Discovery VR
by lucas stafford
1. How to use
1.1. Firstly you must install the app on a applicable device.
1.2. Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.discovery.DiscoveryVR&hl=en
1.3. IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/discovery-vr/id1030815031?mt=8
1.4. After Downloading run the application and choose a video to watch.
1.5. Once you choose a video and it starts to play you can move your phone around to look around your surroundings.
1.6. Highly recommend something such as the Myth-busters "Gummy bear rocket" or Gold Rush "welcome to McKinnon creek"
1.7. These 2 videos have a very good immersion and are 2 of my favorite videos so far.
2. What is the App
2.1. The application is mostly based on special parts of episodes on the Discovery TV channel. For example they have quite a few Myth-buster's episodes.
2.2. The Discovery VR application is a virtual reality video app that lets you move the camera by either moving your head with google cardboard or move the phone around.
3. What is VR
3.1. VR or Virtual Reality is a software that creates visual immersion by allowing us to move around as if we are in the virtual environment. A good way to describe VR is that it is a "immersive environments where the user wears a head mounted display that shows a completely synthetic environment" (Sartian, 2012).
3.2. It is different from AR or Augmented reality because it does not just add to the real environment but it creates a whole new environment. For example, AR can show "virtual tools such as a wrench overlaid on the areas where they would be used on the real pump" (Cass & Choi, 2015).
4. VR google cardboard
5. Positives
5.1. The experience with this VR application was very immersive, especially when using the google cardboard.
5.2. Gives a new take on and view of a certain part of a episode.
5.3. Allow for the ability to move around to look at parts that would not usually be seen such as looking at the behind the scenes setup in myth busters videos.
6. Negatives
6.1. Bugs with the camera on certain videos when you turn around to a certain point the camera tilts to one side drastically
6.2. Some what clustered menu and design where all videos are in one folder and then you have to choose the series.
7. Improvements
7.1. Could include full episodes instead of just couple minute videos so the person could be immersed for a whole episode.
7.2. More user friendly UI for better navigation
8. Future of Discovery VR
8.1. I believe their is a possibility that this could be a mobile version of the discovery channel if the videos became full episodes.
8.1.1. This would make this app a mobile VR television