Good news everyone! Google Chromecast for Daydream VR headsets is here! With this update, Daydream enabled Android mobile phone displays can be paired to a Google Chromecast HDMI plug that’s been inserted into a flat screen.
By using Chromecast and the Google VR Services app together, the user is free to cast and essentially project what they are seeing on their VR headset for family, friends, and clients in real time.
First Timers
Video Credit to: Charles Alan Ratliff
After seeing so many videos of first time VR users having extreme emotional and physical reactions, many people may get intimidated by using one. They may think that they may be too sensitive to the visual and auditory stimulus, lessening the chance for them to use the HMDs.
Pairing Chromecast to a Google Cardboard or a Daydream headset makes it easy for others to view how VR games and experiences look. This is especially helpful in calming the nerves of people who have never used VR before and can help entire audiences, gym members, and friends see what a guest is experiencing in VR.
Bringing Us Together
Looking at other people having fun and making a fool of themselves can help influence those that are too shy to join in on the fun. Having friends over for a VR game party would have once entailed everyone staring awkwardly at one person using the HMD.
Now, Chromecast is available to bring friends, family, and audiences closer together when they are able to view, cheer on, and feel more connected to the person playing the game.
Gaming and Fitness
https://youtu.be/PNBL2DpB1YE
Everyday people, gym owners, and fitness trainers of all niches are already using VR games as an exercise tool. Playing and projecting sports games like MLB.com Home Run Derby VR and Action Bowling onto a television by using Chromecast is a great way to influence friends, gym members, and clients to try it out for themselves. This will lead to more people viewing and then playing these VR games.
Companies like VirZOOM are already using VR headsets to gamify fitness. This stationary bicycle can be used with VR headsets like the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, and Google Daydream. Playing virtual cardio games like Racecar, Jailbreak!, Thunder Bowl, and Le Tour VR will have you pedaling to move inside the game as you exercise.
VirZoom is so effective that VR Fitness Insider recently covered how exerciser and game creator, Will Brierly, lost 50 pounds by using the bike to exercise. Commercial and private gyms, as well as fitness trainers, can benefit from casting their client’s experiences onto a TV screen to help them achieve their goals.
Help Clients Meet Goals
Using the Daydream mobile headset allows trainers to see what a client’s fitness abilities are inside a game. Trainers are free to view and indicate what a client needs to work on and removes the guesswork in guiding them through actions accurately.
Simply viewing where customers and clients are struggling or succeeding in a game or training session can help you motivate and push them harder to meet and exceed their fitness and personal goals.
Chromecast and Oculus
Oculus announced in May of 2017, that Samsung Gear VR headset users would be the first group to have access to the Chromecast HDMI dongle. There is no word yet on whether or not Chromecast will be compatible with the new Oculus Go standalone headset.
Oculus Fitness and Athletics
Gear VR games like John Terry Football Academy VR, VR Sports Challenger, and Free Throw Bomber are just a few examples of how everyday gamers and fitness enthusiasts can mix fun and games with exercise. Blending these types of sports and athletic games with Chromecast can help gamers and exercisers play and involve their friends and loved ones instead of being in a virtual world alone.
Once Chromecast improves their compatibility with Oculus products, more people will benefit from using it. VR Fitness Insider has covered how virtual reality companies like STRIVR and Monsterful VR have helped professional, collegiate, and young student-athletes get better off-the-field training.
If you pair training programs with an adaptor like Chromecast, you can help groups of athletes to view on as an athlete navigates the program, revisits old plays, or creates new ones. Trainers, athletes, and coaches will appreciate that they’re able to see the full scope of a player or team’s deficits, leading to improved outcomes.
Looking Ahead
We’re looking forward to the day that Chromecast becomes compatible with a wider range of VR HMDs. Not for the wow factor, but for its ability to bring friends, family, and groups of people together.
We can’t wait to see how adding this simple adaptor to your VR rig can help motivate people to exercise and train by letting them take a peek into virtual worlds.