Gizmo Guy: Virtual reality sets will enthrall you

Haven't explored the new world of virtual-reality goggles and software? Golly, what are you waiting for?

Once the stuff of fantasy, replacing what you see and hear from all sides with a 360-degree virtual world, VR is finally making inroads.

Totally immersive and seductive when done right, VR is gaining backing from major media and tech firms, and now seems poised to change our perception of everything from news to entertainment, shopping to travel, education to medical care.

Some cautionary notes must first be "approved" by a user, before making eye and ear contact with VR goggles, such as the breakthrough $99.99 Samsung Gear VR headset (works strictly with a Samsung smartphone onboard) or the bargain ($10 and up) Google Cardboard solution that gets lit up by many an iOS (Apple) or Android phone.

Be forewarned, virtual reality apps and alcohol don't mix well. Also - gotta take heed where you walk, lean, or flail when wearing said VR goggles, as it's easy to bump into things or step on the cat!

Hint. A free-spinning office chair makes for a comfortable, stress-free VR "driver's seat."

What disclaimers don't reveal is how addictive VR experiences can be, how easy (and fun) it is to lose a weekend in the virtual world.

Communing mostly through a strapped-on Gear VR headset fitted with a new Galaxy S7 smartphone, I recently took a madcap VR adventure in an air balloon soaring over Bristol, England. Then I participated in a tight formation flight exercise in one of four U.S Naval Air Force fighter jets, doing synchronized rollover stunts I'd never dare in the "real" world.

Hovering closer to terra firma, I jumped on stage with Cirque du Soleil, took in stunning 360-degree views of the Royal Ballet in London rehearsing The Nutcracker. I also got to hang out in a VR song circle with U2, then got a replay from three prime angles of the Villanova-Seton Hall Big East squeaker with U-R-there realism.

With a Netflix or Hulu app (needs a subscription), a Gear VR wearer can settle back in a cozy mountain cabin, watching movies and TV shows on a "virtual" screen that seems bigger than any at theaters.

Tapping into the free Oculus360 app, I globe-hopped from Guatemala to India to Japan in a blink, taking in sites with a heart-stopping sense of being there.

Casual video games - some free, others from $3 to $10 on Gear VR - let a player use eyes and head-shifting moves to knock out targets - no hands or game pad needed!

And with such heavyweights as the BBC, National Geographic, Wall Street Journal, Discovery Channel, USA Today, and New York Times jumping aboard the VR bandwagon, a VR viewer can be drawn into some cool exercises in journalism: a white rhino rescue and relocation mission by cargo plane; riding a Brussels train after the bombings; feeling the pain and grace of an Ebola survivor in Liberia; hitting the campaign trail with Hillary, Bernie, Ted, and the Donald.

Want to walk before you run? The Google Cardboard solution is a neat way to dabble, great for student engagement and not without its software charms.

A glorified box with plastic lenses, Google Cardboard lacks the tracking abilities and touch pad controls of Gear VR. As most variants require you to hold a GC up to your eyes rather than strapping it on like the Gear headset, it's not so easy to "lose yourself" in the process. Also, because almost anybody with a 360-degree camera can develop a VR app using the "open" Google Cardboard platform, the results are far more variable than in Gear VR-land, where content is carefully curated by Samsung and its software partner Oculus, and a distorted, fish-eye lens view (the norm with cheap VR cameras) would never be allowed.

To the good, your Gizmo Guy found more than 100 Cardboard-compatible (maybe) apps - many free - just by typing the magic letters "VR" into the iPhone App Store search bar. And those paper viewers are so cheap ($4 wholesale) that some companies are giving them away, to get you gawking at their "aren't we cool" VR news gatherings, real estate listings, or new car commercial.

Virtual reality got a lift this week with the long-awaited launch of the video game-centric $599 Oculus Rift VR system, winning mixed reviews. The buzz will grow in May, when the rival $799 HTC Vive system arrives, then really pick up come October as Sony jumps in with its "mass market"-focused $399 Sony PlayStation VR kit. Those first two require tethering to a sophisticated PC costing at least $900. Sony's solution mates with a $349 Sony PS4 game console.

But I'm thinking Samsung's cord-free Gear VR headset solution may prove the biggest hit of all. Especially if the maker keeps improving Galaxy smartphone battery run time and ups its phones' screen resolution to ultra-high def (as already found in some Sony Xperia models). Do that, and the "Is it real or is it Samsung?" question may never come up again.

takiffj@phillynews.com

215-854-5960@JTakiff