Watching Movies in VR

Atmos

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I don't think we have a dedicated thread for this yet.

VR has some compelling advantages when it comes to Movie watching. Size being the biggest. But VR also has its downside like resolution and the social aspect.

Sweviver made an excellent video on the current state of watching movies in VR. I still think we have more time for VR to evolve before we get to a point where we can ditch our TVs or Projectors.

Heres Swevivers Vid.

 
Well a friend tells me that VR Porn is amazing. Apparently. Not that I'd know anything about that myself. :D

I also tend to watch the football and boxing using Virtual Desktop. I prefer using Virtual Desktop rather than BigScreen because the NPCs in the cinema tend to freak me the fudge out...I keep on getting paranoid that people are watching what I'm watching lmfao :eek: :D
 
When true nextgen VR arrives in 2021/22 with huge increases in RES and FOV, perhaps smaller formfactor and likely tetherless with Inside/out tracking and wireless, visually we'll have the perfect Virtual Cinema HMD. Hopefully they will also have cracked personalised HRTF and transcoding of Atmos Movie Soundtracks to the positional audio to give us realistic Virtual speakers/sound effects too. At the moment, even the Virtual Cinema apps that claim POsitional audio like VR Desktop simply don't really work. Its only positional in so far as if you turn your head to the left, the audio transitions completely to the Right Earphone. All the movie audio still sounds like its emanating from inside your skull between your ears. We know they'll eventually crack it because its already cracked to a degree for VR game soundeffects where the audio has directionality, distance and height and doesn't sound like its inside your skull. When that day comes we'll have the perfect Home Cinema device. The ability to 100% replicate the visual experience of watching a movie in a 500 seater 100x100ft iMax Cinema but also the audio experience via headphones and a couple of tactile transducers built into our seats for the ass and chest rumbling bass sensations. We won't have to worry about disturbing the person in the next room never mind our nextdoor neighbours when we watch a movie anymore.
 
What utter tosh. VR will never crack the cinema market. Sure, it may one day be possible to view a film in a decent resolution (not 2021/2022 I can assure you). But no one wants to watch a 2D film wearing goggles, even alone. They couldn't even get people to wear 3D glasses for long (and I'm a huge 3D fan).
 
I think that never is the wrong word to use. It will replace 2D and 3D cinema and 2D and 3D TV at some point in the future because, just like right now with video games, VR films will put you INSIDE the action.

You may get a load off hoo-hah for horror films of course, even more so if someone dies from a heart attack whilst experiencing one, but I can't see it doing VR cinema much harm as long as people sign disclaimers before watching anything lol
 
What utter tosh. VR will never crack the cinema market. Sure, it may one day be possible to view a film in a decent resolution (not 2021/2022 I can assure you). But no one wants to watch a 2D film wearing goggles, even alone. They couldn't even get people to wear 3D glasses for long (and I'm a huge 3D fan).

But even Oculus admit 80% of GO purchases are being used for Media only. If a future headset eliminates Godrays, has retina resolution, OLED blacks and HDR at 24/48/72 why bother with a TV or Projector again?

Projectors can’t compete on quality and TVs can’t comlete on image size.

There’s going to be a huge market for such a dedicated headset for sure.
 
You may get a load off hoo-hah for horror films of course, even more so if someone dies from a heart attack whilst experiencing one, but I can't see it doing VR cinema much harm as long as people sign disclaimers before watching anything lol

For an example of how future films could look in VR try the IT experience, it’s on YouTube in 360 video.
 
Didn't 3D TV fail because people just want to relax in front of TV and not have to wear uncomfortable stuff on their heads?

I tried watching a few films and stuff in BigScreen and it's very good, very clever. And I didn't have any issues with quality or resolution.

I just couldn't be bothered with having that thing on my head. I'd rather be laid comfortably on the sofa and able to interact with others.
 
But even Oculus admit 80% of GO purchases are being used for Media only. If a future headset eliminates Godrays, has retina resolution, OLED blacks and HDR at 24/48/72 why bother with a TV or Projector again?
I suspect the reason is that 180/360 video is the only thing the GO is actually good at. It doesn't mean that 80% of media content is being consumed on a GO however.

I really just can't see having a hot box strapped to your face for a watching a 2.5 hour 2D film catching on with the masses any time soon, especially since it's a solitary impersonal experience. Can you also comfortably eat and drink while wearing a VR headset?

Image quality-wise, it's always being scaled and distorted and never going to look as good as it would compared to a native 1:1 panel.
 
Didn't 3D TV fail because people just want to relax in front of TV and not have to wear uncomfortable stuff on their heads?
I actually have no problems with 3D glasses since I wear glasses daily, and the 3D ones are very light.

My suspicion is that the 3D effect is strictly in the horizontal plane. Tilt your head and the stereoscopic effect breaks down, meaning that you effectively have to keep your neck upright all the time. Paradoxically, a VR headset would solve that particular problem... :p
 
For Home Theater and VR enthusiasts like us. Virtual Cinema
I suspect the reason is that 180/360 video is the only thing the GO is actually good at. It doesn't mean that 80% of media content is being consumed on a GO however.

I really just can't see having a hot box strapped to your face for a watching a 2.5 hour 2D film catching on with the masses any time soon, especially since it's a solitary impersonal experience. Can you also comfortably eat and drink while wearing a VR headset?

Image quality-wise, it's always being scaled and distorted and never going to look as good as it would compared to a native 1:1 panel.

We VR and Home-Cinema enthusiasts will put up with more hassle to achieve the holy grail of Home/Virtual Cinema. Maybe not the absolute image purists like yourself but given that personally I am in no hurry to upgrade to 4K projection and am quite happy with 1080p on a 130" screen from 13ft away from a cost/benefit analysis point of view, I have a feeling that me and those like me will love an 100ft wide OLED effective 4K Virtual screen on a 4000 x 4000 pixel per eye 150º+ FOV £399 HMD in a few years and won't be worrying about perfect 1:1 pixel mapping.

I never suggested that this near/medium term device will replace large TV's and Projectors for mainstream but in about 10-15 years time when we have combo VR/AR HMD's in the sunglasses formfactor (electronics and Battery in a Smartphone sized device in the pocket) I think it will be curtains for physical large screen TV's and projectors. Every display in the home and work that consumes massive amount of resources in manufacture and to power will be replaced by AR screens of any size that you can pin anywhere in your home or office or work cubicle. You'll have a choice. Do you want to watch the big game in Holographic Gods Eye view Stadium mode on your coffee table, on an augmented reality AR 130" image on your Livingroom wall, in a virtual cinema on a 100ft wide screen with your ex pat mates from around the world all in the Virtual Cinema with you to watch the game.....or do you watch it in Volumetric 3D Video Big Game pay-Per-View where you are virtually sitting pitchside. A single seat that the footy team used to only be able to sell to one person for what £50 quid (not a sports fan, i have no idea) whereas with Volumetric 3D Video can now sell to a million people for a Fiver?

All this is on a whole other level compared to 3DTV and simply can't be compared. Yes its only uber enthusiasts like some of us who will use it on HMD's that are still Rift/Go/Quest/Vive sized but once we have combo AR/VR HMD's in the sunglasses formfactor, you bet your ar$e the masses will buy into it as the use cases and value proposition will be leagues ahead of what 3DTV offered us. (I'd argue even 3DTV was only a waste of time and the glasses a hassle because the vast majority only watched it on a 50" screen from 10ft away. I find it well worth the hassle on a 3D projector with a 130" screen. Even better in current Virtual Cinemas despite the res limitations. No cross-talk or dimming!)
 
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Didn't 3D TV fail because people just want to relax in front of TV and not have to wear uncomfortable stuff on their heads?

I tried watching a few films and stuff in BigScreen and it's very good, very clever. And I didn't have any issues with quality or resolution.

I just couldn't be bothered with having that thing on my head. I'd rather be laid comfortably on the sofa and able to interact with others.

You can only compare 3D TV to VR cinema if we're talking about 3D experiences. The difference is going to be VR experiences - having the people watching these things INSIDE the film itself. We're not too far away from seeing that happen with every film being released - I'll give it 10-15 years.

Sitting in a virtual cinema is great but what's going to sell VR cinema is having VR films that you can be right in the middle of. Think of the difference between having a porn film on a virtual screen and watching a VR porn film. That's the difference.
 
Almost daily movie viewer in VR here since three years ago.

I actually created a thread for this over 2 years ago:

Watching Blu Ray movies on VR Headsets - your thoughts

A lot changed since its last post though!

I started with watching movies on my 4K display Sony Xperia phone in a mobile VR headset. The 4k display and its RGB striped eliminated screen door effect and it was quite a joy to watch my favourite movies on the big screen.

I then bought a PSVR headset and despite it being a step down in resolution, it's OLED screen is an RGB striped (a 3 sub pixels arrangement) so has a higher subpixel resolution than Rift/Vive. Although not as high as my 4k RGB phone, PSVR has a superior lenses than any mobile headset or Rift/Vive, making movie watching very enjoyable for me and furthermore, is the ONLY VR headset that enables me to watch my Blu ray movies directly without ripping the discs. This is my regular way of viewing. The only thing missing from my mobile VR headset is the recreation of a cinema environment which I enjoyed on the mobile vr headsets. PSVR cinema screen is in a black void but that's totally fine for me.

I also have an Oculus Go which I primarily use to watch Netflix movies...in my bedroom or in b&b/hotel rooms. It has a better screen then both PSVR and Oculus Rift (which I also own but I dont ever use for watching movies as I dont watch movies in my home office where my PC/Rift is). Oculus Go is a joy to watch Netflix content in.

The biggest revelation of watching movies in VR for me, though is 3D. I have been a hater of 3D in cinema due to 3 major issues: Low brightness, low colour dynamic range and sometimes, ghosting. (wearing 3d glasses was never an issue for me btw, only with Active Shutter 3DTVs which gave me headaches). But I enjoyed 3D on my passive Panasonic 3DTV as I have control over brightness settings to eliminate the first issue, and was far superior in comfort to my previous Sony active 3DTV.

But in VR, 3D movie watching is taken to a whole new level of enjoyment as all those prior issues are totally eliminated. No ghosting, no brightness reducing and no washing out of colour range.

VR 3D is simply magnificent.

Throw in Jurassic Park 3D blu ray and its a whole new film yet again. (btw the greatest effective 3D moment of any 3D movie for me, is when the velociraptor jumps to grap the little girls leg, I flinch every single time)

Another great reason for movie watching in the headset is if you are in the living room with family, they want to watch Strictly Dancing, then you can isolate yourself in a Last Jedi 3D Blu Ray (everyone loves that last film, right? ;) ).

One more thing about PSVR, I always choose to watch my films in VR using my home theatre sound system, rather than using headphones as nothing beats the spatial acoustics of the home amp.

I tried movie watching in my Rift but its SDE and god rays can be a put off and I hate that I can't watch my blu rays directly.

As for watching actual 360 VR movies....not for me. I don't dig them at all. What I do enjoy is true 6dof VR movies of which there are very few. Allumette is my favourite VR short movie, highly recommended, its true 6dof VR, not flat 360.

Then there are immersive VR movies (disguised as games, ha) such as Invisible Hours (magnificent, brilliant pay off on completing every character journey), and Deracine (PSVR exclusive, beautiful and unforgettable).

By the way, I am also a regular cinemagoer (about twice a week) and for me, its a totally different experience to watch a film on an actual big screen and I will never substitute my cinema going unless circumstances prevent me as I get older. In which case VR is a great substitute, especially if you dont have the luxury space of installing a Projector. Besides VR 3D is superior to any other medium full stop and even in 2D, there are scenes that make as much impact as an IMAX experience. And supernatural horror movies are scarier because of that sense of isolation!
 
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So the PSVR allows 3D Blu-ray viewing directly from the PS4? (presumably statically without any head motion? Is it 24p)

Colour me interested...
 
So the PSVR allows 3D Blu-ray viewing directly from the PS4? (presumably statically without any head motion? Is it 24p)

Colour me interested...

Yes, direct viewing from PS4 with 3 screen size modes. The larger two screen modes remain in a fixed position in the void once initially positioned to your preference. The small screen moves with your headset movement. I personally use the largest screen for 2D and 3D but sometimes the medium screen for 3d movies too, to appreciate the 3D depth from a little further back.

If you are a lover of 4K...taper your expectations. VR cinema is about sense of scale at the sacrifice of resolution.
 
If you are a lover of 4K...taper your expectations. VR cinema is about sense of scale at the sacrifice of resolution.
I have no interest in 4K (beyond 180/360 degree video where it's a must) and there are no 4K 3D bluray formats.

Just looking at 3D bluray ray options for when my 1080p 3D plasma effectually goes pop! Since they don't produce 3D TVs anymore, it's either a short-throw laser projector or now maybe this...
 

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