As any company working in virtual reality (VR) will tell you, videogames are just one small part of what this technology is capable of. In fact, Gear VR mobile-based head-mounted display (HMD) creators Samsung and Oculus VR recently reported that the kit is most used for watching video content right now. 360 degree content has also started to appear on Facebook, the social network that owns Oculus VR. To that end, it looks like Oculus VR itself is expanding its work in VR video content, and has now hired a Head of Video to help look after this field.
Former Hulu SVP Eugene Wei has been placed in the role, as reported by Recode. As ‘video’ has a lot of interpretations in VR, there’s been some confusion as to what his role will actually entail, but it’s since been confirmed that Wei will be working on the platforms that power 360 degree video content. His team is said to be looking mainly a 360 degree video, suggesting that his work will be separate from what’s currently going on at Oculus VR’s own film-centric division, Oculus Story Studio, which is creating CG VR features.
That’s not all Oculus VR is doing with video, however. The company’s platforms also feature movie/TV offerings that the company has now put in place on Gear VR. It’s already possible to watch traditional movies from a range of studios, and apps such as Netflix offer their entire libraries to view in-HMD. It appears that Wei’s team won’t be working on this type of content, however, despite his connects to Hulu. The new hire has also worked at Amazon and Flipboard.
Stay tuned to VRFocus for the latest on Oculus VR.
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