Facebook has collaborated with its Oculus division to bring 360-degree, virtual reality-like videos to its News Feed. These short, immersive snippets will let you view images from any direction, making it feel like you are actually there.
Debuting on Android and the web, the videos allow you to change the field of view by tapping the screen or moving your phone in the air. Could this be a hint that Facebook plans to change its News Feed into something other than a two-dimensional field?
On the web, the videos look captivating, with the user clicking around to shift his or her perspective in a manner resembling Google Maps’ Street View, but inside a video. On mobile, the videos feel much more alive and fascinating, making use of the phone’s gyroscope and tracking your relative position inside the video.
We can expect to see videos from Star Wars , GoPro, VICE , LeBron James, The Discovery Channel, and Saturday Night Live to name a few. SNL also partly filmed its recent 40th anniversary in 360-degree video, which is available on social media.
Facebook is not the first major company to offer 360-degree videos. YouTube rolled out the concept in March 2015, as did Kolor, the maker of 360-degree video software owned by GoPro. However, Facebook’s News Feed is used by upwards of 1 billion people every month, making it 360-video’s greatest chance to reach a large audience and break through to the mainstream.
“There are certain things that, when you hold them in your hands for the first time, they attract a crowd,” said Chris Cox, Facebook’s chief product officer. “People come to tell you they just saw it, and you have to see it. There aren’t that many of those. This is one of them.”
You can shoot a 360-degree video and upload it to Facebook using standard formats. But to capture it, will require devices such as the $800 Bublcam; Fortunately, there are more affordable options coming to the market, such as the Theta S Digital Camera by Ricoh, which will start selling October 23, 2015 for $350.
With VR evolving so quickly, several people are going to experience their first taste of the virtual world through Facebook’s 360-degree videos.
Via The Verge
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