philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Virtual reality and the silver screen: A match made in heaven

[Philip Lelyveld comment: Remember how early TV shows were just transmitted stage/vaudeville shows.  Well here we go again.  Marshall Mcluhen would be thrilled.  ]

For the past two years, developers large and small have been toiling away hoping to create the app that becomes synonymous with VR and helps the technology really take off -- its "killer app," as it's called.

That may have already happened, and it isn't a game, a panoramic photo application or a calming simulation of a beach scene; it's movies. As VR technology begins its march to store shelves, manufacturers like Oculus are recognizing the potential for their immersive technologies to deliver the works of Hollywood.

A study Samsung conducted revealed that many users were comfortable wearing VR goggles for two hours or longer. That research helped convince longtime Samsung video partner M-GO to build a movie app for the Gear VR.

"Here you are in an environment that's even more immersive than 3D was," said Arnaud Retureau, vice president of product for M-GO. "We were a bit concerned initially, and we were thinking about [offering only] trailers or short content."

To do this, the cinema app puts users in the middle of a movie theater -- that perfect middle seat almost no one ever gets in the real world. Look around and you see rows of seats and walls, just like you would inside a movie theater. The movie plays on a simulated screen, with the light bouncing off the seats in the audience, just as it would in the real world.

Users can choose their theater, ranging from a standard one to a simulated home theater to an IMAX-sized screen, which appears large but is actually being simulated on a piece of glass that fits in your palm. There's even a movie theater on the moon, complete with light bouncing off the rocks to your left, or the Apollo lander to your right.

The technology could also go further. Right now, the seats within the theatre are empty, but the people at Oculus imagine an experience where a friend or family member watching the same video even from the other side of the world could digitally sit next to you, giving people an opportunity to experience the social aspect of watching movies as well. Or users could watch the Dreamworks movie "Madagascar," with characters from the movie sitting in the theater, right next to you.

See the full story here: http://www.cnet.com/news/virtual-reality-and-the-silver-screen-a-match-made-in-heaven/?utm_source=KZero+Website+Subscribers&utm_campaign=f654114ee3-Template_for_VR_News_Weekly34&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6f364169c5-f654114ee3-117770001