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Evan Marcus

Tech Geek, Entrepreneur, Gamer and #VR Nerd

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HTC VIVE Pro Announced at CES 2018

written by Evan Marcus

HTC has announced its latest beauty, the HTC Vive Pro today at CES 2018. The main features being it’s magically wireless and includes a pair of higher resolution screens at 2880×1600 (a 78% increase), compared to the original Vive with a resolution of 1080×1200.

There’s also plans to release SteamVR’s 2.0 Sensor Tracking which will allow players to have up to a 10 by 10 meter radius. To add to the mix is a 2nd front facing camera which doesn’t seem to have a use case yet, but could provide developers with the ability to utilize the 2nd camera for advanced features like depth tracking and more.

The other noticeable feature which gives me great excitement is the attached hi-res headphones with a redesigned head strap and integrated 3D-Spatial Audio. Similar to the Oculus HMD, the Vive now comes with solid headphones attached rather then spending extra for the deluxe audio strap like the original Vive.

In addition to the HTC Vive Pro, comes the Vive Wireless Adaptor which will give a truly wireless VR experience available for the Vive Pro and the Vive. Features for the Vive Wireless Adaptor include Intel’s WiGig technology and operates in the interference-free 60Ghz band, which from what Vive’s blog says reduces latency and provides better performance.

In addition to the HTC Vive Pro announcement comes HTC’s updated Viveport VR experience which seems like a major overhaul considering earlier versions of Viveport had issues and many users preferred Steam instead. This is HTC’s chance to redeem themselves for the Viveport platform, and from the video below, it’s looking very cool.

Also announced at CES was Vive Video with VIMEO that brings some well needed features to the Vive, and considering VR Video overall still needs resolution improvements, this is a step in the right direction with the Vive Pro’s increased resolution and 4K streaming video from Vimeo. Overall this is major news for HTC and the Vive Pro HMD and it will no doubt keep Oculus on their heels as plans for Wireless VR come to fruition in 2018.

 

 

January 9, 2018 0 comment
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EntertainmentGamesVideos

Merry Snowballs Comes to Oculus and Vive!

written by Evan Marcus

Just in time for the holidays, Merry Snowballs brings out your inner kid again in this Christmas themed VR Snowball fight simulator. I jump in for a video preview of Merry Snowballs and was not disappointed. Currently Merry Snowballs is free on the Oculus store and less then $5 on Steam, also free on Vive with a Viveport subscription.

December 13, 2017 0 comment
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EntertainmentVideos

Disney Animation Legend Glen Keane draws Ariel in Tilt Brush

written by Evan Marcus

Disney animation legend Glen Keane was invited to the Late Late Show with James Corden for a live drawing session in Tilt Brush. Having animated Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid, Tarzan and other blockbuster Disney features, its exciting to see Glen utilize VR in this way, which has the potential to serve as a new medium for film and animated series.

Watching Ariel being drawn in real-time coming from the hands of Glen just puts into perspective the potential for VR in this space, even though it’s still early on. But it seems like he’s used Tilt Brush once or twice after watching him glide through the process like a pro, granted he is a pro. 🙂

Beyond Tilt Brush, there’s other options for artists to display their abilities in Virtual Reality like Medium, Quill, and PaintLabVR to name a few.

December 7, 2017 0 comment
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EducationScience

NASA Releases Mars Curiosity Rover Footage for AR/MR/VR

written by Evan Marcus

For those interested in “out of this world” experiences, NASA has released footage of their 360 degree camera from the Mars Curiosity rover.  The best way to experience this in AR/MR/VR right now is through the website accessmars.withgoogle.com which shows the surface of Mars that has been recorded so far with the Curiosity.

Giving access to this footage for public consumption is 1 step for man, and 2 steps for anyone with an AR/MR/VR headset. A wonderful experience that is the closest we can get to another world right now.

So, get on those goggles and visit https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/

 

November 8, 2017 0 comment
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ArtEntertainmentFitness

MAP Design Lab’s MOVE Studio brings Creative Art and Dance to Mixed Reality

written by Evan Marcus

Today I had the pleasure of venturing into the heart of Venice California and into the studios of MAP Design Labs. At the helm is Melissa Painter, Creative Director and Innovation Strategist for the company who was kind enough to give me a hands on demo of MOVE Studio. This was my first foray into Mixed Reality and I was pleasantly surprised by the lightweight Acer headset and how much more immersive it was then expected.

The journey into MOVE Studio started with a colorful world of motion capped dancers around me, both my controllers were waves of paint and as I moved my arms and legs, dancers would ride the paint trails tailored to my movement. As I bent my knees, objects and dancers would appear larger and smaller which was really fascinating. To add to the visual experience, the audio was dynamically programmed so as I moved, it changed and adapted around me. Essentially everyone has a unique experience because of this, the audio and visuals will be different each time depending on where you move and what you do.

MOVE Studio really captures something unique that I haven’t seen yet in this space, it’s not a game and it’s not a sit-down experience. It’s a visually stimulating experience that merges art, dance, and choreography together. The project itself encourages you to move around and dance, and the more you do, the more it resonates around you.

There are multiple modes that take you to different environments and there’s also a sandbox mode which gives you the ability to make your own experience by placing dancers of all sizes around the environment. MOVE Studio is an experimental and magical experience, and for anyone with a mixed reality headset, this one is fun for all ages.

MOVE Studio is free on the Microsoft store if you have a mixed reality headset:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/movestudio/9pgf4gd4jb1h?rtc=1

Visit MOVE Studio’s official site:

http://movestudio.io/

October 31, 2017 0 comment
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EntertainmentGames

Space Pirate Trainer – Fun and Addictive Arcade VR Shooter

written by Evan Marcus

Space Pirate Trainer is a simple arcade style VR shooter for the HTC Vive/Oculus Rift released on October 12th, 2017. With the majority of games these days, trailers always make you think the game is 1000x better then it usually is, so personally I wasn’t expecting too much from this, and boy was I wrong.

The game itself is really everything I wanted, simple to learn with one main menu to choose options from and within seconds you’re in the game and playing. Also when you start the game, your controllers are instantly guns which is another bonus, easy to shoot at the menu system and quickly jump into gameplay.

Another thing that’s nice for beginners to VR is the stationary movement. Some games require you to move around in the game with a controller which takes a bit of getting used to and still makes some people dizzy at times, with Space Pirate Trainer, you don’t have to worry about movement besides dodging, for the most part you’re in one position and just trying not to get killed as you battle evil space bots from the top of the Space Pirate Trainer platform. As simple as the game is, it’s easy to learn but hard to master, which makes it fun and addictive and honestly hard to put down, not to mention global online leaderboards for the super competitive nerd rangers out there.

For the game modes you have a variety of options to choose from.

First you have Arcade which gives you 3 lives total, with waves getting harder each round.

There’s also Explorer Mode which gives you health regen but only 50% points.

Hardcore Mode is also fun but doesn’t include bullet time, making it harder to dodge projectiles.

Last is Oldschool which is my personal favorite, the waves start out easy and get more difficult as you progress.

As for weapons, you have a bunch of options and can change weapons on the fly with your touch controller. Weapons range from the Quarkcannon, Pulse Laser, Shotworks, Railgun, Raygun, Ion Grenade and Brawler.

For $14.99 on Steam, Space Pirate Trainer is a solid addition to any VR collection and well worth the price tag.

October 23, 2017 0 comment
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HardwareNews

Rift drops to $399 with new Wireless ‘Oculus Go’ Headset Forthcoming

written by Evan Marcus

Today was a big day on the VR front as Mark Zuckerberg spoke at the Oculus Connect 4 Conference earlier in San Jose, which was also live-streamed on Facebook. For news, the Oculus Rift price will be permanently dropping down to $399, which effectively improves on the Oculus Summer Sale for anyone who missed it.

One of the reasons for the continued price drop was the mention of a new wireless standalone headset called “Oculus Go”, which will be coming in at around $199 in early 2018.  Granted the Oculus Go won’t compare to the Oculus Rift just yet, but should be compared more to Gear VR and a step in the right direction for wireless VR in general.

Having lower end wireless VR will increase mainstream adoption at a much quicker rate which is why we’re seeing price drops across the board from the higher end HMD’s like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. If all goes well, higher end wireless VR should become a reality towards the end of 2018 but for now cheaper hardware is needed and is a good thing for the VR landscape to grow. This is a big step for Facebook and if sales take off for the Oculus Go, it could be a game changer for the company.

 

 

October 11, 2017 0 comment
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Entertainment

Spielberg’s VR startup gets $20Mil from AMC movie theaters

written by Evan Marcus

Steven Spielberg’s VR startup Dreamscape Immersive has just raised 20 Million in Series B funding thanks to the AMC movie theater chain. Dreamscape Immersive also has the backing of Warner Bros, IMAX, 20th Century Fox, MGM and of course Steven Spielberg to name a few.

This is a big move for the future of entertainment as a whole and with many people opting out of movie theaters more so these days, VR and location based experiences could bring consumers back for something they just can’t get at home.

AMC and Dreamscape’s partnership will support up to 6 players in an interactive experience. This means you and your friends can be together through the thick and thin of it depending on the experience provided. As of now the agreement says up to six locations will be rolled out in the US and the UK over the next 18 months, with potentially more coming to the table depending on how things go.

This is really exciting overall as the beginning of mainstream location based VR is upon us. Sure, it’s out there already per say, but integrating VR and location based experiences into the mainstream through movie theaters will only feed adoption, create new experiences and increase VR sales for the home based markets. If anyone is up to the task, Spielberg and Dreamscape Immersive seem like a great starting point.

September 27, 2017 0 comment
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EntertainmentFitnessGames

Star Wars: Jedi Challenges Coming Soon!

written by Evan Marcus

For any Star Wars nerds out there, you’re being summoned! A light-saber bundle with AR capabilities plus headset and tracker is included. Thanks to Lenovo we’ll be seeing this sooner than later. The $199 price tag will get you a whole package: a Lenovo Mirage AR headset, tracking beacon, and of course, the best thing any up-and-coming Jedi Master needs, a Lightsaber controller!

Star Wars™: Jedi Challenges is powered by your smart phone and works with Android and iPhone. Here’s a list of current compatible phones… iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6s, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, Samsung Galaxy S7, Google Pixel XL, Google Pixel, Moto Z.

 

For now there’s a few different games for the Jedi Challenges setup. Lightsaber Battles being the main attraction, but there’s also Holochess which is a a strategic board game and an RTS type game Strategic Combat.

 

For anyone wanting to workout, Lightsaber Battles could aid in some fun and active gameplay, while Holochess and Strategic Combat are slightly less active, yet still challenging and thoughtful.

Overall Lenovo and Disney have a cool new product on their hands and it has a good chance at bringing some smiles, sweat and laughs to a new Augmented frontier.

To pre-order, visit their official site here: http://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/jedichallenges/

September 26, 2017 0 comment
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