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Varjo's VR headset is as detailed as human vision with a 70 megapixel resolution. The crops you see above are crops from the view with an experimental VR headset from Varjo, comcompared to the Oculus Rift desktop VR system.  Simply put, it looks incredible.  Varjo's resolution is 70 megapixels per eye compared to the 1.2 megapixel resolution of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Varjo is a startup formed by former Nokia employees and their goal is to create a headset with as much resolution as human vision will allow.  That will require tremendous amounts of data, which they aim to reduce through foveated rendering, which means that it will track your eye, and only the parts that you are looking at will be rendered at full resolution. Here is another crop: I'm curious how the extremely high resolution affects a viewer's sense of immersion.  Will images become much more convincing?  We'll see.  In the meantime, you can check out more samples on Varjo's official w...

Gearbest has a flash sale with discounts on a couple of VR headsets and some action cameras that can be used for 360 camera rigs. HIGH RESOLUTION VR HEADSET: PIMAX 4K Pimax's 4K VR headset is a desktop VR headset with a 4K (3840 x 1920) screen.  The per-eye resolution is 1920 x 1920, which is significantly higher than that of the HTC Vive or Rift (1080 x 1200).  Upload VR tried it and they said that it was crisper than anything they had seen .   Pimax 4K is on sale at GearBest for $375  with free shipping. HOMAGE TO GOOGLE DAYDREAM: MI PLAY 2 Xiaomi's Mi Play 2 is a Google Cardboard viewer based on the design of the Google Daydream headset (but I don't have anything to indicate that it is an actual Daydream headset with NFC codes etc.).  It fits phones with screens from 4.7 to 5.7 inches.  It looks like a comfortable Cardboard viewer.   It's on sale for $23.99  with free shipping to the US. 4K ACTION CAMERAS ON SALE There are several 4K action cam...

Here's a review of the 2017 Samsung Gear VR, and how it differs from the 2016 Gear VR (yes, there are a few differences) and Google Daydream.  Also: which is better for the Gear VR: a Samsung S8 or S8+? Not counting Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR is the most popular VR headset, with over 5 million users as of January 2017.  If you haven't tried it, it's easy to dismiss it as an overpriced cardboard headset, but you would be mistaken -- it's totally different, and the experience is much closer to desktop VR than Google Cardboard. The 2017 Gear VR is not much different from the original Gear VR in terms of its immersion, so I'll refer you to my original Gear VR review here .  Instead, this post will focus on the differences between the 2017 Gear VR and the 2016 Gear VR as well as Google Cardboard. SAMSUNG GEAR VR  2016 vs 2017 The primary difference between the 2016 and 2017 Gear VR is the motion controller.   The controller has several buttons: - a trigger but...

Young360 created a very good tutorial for watching YouTube in full resolution on the Samsung Gear VR headset . Samsung Gear VR ( reviewed here ) is the most popular VR headset, with 5 million users as of January 2017.  It is my favorite platform for watching 360 videos because of its much more accurate head tracking compared to Google Cardboard (Oculus Rift and HTC Vive also offer accurate head tracking but 360 videos don't utilize positional tracking anyway, so there's little incremental benefit from using a Rift or Vive to watch YouTube). However, one of the Gear VR's peccadilloes is that when watching YouTube videos (in 360 or otherwise), the resolution would often be less than the highest available resolution.  At the same time, Google doesn't want to create a YouTube app for Gear VR because Gear VR is competing directly with Google Daydream (which does have a YouTube app). Thankfully, Oculus has updated the Gear VR's software to make it easier to watch YouTube...

The Otterbox Commuter is a very good smartphone case for those who Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream users because it's very easy to remove and re-install, while also offering great protection .  See the video! I just got a Samsung S8 Plus (I'll tell you guys why next time) and I was looking for a case that's easy to remove but would also provide good protection.  After trying a few different cases, including the Otterbox Defender, the one I like the best so far is the Otterbox Commuter. Here is a video: As you can see from the video, the Otterbox Commuter is very easy to remove and to re-install. At the same time, it offers great protection for which Otterbox is famous.  It also won't block the no-bezel infinity display of the Samsung S8.  The biggest downside is probably the cost.  Simply said, it's not cheap, but then again, neither is it cheap to replace a damaged phone.... The Otterbox Commuter is available here: - Samsung - iPhone - Google Pixel - other ...

Nolo VR (hands-on here) is a peripheral for mobile VR headsets that adds positional tracking.  They just posted a new video showing the system being used to run NVidia Funhouse, a Steam VR game for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift . Here's the video: In contrast to my hands-on experience at CES (where there was a lot of radio interference), the video appears to show only a little lag, if any.  Nolo VR said they used a Samsung S6 and Samsung Gear VR for the demo.

I had the chance to try the Immersive Robotics (IMR) wireless adapter which enables you to use the HTC Vive wirelessly. IMR's Mach 2K system consists of two primary components: a transceiver attached to the PC and a transceiver with external battery pack, attached to the headset. On the headset side, the transceiver is worn on a belt which will also carry an external battery pack.  The headset is connected to the transceiver the same way as it would be connected to the Vive link box, with inputs for HDMI, USB, and power.  It's plug and play and doesn't require installing any drivers.  I asked if it was compatible with the Rift as well and they said they haven't tested it, although they think it would probably be. IMR claims that their system can support 4k per eye and can be used by 16 people in the same space.  The key to IMR's system is compression -- they compress up to 95% of the data.  Besides the key issue of latency, IMR's method raises a question about w...

IdealoEye presented three 360 cameras and two VR headsets at CES 2017. IDEALOEYE C2 The C2 is Idealoeye's entry-level 360 camera with two lenses, with a new design that looks strikingly different from any other 360 camera (in fact, I initially thought it was just a non-360 camera), and a mode dial on the side.  It can record fully spherical 360 video at 4096 x 2048 @ 30fps , slightly higher than most other consumer 360 cameras (which are usually 3840 x 1920).  The C2 can also livestream in 360 at 4k via RTMP, with 30mbps bitrate. One unusual feature is that it is equipped with a fan for dissipating heat .  I believe the unusual design actually functions as a radiator that further assists heat management.  Idealoeye claims that it can operate for 1.5 hours. The C2 also has two (?) 3.5mm stereo microphone input jacks.  Having even one mic input jack is a rare feature in consumer 360 cameras.  I don't know if it mixes the audio from two microphones or wh...

Last week, I posted about Occipital Bridge, a VR and AR headset for the iPhone .  I got to try it at CES 2017.  Here are my impressions. Mobile VR headsets today are limited to tracking your head movement (rotational tracking).  Desktop VR headsets are able to track your forward, upward, or sideward movement (positional tracking) but they need external devices to track the headset's position. Occipital Bridge is a headset for the iPhone that uses Occipital's Structure depth-sensing camera as an inside-out tracking device, enabling positional tracking with 6 degrees of freedom, without any external devices. Moreover, Occipital Bridge uses the iPhone's camera plus an ultrawide converter and data from the Structure sensor to provide a 3D view of the viewer's surroundings.  This makes it possible to use as an AR device (strictly speaking, a mixed reality device). The Occipital Bridge was available for demo at CES.  Their appointment times filled up quickly but I was...

Pimax 8k is the world's first VR headset with 8k resolution .  I got the chance to try it out at CES 2017. Most of the current desktop and mobile VR headsets have screens with limited resolution.  Their individual pixels and the gaps between them are visible, making it look like there is a screen door over them.  The screendoor effect can be distracting or immersion-breaking for some people. Another limitation of current desktop and mobile VR systems is their field of view.  Current VR headsets' field of view are around 90 to 110 degrees.  In actual use, this means that you see the frame of the headset, so it's like you're looking through a window or porthole.  Seeing the frame around your field of vision constantly reminds you that you're looking through a headset and diminishes immersion. Pimax 8k addresses both of these issues with its "8k" resolution.  Actually, its resolution is 4k per eye (3840 x 2160 per eye), which is 6.4 times higher than the ...

Nolo can add roomscale VR with motion controllers to any mobile VR headset, and it is also incredibly affordable. Current mobile VR headsets ( Samsung Gear VR ,  Google Daydream , and Google Cardboard) are limited to head tracking with 3 degrees of freedom.  You can move your head in any direction but it cannot track your forward-backward, side-to-side, or upward-downward movements.  Meanwhile, desktop VR systems ( Oculus Rift , HTC Vive , and Playstation VR ) have positional tracking with 6 degrees of freedom, but they cost much more. Nolo by LYRobotix helps to bridge the gap between mobile VR's affordability and desktop VR's more sophisticated tracking capabilities by adding 6 degrees of freedom to any mobile VR headset. Nolo consists of a base station, a head tracking unit and two motion controllers. It uses a combination of ultrasonic and optical tracking and RF signals to track the headset and two controllers in a space up to 13 feet by 13 feet (even larger than the ...

The ZTE press conference announced two new phones and confirmed the Axon 7's compatibility with Google Daydream. At its press conference, ZTE confirmed that the Axon 7 would be compatible with Daydream.  The only thing they're waiting for is approval from Google.  Unfortunately, they have zero control over that, so they couldn't say when Axon 7 phones would be upgraded to Android 7 (Nougat) and Google Daydream. They did, however, provide demos of the Axon 7 used with Daydream.  I got to try it out and I thought it was substantially similar to using Daydream with the smaller Pixel. The few differences were: - the screendoor effect is not so noticeable , even though the Axon 7's display is only 1080p .  Correction: the Axon 7 has a resolution of 2560 x 1440, the same as a Samsung S6 or S7, which is why there's not much SDE.  I would say it's similar to the S6 (with the Gear VR).  (Thanks to Denzel Thomas and Mike Cane for the correction!) - the controllers' t...

Occpital Bridge is a mobile VR headset for the iPhone with untethered roomscale positional tracking. Desktop VR systems have thus far been only for Windows (and Linux if you include OSVR).   However, Occipital is making a VR headset that can be used with an iPhone.  It's called Bridge, and it even has positional tracking with 6 degrees of freedom, just like the HTC Vive , Oculus Rift and Playstation VR .  Bridge also features a motion controller with rotational tracking (similar to the controller for Google Daydream ). Moreover, the headset has important features that are not present in the Vive, Rift and PSVR: First, the headset is untethered and has no external sensors.  This makes it possible to do VR without wires, without a PC, and theoretically without limits (world scale VR).  Second, the headset can do both VR as well as augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality.  Third, whereas the Vive and Rift warn users when they are approaching the boundary of t...

At CES 2017, Pimax will be revealing the world's first VR headset with 8k resolution. Here are the highlights: Resolution: 3840 x 2160 per eye (more than six times the 1200 x 1080 resolution of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive) Field of view: 200 degrees (almost the entire 220-degree field of view of the human eye, versus around 110 degree FOV for the Rift) 18ms latency. built-in headphones GTX 980 or 1070 recommended. compatible with Steam VR The undprecedented resolution of the Pimax 8k should make the so-called screen door effect all but disappear.  In addition, the low latency (less than 18ms) should reduce nausea. The Pimax 8k headset is reportedly compatible with Steam VR, which suggests that it should be able to use most software available for the HTC Vive.  The minimum recommended graphics card is an NVidia GTX 980 or 1070. Pimax will soon be available via Kickstarter.  To receive updates, you can follow their Facebook page here .  Pimax will be at CES 2017 and I...

The Verge got an exclusive preview of Lenovo's VR headset for the Windows Holographic system . Here are the highlights: - Resolution will be 1440 x 1440 per eye, higher than the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift (1200 x 1080 per eye), and a little higher than the Gear VR (1440 x 1280 per eye). - Weight will be around 350 grams, lighter than either the HTC Vive (555 grams) or Oculus Rift (470 grams) - The visor is suspended in front of your eyes (like the Playstation VR instead of being pressed into your face with a strap). - Shipping later this year for $300 to $400. Check out the article from the Verge .  Lenovo will be at CES 2017, and I will try to get a demo.

The state of VR right now is better than what skeptics would like you to believe.  More importantly, things will get even better from here. All the major VR systems have been released: Oculus Rift  (with  Oculus Touch ), HTC Vive , and Playstation VR for the desktop, and Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream for mobile.  Yet VR is still relatively uncommon, there are still no killer apps, and more importantly, it appears that very few companies are making a lot of money from it.  There are some skeptics who are therefore declaring that VR is a bubble that has burst.  Here's why I'm still optimistic about VR. IS VR A BUBBLE? First, let's talk about some of the reasons that have been used to claim that VR is a bubble that has burst. 1.   VR is still uncommon .  Almost everyone has heard of VR, but there are still very few people who actually have a VR headset outside of the early adopter crowd.  Very few people I know have even a Google Cardbo...