<p>There is a difference between "Virtual Reality" and 360* Video because they have completely different uses. </p>

<p>360 video is created from multiple streams of video being stitched together, or one very wide camera lens. It will either be viewed as one greatly distorted video stream or in a special viewer that only "shows" a window into the plate and lets you "look around" -with a corresponding drop in resolution. </p>

<p>Virtual Reality usually refers to a synthetic world created in a program of some kind like <a href="https://unity3d.com/" rel="nofollow">Unity</a>: Unity Game Development Engine or <a href="https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Platforms/VR/" rel="nofollow">Unreal Engine</a>
<a href="https://www.quora.com/I-want-to-be-a-virtual-reality-developer-From-where-can-I-start-What-are-the-best-learning-materials" rel="nofollow">Here some starter information on VR Development</a></p>

<p>It is possible to merge video and "VR" in the context of movie. What you are really creating is a composite (Visual Effects) shot. Simply put, it involves creating a <a href="http://www.tested.com/art/538855-how-lidar-used-visual-effects/" rel="nofollow">LIDAR</a> scan of a location. Putting that information into a 3D program such as <a href="http://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview" rel="nofollow">MAYA</a> and then projecting the combination of elements onto the 3D models created from the scan. At which point you may have a 360 virtual set that you could render shots from. </p>

<p>Industries like firefighters and the military are starting to use realistic VR for training. And I think that's probably the closest to what you're talking about. It's going to be a limited "game" universe where the models are possibly scanned from real-world locations. However there's no reason to use 360 video for these applications, it would introduce more issues than it solved over just getting real textures and images.  </p>

<p>I suppose it makes sense to mention what <a href="http://secondlife.com/" rel="nofollow">2nd Life</a> and <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/24/entertainment/la-ca-noir-city-20110424" rel="nofollow">some games have done</a> with VR and realism.</p>

<p>And what Google is doing with <a href="https://vr.google.com/jump/" rel="nofollow">360 video</a>/images</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-19T15:08:47.397Z
Okay thanks @integris that brings some light :) but maybe it's just wrong wording here: https://youtu.be/eayh49rTZUM 
why are they saying 360 video? Seems to me like complete VR experience, isn't it?
Pepys
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-20T16:05:56.683Z
@pepys That is 360 video. "VR" is a misnomer here, but I imagine they are trying to be forward compatible and currently hip. You cannot really "navigate" through this space as they say, these are videos that have a set timeframe which allow you to look around in 360 as I stated in my answer.
integris
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-21T05:09:39.723Z
360 videos are limited to more-or-less one view point whereas VR allows you to move around, eg you can look under a table and discover something you didn't see before.
Rid Iculous
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-17T07:51:50.433Z
2016-06-17T16:41:17.037Z
2016-06-17T16:41:17.037Z
integris
<p>Is there a difference between Virtual reality and a 360°video? </p>

<p>For me, you cannot have a VR without a 360video (and 360 camera). And these 360 panoramas, are they considered VR? </p>

<p>A little broad question but hope I can get it straight. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-17T07:10:30.127Z
It is more question about VR term, then about video production. So you better ask it on the http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/virtual-reality or http://english.stackexchange.com/
Shultc
<video><360video>
VR vs 360 video
Pepys
# VR vs 360 video

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-17)

Is there a difference between Virtual reality and a 360°video?

For me, you cannot have a VR without a 360video (and 360 camera). And these 360 panoramas, are they considered VR?

A little broad question but hope I can get it straight.

**Tags:** video, 360video

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It is more question about VR term, then about video production. So you better ask it on the http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/virtual-reality or http://english.stackexchange.com/  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-06-17. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

There is a difference between "Virtual Reality" and 360\* Video because they have completely different uses.

360 video is created from multiple streams of video being stitched together, or one very wide camera lens. It will either be viewed as one greatly distorted video stream or in a special viewer that only "shows" a window into the plate and lets you "look around" -with a corresponding drop in resolution.

Virtual Reality usually refers to a synthetic world created in a program of some kind like [Unity](https://unity3d.com/): Unity Game Development Engine or [Unreal Engine](https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Platforms/VR/)
[Here some starter information on VR Development](https://www.quora.com/I-want-to-be-a-virtual-reality-developer-From-where-can-I-start-What-are-the-best-learning-materials)

It is possible to merge video and "VR" in the context of movie. What you are really creating is a composite (Visual Effects) shot. Simply put, it involves creating a [LIDAR](http://www.tested.com/art/538855-how-lidar-used-visual-effects/) scan of a location. Putting that information into a 3D program such as [MAYA](http://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview) and then projecting the combination of elements onto the 3D models created from the scan. At which point you may have a 360 virtual set that you could render shots from.

Industries like firefighters and the military are starting to use realistic VR for training. And I think that's probably the closest to what you're talking about. It's going to be a limited "game" universe where the models are possibly scanned from real-world locations. However there's no reason to use 360 video for these applications, it would introduce more issues than it solved over just getting real textures and images.

I suppose it makes sense to mention what [2nd Life](http://secondlife.com/) and [some games have done](http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/24/entertainment/la-ca-noir-city-20110424) with VR and realism.

And what Google is doing with [360 video](https://vr.google.com/jump/)/images

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Okay thanks @username_2 that brings some light :) but maybe it's just wrong wording here: https://youtu.be/eayh49rTZUM  why are they saying 360 video? Seems to me like complete VR experience, isn't it?  
> **username_2**: @pepys That is 360 video. "VR" is a misnomer here, but I imagine they are trying to be forward compatible and currently hip. You cannot really "navigate" through this space as they say, these are videos that have a set timeframe which allow you to look around in 360 as I stated in my answer.  
> **username_3**: 360 videos are limited to more-or-less one view point whereas VR allows you to move around, eg you can look under a table and discover something you didn't see before.  

---

