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Setup Google Cardboard VR 2.0
Mountain Climb the Eiger North Face Final Leg to the Summit
Google's "VR for Everyone" project, which has delivered the Cardboard VR system, has been enabled by recent advances in Smartphone technology, which have essentially achieved parity with bulky & expensive dedicated high-end VR systems, instead integrating components into a lightweight mobile platform that mostly obviates the need to purchase pricy custom gear, instead utilizing existing Smartphones & VR Apps, & thus further offering an economical "try before buy" experience.
To setup & operate the Google Cardboard VR 2.0 system, a standard procedure is as follows:
● (1) Obtain the Google Cardboard VR 2.0 Headset: The New York Times (NYT) has delivered ⅔ million of these, free, to its loyal subscriber base. Units may also be obtained starting at ~ $15 direct from Google's VR Cardboard site, which displays in a product table various 3rd party choices, along with, in the upper left corner of the table, the classic unit from Google (recommended for 1st timers - for large phones, select the "Filter By:...Phone Screen Size" menu & select the size for a closest-to-classic model fit). Additional choices starting at ~ $6 are available from Amazon
●● Google Cardboard VR 2 Classic
●● Amazon Basic / Optioned (Headstrap (for hands-free viewing) & Nosepad)
●● Amazon Ultra Portable / Mobile (folding clip-on glasses for shirt pocket storage)
●● Google-Mattel joint venture ((articles 01, 02, 03) available (October/Fall 2016)): View-Master Deluxe VR
● (2) Breakout the Google Cardboard VR 2.0 Headset: The headset comes essentially pre-assembled, requiring only a simple "reverse-origami like" unfolding operation to pop up & out the headset, as shown in a NYT video below (for now, skip the video final steps & instead leave the phone out of the headset & position the headset on a surface with the barcode-like "QR Code Viewer Profile" clearly visible, in order to accomplish the next step of running the Cardboard App "pairing/tuning" operation)
●● Cardboard VR 2 Breakout NYT video
● (3) On the Smartphone, from the App Store, download & run/open the "Google Cardboard" App from Google, then run the App's Smartphone-Cardboard Headset "pairing/tuning" operation: From the App Store, search for & get the app titled "Google Cardboard" (displays an icon resembling the "Google Cardboard" headset shown above & in the NYT video), then run it for the 1st time, at which point it will offer the "set up…pair phone [&] viewer" option, which is to be chosen, which causes the app to next display the "Cardboard…Access…Camera…OK" operation, also to be chosen, after which the app launches the Smartphone camera & superimposes a selection rectangle in the viewfinder, while issuing an instruction to hover the Smartphone camera over the Cardboard headset's printed barcode-like "QR Code Viewer Profile", fitting the QR Code within the camera's selection rectangle, until the camera takes the "QR Code scanning" picture, at which point the configuration is complete & the app is to be exited (can be a bit tricky as the app at this point will briskly continue on & proceed to issue an instruction to put the phone in the headset, then will switch to landscape split-screen stereoscopic left/right-views mode, then will proceed to a VR tutorial/demo & finally to the Cardboard App VR Desktop displaying a floating horizontal banner of app icons (similar to standard computer/Smartphone desktop/home screen app icons - all of which is not needed, so regardless of where things end up, just exit the app at this time). Additionally, note that if another model headset viewer is to be later used, it will need a fresh run of the "pairing/tuning" operation. To accomplish a re-pairing, re-run the Cardboard App, which will display at screen top a mini Cardboard App VR Desktop, at the upper right corner of which is a vertical "three white dots" drop-down system menu (︙), which is to be selected, & it's topmost choice "Switch Viewer" then selected, at which point the app re-launches the camera & selection rectangle for the new QR Code as described just above, so repeat that instruction & when the scan is complete, re-exit the app)
●● Cardboard App iPhone / Android
● (4) On the Smartphone, launch the 360° video to be viewed in VR Mode in the stand-alone YouTube App & insure playback is paused at the beginning of the video: Touch the 360 video link below…
360 Camera | Eiger North Face – Summit
…& when it appears & automatically starts playing in the stand-alone YouTube app, immediately press the Pause control, & if necessary, drag the playback progress bar "red ball" back all the way to the left to reset playback to start at the beginning at displayed time code "0:00". Now at this point, the image resolution is "Auto (Selected)" & should look good & sharp - if not (should the image be "soft/fuzzy/blurry" like old broadcast television/VHS or early computer screen VGA), if the original source video was filmed at a higher resolution, the resolution setting can be bumped up, typically to a low HD setting of 720s, & still provide smooth continuous playback - however if set too high for a given system, for example > 1080s, the system may be overtaxed, resulting in freeze/stop-start jerky motion playback, & hence need the resolution set lower. To adjust the resolution, in the YouTube video screen upper right corner video controls area, select the rightmost vertical "three white dots" drop-down system menu (︙), & on the horizontal banner of controls that appear, select the leftmost "gear-shaped" icon (⚙) labeled "Quality", & on the pop-up list of available resolutions that appears, select the desired value
● (5) On the Smartphone, in the stand-alone YouTube App with the 360° video paused at the beginning, to view the video in Virtual Reality, switch to VR Mode viewing: (Note: Seated viewing in an office swivel chair capable of a complete circle spin extends viewing to full visibility in all directions). In the 360° video controls area press the Cardboard "VR Mode" control button (lower right corner "face-mask like" icon). The control switches the 360° video to landscape mode, splits the screen into stereoscopic left/right-views showing an upper left corner "Back arrow" to exit the mode, along with hovering standard video playback controls, and displays over the center of each view a hovering white sphere-shaped selection cursor (⌾); (Note: Occasionally the playback controls may not appear - exiting the mode &, if needed, sometimes YouTube also, then re-entering the app & mode will usually force the controls to display). Now, to playback the video in VR, insert the audio cable into the Smartphone & wear the earbuds/headphone, then insert the phone into the Cardboard headset, then hold the headset pressed against the face over the eyes, & look through the headset lenses to the Smartphone screen - the left/right views will appear merged into a single screen, over which are displayed the video playback controls. Next, to start playback, move head & headset together as one until the video playback control (►) appears under the hovering white sphere-shaped selection cursor (⌾), until the cursor changes size indicating the control has focus, at which point then gently press the headset Select button at the upper right corner of the bridge of the headset to "click" the video playback control to remove the playback controls display (they may be re-displayed by again pressing the headset Select button at any time) & launch playback of the 360 video in full screen 3-D immersive VR. As the ascent on the summit proceeds, look all around (if in the swivel chair, spin slowly around while looking up & down), especially behind & down, to see fellow mountaineers making their way up the ridge, as well as down to the Aletsch Glacier, the largest in Eurasia, & all the way down the Eiger north face, at 13,020' the biggest in the Alps, to the valley floor
Cardboard VR Setup
● How to Use Google Cardboard: A Beginner’s Guide…"Beebom (article]"
● Google Cardboard Help Center
● Watch 360 degree videos in Cardboard…"YouTube Help…[Addendum to Step 3: After the "#360Video" search the leftmost "All" column title list displays - it's necessary to select the middle "Channels" column title to get to the described red avatar icon channel described & labeled "360 [degree] Videos")"
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