The Lure Of Virtual Reality

It lets you go places without leaving home. But you may not want to pay up for the privilege just yet. 

- Kaitlin Pitsker

Remember the view-master you had as a child that let you see Disney characters in 3-D? A virtual reality headset is like a View-Master for the 21st century. But now the headset may strap on like a pair of goggles. And instead of inserting a wheel of images, you use a phone, PC or other device to stream content.

The magic isn’t just in the headset. VR content is created either by stitching a series of images into a 360- degree video or by presenting slightly different images to each eye and creating the illusion of depth. Both aim to trick your brain into believing that you’ve been transported to a different place than the space your body currently occupies.