B
Brent D'Alessandro
Guest
Google announced 360-degree videos for YouTube a few months ago along with Cardboard support. What this means is you can now watch certain videos in a 360-degree setting or have a 3D experience with a VR headset, all from within the standard YouTube app.
The setup is quite easy and anyone can experience it right away. The most important thing to remember is this done through the YouTube app on your phone.
Step 1
You have two options for step one. You can either open the YouTube app on your phone and search for this crazy long title, [360 VR] 서울호서예술전문학교(HAC) 실용무용학부 댄스(Dance) Teaser, or read this article on your phone and click the link supplied. Remember to open the link in the YouTube app if it ask you.
Step 2
Launch the video you want to watch. In this case I suggest this Japanese dance group. It gives you a great 360-degree experience as there are multiple people around you to look at. The video is kind of short, so you may need to watch it twice if your eyes don’t adjust the first time around. Also, with all 360-degree videos, move your head slowly to look around. This makes the video easier to watch and minimizes any motion sickness people sometimes get.
Click here to view the embedded video.
The video above is the test video we are using. It must be watched on the YouTube website or mobile app for this to work. The video above will not be able to do anything special on our site. If you press play the video will look flattened and not at all 360 degrees. Click the YouTube button in the bottom corner to be directed to it on YouTube’s site. If you are on a computer, drag the screen around with the mouse. You should see everything moving around and be able to see all the people.
Also, remember to set the resolution to the max for the best possible viewing experience. On your mobile phone, click the three dots in the top right corner. Mine is at 1440s as I am using the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. Obviously, the higher the resolution your phone is, the better the video will look.
If you don’t have a Google Cardboard or compatible virtual reality device, you are done here. Physically move your phone around and watch the view change. It’s pretty cool already, but the next step is where it gets awesome. You must have a Google Cardboard for this to work. I am using this one that is only $16.99 (currently), but Google also gives you many other options. They are all the same basically and offer very slight differences.
Step 3
Get your Google Cardboard or equivalent device and hit the Cardboard icon at the bottom right.
You will notice the video spits in two.
At this point, put your phone inside the viewer and press play by flicking the switch on your Cardboard or just touch the screen before you put your phone in.
Enjoy!
If you have never experienced 360-degree video before, I’m sure your mind exploded. And it’s much easier for users to find content just as it is for creators to share videos. A win-win all around? I think so.
The popular television show Mythubusters also tested out diving with sharks in their own virtual reality video. It’s a little unstable and harder to watch than other videos but still very cool to see actual sharks all around you.
I definitely suggest buying a Google Cardboard viewer to watch these videos as the experience is much better; plus, it’s usually under $20 and works with both Android or iOS devices. There are many other dedicated virtual reality apps out there as well. Whether you have one already or not, we would love to hear your thoughts on 360-degree videos in the comments below.
Come comment on this article: Using Google Cardboard to watch 360-degree videos on YouTube
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