The idea of a courtside view of Kevin Durant and Steph Curry launching three-pointers in the same jersey is surreal enough if you’re watching on TV, let alone virtual reality. Today, the NBA has unveiled the full schedule for the 25 games it will live-stream with leading VR producer NextVR once a week in virtual reality for the 2016-17 season.
All 30 teams will appear in at least one of the 25 games, starting with tonight’s matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and the Sacramento Kings in the King’s new arena, the Golden 1 Center. One game will be live-streamed in VR every Tuesday via the free NextVR app’s NBA channel.
The NBA is aiming to bring fans courtside seasts every tuesday by completely revamping its live virtual reality experience from last season. This season there will be announcers, VR-specific commentary, in-arena entertainment during breaks in the game, and behind-the-scenes footage. Highlights, condensed games, and full games will also be available on demand in the NextVR app following each game.
Fourteen teams will play multiple games in VR, including Lebron James and the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers. James and the crew may have dethroned the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals in June, but the Warriors are still the team the NBA champions in VR. The hosts of the NBA’s first game VR game last season, they will be the only team to play in four VR games this year, including three times in the last month of the season.
The NBA may be years away from selling VR tickets to games, but will see if fans are interested in having VR included in their NBA purchase. The games will only be available to NBA League Pass subscribers who pay for the $200 full-season package, at no additional cost. There will be a free League Pass trial period over the next five days so all of the NBA’s millions of fans can get a chance to see the Los Angeles Lakers face off against the Indiana Pacers on November 1.
VR may not be as polarizing as three-point-shooting centers in the NBA, but is not fully embraced by all teams. Teams such as the Kings, Cavaliers, and Warriors have either invested in VR studios, given fans VR headsets, or used it to convince once-in-a-lifetime players to join their team. Then there are the skeptics, like verbose Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
“I would rather be in the top row at a game than watching a live VR stream, and I don’t see that changing in many, many years,” Cuban told [a]listdaily in March. Interestingly, the Mavericks’ American Airlines Center is one of only three arenas to be wired for VR this season.
To watch the games you will need a Samsung Gear VR headset and a compatible Samsung phone, along with login credentials for your NBA League Pass account.
Check out the full schedule of games below to plan your next VR outing:
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.