(gentle music)
- Hey, I'm Max, and I'm a Best Buy Home Expert.
Today we're diving head first into Extended Reality,
often referred to as XR.
XR is the umbrella term for all immersive technologies,
like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality.
This tech is always evolving,
so we wanted to get you up to speed on the latest
and greatest of XR.
First up, let's talk about where it all started:
VR or Virtual Reality.
But what is Virtual Reality?
Well, it's when you're completely immersed
in an entirely virtual space.
For a while now, many of us have dreamed
of donning a headset that would virtually transport us
to another world, and in the last few years,
we've seen some incredible products
that have made virtual reality, well, a reality!
There are products like Google Cardboard
that can turn your smartphone into a simple VR headset,
and other more specialized units like the Oculus Quest 2,
which is a completely self-contained immersive VR system.
Since everything you're seeing isn't actually real,
it's extremely important to be familiar
with your real surroundings before you put that headset on,
and always wear your controller wristbands
just to be completely safe.
The good news is you can leave this virtual space
whenever you want, simply by removing the headset.
And because you can't see what's going on
outside the headset, be prepared for your friends
to take videos of you while you get your Beat Saber on.
Gaming has certainly been one of the primary ways
people have been using VR,
but there are plenty of other interesting uses
for this technology as well.
For example, there are some incredible painting
and design apps, fitness apps, virtual field trips
that allow you to see the world
from the comfort of your living room,
and virtual movie theaters
where you can have a shared viewing experience
with a friend in another part of the world.
VR is also being used by companies worldwide
as a training platform for specialized skills,
without needing to be at a certain location
or having access to tools.
It can all be recreated virtually.
Incredible, right?
Next up, let's unpack AR or Augmented Reality.
This is when you're using a device like a smartphone
as a sort of window into another reality
that lives on top of real life.
This works by combining the camera feed and motion data
that allows graphics and animations
to appear on top of the video in real time.
One of the first and more popular examples of AR
is the game Pokémon GO
where players interact with the characters
through this window.
The game also uses GPS data
to turn the entirety of planet earth into the game's stage.
Now that's a big deal.
AR also has incredible applications in education.
Students can now walk around and interact with 3D objects
like planets, animals, or anything really.
And even here at Best Buy,
Augmented Reality has become a powerful tool
that allows you to see what a TV might look like
in your own living room.
Not sure if that 55 inch LED is big enough?
Change sizes with the touch of a button.
Oh yeah, now we're talking.
Oh, and finally, the latest technological jump is MR
or Mixed Reality.
This is sometimes likened to a combination of AR with VR.
But instead of having a window into this other world,
MR is when you're using a device to overlay graphics
on your line-of-sight by using specialized lenses
as screening devices like the Microsoft HoloLens 2.
MR has incredible applications
that will affect the way we game, the way we create,
and the way we work, both virtually and in-person.
Imagine being able to have a shared MR experience
with someone in the same room.
Or having your next virtual conference meeting,
but everyone is simply around you.
This is the kind of stuff we've been seeing in movies
for quite a while, but it's actually becoming a real thing.
Someday we might even see a sophisticated system
that projects this virtual world directly onto your retina.
Talk about an eye-opening experience.
And there you have it.
At Best Buy, we're here to help you navigate
this exciting world of XR.
If you're ready to get started,
visit a Blueshirt in one of our stores,
check out the options on BestBuy.com,
or use the link below to set up time
with a Best Buy Home Expert like me.
We'll be happy to help.
Thanks for watching.
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