NYT VR - New York Times app for iPhone and iPad
4.0 (
3280 ratings )
News
Entertainment
Developer: The New York Times Company
Free
Current version: 2.3.0, last update: 6 years agoFirst release : 04 Nov 2015
App size: 18.65 Mb
Through virtual reality, The New York Times puts you at the center of the stories that only we can tell.
From embedding with Iraqi forces as they fight to retake Falluja from ISIS to climbing the spire of the World Trade Center with professional mountaineer Jimmy Chin or setting foot on the alien world of Pluto, NYT VR delivers on the promise of VR to bring you to places you can’t normally go.
Experience our award-winning virtual reality films by New York Times journalists in an immersive 360-degree video experience.
For the most immersive NYT VR experience, watch our VR films with Google Cardboard. If you don’t have one, you can still watch our VR stories on your smartphone.
We’ll be posting new virtual reality films every month or so.
App Features:
-Exclusive 360 videos for Cardboard or smartphone-only mode
-Option to stream or download films
Have feedback? Need help? Email [email protected].
Pros and cons of NYT VR - New York Times app for iPhone and iPad
NYT VR - New York Times app good for
Thank you very much for this futuristic app and its great, fantastic and breathtaking content!
THANK YOU
Cool app and content, but please note that the app apparently works correctly only with the NYT cardboard and not with all other versions (e.g. Cardboard 2.5). I have not found a way to calibrate to my cardboard and iPhone 6 Plus.
If you have the same problem, try the VRSE app, which contains almost the same content and some others.
Obviously nyt didnt invent vr, but this is the first time Ive seen it done correctly, tastefully, and using the mediums unique characteristics. Very well done app and content. The Pluto thing was amazing.
Sure, Google Cardboard 3D VR videos still feel like theyre in their early stage of development. Low res, and the streaming stops frequently to buffer. But watching the Pluto video just now was still an amazing "wow" experience. Reminded me of the thrill my first time in an earlier simulation environment, namely a planetarium. Theres something magical about sweeping over the surface of Pluto, then turning your head to look back at the sun, not because thats where the cinematographer wants you to look next, but because thats where YOU choose to look. Having control over the video provides a completely different experience vs regular videos. Yes, this medium is still in its infancy, but its power as a storytelling medium is already evident. Love this new bonus with my NYT digital subscription.
A bit (no pun intended) pixelated, music is annoying as all get out, but the Pluto thing combined with the Google cardboard glasses is really worth the time. Impressive start with such basic tools. Thanks, NYT!
The app works without google glasses too, and allows control by touchscreen and also by movement
Some bad moments
Im so disappointed. Ive been a fan of stereoscopic imaging for decades having worked with it digitally in grad school in the 70s, then 35mm film based stills, moving to CRT hybrid imaging, and now digital systems. The whole idea of using a smart phones display and positional sensing is very clever—especially coupled with a low cost viewer—but at this point, its a toy not even as fun to use as a ViewMaster.
Not satisfied with a folding cardboard viewer, I sprung for a moulded viewer with high quality Zeiss lenses only to discover that it accentuates the spectral aberrations—colored halos and shadows at the edges of objects—that is seemingly inherent in this generation of display/viewers. Particularly missing is the ability to adjust the interocular distance of the left-right images to match the physiology of the person viewing. As a result, I get slightly nauseous even though I have a highly developed sense of stereopsis—the ability to sense depth by fusing two images with retinal disparity.
There are all types of annoyances too: like the inability to adjust the audio volume once the title has started and tendency for the app to become confused about what is up and down in meat-space so that I need to stop the video, go into another app the rights the display in landscape mode, and the restart the NYT app again.
Call me picky if you want, but I was hoping for at least an acceptable viewing experience; but unfortunately, once the novelty of "hey, Ive got VR on my smartphone" had warn off, there seems to be no there there.
App cannot stay in landscape mode, when I rotate it, it keeps turning 90 degrees away from viewing position. No audio on Pluto footage, buggy start and stop streaming (even though my wifi speed is above average). Strange experience.
Doesnt seem to work with an iPhone 5 running iOS 8.4.1. All movement directions are reversed. Confusing.
I have a few VR apps and this is the only one that gives me double vision problems. Their suggested troubleshooting steps were unhelpful and not the issue. I am on a 6 plus and using a Cardboard 2.0 viewer. The movies look interesting and would love to watch them so fix these issues soon please!
After installing, I hit open and the opening screen just freezes. Nothing here to see. Very disappointing: not ready for prime time. I will wait for another version maybe a year from now. This is a waste of time and storage space.
The cardboard viewer seems like an affordable way to dip my toe into the emerging VR world. Unfortunately dipping a toe is about all I could manage of this "immersive" technology. Like the early days of 3-D, ghosting and double imaging made it unwatchable on my iPhone 6. I was impressed by the ability to see up and down. I see reviews showing that some others could see and experience the expected viewing. It definitely seems to be what well all use in the future. Look forward to improved execution, when I may try again.