In the past year or so, the internet has been flooded with different kinds of Virtual Reality content. Big production houses as well as amateur YouTubers have given the all interesting 360 degree videos a shot and have created some really good content. It is interesting as it was unheard of and quite captivating to say the least. But many had already seen a static version. Stop a 360 degree video and you have a spherical image. A full 360 degree image. Now, you suddenly feel you have seen such pictures on various real estate websites. A 360 degree walkthrough using full spherical images was born almost 4-5 years ago and it gained and lost prominence very quickly due to the quick commercial acceptance. Strange as it may seem but 360 degree pictures became just another thing very soon. So, how are 360 degree videos different from 360 degree images and are we looking at a similar result like the one we saw in the case of 360 degree images? A question which is very valid and the talk of the town. Let us explore a little more on the same.
For people who are not technology literate, there is tendency to compare 360 degree videos and 360 degree images. Just because both are full spherical there is no need to find similarities. It is quite simple actually. I’ve heard people saying or rather asking me if 360degree videos are similar to 360 degree images. All I have to tell them is that if a dog had wings, it wouldn’t be called a dog. The differences in the two, hence, are quite simple and evident. Yes, both of them are full spherical but that is probably the only similarity between the two.
The scope of 360 degree images was limited and hence it lost its charm way too soon. On the other hand, 360 degree videos has shown a lot of promise and has already entered the entertainment and social networking industry with a bang. 360 degree images were actually as static as normal images. All they did was just give you a full 360 degree view. But it was static. Hence, after a point you didn’t know what to do with it. This is not the case with 360 degree videos. One of the more viral videos on YouTube is the one made by Tomorrow Land. A brilliant conceptual video which literally makes you feel as if you are attending the music fest. Due to the aw-inspiring immersive experience a video gives it is really unfair to compare it with the images.
The other major difference between the two is that of application. Images as mentioned before did not find enough application. Videos on the other hand have already flourished in no time. Almost everyone is creating content. There are short fiction films being produced for the VR e.g. The Displaced, there are advertisements e.g. Coca-Cola, after films of music fests e.g. Tomorrow Land and many more.
Hence, differences are far and wide between 360 degree videos and photos although they are built upon the same logic.