As with many new technologies that hit the market, there will be some stumbling blocks in regards to getting people to use it properly.
There is a learning curve when it comes to new things, and using VR technology is no different.
Here are a some things that can make your VR experience, virtually impossible, and what you can do to fix it
1) Ensure that you are viewing VR content through something that can DECODE it
360 VR functions like a regular video online, especially on YouTube.
There are play, stop, pause buttons that function just like they would on a regular video, so it’s easy to believe that a 360 video will play and behave like any digital video.
In 360 VR you have the ability to click/pan to “look around”. There is one vital step that is delivering this experience to you:
YouTube is decoding what is called an Equirectangular video.
And if any of you have seen one, it basically looks like a really distorted video with everything twisting and spiralling into non-sense.
If a 360 VR video is not working for you, there may be a chance that all you’re doing is watching the Equirectangular version.
There’s nothing wrong with it, you just need a VR viewer to decode it for you.
This VR viewer is pre-built into the YouTube app on mobile devices* and desktop web browsers that support HTML 5
* Not in Safari for iOS
2) Have a fast, stable internet connection
360 VR consumes a lot of data. Definitely not what you want to watch if you’re concerned about overage charges.
Ensure that you’re connected to WiFi
3) Using a VR player to view 360 VR content would also apply to standalone systems like a desktop computer
As mentioned in #1, you need to decode a 360 video in equirectangular mode with a VR player.
Therefore, it won’t run on Apple Quicktime or Windows Media Player (Yet…) as these are NOT VR players.
A Google search will reveal the selection available to you.
