Juli Whetstone

I am very new to the VR tech world. This was my first experience seeing and trying out the fun gadgets. Honestly, it was kind of an overwhelming experience. I had never seen any of the equipment before, and sometimes when people were talking about VR, I felt like they were speaking another language. Overall, I thought it was a super cool experience though, and I can wait to try out more new things this semester.

In the innovation lab on Wednesday I tried out the Samsung VR Gear with the Marvel’s Avenger experience. It was very weird at first to put on the headset and the headphones and have the real physical world around me disappear. I’m glad I had my “spirit guide” there to help me out. It was probably good that I was sitting while I used it because I think I would have tried to walk with the headset on, and I probably would have run into somebody. It just kind of took overall my mind because with the headset and headphones I couldn’t see or hear anything around me outside of the VR experience. At first it was strange moving my body and turning my head around. In fact, sometimes I would get so caught up in the scene that I would forget I can look around. I guess I am just so used to watching a video that traditional way that I will have to adjust to the VR experience. I can definitely see myself in the future watching a feature film with a VR headset. I really liked that since it was the Avengers, I already knew the characters, which I think helped me get drawn into the experience. It felt really smooth throughout the whole process. I did feel physically present in the scene after I got used to the VR equipment. I think it helped that the headset was strapped to my head so that I didn’t have to worry about holding it up, and it just moved as I turned my head.  I was really amazed with just how awesome it was to feel like part of the scene that I was experiencing.

I tried out a couple of VR videos on the New York Times app on my iPhone 6 using my Google Cardboard headset. It was definitely a different experience using the Cardboard just with my basic earbuds compared to using the Samsung gear with the big headphones. I didn’t think the Cardboard offered the same quality of the experience and wasn’t as impressive as the Samsung gear, but I think the Cardboard is definitely worth it for the low price point. I don’t think the graphics were as clear with the Cardboard. One of the issues I had with the Cardboard was wearing my glasses. First I tried without my glasses, but the images were blurry. Then when I put my glasses on, the screen didn’t quite look right, and I found I had to fiddle around with how close to hold the Cardboard to my glasses. I don’t know if this is just an issue with my eyesight or a problem with the Cardboard. I wore my glasses without issue with the Samsung Gear. One of the NYT video that I watched was “Take Flight.” During it, I sometimes felt like I was missing out on the whole picture. I wanted to be able to see everything all at once like on a normal video screen. I got so caught up in trying to see everything that I whipped my around around too much, which did make me feel a little dizzy. I didn’t feel as physically present in the scene with the Cardboard. I think part of it was that I had to hold up the headset myself instead of having it strapped on.

In between my own VR experiences it was fun to watch other people using the VR tech. I watched another student use the Samsung VR Gear before I tried it, and I was surprised by how much she moved her head and upper body around and how her facial expressions changed while she used it. I could tell that she was getting really into the experience. I didn’t hear anyone complain about being nausea while we were in the innovation lab.

After my first VR experience, I am really looking forward to this semester. I can’t wait to try out the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. It’s exciting to be learning about this new technology.