VR has had a difficult time reaching the mainstream market. With the form factor and price challenges hampering uptake, the VR industry is in need of a win to compete with the surging AR Market. One of the big challenges in the VR space is the lack of content. The new VR Platform Vrenetic from Roland Emmerich and Marco Weber aims to put the power in the hands of anyone with a smartphone.
Vresh is a multi-part VR platform. One part live-streaming platform, one part disposable VR glasses and one part 360 camera mobile phone add on. With these three parts combined, you have the early makings of a content generation network for the VR space. Currently it is expensive and time consuming to generate, host and share VR content. Vresh aims to lower the bar for VR content creators like YouTube did with normal video content.
Vrenetic is headed into beta tests this year with the aim of doing a launch and rolling out 5000 units next March. The technology enables users to share VR content one to one like Skype or broadcast it to a larger group. By using the glasses, viewers are able to see the recording users’ live immersive stream. To jumpstart uptake, the Vrenetic team will be distributing the cheap $7-8 dollar glasses for free.
The future of the Vresh is still open. Though the technology is still new and untested, there is a lot of value in building a content creation and sharing ecosystem. VR Cameras and glasses are available separately but there has yet to be a cohesive package for creating, storing and distributing the content. With their targeted $20 entry price point, they will be coming in far below the $200+ you can expect from the market today. What remains to be seen is whether the average person will be able to create convincing VR content.
