Samsung Gear VR: impressions after a month of use
Hi, Geektimes.
The topic of "virtual reality" interested me for a long time. Once upon a time, when the dollar was still at 26 rubles, even 3D glasses were bought for as many as 12 thousand, giving permission already in 640x480, but nothing but Quake in 3D did not work then, and the idea was postponed for many years. Then the Occulus Rift, and then the HTC Vive, went on sale, but all this is expensive and loud, and it requires a powerful PC.
Then, when upgrading the smartphone, an idea arose to pay attention to the Samsung Galaxy - in addition to good performance, they regularly support the use of the Samsung Gear VR helmet.
What came out of it, the details under the cut.
The idea of using Samsung Gear VR was tempting for a number of reasons:
However, we proceed to practice.
When you first turn on the helmet, the system will ask you to install the software, after which the person enters the personal 3D-cabinet. It looks like this (picture from a third-party source, making a picture of the glasses is difficult):
First impression: it really works. A full 3D image, you can turn your head, everything changes smoothly and synchronously with the movement of the head. Samsung engineers managed to make quality sensors work - in my previous phone I somehow tried to use the planetarium program that had to be aimed at the sky - the image constantly twitched, moved not there, often the error “compass is not calibrated” was issued, there is nothing like that everything is clear and smooth.
The “cabinet” itself provides almost standard features, as in any application store - Top free, Top paid, announcements of some news, videos, etc. You can buy / download a program of interest directly from the store without removing the helmet (to confirm purchases you need to enter pin). In general, in terms of the VR environment, the programmers did a good job - you completely forget that this is a phone, not a separate VR helmet.
Speaking of the picture, the screen resolution of the smartphone is 2960x1440, respectively, when using stereo, it decreases at least twice. It can be roughly assumed that the effective resolution in VR is somewhere 1280x1280 (the picture in the helmet is round). Of course, this is not retina, on the other hand, it is not so small - many tablets still have comparable resolution, and it is quite enough. In fact, we can say that the pixels are visible if you peer, and so, during viewing, they do not interfere at all.
In general, from a technical point of view, there are no complaints about the Samsung VR. With the availability of software, everything is a little more complicated.
The list of available VR-software can be viewed on the page . Those interested can look through on their own, I will tell only their impressions.
Documentaries
In general, this is really cool. The feeling of "immersion" is quite different than when watching a normal movie. The reason is probably simple - more senses are involved, plus a picture of 360 degrees, and unlike TV, you can turn your head and watch what is most interesting.
In addition to films, there are programs similar in style, for example, “a visit to a national park in the USA”, where you can move between points, look around, listen to audio annotations, etc. This is not a movie at the same time, and not a game, so I do not know which genre is better to refer to.
However, there is only one minus - such 360-degree content in good quality is still very small. There are short videos for a few minutes (like “flying into the stratosphere”), there are several films from the BBC, there are several paid films, in general, that's all. In principle, the content is constantly updated, so using a helmet once a week, it is possible to see something new. But the choice is really small. It is clear that shooting movies with panoramic cameras is a completely new genre in cinematography, and so far there are few studios that really use it. But IMHO, this is the future, because audience impressions are really much stronger. According to subjective perception, the feeling after watching a VR film (in the style of “I was there”) is really incomparable with watching the same video on ordinary TV.
Tutorials
Again, this is really cool. “Hanging” in space and seeing the surface of the Sun or Jupiter in 3D, making a “journey inside the cage” of the human body, and looking at all the white blood cells and red blood cells there - this is a must see.
By the way, I forgot to write that there is no software and films in Russian from the word “absolutely”? An example of The Body VR video in a normal, non-VR format:
Those who do not have problems with watching such a video will have a lot to see, for those who want Russian-language content it is all the more sad. Somewhere from 20 different programs, only one had the opportunity to choose the Russian language in the settings.
Concerts and performances
Also very interesting for the VR genre. Watch a performance such as Cirque du Soleil in a 360-degree format, which is quite interesting.
But the content, again, is relatively small.
Games
I am not a fan of smartphone-quality games, so I cannot advise anything here. The screenshots of the games evoke an era somewhere between the Intel486 and the Celeron900, there is no desire to play such a desire now .
I do not know if this is the limitation of the smartphone itself (after all, the Samsung S8 is quite a powerful device), or just the quality of the games is because They are made by indie amateurs "on the knee," but what is what it is. Maybe there are some good games, I don’t know, I’m not a fan of games in general. Leave game reviews to more professional reviewers than me.
Perhaps the main three:
- Viewing angle. On advertising pictures and reviews, it looks like this:
In reality, it looks somewhere like this, and resembles viewing through a pipe or a narrow hood from a winter jacket:
This, in principle, does not interfere with viewing, but of course, in the future I would like more.
- Content, or rather its absence. This is a minus for users, but also a plus for developers - there is a new and unoccupied market, which you can jump into right now.
- The inconvenience of wearing. Somewhere in 1-2 hours the head still gets tired, in this respect the “traditional” TV still has its advantages. In addition, the film in VR will not be able to watch together or the whole family. But still it is worth repeating that in terms of the level of perception, the helmet is significantly superior to TV.
- Low computational power. This is hardly a drawback, and so it is clear that the smartphone will not give such quality graphics as the GTX1060 c Core i7. To view the VR-video power of the smartphone is enough, the quality of the games, of course, is more limited.
In general, it can be said that VR is definitely the future of both film and multimedia. This is a completely different experience and sensations of use, and in the future such things will definitely be in every home, like a tablet or smartphone now. Naturally, VR will not replace a TV or tablet, but it will complement it quite well.
Should I buy Gear VR right now? For those who want to try something new, but is willing to accept the lack of Russian-language software (it is clear that Russia is not a target market for such pieces) and a small amount of content in general is well worth it. For the rest, it is better to wait a few more years until the market stabilizes more or less.
For those who want to see the catalog of applications for Gear VR, once again remind the link . It is also worth noting that the Samsung VR helmet only works with Samsung phones (S6-S9 models). As suggested in the comments, the owners of other phones can look at Google DayDream , there is support for it in a number of modern smartphones, and the price is about the same.
The topic of "virtual reality" interested me for a long time. Once upon a time, when the dollar was still at 26 rubles, even 3D glasses were bought for as many as 12 thousand, giving permission already in 640x480, but nothing but Quake in 3D did not work then, and the idea was postponed for many years. Then the Occulus Rift, and then the HTC Vive, went on sale, but all this is expensive and loud, and it requires a powerful PC.
Then, when upgrading the smartphone, an idea arose to pay attention to the Samsung Galaxy - in addition to good performance, they regularly support the use of the Samsung Gear VR helmet.
What came out of it, the details under the cut.
Technology
The idea of using Samsung Gear VR was tempting for a number of reasons:
- The Samsung smartphone itself is nominally placed in a Samsung helmet and used as a screen. The idea as a whole is not new, but Samsung brought it almost to perfection - the helmet connects to the phone via USB, the phone’s sensors are fully integrated into the “virtual space”, allowing you to turn your head, look in different directions, etc. The set also has a remote-pointer, which can be used in programs. On the side there is still a USB output for recharging the smartphone right in the helmet, but it has never been useful, the battery is already enough with a margin.
- Good implementation of VR space: “personal account”, an app store made by Samsung along with Occulus.
- No need to upgrade the PC and no need of connecting cables - the helmet with the inserted smartphone is completely autonomous, you can sit where it is convenient, on the couch, in the chair, etc.
- Price: the helmet itself costs about 100 Euros, which is quite affordable for “try”, and it doesn’t burden the family budget much (by the way, the Galaxy S8 smartphone cost at a discount of 550 Euro in Mediamarkt, which is quite normal for smarts in this price category).
However, we proceed to practice.
Using
When you first turn on the helmet, the system will ask you to install the software, after which the person enters the personal 3D-cabinet. It looks like this (picture from a third-party source, making a picture of the glasses is difficult):
First impression: it really works. A full 3D image, you can turn your head, everything changes smoothly and synchronously with the movement of the head. Samsung engineers managed to make quality sensors work - in my previous phone I somehow tried to use the planetarium program that had to be aimed at the sky - the image constantly twitched, moved not there, often the error “compass is not calibrated” was issued, there is nothing like that everything is clear and smooth.
The “cabinet” itself provides almost standard features, as in any application store - Top free, Top paid, announcements of some news, videos, etc. You can buy / download a program of interest directly from the store without removing the helmet (to confirm purchases you need to enter pin). In general, in terms of the VR environment, the programmers did a good job - you completely forget that this is a phone, not a separate VR helmet.
Speaking of the picture, the screen resolution of the smartphone is 2960x1440, respectively, when using stereo, it decreases at least twice. It can be roughly assumed that the effective resolution in VR is somewhere 1280x1280 (the picture in the helmet is round). Of course, this is not retina, on the other hand, it is not so small - many tablets still have comparable resolution, and it is quite enough. In fact, we can say that the pixels are visible if you peer, and so, during viewing, they do not interfere at all.
In general, from a technical point of view, there are no complaints about the Samsung VR. With the availability of software, everything is a little more complicated.
Content
The list of available VR-software can be viewed on the page . Those interested can look through on their own, I will tell only their impressions.
Documentaries
In general, this is really cool. The feeling of "immersion" is quite different than when watching a normal movie. The reason is probably simple - more senses are involved, plus a picture of 360 degrees, and unlike TV, you can turn your head and watch what is most interesting.
In addition to films, there are programs similar in style, for example, “a visit to a national park in the USA”, where you can move between points, look around, listen to audio annotations, etc. This is not a movie at the same time, and not a game, so I do not know which genre is better to refer to.
However, there is only one minus - such 360-degree content in good quality is still very small. There are short videos for a few minutes (like “flying into the stratosphere”), there are several films from the BBC, there are several paid films, in general, that's all. In principle, the content is constantly updated, so using a helmet once a week, it is possible to see something new. But the choice is really small. It is clear that shooting movies with panoramic cameras is a completely new genre in cinematography, and so far there are few studios that really use it. But IMHO, this is the future, because audience impressions are really much stronger. According to subjective perception, the feeling after watching a VR film (in the style of “I was there”) is really incomparable with watching the same video on ordinary TV.
Tutorials
Again, this is really cool. “Hanging” in space and seeing the surface of the Sun or Jupiter in 3D, making a “journey inside the cage” of the human body, and looking at all the white blood cells and red blood cells there - this is a must see.
By the way, I forgot to write that there is no software and films in Russian from the word “absolutely”? An example of The Body VR video in a normal, non-VR format:
Those who do not have problems with watching such a video will have a lot to see, for those who want Russian-language content it is all the more sad. Somewhere from 20 different programs, only one had the opportunity to choose the Russian language in the settings.
Concerts and performances
Also very interesting for the VR genre. Watch a performance such as Cirque du Soleil in a 360-degree format, which is quite interesting.
But the content, again, is relatively small.
Games
I am not a fan of smartphone-quality games, so I cannot advise anything here. The screenshots of the games evoke an era somewhere between the Intel486 and the Celeron900, there is no desire to play such a desire now .
I do not know if this is the limitation of the smartphone itself (after all, the Samsung S8 is quite a powerful device), or just the quality of the games is because They are made by indie amateurs "on the knee," but what is what it is. Maybe there are some good games, I don’t know, I’m not a fan of games in general. Leave game reviews to more professional reviewers than me.
disadvantages
Perhaps the main three:
- Viewing angle. On advertising pictures and reviews, it looks like this:
In reality, it looks somewhere like this, and resembles viewing through a pipe or a narrow hood from a winter jacket:
This, in principle, does not interfere with viewing, but of course, in the future I would like more.
- Content, or rather its absence. This is a minus for users, but also a plus for developers - there is a new and unoccupied market, which you can jump into right now.
- The inconvenience of wearing. Somewhere in 1-2 hours the head still gets tired, in this respect the “traditional” TV still has its advantages. In addition, the film in VR will not be able to watch together or the whole family. But still it is worth repeating that in terms of the level of perception, the helmet is significantly superior to TV.
- Low computational power. This is hardly a drawback, and so it is clear that the smartphone will not give such quality graphics as the GTX1060 c Core i7. To view the VR-video power of the smartphone is enough, the quality of the games, of course, is more limited.
Conclusion
In general, it can be said that VR is definitely the future of both film and multimedia. This is a completely different experience and sensations of use, and in the future such things will definitely be in every home, like a tablet or smartphone now. Naturally, VR will not replace a TV or tablet, but it will complement it quite well.
Should I buy Gear VR right now? For those who want to try something new, but is willing to accept the lack of Russian-language software (it is clear that Russia is not a target market for such pieces) and a small amount of content in general is well worth it. For the rest, it is better to wait a few more years until the market stabilizes more or less.
For those who want to see the catalog of applications for Gear VR, once again remind the link . It is also worth noting that the Samsung VR helmet only works with Samsung phones (S6-S9 models). As suggested in the comments, the owners of other phones can look at Google DayDream , there is support for it in a number of modern smartphones, and the price is about the same.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/410583/