Gizmo Guy: Virtual becoming a reality

Hordes of mostly young adults raced down the South and Central Hall aisles each morning at the opening bell of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, aiming for the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR exhibits.

It felt as if somebody were giving away a free pull on a billion-dollar slot machine. And for those buying whole hog into the virtual reality gambol, there's a ring of truth to that. By promising an immersive, 360-degree experience, just by slapping on LCD-screened goggles and headphones, VR could be the next big thing. Or a dud.

Two years ago, Facebook plunked down $2 billion to acquire Oculus VR, convinced that its technical wizards, one named Palmer Luckey, had cracked the elusive hardware-software formula for persuasive VR. Experiences so fine-tuned you'd forget you were all gadgeted up. And other biggies have also taken the plunge: HTC, Microsoft, Samsung and Sony working the hardware angles; Disney, Comcast, Time Warner, Fox and Legendary Entertainment forking over millions to start or buy VR software makers.

Some impressive VR content is coming, inviting you to virtually climb mountains, swim with dolphins, hang at the Blue Note Jazz Club, visit posh properties or participate in Fox's 360-degree adventure based on the film The Martian. Then return to earth without the nausea or neck strain that used to penalize VR goggle wearers.

Socializing (as an "avatar"), taking classes, and shopping in the virtual world are going to be even bigger than gaming and personal movie making, said Linden Labs' CEO, Ebbe Altberg. A new VR version of Linden's pioneering "Second Life" on-line world, code named Project Sansar, begins beta-testing in June with a full rollout in early 2017.

Baby steps. To prime the VR revolution, Google and its software partners have been putting low cost (as "serious" gear goes) $15,000 Go-Pro VR camera rigs in the hands of videographers to shoot high-impact, 360-degree sporting events, "immersive journalism" reports and concert clips that Google's YouTube then posts in special VR zones. Viewers easily access this stuff with low-cost (under $4 to make) Google Cardboard VR glasses, which work when you've inserted a smart phone, hold the thing to your eyes, and turn your head all around, changing the view as you spin.

Samsung, also working with Oculus, has developed a similar but more polished experience. Their headband- slung, comfortable $99 Gear VR goggles boast on-board touch controls and an optional wireless gamepad (both lacking in Cardboard) and likewise put on a show with an installed mobile phone - Samsung only! For demo purposes at CES, the maker upped the wow factor of roller coaster and bumpy boat simulations by strapping testers into a motorized motion chair: yours for a mere $7,000 upgrade.

Until recently, the big money has been betting on Oculus Rift and technically similar HTC Vive to lead the VR revolution. Both boasting high definition goggles with lag-free imaging (running at 90 frames a second), wearers can almost forget they're living in a virtual world - until they feel the tug of the cable linked to the headset's playmate partner, a fairly high end ($900 and up) Windows 10 computer invested with a powerful graphics card. (Sadly, Mac users are not invited to the party.)

Vive and Rift systems also use clever, yet different, remote controls to put your "hands" in the game - to throw a coffee cup at the boss, pistol pop enemies or pilot that emotional liftoff from Mars.

With two wall-mounted infrared cameras pointing at a gamer, plus another camera built into the headset, this tester found Vive VR best suited for stand-up, move-about antics. Get too close to a wall in your real room and the system superimposes a 3-D grid of wall outlines or shadowy thermal images in your virtual world that warn "keep away." HTC calls the option "chaperone mode."

Profit and loss. So what's wrong with this futuristic picture? Pricing. At CES, Oculus announced the consumer version of Rift will launch March 28 at $599, not including the nifty hand-encircling controllers (coming later) and that oh-so-needed new PC. Vive's hardware bundle will likely cost far more, unless HTC plays the subsidy game to build market share.

All that has lined up Sony to seize the virtual day with PlayStation VR, a rig with lower resolution but equally comfy goggles reportedly launching June 30 at $399 and working in tandem with a PlayStation 4 game system (now $349) already in 36 million homes worldwide.

While the glowing move wand controller that Sony offered for "London Heist" VR testing at CES seemed simplistic, better control devices will be deployed. And to offset its 10 percent lower screen res, PlayStation VR images churn faster at a stutter-free, 120-frames-a-second with a proven system called "re-projection."

Also, most games/programs that HTC and Oculus are bragging about now will also be available for PS VR. "You build with the same Unity or Unreal engine for all three systems," said Owlchemy Labs chief scientist Alex Schwartz.

takiffj@phillynews.com

215-854-5960 @JTakiff