Oculus Virtual Lounge (VirtuaView)

Post by **geekmaster** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 6:45 pm

AdaAugmented wrote:Can't wait to watch movies together with other people over the net. I already do this once in a while with friends in other countries, either one of us streaming to the others, or everyone syncing a local copy of the movie.. but I think having a virtual environment to lounge in together would be really sociable and awesome.

A "dedicated heckler" show: MST3K VR!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVo0dyjnWYo&t=08m10s

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVo0dyjnWYo[/youtube]

Post by **Namielus** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 7:17 pm

Thanks for the tip geekmaster

Post by **phillypro** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 6:33 pm

namielus your idea has been the coolest idea ive seen so far....

it teases my imagination.....i would definitely endure the drop in content resolution to enjoy the scenery of your online virtual theatre

i see a big future for this.....maybe by the time the Kinect 3 (the one after the new one) comes out...the technology will be there for lag free accurate full body and facial expressiona tracking for your lounge

for now...just perfect that theater and arcade room....im looking forward to the realistic lighting effects from the screen....i dont know how possible it is to pull that off....but if you do it....OH MY GOD

and a slight theater sound ambiance for whatever room they are in

take a look at retrocopy on youtube....he already created live walk up and play arcades in a virtual room...maybe he can have some pointers for you

Post by **Namielus** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 7:09 pm

I am working hard on getting the movie texture to emit light into the room. So far I have been playing around with streaming the same video twice, one as a flat texture and one as a projector.
But there might be less cpu-efficient ways to do it.

In any case, I will upload a new video once its looking better.

Post by **Namielus** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 6:09 pm

I need a cheap, easy to install (usb 3.0 ?) capture card to demonstrate connecting consoles etc to the virtual cinema and display it on the screen.
Already have Haupauge hdpvr, but the latency from the capture device to the computer is so slow its crazy. Unplayable.

Therefore I need the fastest USB capture card there is, it doesn't need to be HD.
It should have s-video , composite and component.

Please help! Might make a separate thread for this as its very important.

Post by **cybereality** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 6:42 pm

You might want to look into this:
http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/intensity/

Post by **Namielus** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 8:07 pm

thanks for the tip! I might get it out of sheer desperation, because i need it within 5 days.
Since I wont be able to have it shipped in time, I have to buy it locally.
The Intensity Shuttle is 460 dollars here, and I dont even need 720p at the moment.

For other uses, it might be cool to have tho.

Post by **radicaledward101** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 12:00 pm

cybereality wrote:You might want to look into this:
http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/intensity/

Be careful with this. The intensity shuttle only supports a very specific chip set.

From http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/product ... techspecs/:

Requires an x58 based motherboard with onboard USB 3.0, or a USB 3.0 PCI Express card and an x58 or P55 series motherboard.

I use a Dazzle DVC100 for Standard Definition streaming on Twitch.tv. If you want to get a Dazzle, you must get the White DVC100. Many of the other versions (and colours) will not work for modern operating systems, or will, in general, just fail you in some other manner. The Dazzle supports RCA and S-Video, which means that even modern consoles work on it. However it does not support widescreen playback even though some modern consoles are capable of broadcasting a widescreen signal over RCA. Around here (Ohio), you can get a Dazzle off the shelf for $50 (USD). If you get one on ebay or similar you may be able to find one for as low as $20 (USD). The Dazzle seems to be the standard SD capture card for Twitch.tv broadcasters.

One thing to note: To my knowledge, no capture cards in existence support lagless video display. All the capture cards I have ever used, or seen used, have some delay between the video displayed on the computer and the video displayed on a TV that is directly attached. These capture cards have been optimized for video recording and playback. They are not for picture-in-picture gaming. For some games this will not be noticeable, but for games requiring reflex reactions to visual cues, like Street Fighter, it can really harm the experience.

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 12:51 pm

Thanks, radicaledward101. Thats good to know.

Post by **Namielus** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 12:58 pm

Thanks for the tip
I dont need it for high performance, just casual gaming.
Need to show the proof-of-concept.
Super Mario Bros and similar types of games

I just need it to be better than Haupauge Hd pvr , that thing has seconds of latency rather than milliseconds.

Btw; Can you try to give me an idea of what kind of latency I should expect from Dazzle DVC100?
Is it in the 50's 100's 500's or more than 1000ms range?

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 1:14 pm

I have the Diamond VC500 One Touch Video Capture Device, I was using to convert VHS tapes to digital format. Its very cheap, and supports S-Video.

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-VC500-Tou ... 000VM60I8/

I don't know how you would feed that into a 3D engine, but I imagine its possible.

Post by **radicaledward101** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 1:35 pm

cybereality wrote:Diamond VC500 One Touch Video Capture Device

For proof of concept this is not a bad option. The people I've talked to that have used these for streaming generally haven't had much trouble, but have quickly become disappointed by the quality and opted for an upgrade.

I can't speak much on integrating the captured video into 3D. The next step is probably to check on what output formats are supported by each capture card. Pick a card that has an output format that will be easy to integrate with your engine.

Post by **HarleyMills** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 1:43 pm

Namielus wrote:Thanks for the tip
I dont need it for high performance, just casual gaming.
Need to show the proof-of-concept.
Super Mario Bros and similar types of games

Have you tried using an emulator? I know it would be more complicated to get every emulator to work with this rather than just implementing the video capture device. It would allow you to create your proof of concept without spending any money though. This SNES emulator already has side by side stereoscopy built in too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUkRqY1bRak

Post by **Namielus** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 2:26 pm

Huh? No no, emulators does in fact work.
Thats easy.

I really want to have the possibility to actually connect real devices. Maybe its just me, but I find the concept very cool.

Post by **Marulu** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 2:30 pm

Are you planning to support live streams from Twitch TV, and UStream in the virtual cinema?

Post by **HarleyMills** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 2:35 pm

Namielus wrote:Huh? No no emulators work.
Thats easy.

I really want to have the possibility to actually connect real devices. Maybe its just me, but I find the concept very cool.

Yea, hooking up an actual SNES (or any physical device really)would be the best option. Most people didn't keep all of their old consoles though. I guess someone could still route an emulator through a video capture device. However, most people don't own a video capture device. More options = better I say.

Post by **Namielus** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 2:48 pm

HarleyMills, I was not phrasing myself very well. Emulators are no problem, I can just stream them through directshow.
So emulators will be supported.

Marulu, thats the plan

Post by **Benjimoron** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 3:01 pm

I think I've missed the post about why this video capture device is needed, but just an idea: Could you not use a video camera? If it's just for a proof of concept, I would've thought a camera could capture what you need?

EDIT - Just found the post and worked out why you need it, you could probably use a webcam? Pointed at the tv that the PS3 is being displayed on? It won't be the best quality, but would do for a demo. I don't think webcams are that laggy?

Post by **Namielus** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 5:23 pm

Thanks for all your help guys! I was hoping to get a fast cap card before Friday but it unfortunately failed.
On friday I was interviewed about my vr-projects by my countries second largest newspaper.
Initially they meant to stay for a few hours top, but they ended up staying several hours longer talking about vr and its possibilities.

Its a video interview, but its in norwegian. Since the video will be on their website, I am unsure how its going to work regarding subtitles. Might have to make a transcript to read along with the video for anyone interested!
I did not receive any pre-interview questions so I had no way to really prepare for what they would be asking about.
All the questions was answered on the spot, and therefore there might be tons of factual errors present.

Overall it felt like a huge success, as the journalists left excited!

For all you norwegians out there, keep an eye out for Dagbladet's DBTV website the next few days.

Post by **Diorama** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 5:25 pm

That's fantastic news! You must be very excited

It's great that they were genuinely excited, rather than just getting some quick quotes. Hopefully nobody is immune to the virus that is VR Fever...

Post by **maboo63** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:20 pm

nice man just nice - keep on mate!

Post by **Pingles** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:22 pm

Wow! How fantastic!

Post by **geekmaster** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 11:42 pm

Virtual Cinema was mentioned in this video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhR3neG2ZHw[/youtube]

Post by **Parzival** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:33 am

We need to get some Cinematography students to experiment with the Rift. I'm assuming most of the users on the website are game developers/enthusiasts. There must be a way to bring videos into the VR world...

Post by **Namielus** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:41 am

Seems to me you are talking more about 360 degree vr-movies, this isnt the application for that in the near future.
I am going to cater for more traditional content. There is another thread about what you are asking for.

Please correct me if I misunderstood.

Post by **Pingles** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:53 am

geekmaster wrote:Virtual Cinema was mentioned in this video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhR3neG2ZHw[/youtube]

That's Palmer's twin brother, Plamer!

Post by **KBK** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:57 am

Namielus wrote:Thanks for all your help guys! I was hoping to get a fast cap card before Friday but it unfortunately failed.
On friday I was interviewed about my vr-projects by my countries second largest newspaper.
Initially they meant to stay for a few hours top, but they ended up staying several hours longer talking about vr and its possibilities.

Its a video interview, but its in norwegian. Since the video will be on their website, I am unsure how its going to work regarding subtitles. Might have to make a transcript to read along with the video for anyone interested!
I did not receive any pre-interview questions so I had no way to really prepare for what they would be asking about.
All the questions was answered on the spot, and therefore there might be tons of factual errors present.

Overall it felt like a huge success, as the journalists left excited!

For all you norwegians out there, keep an eye out for Dagbladet's DBTV website the next few days.

Good for you (and good on you), my good man!

Post by **TheLookingGlass** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:59 am

Congrats on the interview Namielus!! Subtitles would be much appreciated if you or someone else has the time. I really look forward to watching this

Post by **Parzival** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 11:42 am

Namielus wrote:Seems to me you are talking more about 360 degree vr-movies, this isnt the application for that in the near future.
I am going to cater for more traditional content. There is another thread about what you are asking for.

Please correct me if I misunderstood.

No. I'm not talking about 360 degree movies. I don't like that idea.

I'm talking about good ol' one perspective movies. Making it possible so we could watch movies and feel inside the movie. Feel like the actors are around us talking. Like we were an invisible presence in the room. No interacting, no head rotation or stuff like that. Just watch a movie on the rift and make use of the 3D fully. Not in a cinema style environment.

Post by **Namielus** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 12:23 pm

AHA! I get it. I am going to make a short proof of concept video that features a first person perspective soon.
I just need to figure out how to do the partial overlap with the new 7"

thanks everyone for the thumbs up

Post by **mattyeatsmatts** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:48 pm

This project is so cool, I look forward to following your progress.

Post by **Nick3DvB** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:21 pm

Hey Namielus, good to see you are still working on this. If you need a low input latency capture card and don’t mind using a composite input maybe look at old Conexant / Brooktree 878 based cards with the Dscaler driver. It might be a lot easier just to use emulators though. That interview sounds cool, great work, keep it up.

Post by **mirrorsedge2** » Thu Apr 04, 2013 9:10 pm

Namielus, would you like to have a skype conversation with me? I've also had similar ideas (sans the movie theater), and as someone who also doesn't have a history in coding but some experience in after effects and playing a hellavalot of video games i'd love to chat to you about this. My skype name is game.hero1

Post by **Namielus** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:33 am

my skype is Fluesnapper1 but I dont have time for voice chat, just regular text-chat

Post by **Namielus** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 2:17 pm

http://www.roadtovr.com/2013/04/05/ocul ... rview-3395

Cool people at RoadToVR interviewed me

My views on Leap motion for hand tracking has changed since the interview -
But otherwise I am happy with it.

Also, enjoy the sneak peek at the User Interface

Post by **STRZ** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 4:33 pm

Cool stuff

I hope it goes all well with Unity and that you're able to implement all the features you want for your building. Virtual shopping centre?

Post by **Namielus** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 4:38 pm

I will be able to do everything I want but the question is performance issues.
If I could choose I would stick with unity because I love its flexibility and ease of use,
but I might have to switch engines if it becomes too heavy for the average gamer pc.

I will be able to build a demo cool enough to show on kickstarter tho, so if people like what they
see on the related content published - I might have funds to do something more.

Post by **yomer** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:05 pm

brantlew wrote:Yeah, I think a website implemented as a canvas/WebGL that only Rift users would be able to fully exploit is a slick idea. You could keep the graphics pretty basic so that browsers could render it. It seems like something that Oculus should do as part of their website or forums.

The Unreal Engine 3 has been ported to javascript and is allegedly working on Firefox. Just saying....

Post by **bobv5** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:11 pm

Looking good.

A possibility for the arcade cabs is to have the emulator run on a players local machine, with the display viewable to anyone who cares, but gameplay only available to those that have a legal copy of the rom.

Post by **mAchiNE** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:32 pm

Awesome progress man! I like what you are doing, I will definitely back your Kickstarter

When do you think you will do your KS? sometime after The Gallery KS ends would probably be a good time so people with limited money won't have to choose between the 2 projects but can back both of them.