Just how long can you binge-watch inside a virtual reality headset? Apparently, for more than two days straight. On Monday, Cyberlink set the Guinness World Record for the longest marathon watching VR content when two New York residents finished a 50-hour binge — and they didn’t even throw up.
Alejandro “AJ” Fragoso, 26, and Alex Christison, 37, started watching back-to-back virtual reality content on Saturday in a Manhattan apartment and didn’t stop until Monday. Watching titles including Rouge One: Recon — A Star Wars 360 Experience, Kong VR: Destination Skull Island, and the short film Invasion, the two watched VR content using Oculus Rift headsets and Cyberlink’s PowerDVD 17.
Fragoso, a Brooklynn-based iOS developer, broke the record for watching regular TV last year with 94 straight hours of binging. Christison helped Cyberlink with a marathon of a completely different sort last year when he created a 360 video while running the New York City Marathon.
The duo was allowed five-minute breaks every hour, per rules set by the Guinness World Records, with an unlimited snacking stream including energy drinks and coffee. Eye-monitoring cameras were used to confirm the two didn’t fall asleep during the binge. An ER physician was also on hand since long periods immersed in virtual worlds have been known to cause nausea and vertigo, though the doctor noted that neither of them threw up from the experience.
The stunt was hosted by CyberLink to promote the PowerDVD 17 that launched earlier in April — though the participants did not receive any monetary gain unless you count the unlimited snacks. The VR and 360 support is a new feature for the media player, which also offers Ultra HD Blu-ray and HDR10 support.
While the record was the first of its kind for the Guinness World Records, the pair beat out a few unofficial records, according to Variety, including a German gamer immersed in VR for 48 hours.
