YouTube Creates Virtual Reality Experience Through Android Mobile App [Video]


YouTube virtual reality videos can now be watched using an Android app and a Google Cardboard device. The world’s largest video site announced the technology earlier this week.

Not to be outdone by YouTube, Facebook announced it is also getting into virtual reality. In a recent Inquisitr report, the Facebook “teleporter” will allow users to virtually appear anywhere in the world. Facebook isn’t quite sure yet how it will work, but with a 2025 release date, there is still time for the technology to be worked out.

Available on Android phones, a YouTube VR app creates a virtual reality experience by completely immersing the viewer into the video. The app allows users to look up, down and around the scene they are watching. VR content, or a “360 video,” available on YouTube can be viewed on a smartphone while wearing a Google Cardboard device.

Youtube introduces VR videos.
YouTube virtual reality videos can be watched using Google Cardboard device. [Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
Virtual reality content is simple to watch. Once the VR app is installed on the smartphone and a YouTube video is selected, click a button changing it to VR mode, then place the phone in the Cardboard device. Moments later, the viewer will experience a 360-degree perspective of the video.

Virtual reality video makers will be able to upload content directly to YouTube. As virtual reality technology is still new and films expensive to produce, currently there are only about a dozen VR videos to choose from. Yet, according to Google, the list is growing quickly as video makers now have a platform for their films to be showcased.

Advertisers already see a huge potential to lure new customers with innovative promotional campaigns. The Hunger Games and TOMS Shoes have already signed on to take advantage of the technology by creating video ads compatible with the YouTube virtual reality app.

View a quick demonstration of how the Google Cardboard device will create a virtual reality experience with your smartphone.

YouTube adopting new technology is nothing new. In 2009, the online video giant introduced 3D video capability and was one of the first to offer high-definition video.

Commenting on YouTube supporting VR technology, Neil Schneider, executive director of Immersive Technology Alliance, said, “It’s not surprising they would take the angle of adding virtual reality.”

Richard Nieva of CNET had the opportunity to test out YouTube’s virtual reality app and sees a huge potential for growth.

“By making its entire video library workable with Cardboard, YouTube is creating the biggest collection of VR-ready videos in the world. That might not mean much now, but it could get YouTube’s massive audience familiar with the idea of VR.”

However, Google says the Cardboard device can be used to watch any YouTube content, even if it is not a VR video. By selecting “Cardboard” from the viewing options, users will experience a “virtual movie theater effect.” This is not unlike recently announced “virtual environment” options available from Netflix and Hulu.

The YouTube virtual reality app is currently only available on Android devices. However, an iOS version is apparently on its way soon.

Moreover, there is one major drawback to the VR app. International Business Times reports that 360-degree videos use six times more bandwidth than a typical YouTube video.

Google Cardboard way more affordable than Oculus Rift.
Oculus Rift goggles will cost way more than Google Cardboard. [Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Westfield]
Oculus Rift, now owned by Facebook and part of the “teleporter” project, will be unveiling its own VR device next year at an expected cost of $300-$350. Meanwhile the Google Cardboard is literally made of cardboard and is way less costly. You can easily buy the device anywhere between $5 and $50.

One out of every seven people on the planet visit YouTube every month. This adds up to hundreds of millions of hours of video. Using the YouTube virtual reality app and Google Cardboard device will create a whole new experience to just watching the plain, old 2D video.

[Image via mrmohock/Shutterstock]

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