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1
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Onyx (In-Active)
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Thanks for the review. I think you may be confused about the VP9 format though. There's nothing proprietary about it. It's an open royalty free format developed by Google. Not sure what settings they used, but VP9 is similar to x.265 in that it should produce better results even at smaller file sizes, not worse.
If for some reason you have trouble playing VP9 in your normal player I'd suggest ensuring you have the LAV filters installed https://github.com/Nevcairiel/LAVFilters/releases The LAV video configuration will allow you to use hardware acceleration for playback if your card supports it. I'd also recommend having your player play via Direct Show.
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12-12-17 12:21pm
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2
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rearadmiral (0)
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Thanks for posting this review. For a long time I always tried to be on the cutting edge of technology and a lot of that was driven by porn. I had the first VCR of all of my friends (back when they were top-loading and weighed 50 lbs.), I was a early adopter into DVDs. I skipped Blueray simply because online porn and external storage was becoming better and cheaper. But... I can't bring myself to take the plunge on VR yet and it isn't that I don't think it would be any good, but my worry is that it isn't plug-and-play and I'd never be able to figure out how to use it.
Someday though...
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12-12-17 01:24pm
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3
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Onyx (In-Active)
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REPLY TO #2 - rearadmiral :
It's not complex. The Oculus Rift is simple to setup and use. The video codecs being used in VR are the same as in 2D video. In fact they are just 2D videos, the player is doing all the work to get the correct portion to each eye. Provided you have a modern video card you should have no trouble that couldn't be straightened out via a simple post.
IMO, VR videos are so much better than 2D (even in their relatively low resolution state) that I have very little interest in anything non VR anymore.
Anyway it is pretty cool so unless cost was an issue I'd not be scared away by diving in. In any case no one lives forever, so don't wait too long.
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12-12-17 01:40pm
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4
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rearadmiral (0)
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REPLY TO #3 - Onyx :
Hmmm... maybe I should look into this a bit more.
In terms of hardware, what else is needed besides the player? Is the 'player' just software? Is the headset thing USB or HDMI or something else?
You've got me interested now...
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12-12-17 03:14pm
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5
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skippy (0)
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REPLY TO #2 - rearadmiral :
RA, You are not alone. I was in Information Technology for 20 years and am still an early adopter for many kinds of technology. It can be a real pain in the ass. VR is no exception. I had to build a dedicated computer that is essentially an expensive high-end gaming machine. And the HTC Vive platform is still embryonic. The problem is that there aren't any standards and no clear technology consortium has emerged yet. We are in the betamax vs. VHS mode for this stuff and Augmented Reality (projecting things through glasses so they appear in actual physical space) is the DVD coming down the pipe.
Here's a chuckle. I'm watching porn in VR, and Ultra-HD, but Comcast still gets to charge me extra for HD channels. SD over-the-air broadcasting ended 10 years ago, but somehow 75% of the channels I get at home on cable are still SD. If you watch ANY porn in Ultra HD, you are far ahead of the cable companies. (I just read that DirectTV will cease broadcasting in SD in 2019, so maybe Cable will wake up and do the same in order to compete.)
As usual, the porn is driving technology just like it drove VHS. :-)
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12-12-17 03:34pm
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6
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rearadmiral (0)
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REPLY TO #5 - skippy :
Thanks for the comments and advice. i probably won't be taking the plunge in the next 12 months but I am confident that VR will have eventually be mainstream in porn and because of that I'll take the plunge sometime.
I hear you on the issue of porn driving so much technology. Hmmm... what on earth could the 4-head VCR be good for...?
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12-12-17 03:41pm
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7
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skippy (0)
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REPLY TO #1 - Onyx :
Hi Onyx,
Well....OK, VP9 might not be proprietary, but it certainly is not common. I had to go through quite a bit to get my non-VR video players (VLC and Windows Media Player) to be able to play it and I still can't get my Simple VR player to play it in VR, which is why I'm reverting to the 265 format. For the Vive, Simple VR is a pretty awesome universal player and it is more stable and, I think anyway, a better player than Whirligig or virtual desktop. It is also the only decent JPG image viewer for Vive VR that I know of.
Now if Only I could figure out how to edit these damn VR videos using my Adobe Premier video editing software. (I have 6 TB of VR videos now...) I can pull them in and edit them, but I can't figure out what output settings to use so the edited files will play in VR. Any ideas? :-)
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12-12-17 03:44pm
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8
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Onyx (In-Active)
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REPLY TO #4 - rearadmiral :
Yes, the "player" is just software. Think Windows Media Player, PotPlayer, VLC, etc. but for 180/360 degree videos. There a bunch of good free ones available.
I do not share Skippy's opinion of things being difficult. I also do not agree that there is some sort of war between technologies. This is simply untrue.
If you are uncomfortable with a PC you can use a smart phone. Lots of people use their phone to access and view VR content. That's about as plug and play as you can possibly get. In fact some phones are better than the best headsets for PC right now.
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12-12-17 03:55pm
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9
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skippy (0)
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REPLY TO #6 - rearadmiral :
Archiving! The only VCR I still have is a VCR to DVD converter. Pretty soon, though, DVDs will probably be obsolete.
I just went to update the navigation maps on one of my cars, a 2012 BMW, and the update instructions call for 4 8GB thumb drives(32GB total, to hold all the business and point of interest stuff, I guess). All I had was 3 year old 4GB thumb drives, so I ran out to Office Depot. The guy there says "We don't sell them that small anymore. Smallest we have is 16GB." They were stupid cheap, too. That's advancing technology at its finest.
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12-12-17 03:57pm
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10
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Onyx (In-Active)
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REPLY TO #7 - skippy :
I think you mean you reverted to 264. 265 is HEVC and very much like VP9.
I dismissed Whirligig early on because it takes a bit of time to learn to set it up correctly. I found DEO VR the simplest to get working right away. That said, Whirligig is the most advanced and best player I've come across. It's worth the learning curve for many scenarios.
What you should use to edit your videos is aviDemux http://avidemux.sourceforge.net/
It's very simple and fast.
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12-12-17 04:01pm
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11
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Onyx (In-Active)
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REPLY TO #7 - skippy :
I assume by editing you mean you wish to cut out portions of the video leaving the original encoding intact.
What you want to do after installing aviDemux is:
1) Drag your video onto the program to load it.
2) Ensure video/audio dropdowns on the left are set to "Copy"
3) Ensure Output Format dropdown is set to MP4v2 Muxer
Now you want to position your cuts on I-Frames. The frame type of the current frame is displayed at the bottom. The up/down keys also automatically jump to I-frames. Just click the red A button to mark the start of the cut. Move to the end point of the cut and click the B button. You should now see the area marked. Press Ctl+X to cut out that section of video. Repeat this process until you are done making cuts.
Then just click save.
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12-12-17 04:19pm
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12
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Onyx (In-Active)
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REPLY TO #4 - rearadmiral :
Oh and about the headsets. Current ones use both an HDMI and USB cable. HDMI for video and USB for transmitting details about the rotation of your head.
But based on your apprehension you may be best served sticking with a smart phone for VR.
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12-12-17 04:28pm
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13
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skippy (0)
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REPLY TO #11 - Onyx :
Awesome! I'm downloading it now and will try it soon! Premier is overkill most of the time anyway.
Thanks!
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12-12-17 04:53pm
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14
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rearadmiral (0)
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REPLY TO #12 - Onyx :
Thanks. I've been reading a few online articles about VR porn and they recommends a phone for novices too.
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12-13-17 01:47pm
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15
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rearadmiral (0)
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REPLY TO #9 - skippy :
I have to say that I am really surprised at the longevity of DVDs. Here at PU and on some other forums it seems that DVDs are still the 'go to' format for a lot of people. I don't get that. If my porn collection was on DVDs it would take up a warehouse. That's only a mild exaggeration. As it is, it's on 24 external drives and they fit in a briefcase.
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12-13-17 01:49pm
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