virtual reality

Andrew bought an HTC Vive virtual reality device and he says it's a blast to play games with it. But it's a few years old now and wants to know what's the new hot device for VR? Leo says that Facebook pretty much owns the VR space now with the Oculus Quest 2. But he will have to log into a Facebook account to use it, which Leo doesn't like. And if he uses a dummy account, they can cancel his Quest account and make the device useless. Outside of that, development in VR has really slowed down.

Grant is interested in a Virtual Reality desktop experience. Microsoft was looking to push that idea with their Hololens for VR, but Leo believes they are backing off on that idea as people believe there's still a ways to go with VR. Having to wear VR goggles for so long can potentially make you sick and that you can't see the world around you. Augmented Reality, or Mixed Reality as Microsoft is calling it, is a possible fix around Microsoft is pushing since it overlays information onto your display while enabling you to still see the world around you.

Ted has an article about virtual reality, where Cedar Sinai hospital is using VR to treat chronic pain. Is that legit? The software costs about $2,000, so he's not sure he wants to buy into it. Leo says that there is an article from the National Institutes of Health about the work being done studying how to use VR to treat pain. . Here's another from journals.plos.org.

Austin bought an Oculus Rift but it doesn't work with his computer. Leo says that the Rift requires a lot of computer power, and so he'll likely have to upgrade his computer. What about the Gear VR? Leo says that Gear VR is for the mobile device. One thing he may want to look at is the Oculus Go.

Dale says that DirecTV has an insurance protection program that will protect your TV in case it dies. They will either fix or replace it. It costs $7.99 a month. Leo says that insurance is a very good business.

Shawn is an architect, and he has invested in some 3D technology that allows him to do walkthroughs and 360-degree video. The background format he uses is called a Skybox. He wants to be able to go out to a client's land and put together his own background so he can give the clients an idea of what it will be like as a finished product. Leo says that the Skybox file format is particular to Enscape, but he says it's also easy to convert to another format. He should look for a way to convert Skybox to a YouTube video or Facebook.