Virtual Reality has become more and more popular over the past few years. Especially during the world pandemic, people are seeking ways to connect with others remotely in a more immersive and empathetic way. But what is VR? The easiest definition of virtual reality can be boiled down to an experience that uses digitally synthesized 360-degree environments to trigger and respond to a user’s digital inputs, creating the illusion of a continuous reality. Sounds neat right? Well, those who have used virtual reality know it’s much more than that. VR has been the catalyst and solution for many, many ideas and experiences that were once thought too difficult to make real.

The benefits of Virtual Reality include:

• VR has aided teachers in expanding students’ horizons
• VR has become a new tool in helping doctors and therapists rehabilitate patients
• VR has given designers the ultimate resource for realizing new ideas
• VR has helped distant loved ones communicate and bond with each other in a more immersive manner
• Of course, VR has also helped us blow off some steam by hunting down some zombies or jetting us into a futuristic, dystopian city, where only we have the power to save the world.

Virtual reality is truly an unending adventure with unlimited potential.

What Do I Need to Know About Virtual Reality?

Virtual reality can be extremely valuable for anyone and is scalable depending on how you would like to use it, which is the best answer to that question. Some important fundamentals to understand right away include the fact that some virtual reality devices (better known as PCVR) run on computers, whereas other devices (better known as All-in-one VR) run without a computer, and each has advantages. To give you a quick introduction to VR, we wanted to share with you some similarities between the two before you continue. Here are two crucial elements that can guide you on your quest to understand virtual reality.

1. Virtual Reality at Your Fingertips

Virtual reality’s screen resolution and visual fidelity are arguably some of its most crucial components. Because you’ll be able to see more clearly, you’ll be more willing to immerse yourself in the experience. The initial generation of virtual reality headsets used heavy lenses and low-resolution pixels, which made the experience a little hazy. No matter the pixel count, however, recent advances in OLED and Real RGB pixel technology now offer sharp images with remarkably lifelike imagery. It really depends on personal preference whether you think OLEDs produce better black or Real RGB has more vibrant colors. You might also be familiar with the “screen door effect” of virtual reality, which results from the size of the pixels on the headset screen.

2. Hop, Skip, and Jump into A New Reality

Now, experiencing things virtually is cool, but you can go further. In fact, when the headset doesn’t restrict your movement, virtual reality is at its best. Degrees of freedom, or DoF for short, is the most frequently used term for movement in virtual reality. Early VR kits were 3DoF, or three degrees of freedom, which limited your ability to move your body forward and backward but allowed you to move your head up, down, and side to side. Incorporating the concepts of 3DoF, 6DoF additionally enables users to move forward, backward, duck, and spin around (before those pesky zombies can grab you). Most virtual reality kits are now standard 6DoF and offer greater versatility than 3DoF. Unless your main goal with VR is watching 360-degree videos, which only require 3DoF, we strongly suggest 6DoF for the best VR experience. Nowadays, 6DoF virtual reality kits are the norm and provide more versatility than 3DoF. We strongly advise 6DoF for the best VR experience, unless your primary use of VR is watching 360-degree videos, which only require 3DoF.