YouTube has finally made its videos compatible with Virtual Reality (VR) headgear, as the company now allows users to upload VR videos for that immersive experience.
Google-owned YouTube made the announcement on Thursday that users can watch 360-degree videos in 3D, and will also be making every single video in YouTube’s massive video library compatible with Google’s Cardboard headset. It essentially makes the experience pretty similar to watching something in an IMAX theatre.
“Using the same tricks that we humans use to see the world, VR video gives you a sense of depth as you look around in every direction. Near things look near, far things look far. So if you were excited about 360° videos, this is pretty freakin’ cool,” wrote YouTube’s product managers Kurt Wilms, Sanjeev Verma, and Husain Bengali.
All you need to try out the new feature is an Android smartphone, a Google Cardboard viewer and, of course, the latest YouTube app. Just tap the new Cardboard icon in the YouTube app, hook your Android smartphone into your Cardboard viewer and enjoy VR content like the Hunger Games Experience and TOMS Shoes Giving Trip. While creators can check out technologies like Jump to capture and share their own VR videos.
Right now, the feature is only available for Android users, though it’ll be coming to the YouTube app for iPhones soon, though the company did not provide a specific date.
“You’ll now have the largest VR content library right at your fingertips,” YouTube said.
Hence, by making its entire video library compatible with Cardboard, YouTube is creating a mammoth library of VR content at your fingertips. Moreover the fact that Google’s Cardboard is available for a substantially lesser amount as one can procure a unit for around $10, which is considerably cheaper than the rest of the competition.
YouTube launched support for 360-degree videos back in March, and at that time one of the major drawbacks of this type of content sharing was the high investment requirement for those looking to create and share this type of content. Though it seems the company has a solution to the problem with its Cardboard viewer.
Facebook starts rolling out 360-degree video feature in News Feed
It seems YouTube will gain a massive leverage over its competitors once the idea of VR hits the mainstream, given the fact that tech giants including the likes of Facebook, Microsoft and Samsung have already jumped onto the VR bandwagon.
