VR gets reality check with decline in investment

[Beebo Brink]

Just a little reminder from 1995:

Why the Web Won't Be Nirvana

The truth in no online database will replace your daily newspaper, no CD-ROM can take the place of a competent teacher and no computer network will change the way government works.

www.newsweek.com

On the other hand, there's this:

Well, That Didn't Work: The Segway Is a Technological Marvel. Too Bad It Doesn't Make Any Sense

We were all supposed to be riding Segways by now. The company was supposed to be rolling in cash, the scooter’s inventor a modern day Jay Gatsby (minus the bootlegging and murder). It didn’t happen: Today, the Segway is a punch line, a way for mall security guards to prevent sore feet. So what...

www.wired.com

 

[Erich Templar]

I think the thing is that VR is not just a single company's product, that certainly could crash and burn. Instead it's an entire technology that is being developed and invested in by a lot of companies. In the long run, I think it is going to succeed.

I also think that when VR becomes mainstream it might look very different to what we have today...

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

It seems to me someone needs to come up with some sort of compelling business use for VR -- what the spreadsheet was to early PC's. I've no clue what that might be, but if that were to happen, then VR headsets would quickly become much more common.

This is Microsoft's focus with Hololens right now. If you watch the various conferences they hold, whenever they give a Hololens demo it is always in the context of some business or creative-design use; very rarely do they show games or other such things with "diversionary" or casual-user appeal anymore.

 

[Adeon Writer]

I don't think it's the hardware. I think it's the utility of the software. When I can use the VR goggles to do my work efficiently, respond to e-mails, set up appointments, etc, then you'll find me in that space regularly.

Excuse me if I don't understand but why would you *want* to put a headset on to respond to emails?

 

[Brenda Archer]

Excuse me if I don't understand but why would you *want* to put a headset on to respond to emails?

Well, at least the headset shouldn’t keep me from answering my emails.

Anything that’s asking adults to check out of RL for a while is limited by their typically busy schedules. Not many people can spend hours immersed in anything, except their jobs. You can still SL using text chat while using the same computer to email, talk to people in the RL room with you, and answer your cell phone - all at once.

But a lot of adults will treat checking out of RL for a time as an unattainable luxury.

 

[Adeon Writer]

Well, at least the headset shouldn’t keep me from answering my emails.

Anything that’s asking adults to check out of RL for a while is limited by their typically busy schedules. Not many people can spend hours immersed in anything, except their jobs. You can still SL using text chat while using the same computer to email, talk to people in the RL room with you, and answer your cell phone - all at once.

But a lot of adults will treat checking out of RL for a time as an unattainable luxury.

Thank you, I think I understand.

VR won’t be for the kind of people who, for example, can’t sit down to watch a movie for 1.5 hour without pausing it to check their Emails.

Same kind of time/priority commitment.

This is always going to be an entertainment thing.

I mean, you *can* check your emails, it has a web browser you can float anywhere in space you want, I just don’t see why anyone would specifically put on a headset to check their emails. Easy to pause and bring up oculus dashboard if you were already doing something else in the headset though. But just as easy to take it off. It’s just a hat

 

[Kalel]

Thank you, I think I understand.

VR won’t be for the kind of people who, for example, can’t sit down to watch a movie for 1.5 hour without pausing it to check their Emails.

Same kind of time/priority commitment.

This is always going to be an entertainment thing.

I mean, you *can* check your emails, it has a web browser you can float anywhere in space you want, I just don’t see why anyone would specifically put on a headset to check their emails. Easy to pause and bring up oculus dashboard if you were already doing something else in the headset though. But just as as easy to take it off.

VR i belive will be anything that requires full immersion.. be it video games, movies, or something like Surgery... that can take several hours on end.

Emails will fall into AR and/or MR headsets... programs that don't require full attention that can be easily slipped on and off like a pair of glasses..

the market is afraid to spend and everyone is tightening wallets saving for more important things like keeping a roof over our heads.. Technology is still very much a luxury item and lots of people continue to use outdated tech cause they can't afford new stuff. if people had the money i'm certain the technology would pick up and start flying...

Google hasn't given up

Google unveils new $999 smart glasses for businesses, undercutting Microsoft's HoloLens on price

Google announced Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 on Monday, a new set of smart glasses that's catered toward businesses and costs $999. Google has focused on business use cases after its first model failed among consumers.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Sid]

I also think that when VR becomes mainstream it might look very different to what we have today...

The only possibility to get mainstream is when it looks very differen to what we have today.
As others have said already, at least the contact back and forth to RL has to be almost seamless.
And I personally want to add, one should not look if one is ready to dive into the bath or toilet any time soon, with those goggles on.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

The price point has come down to where it can grow - the $399 price point is not a huge barrier of entry, especially if that is the premium experience. What will grow VR more than price alone is the decoupling from computer hardware and being fully wireless, whether it is self contained (like the Oculus Quest) or a wireless experience on a PC.

I don't think decoupling it from a computer is going to change the experience much, because you'll still need to be in a prepared safe environment to use it. Until it supports AR or AR-like features so you can deal with the real world in some sense (even if it's with RL stuff automatically mapped into wireframe danger zones or something) it's still going to be "tied down".

Who is willing to invest several thousand dollars in a desktop computer and VR hardware specifically for the opportunity to engage in VRChat?

Not quite that much if shop around and are willing to go with refurbished hardware. I found a deal for $800 for an HP z820 with 64GB and two processors (12 cores), and a 1070 video card and WMR headset got me in for about $1500. I was getting the workstation anyway for gaming, and it's buttery smooth in VR.

Still more than an iPhone, for sure, but not quite several thousand dollars.

 

[Adeon Writer]

Review of VRchat on a PC-less, sensorless, wireless headset


TLDR: it works great but there is not yet enough content (avatars and worlds) for it, can leave you feeling left out because the majority of the content still has no android build of the assets updated yet, that should get better with time.

 

[Cristiano]

I don't think decoupling it from a computer is going to change the experience much, because you'll still need to be in a prepared safe environment to use it. Until it supports AR or AR-like features so you can deal with the real world in some sense (even if it's with RL stuff automatically mapped into wireframe danger zones or something) it's still going to be "tied down".

It does completely change the experience. Compared to being tethered to my desk literally with a cord on my Rift, I have been able to just pick up and put on the Quest in several rooms of my house. I don't have huge amounts of open space, but even just being able to sit in a chair and use the Quest is a whole different experience, or to lie in bed and use it.

I do have a spare bedroom that is empty, and I was able to set up the layout of the room in about 30 seconds on the Quest and then freely move about to try out some roomscale experiences. The process of drawing the room was incredibly simple, and if it doesn't correctly detect the floor level you just tap one of the controllers against the floor and it moved the grid perfectly. Once using it, if I got too close to a barrier, it showed me on screen as I was nearing it and if I still kept going, it switched to showing me an external view. It won't help if you have a bunch of crap on the floor to trip over, but that is not a tech problem. It also remembers the space when I come back to it, I don't have to redraw it again.

Being able to pick up the headset and just use it, with no computer needed, and have a fantastic VR experience with full tracking is game changing for consumer vr devices. The only barrier to entry is price, but for the experience, $399 is not outrageously priced.

 

[Sid]

. The only barrier to entry is price, but for the experience, $399 is not outrageously priced.

Only 40 days of my food and daily household budget.
Bargain.

 

[Cristiano]

Only 40 days of my food and daily household budget.
Bargain.

Obviously the pricing is not affordable for everyone, but for a consumer electronic device with the capabilities it has, it is reasonably priced. It's similar in pricing to gaming consoles and mid-range tablets, and much cheaper than flagship phones. That price point is kind of a sweet spot in tech.

 

[Adeon Writer]

I honestly see it as a video game console. If someone does not game I wouldn’t expect them to be interested. I see this as the next wii, however.

 

[Cristiano]

I honestly see it as a video game console. If someone does not game I wouldn’t expect them to be interested. I see this as the next wii, however.

I've seen it described as the Nintendo Switch of VR, which is pretty accurate. Not the highest end system, but with amazing portability and accessibility.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

It does completely change the experience. Compared to being tethered to my desk literally with a cord on my Rift, I have been able to just pick up and put on the Quest in several rooms of my house. I don't have huge amounts of open space, but even just being able to sit in a chair and use the Quest is a whole different experience, or to lie in bed and use it.

Not seeing it, other than you seem to have a bad desk chair. When I'm in VR my location is literally irrelevant. I mean, there was one point where I looked down at my feet in VR and wondered why the carpet I was standing on felt like the smooth plastic of my desk mat. VR is a separate space than any physical location.

Of course the Oddysey is significantly more mobile than your Rift to begin with, since it uses inside-out tracking. I ran a short extension cable through a wall and that gives me access to both rooms that matter already, as quickly as unplugging and plugging it back in. Turns out I don't actually bother using it in my other room even though it's got a slightly larger open space than the bedroom.

There's no way I can use it anywhere else in the house, even if I wanted too. Too much of a chance of stepping on a mobile furry obstacle. If it had some AR capabilities, that would make a huge difference to me.

 

[Adeon Writer]

Speaking of AR capabilities can quest’s passthrough be enabled at any time? Or only when you are outside of the guardian boundary?

 

[Beebo Brink]

I can manage the empty room, I can afford the price, but the dedicated time investment is a deal-breaker. Right now there is no way I can spend a consistent block of time being so far out of touch with what is going on in the household. Just this morning, trying to listen to an 8-minute video on YouTube proved to be impossible. After taking off my headset for the 3rd time in as many minutes, to answer a question from my exasperated wife who didn't appreciate my distraction, I gave up. Maybe after I retire, when it won't seem overly self-indulgent to lock myself away for an hour.

 

[Brenda Archer]

Thank you, I think I understand.

VR won’t be for the kind of people who, for example, can’t sit down to watch a movie for 1.5 hour without pausing it to check their Emails.

Same kind of time/priority commitment.

This is always going to be an entertainment thing.

I mean, you *can* check your emails, it has a web browser you can float anywhere in space you want, I just don’t see why anyone would specifically put on a headset to check their emails. Easy to pause and bring up oculus dashboard if you were already doing something else in the headset though. But just as easy to take it off. It’s just a hat

What I’m thinking of here is the “child care test.”

I can watch a Disney movie and a four year old at the same time, or chat on the phone with a friend.

I can say “brb” in the middle of SL text chat and bail out to catch a cat pulling the table cloth down while dinner is on it.

I can’t do anything like this immersed in a device.

In a work environment, total immersion in anything would preclude multitasking, so it could only be assigned to times when employees had no other responsibility.

Neither a cell phone nor a laptop require this kind of commitment.

 

[Cristiano]

What I’m thinking of here is the “child care test.”

I can watch a Disney movie and a four year old at the same time, or chat on the phone with a friend.

I can say “brb” in the middle of SL text chat and bail out to catch a cat pulling the table cloth down while dinner is on it.

I can’t do anything like this immersed in a device.

In a work environment, total immersion in anything would preclude multitasking, so it could only be assigned to times when employees had no other responsibility.

Neither a cell phone nor a laptop require this kind of commitment.

It is true that using a VR headset is more akin to watching a movie in a theater. While you can do other things while watching a movie in a theater, it is discouraged and you generally focus on the movie. VR is an experience - it's not something you partially pay attention to because you are actually immersed in the environment. Comparing it to situations where you multitask what you are doing isn't a valid equivalent. Both serve different purposes.