Virtual reality (VR) is an experience that everyone should try at least once. Whether you're a seven-year-old or a 70-year-old, putting on the headset instantly transports you into a new world. You'll find yourself gazing around in awe, stretching your neck, and even dancing like an actor, as if you've stepped into another dimension. The excitement is contagious — people can't help but shout, "Look! You have to see this!" This feeling is similar to when the Walkman first came out. Back then, we'd excitedly tell others about the music, only to realize they couldn’t hear it. VR is like that — something so immersive and unique that you feel compelled to share it with others.
Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus highlights the massive potential of VR in social media. Imagine sitting in a virtual café, chatting with lifelike avatars of friends and family, or watching 360-degree videos from your favorite social network while just wearing pajamas at home. The future of VR seems limitless, but we still need to wait and see how it will be used and consumed. For now, there are other technologies, like Augmented Reality (AR), that also hold great promise. In this article, I’ll explore today's VR market, the challenges it faces, and the technologies that make it possible.
Gaming was the first domain to adopt VR, though it's just one of many potential uses. VR opens up entirely new possibilities for game developers, allowing them to create more immersive experiences and new gameplay mechanics that were impossible before. When mobile games first appeared, many developers simply ported traditional games to mobile platforms. But that approach didn’t work well due to differences in controls, user behavior, and expectations. Over time, mobile gaming evolved, leading to new types of games that were tailored for mobile devices. Today, mobile games not only match PC and console titles in quality but sometimes even surpass them.
We are currently in a new phase of exploration — figuring out how to best apply VR to games, what works, and what doesn’t. Everyone is trying to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The next few years will be crucial, as we witness the evolution of VR. Historical experience tells us that fully immersive games can create powerful sensory experiences, but sometimes the most impactful entertainment is subtle and gentle. While some developers enjoy creating terrifying experiences, others prefer more relaxing ones. The market is diverse, so generalizing isn’t fair. The variety of content in the Oculus Store shows that “experience†and “concept†can each create new forms of entertainment. Even small interactive elements can turn into a new kind of game.
nDreams offers a perfect beach experience in virtual reality.
Today, almost every creative industry is considering the impact of VR on movies, photos, and live broadcasts. For the media, VR could be huge — imagine being in the middle of a sports event, standing at the front of a presidential inauguration, or watching an Oscar winner accept their award from a seat right next to them. Journalists, theaters, artists, musicians, educational institutions, and museums are all exploring VR's potential. Although standardized video and image containers and metadata technologies are still developing, professional 360° cameras are already available. Consumer VR cameras are also gaining interest. Soon, we’ll be able to capture VR videos of cat birthdays, family holidays, and baby moments that bring smiles. This will likely spark a new wave of social sharing. Facebook’s chief product officer Chris Cox said, “You’ll do this, Beyoncé will too.†Both Facebook and YouTube support 360° VR streaming, and projects like Google Jump aim to improve quality.
Not all VR videos are recorded in a traditional way. Oculus Film Studio is experimenting with using game engines to tell animated stories — rendering the story instead of capturing it after the fact. The idea of telling stories in VR has inspired many. However, early attempts showed that mixing interactivity with narrative can be tricky, often resulting in confusing experiences. Despite the challenges, rendering remains a strong choice. HD stereo VR movies require significantly more bandwidth than regular HD video. If we don’t optimize from the user's perspective, much of the 360° footage may not be visible. New approaches, such as view-adaptive technology, are proving effective. Companies like OTOY and 8i are pushing the boundaries of GPU-based video tech, which is growing rapidly. We hope the entire industry keeps up with these advancements.
Achieving high-quality VR is no small task. It requires not only powerful GPUs but also a well-optimized system. Thermal limits are critical for VR devices. To ensure performance without overheating, components must be redesigned for ultra-low latency, zero-copy paths, and strict power management for video, GPU, and display. Linux systems aren’t ideal for real-time operations, but VR applications need near-real-time performance. System-level optimizations, like thread priorities and dynamic frequency modulation, affect the stability of the "photon motion" path. Android apps typically have a 50ms delay, which is acceptable for short-term viewing but can cause discomfort over time. Industry standards suggest that a 20ms delay is hard to detect, making it a key target for improvement.
Samsung Gear VR uses several techniques to achieve this:
- Asynchronous Time Warp
- Direct rendering to the display prebuffer
- Low-continuous OLED displays
Once the application framework is set up, it collects the latest head tracking data and renders the scene into an "eyebuffer." Ideally, the app runs at 60fps, but realistically, 30fps is more common. Asynchronous time warp helps reduce delays by updating the eyebuffer before the display reads it. With high-priority rendering, the GPU can interrupt ongoing tasks to render critical content first. This ensures smoother visuals, especially on low-continuous OLED displays, where the light moves across the screen frame by frame, reducing perceived lag.
For LCDs, the backlight illuminates the entire screen at once, whereas OLEDs illuminate pixel by pixel, resulting in shorter illumination times. This allows for better responsiveness during head movements. Even with higher resolutions and frame rates, system bandwidth and memory usage increase, requiring efficient compression and buffer management. Technologies like AFBC minimize memory traffic, and multi-view extensions allow for more efficient rendering of both eyes’ perspectives.
Vulkan, a new cross-platform API, further reduces CPU overhead, giving developers more control and improving mobile VR performance.
VR is a groundbreaking technology that is evolving quickly. Thanks to modern mobile devices, it’s no longer limited to desktops or consoles. To fully realize its potential, mobile VR must reach the mass market. As a leader in this space, we are committed to driving growth and working with partners to deliver the best possible VR experience, unlocking the full potential of a better virtual world.
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