Within Debuts WebVR-Enabled Site for Broad VR Distribution
Within, a Los Angeles-based cinematic virtual reality startup, just unveiled a website that allows users to have a VR experience on any device, from a desktop PC or mobile phone to a dedicated VR headset. The company relies on WebVR technology that avoids the need to download additional software to be able to play VR experiences in supported browsers. Users without a VR headset can navigate the content via the web browser, and those with VR headsets use hand controllers and tracking tools.
The premise behind WebVR and the VR Within website is to feed VR headsets the audiovisual content and movement/positional data they need to display VR content accurately.
Because WebVR is still an early technology, most VR producers build experiences for specific VR headsets. Early adopters of WebVR include porn studios, “whose subscription services have been barred from distributing content via the app stores of the major headset makers.” But WebVR is likely to be appealing to many mainstream publishers since it offers “the promise of reaching the widest audience possible.”
Mozilla’s mixed reality director Lars Bergstrom said the company is excited about “such big platforms making a bet on WebVR.”
“As new devices reach more people, we expect the WebVR specification will continue to grow and evolve,” he said.
VentureBeat reports that, through Within’s WebVR site, “viewers without VR headsets can watch videos in a 2D form at up to 4K resolution, using a computer’s trackpad or mouse to navigate through 360-degree visuals.” WebVR also automatically detects connected VR headsets, enabling them “to display the VR videos as originally intended.”
See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/within-debuts-webvr-enabled-site-for-broad-vr-distribution/