Skip to main content

Pull a VR 360 at this year’s X Games with live virtual reality video

summer x games gear vr t mobile
You’ll be able to get closer to the action at this year’s Summer X Games than ever before, as Samsung has partnered with the organizers to offer 360-degree video that can be viewed live in virtual reality. It joins a number of events that Samsung will make available to Gear VR users as part of its VR Live Pass series of Summer events.

Although watching sports in virtual reality has a lot of potential, it hasn’t materialized as a major component of big sporting organizations as of yet. However, Samsung is driving it forward this summer with a number of sporting events, beginning with UFC 212 at the start of June, in Rio de Janeiro.

Related Videos

The X Games is the next stop on its VR sporting tour and will see Gear VR owners given a unique perspective on skateboarding, as well as BMX and motocross riding during the Summer X Games in Minneapolis, between July 13 and 16.

It’s not clear at this time what the perspective will be like for the 360-degree cameras, but it will be a view that’s unhindered by the traditional bounds of a screen. Although viewers won’t be able to physically move around, they will be able to rotate their view along with their head, looking behind, in front, and side to side, in a full 360-degree sphere.

It’s is likely that, similar to the UFC 212 event, only portions of it will be broadcast in VR. While we don’t know how much of the show will be viewable, Samsung has confirmed that viewers will be able to watch skaters and riders like Jimmy Wilkins, Chad Kerley, and Jagger Eaton.

Along with the X Games event, Samsung is also working toward providing VR viewing for Gear VR owners at a concert in August, supported by Live Nation. According to RoadtoVR, the concert will be streamed from the United States and will feature an “international artist,” though details about who that will be, or even when exactly it will take place, have yet to be announced.

Although still in the nascent stage of its life cycle, virtual reality sports viewing is gathering traction and Samsung’s VR pass only helps that along. It’s joined by the likes of the NBA, which recently broadcast some of the finals’ highlights in virtual reality.

Editors' Recommendations

Watch 2018 Winter Olympics events in virtual reality thanks to NBC and Intel
history of virtual reality daydream vr

Just because you're unable to make it to South Korea next month doesn't mean you can't make your 2018 Winter Olympic dreams a reality -- that is, a virtual reality.NBC has announced plans to broadcast more than 50 hours of virtual reality coverage from the upcoming games live to viewers in the United States. Not only will this be the first time that any Winter Olympics has been captured in VR, but it will also be the first time that Olympic programming in VR will be streamed live in the U.S. across a plethora of devices and platforms.While the 2016 Summer Olympic Games were also shown in VR, the vast majority of the content was only made available the day after.The VR coverage will come from Intel True VR technology, which employs multiple cameras for its interactive 360-degree VR footage. Included in the more than 50 hours of coverage will be the opening and closing ceremonies, alpine skiing, curling, snowboarding, skeleton, figure skating, short track, ski jumping, ice hockey, big air, and more. NBC will also provide VR replays of all Winter Olympics events that are otherwise live-streamed, as well as one daily 360-degree video of a sport that was not made available in VR the previous day.Plus, you'll be able to check out highlights from the day before in VR, too.Accessing virtual reality content of some of the action in Pyeongchang should be pretty straightforward -- you'll need to subscribe to a TV provider and then just log in using your credentials, as you would to watch just about anything else online these days.You'll be able to check out VR programming almost every day of the games (February 18 is the one exception). Folks using Samsung, Google, Windows, and Android and iOS devices will be able to access the content via the NBC Sports VR app.

“The Olympics have long been an opportunity to showcase emerging media technology,” Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics, said in a statement. “With the help of Intel’s industry-leading virtual reality technology, NBC Olympics will deliver a transformative experience that will bring to Olympic fans an entirely new perspective on the speed, thrills, and excitement of an Olympic Winter Games.”

Read more
Looking for some mobile VR fun? Here are the top 10 Google Daydream apps, games
Google Daydream View (2017) review

While virtual reality headsets from the likes of Oculus are said to offer the best virtual reality experiences, mobile VR is much more affordable and still boasts some pretty cool games and apps. Google Daydream is set to become one of the most used virtual reality platforms since all you need is a Daydream View headset that costs under $100, and you can use your Daydream-compatible phone.

Still, good Daydream apps generally cost a bit of money, and it might be hard to decide which games you should buy -- although most of the paid games on Google Play can be returned within two hours of purchase.

Read more
Apple embraces VR video with 360-degree and 8K support for Final Cut Pro X
apple final cut pro x vr video finalcutprox04

Apple has firmly embraced 360-degree video with its latest update for Final Cut Pro X that lets users edit video especially for virtual reality. The update also introduces a number of additional features for modern video editing, including support for High Dynamic Range (HDR), 8K resolutions, and advanced color grading.

As much as we love fully immersive virtual reality games and experiences, it's likely that 360-degree video will be the first point of contact many people have with VR. As a standard, VR video may also be the future of immersive media, in much the way that color imagery supplanted black and white. Apple is keeping itself at the forefront of modern content creation with its latest update for its premier video editing suite.

Read more