Rev VR Podcast

Lots of people. Lots of fun. Join us as we debrief after Oculus Connect 5.

Rev VR Podcast (Ep. 150): Ready Player Cosmo I love having repeat guests, especially when it's Cosmo Scharf. Let's talk about Ready Player One, VRLA, Mindshow, and more. First of all, I want to announce that I am officially changing my name to Reverend Blockchain. It's fitting that Cosmo has also decided to change his name to Cosmo Blockchain at the same time. Did you see Ready Player One yet? We both did, and we give a brief overview of our reactions. We also discuss Mindshow, a wonderfully creative VR tool that allows a user to create their own original cinematic content. Are you attending VRLA 2018 on May 4th and 5th? I am and it is going to be another amazing show for sure. Cosmo and the VRLA gang have chosen to share a 15% discount code for listeners of this podcast. Just enter VRLA_goodvibes when you check out at http://virtualrealityla.com/ For more info on Mindshow, check it out on Steam or their website https://mindshow.com/

This is a crossover episode of the 'I Love Libby Show' and 'Rev VR Podcast' where we discuss the 'Ready Player One' book and upcoming movie. It's always fun when worlds collide. Libby finally read the book, and she absolutely loved it. Time to dig into her thoughts on it, as well as a bit of anticipation on the movie. If you enjoyed this podcast, and would like to check out the 'I Love Libby Show', go to www.ilovelibbyshow.com

Kevin Williams joins me in this episode of the Rev VR Podcast. Kevin has been reporting on the Out Of Home Entertainment industry for quite a while which gives him a unique perspective on the current state of VR and other related tech. We discuss arcades, reporting on non-US advances, 9-D egg pods at the mall, Microsoft's MR headsets, CastAR, and much more.

This is the long awaited Rev VR Podcast - 2017 End of Year Episode As usual, I took some time to go back and listen to my previous years' EOY episodes, so I can see what I predicted, how I spoke about the industry, and think about the evolution of immersive technologies. I came to the conclusion that the idea of a "Year of VR" might need to be redefined, and that our expectations need to evolve. 2017 brought about many changes to the industry, including a huge push of AR, which I discuss at great length during this years EOY podcast. We also got Mixed Reality headsets from Microsoft, I changed jobs, and I made the bold choice to use an iPhone as my daily driver, despite my Android fanboy status. All this and much more in this episode, so enjoy!

It's time once again to sit back, relax, and appreciate the time honored tradition of the post Oculus Connect UberCast. For those of you who are new to the tradition, let me explain it. Starting with the first Oculus Connect, we gather as many podcasters, media, and well-known personalities as we can from the VR community and attempt to record a post-expo wrap-up podcast. In the first UberCast, we were fortunate to have the founder of Oculus, Palmer Luckey, drop in and grace us with his presence. Since that first year, we have attempted to keep the tradition going with several regulars, and as many new folks as we can fit into one recordable venue. This podcast has always been an open forum, with no restrictions as to who can participate. We spread the word, pick a spot, and all are welcome. The tradition has grown. We have done an UberCast at several other expos and conventions as well, and it has become a welcome event conclusion for the VR community. We also try to give each UberCast a unique name that represents how, where, or when it was recorded. This year, we have decided to call it the 2017 CoffeeCast, since the 12 of us ended up sipping coffee and eating brunch-style food at a wonderful (and accomodating) coffee shop in San Jose called iJava. We did the best we could to record and edit the audio for you. Consumption of the UberCasts is best done with headphones or earbuds. Hopefully the fidelity of recording so many people in a busy coffee shop does not deter from your enjoyment of the content. A big thanks to everyone involved, and to Oculus for hosting another great VR event to bring us all together yet again.

Being in Seattle, I have access to many other Influencers and personalities in the VR/AR space. Eugene Capon is one of those personalities that I run into whenever I attend a party, expo, gathering, meetup, or exclusive product reveal here in the Emerald City. We decided to get together and have a chat. How did he get started? What is the source of his passion for immersive tech? What are his thoughts on the current state of things? All this and more in this episode of the Rev VR Podcast!

Last Friday, I was invited to a demo party at the SURF Incubator here in Seattle, WA to check out the TPCast hardware. In case you aren't aware, TPCast is a wireless solution for virtual reality HMDs, such as the HTC Vive. I was asked to show up early to interview the top execs at TPCast and get some answers about how their hardware works, and how it will solve one of VR's most annoying problems... the cable. After the interview, I had a chance to try out TPCast for myself, and had a great time playing Space Pirate Trainer and Holopoint. Both experiences showed zero additional latency, and other than a quick blip of blue screen, the TPCast seemed to work exactly as they described. Thanks to the folks at TPCast for taking the time to talk to me. I look forward to grabbing a TPCast kit myself and untethering my HMDs.

Yoni Binstock, author of 'What is Virtual Reality?: Everything You Wanted to Know Featuring Exclusive Interviews With the Leaders of the VR Industry', joins me on this episode of the Rev VR Podcast. We discuss the purpose and motivation behind the book, as well as the experience of interviewing so many visionaries in the VR space. Purchase the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/What-Virtual-Reality-Everything-Interviews-ebook/dp/B071DZ6PJK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497927480&sr=8-1&keywords=what+is+virtual+reality

This episode, with guest Alexander Mejia, was originally geared toward a conversation about the abundance of VR titles available, and the goobers in the media that don't seem to agree. Instead, we determined that marketing VR titles may actually be the problem. What is the best method to market VR games to folks who already own an HMD, and more importantly, how do you market to those who do NOT yet own any VR? We tackle these questions and much more.

In this episode, I am joined by my good friend, Jeff, who had his first experience with the VR community by joining me at SVVR 2017. We discuss the recent Facebook Spaces 'Fat In VR' issue, the return of Palmer Luckey, the success of this years VR expos, and much more.

If you are active in the VR community, then you are probably already familiar with my guest in this episode, Cosmo Scharf. Cosmo, along with some friends, started the VRLA Meetup group, which has flourished into one of the largest full size expos in the industry. Bringing together developers, hardware manufacturers, and content creators in the Los Angeles and Hollywood VR scene have been the driving forces behind Cosmo, and his team's success. Along with his work with VRLA, Cosmo and several others have embarked on a software startup called Mindshow, which is a platform for creating VR content using animation, motion capture, and most importantly, your imagination. Mindshow is a tool for content creators who want a great way to pump out amazing VR stories without having to be expert coders.

Whenever I attend events such as the recent Seattle VR Mixer hosted by Pluto VR, I end up having amazing conversations with some of the smartest members of the VR community. It's fun to dig deep into the past, present, and future of this industry with developers, CEOs, marketing geniuses, artists, and enthusiasts who all share a passion for what they do. On occasion, I grab a few of them, go off to a quiet area, and hit record, so I can share a small bit of the fun with you, my audience. In this episode, I am joined by Morgan Sinko of Nullspace VR, Nima Zeighami of Electric Systems Consulting, and Jesse Comb of Nomadic Digital. We hit a wide range of topics, including Nullspace's haptic suit Kickstarter, HTC's Vive trackers, Hackathons, dropping out of college, and options for the official beer of the VR community. Later, we are joined by Shawn Whiting of Pluto VR. Thanks to their wonderful team for hosting this event and making this podcast possible!

In this episode of the Rev VR Podcast, I am joined by CEO of Survios, Nathan Burba. We discuss a wide variety of topics, including the Survios origin story, best practices for startups, and Valve's VR saving wildcard, Half-Life 3.

There is still an active conversation about 360 videos, and what type of content is truly recognized as VR. Kain Tietzel, CEO of StartVR, joins me in exploring this space, and determining what makes good 360 content. StartVR has already made a name for themselves in the VR space. As a leading creator of 360 interactive content, their Syndey, Australia based studio is filling our VR headsets with experiences such as VR Noir, Quantas VR, and their latest endeavor, Awake.