chance to do 90 minutes worth of HoloLens demos on Friday, and then talk with Raven about their mixed reality collaboration service and early HoloLens client work with CDM Smith. We talked about AR vs VR, designing around HoloLens’ relatively small field of view, and why he decided to exclusively focus on developing enterprise applications for the HoloLens.
New ‘Fantastic Contraption’ Mixed-Reality Trailer Teases Twitch Chat Integration
Fantastic Contraption, a building game from Northway Games, is launching tomorrow alongside the HTC Vive, and you’d be forgiven if you’re caught drooling over the newest peek into the studio’s mixed reality gameplay teaser. We know we are.
Lenovo Jumps into VR with Enterprise VR Ready System Touting Two $5,000 GPUs
Lenovo revealed at the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (GTC) their new line of Nvidia certified VR Ready computers, the company’s next step in VR dedicated hardware. And if you’re thinking of getting your hands on the new line of ThinkStations—the P910, P710, and P510—you better have some serious cash on hand.
Step into Distant Lands With ‘Realities’, Launching Free on HTC Vive April 5th
Realities is a collection of incredibly detailed virtual environments created with a technique called photogrammetry. It’s about the closest thing we’ve seen yet to teleportation, and you’ll be able to check it out for yourself come April 5th, when the experience launches alongside the HTC Vive on SteamVR.
How to Use the Oculus Rift With SteamVR in 4 Steps
Although Valve is now prompting Rift users to install SteamVR, there’s more steps to actually get the Oculus Rift working with Steam. In a few quick steps you can use your Oculus Rift to play Steam and SteamVR games. Our quick guide will show you how.
NextVR and the Future of Immersive Sports Live-streaming
Virtual Reality has the power to transport you to anywhere in the world, and NextVR has been one of the leaders of giving you a front row seat to live sporting events including hockey, boxing, NASCAR, basketball, soccer, and golf. NextVR recently signed a five-year deal with FOX Sports, who have the rights to broadcast the NFL, Major League Baseball, and the U.S. Open Golf Championship.
I caught up with NextVR’s VR evangelist Helen Situ at GDC talk about the highlights of the past year of their livestream VR broadcasts, and where they’re going next. They’ve been experimenting with a lot of different camera positions, broadcasting real-time binaural audio, augmenting the experience with graphical overlays, and exploring how to give the viewer more agency in choosing the different perspectives that are available.
GTC 2016 Highlight: NVIDIA to Explore Prototype Design of Next-gen VR & AR Headsets
At GTC 2016 next week, NVIDIA Research will take to the stage to explore “computational display” prototypes for next-generation fidelity and form-factors in VR and AR headsets.
HTC Vive Orders Being Cancelled Due to Payment Processing Issues – UPDATED
It seems HTC are experiencing technical issues with their payment processing systems and customers’ banks which are leading to some pre-orders for their forthcoming HTC Vive VR system being cancelled.
Oculus Refund Shipping Costs as Rift Shipments Delayed Due to “Component Shortages”
It seems that Oculus are acknowledging the troublesome Rift launch and associated delivery delays by covering shipping costs for affected customers. According to emails sent out by Oculus to customers still waiting for the consumer Rift VR headsets, the delays are due to “Component Shortages”.
GTC 2016 Highlight: Oculus to Detail the Creation of ‘Quill’ VR Illustration Tool
At Sundance earlier this year, Oculus Story Studio revealed Quill, an in-house production tool that uses the company’s Touch controllers to create VR illustrations. At GTC 2016 next week the studio will explore the technical challenges faced while creating the program.
HTC Vive Consumer Edition Has Landed, We Unbox Room-scale VR
The HTC Vive is due to land on people’s doorsteps from April 5th, and our in depth review is on its way then too. In the mean time, here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect to get in the box to help tide you over.
Unity Labs’ Principal Designer on VR Scene Editor & Overcoming Perceptual Illusions
Timoni West is principal designer at Unity Labs, and she’s been working on creating tools within Unity to be able to create VR from within VR. I first talked with Timoni in October about these content creation tools which were revealed to the VR community for the first time at Unity’s VR/AR Vision Summit in February. I had a chance to catch up with her to talk about creating VR in VR for both developers and non-developers.
On Rift Launch Day, A Vast Battle Involving Thousands of Players Unfolded in a Complex Virtual World
While the first high end consumer virtual reality headsets are just beginning to launch, virtual worlds have been around for years. Although they may not be immersive in the sense of VR, they are undeniably complex and engaging, as illustrated in the record-breaking Battle of M-OEE8 which took place in EVE: Online on the same day the Oculus Rift launched.
