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[Krejlooc]

We knew this was coming for a while, and it's been in beta on gear VR, but now it's officially launched, per the samsung keynote. Milk VR is for VR film what milk is for music - streaming omnidirectional video, with a new one uploaded daily. The sundance VR films will make their way to the service shortly, and Fox is planning to show a VR version of Wild later today.

Walking Dead VR is being teased currently.

 

[Krejlooc]

Launch trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URy4fN4sSqI&feature=youtu.be&t=35m48s

Walking Dead VR trailer clip from the presentation:

 

[TedHub]

"Or as us insiders would call them, 'walkers.' "

God, Samsung Press Conferences sound weird. Service sounds neat, though!

 

[Krejlooc]

I am so beyond hyped for The Walking Dead. That shit is going to be horrifying.

"Or as us insiders would call them, 'walkers.' "

God, Samsung Press Conferences sound weird. Service sounds neat, though!

Walkers are what zombies are called in TWD universe.

 

[TedHub]

Walkers are what zombies are called in TWD universe.

Oh, I know. The delivery of the line just sounded super stilted and weird.

 

[Seanspeed]

Oh, I know. The delivery of the line just sounded super stilted and weird.

Corporate suits doing these 'hype' keynotes are always cringe-worthy.

Cant wait to see some NBA in VR.

 

[elyetis]

Wonder if 1400p from note 4 is really enough for VR movies. I clearly see the potential in my DK2... but the screendoor effect is far too distracting.

 

[funkystudent]

Oh, I know. The delivery of the line just sounded super stilted and weird.

If you want to see awkward businessmen talk awkwardly you should watch a qualcomm keynote.

They are the Konami of CES.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7qTHbOEiDY

 

[Krejlooc]

Cant wait to see some NBA in VR.

Total Cinema 360 already released an NCAA game filmed in VR.

Wonder if 1400p from note 4 is really enough for VR movies. I clearly see the potential in my DK2... but the screendor effect is far too distracting.

These aren't films like conventional films. These are omnidirectional film. The resolution is offset by the ability to look in any direction.

 

[hohoXD123]

Looks pretty cool, really wish Gear VR was available for UK. Is this related to gaming though?

 

[Krejlooc]

Looks pretty cool, really wish Gear VR was available for UK. Is this related to gaming though?

I've asked the mods this question before and they told me to post it in the gaming section. This stuff really, really blurs the line between forms of media. It's not really film or games. It's truly something else, a new medium and genre we don't quite have a word for yet.

They use the same techniques games use, but they're definitely not conventional games. This is where VR will shine, IMO. It's not going to go big as a gaming tech, it's going to go big as a virtual experience tech.

 

[Chindogg]

VR already looking like the new 3D TV craze back in 2010.

Hopefully they won't botch it this time.

 

[Krejlooc]

VR already looking like the new 3D TV craze back in 2010.

Ignorant.

 

[Yoda]

Looks cool, but shouldn't this be in OT?

 

[Feep]

Been pretty impressed with the Gear VR version, even if a lot of the content is not stereoscopic and/or doesn't have top/bottom caps to the video capture.

 

[Krejlooc]

Been pretty impressed with the Gear VR version, even if a lot of the content is not stereoscopic and/or doesn't have top/bottom caps to the video capture.

I have been shocked by how impressed I am with Gear VR. It's not the tech that impresses me (although I love that 1440p screen) but rather how cohesive and consumer-ready the software feels. It doesn't feel like a development kit, it feels like something ready to be sold in stores. Just pop your phone in and boom: content.

I like the 360 degree videos, but the VR experience pieces are much better IMO. Stuff like the Pacific Rim demo - that shit is absolutely wild.

 

[Seanspeed]

doesn't have top/bottom caps to the video capture.

What does that mean?

 

[ComputerMKII]

Omnidirectional video? How many GB would one minute of high-resolution, 360-degrees video even take?

 

[Tregard]

Milk? Risky name.

 

[thuway]

I wonder how content on the VR headset is going to look like. Would it be a really large screen or some super immersive video playing. I don't know if the latter is enjoyable.

 

[Krejlooc]

What does that mean?

the videos are captured by omnidirectional rings of cameras. They capture in a donut shape. If you look straight up, that part of the video isn't captured, nor if you look straight down. They usually put a logo in those spots to hide the missing captured spot.

 

[Krejlooc]

I wonder how content on the VR headset is going to look like. Would it be a really large screen or some super immersive video playing. I don't know if the latter is enjoyable.

These are omnidirectional videos. They're not flat films on a screen, they go all around you. It's not like you're in a theater watching a screen across the room. In essence, you become the camera on the tripod. The entire scene captures around you, and you can look in any direction.

 

[Krejlooc]

Omnidirectional video? How many GB would one minute of high-resolution, 360-degrees video even take?

Fractions of a GB. In terms of the actual captured frame, it looks no different from a very wide angle panoramic image. It's the software they use to stitch the videos together that makes them work. They're no bigger than normal video file sizes, nor do they require any more power than is necessary to play back an actual video.

 

[TrojanBlade]

What does this do? Is it like personal IMAX experience or you can look around in a movie or a tv show with head tracking? Does it give the "presence" feeling when watching a movie?

Is Sony giving any update on Morpheus at CES?

 

[Carl]

What if i'm looking in the wrong direction when something important happens?

"Hey cool look at that thing over there"

"Shit, who died?"

 

[Feep]

What does that mean?

Some of the videos were recorded with cameras/processes that were unable to complete a full sphere...so if you looked straight up or straight down, you'd see some significant area of blackness. It's a shame because what should be absolutely fucking incredible (PoV ride in a performance fighter jet) kind of loses some sparkle because it's not stereoscopic and has these big black caps.

 

[DieH@rd]

I wonder how content on the VR headset is going to look like. Would it be a really large screen or some super immersive video playing. I don't know if the latter is enjoyable.

Watching a big screen inside VR is good, but not immersive. What is totally different than any other form of media out there are 360degree videos that transport user somewhere. Here is early implementation of it that uses plain old 2D video to stitch a VR scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyYy-q6Bprk

New systems will strive to create 3D video all around the user.

 

[hohoXD123]

They still have a keynote starting in a few minutes right? Here's hoping there's some more word on Gear VR, particularly an international release.

 

[samn]

Unless the camera stays very still this is going to be an unpleasant experience.

 

[Crispy75]

What if i'm looking in the wrong direction when something important happens?

"Hey cool look at that thing over there"

"Shit, who died?"

This is a legitimate problem with VR "movies" but it's a solved problem in the theatre, for example. The visual language and storytelling cues will be different in VR, and there will be missteps for sure, but it's not an intractable issue.

 

[Krejlooc]

What does this do? Is it like personal IMAX experience or you can look around in a movie or a tv show with head tracking? Does it give the "presence" feeling when watching a movie?

Is Sony giving any update on Morpheus at CES?

It's not like an imax experience, it's like you are there where they are filming. Gear VR actually opens with one of these films when you first put it on for the first time - they used a helicopter with an omnidirectional camera attached to fly next to a pack of stampeeding horses. The effect is you feel like you're over these horses as they run through the wild, and you can look in any direction like you were there floating above them.

This is what an omnidirectional camera looks like:

This is the most popular model from Jaunt VR. This is the camera almost all the sundance films and Fox is using to produce these films. Samsung announced their own omnidirectional camera a few weeks ago.

Read this topic for more information: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=948790

What if i'm looking in the wrong direction when something important happens?

"Hey cool look at that thing over there"

"Shit, who died?"

Hence why this is an entirely different beast from conventional film making. The concept of shot is entirely different in VR. Direction will be more akin to stage direction than traditional film. Auteurs will have to learn an entirely new vocabulary for dealing with VR film.

 

[Krejlooc]

Unless the camera stays very still this is going to be an unpleasant experience.

The cameras don't need to stay very still, they just need to move along an expected vector. Gear VR opens with a rig attached to a helicopter, it doesn't make you feel sick or anything.

 

[Seanspeed]

the videos are captured by omnidirectional rings of cameras. They capture in a donut shape. If you look straight up, that part of the video isn't captured, nor if you look straight down. They usually put a logo in those spots to hide the missing captured spot.

Some of the videos were recorded with cameras/processes that were unable to complete a full sphere...so if you looked straight up or straight down, you'd see some significant area of blackness. It's a shame because what should be absolutely fucking incredible (PoV ride in a performance fighter jet) kind of loses some sparkle because it's not stereoscopic and has these big black caps.

Ah gotcha. That is a bit of a bummer. That's just a limitation of the recording device people use though, right? Wasn't there some sort of affordable, proper 360 camera that got pushed through with Kickstarter?

 

[Krejlooc]

Samsung announced a partnership with the NBA to begin streaming NBA games at this same presentation:

This will make you feel like you're midcourt watching a game live. You can look anywhere.

 

[Afrikan]

where is the Milk VR app located?

I have a Samsung S4 and a Google Cardboard...

can I just download the service and go from there?

or do I need to buy Samsung's Gear and only through there?

 

[Carl]

This is a legitimate problem with VR "movies" but it's a solved problem in the theatre, for example. The visual language and storytelling cues will be different in VR, and there will be missteps for sure, but it's not an intractable issue.

Hence why this is an entirely different beast from conventional film making. The concept of shot is entirely different in VR. Direction will be more akin to stage direction than traditional film. Auteurs will have to learn an entirely new vocabulary for dealing with VR film.

Sounds really interesting (i'm being serious).

 

[Seanspeed]

where is the Milk VR app located?

I have a Samsung S4 and a Google Cardboard...

can I just download the service and go from there?

or do I need to buy Samsung's Gear and only through there?

GearVR/Note4 only, I'm pretty sure.

 

[Embearded]

Forgive for asking but are you saying that we are gonna be able to watch a movie or a TV series in VR?
We will be wearing googles like Oculus??

 

[Interceptor]

Had to turn it off after i see a guy in a suit, talking about experiences and must haves, random logos are shown, inviting some other dude, generic music kicks in, I am so over this.

 

[Krejlooc]

Ah gotcha. That is a bit of a bummer. That's just a limitation of the recording device people use though, right? Wasn't there some sort of affordable, proper 360 camera that got pushed through with Kickstarter?

There are a number of omnidirectional cameras being developed at once. It's just that Jaunt VR is by far the most widely adopted at the moment.

 

[Krejlooc]

Forgive for asking but are you saying that we are gonna be able to watch a movie or a TV series in VR?
We will be wearing googles like Oculus??

It's not really a movie or tv series like I'm sure you're imagining.

You are not watching a virtual screen

you are in the location being filmed. The best way to conceptualize this - they place an omnidirectional camera in a seat midcourt at an NBA game (something they've announced they're going to do). You can buy a virtual ticket to this virtual seat. When you put on the headset, you become the camera. You can look in any direction, as though you were actually sitting in that seat where the camera resides.

There are a bunch of buzzword names going around for this type of thing because it's something really new. Holographic experience is one that Fox seems to be focusing on.

 

[Chindogg]

Ignorant.

If you're going to call someone ignorant, at least give a decent argument why. Yes Sony, Google, and Occulus are all making sets but that means nothing if it doesn't have continued support.

After Avatar, CES was all about 3D technology for the home. TVs, monitors, even mobile phones. Netflix announced they would stream 3D films. There was this massive push and wave of excitement. Then it petered out and died.

VR's recent push just reeks of that same excitement. Until there's actual mass manufactured consumer goods out in the market all this hype is just a possibility of what can come. If average consumers reject it like 3D TV, VR will too peter out into a niche product and share the same fate.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Quite appropriate name lol. I'd definitely be interested in it if they can make it work.

 

[TedHub]

Well, I know I'll be first in line once this content is available to CV1 users! This is real cool stuff.

 

[Krejlooc]

If you're going to call someone ignorant, at least give a decent argument why. Yes Sony, Google, and Occulus are all making sets but that means nothing if it doesn't have continued support.

After Avatar, CES was all about 3D technology for the home. TVs, monitors, even mobile phones. Netflix announced they would stream 3D films. There was this massive push and wave of excitement. Then it petered out and died.

VR's recent push just reeks of that same excitement. Until there's actual mass manufactured consumer goods out in the market all this hype is just a possibility of what can come. If average consumers reject it like 3D TV, VR will too peter out into a niche product and share the same fate.

There is an enormous stream of VR content coming out, and unlike with 3DTV, it's not a top-down push but the exact opposite: a bottom up grassroots push. I really don't feel like explaining this to you, there have been, at this point, millions of words types up explaining in great detail why this is entirely different. Do some research.

 

[Chindogg]

There is an enormous stream of VR content coming out, and unlike with 3DTV, it's not a top-down push but the exact opposite: a bottom up grassroots push. I really don't feel like explaining this to you, there have been, at this point, millions of words types up explaining in great detail why this is entirely different. Do some research.

Did some research, but ultimately if consumers reject it it'll share the same fate. I get your excitement over the technology but there's no need to go all defense squad because someone has some concerns on how VR will attract casual consumers.

 

[HowZatOZ]

VR tech is definitely becoming more mainstream now with these other big companies jumping in. Can not wait.

 

[Seanspeed]

Forgive for asking but are you saying that we are gonna be able to watch a movie or a TV series in VR?
We will be wearing googles like Oculus??

It's not really a movie or tv series like I'm sure you're imagining.

You are not watching a virtual screen

you are in the location being filmed. The best way to conceptualize this - they place an omnidirectional camera in a seat midcourt at an NBA game (something they've announced they're going to do). You can buy a virtual ticket to this virtual seat. When you put on the headset, you become the camera. You can look in any direction, as though you were actually sitting in that seat where the camera resides.

There are a bunch of buzzword names going around for this type of thing because it's something really new. Holographic experience is one that Fox seems to be focusing on.

Along with what Kreijlooc said, I think its worth mentioning that you *can* watch traditional TV shows and movies in VR as well. Like, you could theoretically watch The Walking Dead(normal series) as if its being shown in a movie theatre or something.

If you're going to call someone ignorant, at least give a decent argument why. Yes Sony, Google, and Occulus are all making sets but that means nothing if it doesn't have continued support.

After Avatar, CES was all about 3D technology for the home. TVs, monitors, even mobile phones. Netflix announced they would stream 3D films. There was this massive push and wave of excitement. Then it petered out and died.

VR's recent push just reeks of that same excitement. Until there's actual mass manufactured consumer goods out in the market all this hype is just a possibility of what can come. If average consumers reject it like 3D TV, VR will too peter out into a niche product and share the same fate.

This is just such a boring, generic, tired criticism that pops up in 90% of VR-focused threads and many of us have gone over it over and over again, where it mostly boils down to the 'doubter' in the discussion never having even tried it. And its really just starting to feel quite off-topic. What if somebody went into any thread related to consoles and went on a tirade about they didn't like consoles. I mean, ok? Unless the thread topic was "Do you like consoles, yay or nay?", how exactly is it relevant?

 

[Deft Beck]

Had to turn it off after i see a guy in a suit, talking about experiences and must haves, random logos are shown, inviting some other dude, generic music kicks in, I am so over this.

But, that's what every press conference is like.

 

[Krejlooc]

VR tech is definitely becoming more mainstream now with these other big companies jumping in. Can not wait.

The NBA announcement has me floored. I've been following it for over a year, from the moment the Sacramento Kings were first the test market for the tech. I had no idea an announced partnership would come this year. Streaming NBA games in VR is going to be fucking amazing. I can't wait for this to come to all sports.