Smartphone VR Viewer - the most amazing thing ever (see description)
I did an image post on this before, and this is a bit of an update on it. While most people are not impressed with these VR viewers, I find that I can often have truly extraordinary experiences where I can sense depth perception in videos, and it is no exaggeration to say that it feels like I am really there in the scene. The power of this is truly shocking.
If you were actually at the scene of a video but only allowed to look at what is there, that it what it is like. If your brain works like mine you may have a similar experience.
This is a Shinecon model I think, but any brand will work as long as there is a bit of distance between the phone and your eyes, as is the case with this model. This increases the magnification effect which is important in my experience. This is just a simple, cheap smartphone holder - it is not an expensive Oculus like system.
I got a cheap wireless remote (that controls the phone, not the viewer) and this allows for at least some control without removing the phone from the viewer.
I got a cheap 'Galaxy Moto G' phone so I could use the Android operating system with this. That allows for a direct connection to my PC to use some free mirroring software (search for the 'scrcpy' program) to control the phone from my PC screen. It also allows for using a micro SD card loaded with whatever videos I want, which is not possible with the iPhone.
Often, it is the case that 95% of a video is just a blurry mess where I have to close one eye to avoid double vision - but 5% of the time it feels like I am actually there in real life. Oftentimes, much of the video does feel like I am really there. Sensing depth perception allows you to feel the 'weight' of the physical objects/people you see, and it truly does feel like you are really there in the scene.
I don't use special VR videos with this - I use any normal video I want and it works fine. I started with the VR videos this is intended for, but noticed that it works well even when I am not moving my head - so shouldn't it work for regular videos as well? I does indeed work fine for normal videos.
You need to work with your brain to try and get it sense the depth perception for this to work. To avoid double vision I have to close one eye, and usually one eye works better than the other at sensing the depth perception this requires.
Here is the catch with all this: 95% of the time, videos that were fun or intriguing become unsettling or disturbing when it feels like you are really there.
A video of a race car on a track often goes from fun to scary. This video is an example of this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nblOLdCUzA0&t=248s
When I was a teen I did a scuba diving course. A few years ago I went on youtube to look at underwater diving videos from the dive sites where I did my certification dives in the ocean. The videos captured the experience on a very superficial level but were nothing special.
When I used my VR viewer to re-watch one of those videos, I actually felt the same feelings that I did during the real dives. Those are feelings that that I had not felt since the time of the real dives. The thing that is really special about scuba diving is that you feel things you will never feel in any other context, and that can't be described in words - that is not to say these feelings are necessarily good though.
This video (diving with great white sharks at night with no cage) was quite remarkable to watch on my VR viewer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXY16n9BQew
I want to add that the view with this thing is always blurry, and I have to keep one eye closed to prevent double vision - but it is well worth it for the results. Having to keep one eye closed limits the amount of time this can be used for in one sitting.
Smartphone VR Viewer - the most amazing thing ever (see description)
I did an image post on this before, and this is a bit of an update on it. While most people are not impressed with these VR viewers, I find that I can often have truly extraordinary experiences where I can sense depth perception in videos, and it is no exaggeration to say that it feels like I am really there in the scene. The power of this is truly shocking.
If you were actually at the scene of a video but only allowed to look at what is there, that it what it is like. If your brain works like mine you may have a similar experience.
This is a Shinecon model I think, but any brand will work as long as there is a bit of distance between the phone and your eyes, as is the case with this model. This increases the magnification effect which is important in my experience. This is just a simple, cheap smartphone holder - it is not an expensive Oculus like system.
I got a cheap wireless remote (that controls the phone, not the viewer) and this allows for at least some control without removing the phone from the viewer.
I got a cheap 'Galaxy Moto G' phone so I could use the Android operating system with this. That allows for a direct connection to my PC to use some free mirroring software (search for the 'scrcpy' program) to control the phone from my PC screen. It also allows for using a micro SD card loaded with whatever videos I want, which is not possible with the iPhone.
Often, it is the case that 95% of a video is just a blurry mess where I have to close one eye to avoid double vision - but 5% of the time it feels like I am actually there in real life. Oftentimes, much of the video does feel like I am really there. Sensing depth perception allows you to feel the 'weight' of the physical objects/people you see, and it truly does feel like you are really there in the scene.
I don't use special VR videos with this - I use any normal video I want and it works fine. I started with the VR videos this is intended for, but noticed that it works well even when I am not moving my head - so shouldn't it work for regular videos as well? I does indeed work fine for normal videos.
You need to work with your brain to try and get it sense the depth perception for this to work. To avoid double vision I have to close one eye, and usually one eye works better than the other at sensing the depth perception this requires.
Here is the catch with all this: 95% of the time, videos that were fun or intriguing become unsettling or disturbing when it feels like you are really there.
A video of a race car on a track often goes from fun to scary. This video is an example of this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nblOLdCUzA0&t=248s
When I was a teen I did a scuba diving course. A few years ago I went on youtube to look at underwater diving videos from the dive sites where I did my certification dives in the ocean. The videos captured the experience on a very superficial level but were nothing special.
When I used my VR viewer to re-watch one of those videos, I actually felt the same feelings that I did during the real dives. Those are feelings that that I had not felt since the time of the real dives. The thing that is really special about scuba diving is that you feel things you will never feel in any other context, and that can't be described in words - that is not to say these feelings are necessarily good though.
This video (diving with great white sharks at night with no cage) was quite remarkable to watch on my VR viewer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXY16n9BQew
I want to add that the view with this thing is always blurry, and I have to keep one eye closed to prevent double vision - but it is well worth it for the results. Having to keep one eye closed limits the amount of time this can be used for in one sitting.