[This first-person account of watching a political debate in VR identifies both strengths and limitations and raises questions about which will and won’t be solvable as the technology evolves. The story is from Mashable, where it features more images. –Matthew]
I used virtual reality goggles to watch the CNN Democratic debate and it was underwhelming
Jason Abbruzzese
October 14, 2015
The Democratic debate almost made me throw up – but not for the reasons you expect.
I’m in a giant hall, in the back right corner facing the stage. I look up and to my right, and I can see the big screens, including a pretty large President Barack Obama addressing the crowd by video.
I can sort of feel a buzz in the room, but more than anything I feel the giant white Samsung Gear VR that is strapped to my face. This is the virtual reality stream of CNN’s Democratic presidential debate from Tuesday night.
If I turn my head to the left, I can see the camera operator swinging around to get shots. Below me a guy checks his smartphone, and a quick survey of the Las Vegas Wynn Hotel shows a mostly full auditorium.
Also, my stomach is gurgling. The headset is kinda already warm and I’m feeling a little disoriented.
But such is virtual reality, the technology of the future that is still working on getting the basics right today. But we’re here, it’s streaming live, and I’ll be damned if this isn’t the most unique way I’ve ever experienced a debate.
The start
Before the debate, CNN has a little sizzle reel. You won’t have to crane your neck to see it. It’s coming to you. Here’s a screenshot from the Bernie Sanders portion.
It’s cool, but I’m already worried that I’m going to be in the back of the room the entire night.
Then, CNN switches cameras. I’m suddenly on the stage just steps way from moderator Anderson Cooper and the podiums. This is already much better. I feel like I’m in the mix. Suddenly a camera man is walking up to me but really he’s getting a shot of the camera. It’s cool to see the depth in the movement, but that’s something you won’t get a lot of tonight, since it’s mostly people standing and talking.
I’m also kind of lonely. I can faintly hear my coworkers cracking jokes in the background, and I already miss my Twitter feed. There’s no interactivity on this thing, although it would be cool if they eventually added it.
Of course, they’ll have to get more people on it first. Not a terribly huge number of people were on the virtual reality stream.
The introductions
This was arguably the best part.
For the introductions of the candidates, I’m on stage left and they enter on stage right.
Lincoln Chafee walks out first and I’m basically five steps from him. He’s followed by Martin O’Malley and the rest. Again, the depth of field around them walking up to the stage is cool. They look like very realistic characters in a highly sophisticated video game.
But I can’t see their faces. What’s lacking is the resolution. Even this close, it’s hard to make out their expressions. It looks as if I’m sitting close but am also quite nearsighted and not wearing my glasses.
The camera shifts again to what will become my favorite vantage point. This perspective is to stage right, not far from where Cooper will spend most of his time as moderator. To my left are the candidates and to my right is the crowd. I can see almost everything from here.
And finally, the last camera angle comes from behind them, getting their vantage point as Sheryl Crow sings the national anthem.
Now it’s time for a commercial break, but there’s no commercials. Woo!
Fatigue sets in
The big thing about VR is that the moment you put it on, the impressive elements of the technology are immediately apparent. You’re instantly transported to a new world.
Then the reality of the world sets in.
Once the debate really got rolling, I quickly began to miss seeing the close in TV shots of the candidates. I can tell which person is speaking, but that’s about it. No facial expression, just fuzzy lifelike avatars.
If you look at the screen as a whole, it’s a decently realistic visual. But as soon as you try to really focus on a particular spot — like someone’s face — the lack of resolution becomes apparent. You see the dots on a black background.
It’s not all bad. Something about watching Sanders’s opening speech stood out. Being able to see him motion with his hands was cool, not that you didn’t get that on TV.
The visuals, however, were not the only shortcoming. The gear was a real pain.
We weighed the gear ahead of the debate complete with the Galaxy Note 4. It came in at a relatively svelte 1 lb., 3.7 oz, according to our handy mail scale.
Physically, I felt fine. The stomach grumbling and disorientation passed pretty quick. That was unfortunately replaced by the overall warmth and generally discomfort of having this thing on my face.
I’m pulling it up occasionally to type notes and compare and contrast things, which is giving me some breaks. Still though, I’m kind of already dreading putting it back on and we’re only about 30 minutes into the debate.
Resignation
I gave up on the VR experience after about 45 minutes.
Look, it was pretty cool. I’m glad CNN did it, and respect that they did something that clearly only had value in pushing the brand as technologically savvy. There’s no ads on it (yet), and not enough scale to make it matter that much.
The comfort issue is fixable with time and innovation. The Gear VR is going to be getting lighter, and it’s easy to forget that this is early days for the technology. I’m sure the screen resolution will improve as well, giving it a better overall experience.
The unsolvable questions to me center around the trade off between what’s cool about the VR experience and what I enjoy about the regular old TV thing.
I missed talking to people. I missed people making jokes on Twitter. I missed being able to grab my drink without feeling around my desk. VR really does put you into such a hyperbaric chamber that you really don’t have many other options. Yes, VR can get more social, but it would seem to have limitations.
Would I do it again? Sure. I’d love to watch Trump strut out onto the stage at the next debate. But that’s about it. VR seems more a feature that could make some parts of the debate better if used sparingly.
Reality bites, at times, but I’m sticking with it for now.