Augmented reality and virtual reality platforms are moving on at a rapid pace. More and more mobile devices are being launched as ‘VR ready’, and as the technology becomes more accessible it is inevitable that consumers become more accustomed to using it. For our industry, the obvious effect of consumers becoming more accustomed to using it is that organisers will also become more aware of how to incorporate it into their events. Discussing the subject of virtual reality on the latest Talking Events podcast was CEO and Co-Founder of MetaVRse Alan Smithson. Alan joined the podcast on the line from his headquarters in Boston, USA. During the episode, he highlighted the significant advancements in hardware that he thinks will open up the marketplace and make virtual reality more accessible at all levels. “Wind back just a couple of years and the cost of producing VR content was quite prohibitive. Despite having the mobile phones and related headsets to access it, the content itself couldn’t be produced fast enough to satisfy demand. Fast forward to now, and you’ve got off the shelf cameras like the Samsung Gear 360 and Nikon Key Mission 360 that are VR ready. You literally film it, stitch the footage together on your computer using software that comes with the cameras – or even on your phone – and post it directly to Facebook. We’ve come a long, long way in just a few years and the tools are now trickling down to the prosumer and consumer level.”

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