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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Assasin’s Creed trailers released

Marty
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Assasin’s Creed trailers released

Oh, it’s an exciting time for cinema. Just this week we got to enjoy the latest Dan Brown movie adaption with Inferno. During the trailers prior to the movie, we spotted the Assasin’s Creed trailer with Michael Fassbender. Boy oh boy, does it look impressive.

That CGI “leap of faith” from the bell tower looked pretty awesome, right? Maybe give this a look and then completely re-appreciate the effort that goes into some cinema!

This got us pretty excited. Going to the cinema is pretty expensive these days, but even that won’t be able to keep us away from seeing Fassbender time-travel as an assassin. It’ll be an expensive 2017 as not only do we have Assassin’s Creed but the best soundtrack to a movie ever is getting a volume two.

Guardian’s of the Galaxy was a bit of a surprise package when it emerged in 2014. Set for a summer 2017 release, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 is almost certainly going to be a hit. There’s not much we know about it as of yet except that Drax is getting more touchy-feely with age and that baby Groot is adorable.

That’s just two films showing the potential that’s on show for 2017. It’s going to be an expensive year.

Royal Rumble of Retro Gaming this Saturday

Marty
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Royal Rumble of Retro Gaming this Saturday

Yes, that is the coolest headline we’ve ever published.

This Saturday will see the very best Retro Gamers pitted against each other in Dublin. The event, organised by retrogaming.ie, will take place in Phibsborough’s The Back Page. Here’s what to expect.

retro gaming the back page

Retro Gaming nostalgia

Nostalgia, and lots of it. The team at retrogaming.ie are referring to this as a “90s gaming resurrection”. All major consoles will be represented on the day. Super Nintendo’s Super Mario Kart, Nintendo 64’s legendary GoldenEye and PlayStation’s Tekken 3, amongst others. Honestly, the variety on show is going to be crazy. Duck Hunt which will only work with really old TVs is even going to be making a guest appearance. Here’s an infuriatingly annoying ad of American teens playing Duck Hunt for the first time.

Most likely, some friendly competition

Each game will have its own tournament and tournament winner. Some of the prize up for grabs are going to be pretty sweet. The likes of Golden N64 controllers, and mint copies of retro games to name but a few. We fully expect this to lead to some friendly competition.

It may turn ugly later on in the day as the guys seek to name the Retro King or Queen of the day. Such a title is earned through fire and brimstone – and by being the gamer on the day with the overall top three tournament scores.

Details of the event

The Retro Gaming Royal Rumble kicks off at 3pm Saturday, October 22nd. Here’s the running order.

Time Game
15:00 Super Mario Kart
16:00 Tekken 3
17:00 GoldenEye
18:00 Street Fighter II Turbo
19:00 Mario Kart 64

This is by no means an unusual idea. Retro gaming is a massively growing trend. Even Nintendo and Sega are revamping their old consoles for Christmas this year. We’ll be showing you how to play your old favourites soon, so be sure to sign up for updates.

In the meantime, be sure to like the Retro Gaming’s Facebook page. They hold events weekly as retro gaming and the few pints are just a marriage made in heaven. If you want to head along this Saturday, gamer tickets start from €5 per game with a day pass costing only €15 – letting you play all games.

Pornhub reports increase in searches for clown porn

Marty
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Pornhub reports increase in searches for clown porn

Scarier than any clown sightings is the news that Pornhub has seen massive spikes of interest in clown porn.

What is Pornhub?

Sure, you have no idea. Pornhub is the world’s leading online collection of pornography. Annually, the site gets almost 88 billion video views and has 8 million subscribers. Most impressive is the average visit duration of over nine minutes showing people enjoy the storylines. Pornhub also, from time to time, release some extremely interesting insights data – like this interest in clown porn.

What insights has Pornhub released?

Considering clowns are widely feared, many would appear to have quite the clown fetish too. Pornhub has announced a 213% increase in clown related searches on their site. The variety of these searches is impressive, to say the least.

clown porn on pornhub

Yes, you’re reading that right – “clown fart”. It’s also interesting to see that women are 33% more likely to search for clown porn than men. Pornhub, being sticklers for details, also looked at searches before users searched for clowns. Two terms appeared here that we were simply waiting for – “Harley Quinn” and “Ronald McDonald”.

searches leading to clown porn

Why is there an increased interest in clown porn?

The timing of the interest is no coincidence.

interest in clown pornHalloween parties are within touching distance. Typically, people are already planning their costumes. Unfortunately, many have decided to get clown costumes and were unable to wait to try them on. Then, in full creepy clown attire, some people have been standing out in public scaring others. A few have taken this too far and attracted substantial media attention, including comments from the White House.

Naturally, this has led to people looking up clowns on Pornhub. Makes total sense right? Personally, Twisty the Clown from American Horror Story is our favourite.

Tesla Ireland: Model 3 launch

Marty
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Tesla Ireland: Model 3 launch

The Irish can often be left behind a little bit, but Tesla have confirmed their electric cars will feature on these roads in 2017.

We recently brought you some of the practical issues Tesla may not have considered when planning to launch their cars on Irish roads next year.  This followed confirmation by Tesla’s founder Elon Musk in February that the company would expand to Ireland. Following the announcement of the electric car manufacturer’s long awaiting Model 3, Musk confirmed Ireland would be included on the innovative car’s order page.

What is the Tesla Model 3?

The Tesla Model 3 is the latest electric car from one of the world’s best known electric car manufacturer. Tesla have revolutionised electric motoring by stying their creations on super cars and sports cars to generate an electric car, attractive to the masses.

Tesla Ireland - Model 3The Model 3 is the first Tesla car which can be considered widely affordable. Boasting arguably the best range of an electric car at 215 miles, the Model 3 could just about get you from Grafton Street in Dublin to Shop Street in Galway with a few kilometres left in the batteries.

In terms of the standard automotive features, the Model 3 is by no means a boring, entry level car. Accelerating from 0-60 in under six seconds, the Model 3 is just as fast, if not faster than an Audi A6, Ford Focus ST and Volkswagen Golf. It is also a few seconds faster than the Nissan Leaf.

In terms of features, the Tesla Model 3 does come with Auto pilot installed, the self-driving technology. In the base model, safety features will be enabled, such as collision avoidance, helping towards the car receiving a 5-star safety rating. Further features will be available, but only if you pay for them.

Tesla Ireland: Where can I buy the Model 3?

While Tesla plan to be available in Ireland this year, the Model 3 is unlikely to be here any earlier than 2017 if not 2018. Tesla have stated that special priority will be given to Californians and early Tesla backers. The Model three has also proven popular beyond belief, which the company have yet to comment on with regard to availability.

The UK currently has 13 Tesla dealerships, so it’s likely the Dublin area will have one. While nothing has been confirmed, you should be able to order your car on the Telsa website, or potentially from a dealership.

Tesla Ireland: How much will it cost?

While we should have the other Tesla motors available in Ireland this year, it’s ultimately the Model 3 which could make this a popular car. The Model 3 is widely considered to be the best truly affordable all electric car. You can expect you pay around €31,000 for the basic Model 3 which comes with some nice goodies as standard, including Auto pilot safety features.

We are not forgetting the likes of the extremely affordable Nissan Leaf, but the cool factor is something Tesla have nailed with the Model 3.

Electric car tax breaks in Ireland

While the general consensus is that the Model 3 is affordable, there is further good news for those of you considering to purchase an electric car. There are benefits in place for those adopting electric cars in Ireland. To achieve 10% of all Irish vehicles being electric by 2020, the Irish Government provides a grant. This €5000 grant will be awarded to the first 6000 electric vehicles purchased through authorised dealers.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on Tesla’s growing presence in Ireland, so follow us on social media to get the latest.

Review: Inferno

Marty
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Review: Inferno

Dan Brown’s “Robert Langdon” novels come movies have received mixed reviews. Largely, these reviews have been geography dependant with the UK and Ireland being extremely hard on Brown.

I went along to Inferno, Brown’s latest movie adaption, external opinion free, to formulate my own opinion.

What is Inferno about?

In short, the movie concerns itself with the over-population of earth. Our population has grown exponentially in the twentieth century from 1.6 billion to 6.9 billion. Bertrand Zobrist, a billionaire scientist is determined to cull the earth’s population. Tom Hanks plays Robert Langdon, a “symbologist” who has an uncanny ability to get caught up in changing the history of the world before it happens. The Harvard lecturer begins the movie hallucinating in bed while suffering from a head injury. Soon after he’s running for his life, while also attempting to stop the spread of the Zobrist’s Inferno virus.

Is Inferno any good?

Dan Brown’s work has always walked a tightrope between reality and fiction. Fans of the series will remember CERN from Angels and Demons and Opus Dei from The Da Vinci Code as being examples of this tightrope. The already blurred lines between fact and fiction are not helped by Langdon’s condition. Amnesia and hallucinations mean you can’t really trust what you see from his perspective. The flashbacks he suffers are disturbing, which is unsurprising considering they are inspired by Dante’s Inferno.

Inferno is gripping because of these blurred lines between reality and fiction. I wanted to break cinema rules and Google earth’s population growth over the twentieth century. I waited until I got home, but sure enough, there’s a lot of truth behind Brown’s novel come movie.

Dan Brown Inferno population stats

With the believable fact of the earth’s overpopulation at the core of the story, Brown married together this present day truth with the classical poetry of Dante. His epic poem, Inferno, was supposed to be a depiction of hell, but the movie of the same name instead uses the poem as a prophecy for what is to come – because of overpopulation. Which, personally, I enjoyed – but I’m by no means the norm in these parts.

Why does Dan Brown’s work get slated?

In a recent BBC interview, Brown jested that his work always got a kicking in the UK, while it’s much better received in the US. Ireland would appear to follow suit in terms of critical analysis, with the Irish Times slating the latest movie adaption. Brown would appear to be a victim of his own success within pockets of Europe.

So far, I’ve enjoyed Brown’s work – including Inferno. Sure, bits and pieces are far-fetched, but so are Star Trek and Star Wars. Critics appear to be uncomfortable with the blurred lines between reality and fiction. Generally, it just appears to be the huge success of Brown’s work that makes it cool to slate it.

Largely, I found Inferno to be somewhat intelligent, thought-provoking and even funny in parts, thanks largely to the fantastic character played by Irrfan Khan.

Irrfan Khan gif from InfernoInferno: The verdict

Ignore the critics. If the critics were to be believed, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas wouldn’t be watched by anyone. The Boondock Saints would be locked away in the basement of an old Xtravision store in Roscommon. We’re not critics. We’re moviegoers, and we pay for our cinema trips which means we get angry if the movie is terrible. Walking out of Inferno, I just wanted to Google the population growth rate of the twentieth century. I was very happy with the two-hour journey I experienced. The only other thing I wanted to do was replicate Robert Langdon’s watch on my Huawei Watch. It was a successful night all round.

Robert Langdon's Mickey Mouse watch on Huawei Watch

Inkhunter brings your tattoo ideas to life

Marty
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Inkhunter brings your tattoo ideas to life

When you decide to get inked, there’s a fair chance you’ve trawled through dozens, if not hundreds, or tattoo ideas. Even when you whittle that list of ideas down, you’re likely to be left with a fair few options. The only thing scarier that knowing someone will be injecting ink into your skin permanently is the thought you might regret it.

Inkhunter is the perfect app to bring your tattoo ideas to life without any of these risks.

What does Inkhunter do?

Ah, the beauty of augmented reality. Despite having a name you shouldn’t say too fast, Inkhunter is a fantastic example of how technology can help you during every big milestone in your life. Now that you have a tattoo idea, Inkhunter can use augmented reality to show you how that will look on you.

tattoo-ideas-in-real-time-with-inkhunterMany already use augmented reality on a daily basis when they use Snapchat filters. Actually, Inkhunter works on the same basic principal to Snapchat filters. The app uses your camera to locate an anchor point on your arm. In this case, the anchor point is a smiley face drawn by pen. You then position the smiley face within the viewfinder with the app. You’re then shown what your tattoo would look like on you. Feel free to take a picture, adjust the size or slide across the screen to get a black and white shot.

Where do Inkhunter get their tattoo ideas?

The app comes preloaded with some pretty awesome work from artists around the world. If you are starting with a blank canvas, there’s plenty here to inspire you. However, should you have a hand drawn sketch, you can easily upload it to the app.

Tattoo Ideas in Inkhunter from Steffan NeuberHere’s one we uploaded from German tattoo artist Steffen, hailing from Lowrider INK. Once you have the sketch, simply upload to the app (or take a picture of it). You can make adjustments which will remove the paper the sketch is drawn on, resize the image and even move it around.

Why is Inkhunter a good idea?

Well, tattoos are pretty much for life. Inkhunter is a free app that lets you test out what that ink will look like on your body. You wouldn’t buy a car without a quick test drive right? There’s no harm in test driving your tattoo. Thanks to augmented reality, you can try on that tattoo idea and make sure it fits.

 

The Note 7 recall saga finally comes to a close

Dean
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The Note 7 recall saga finally comes to a close

The Note 7 recall has been a shambles from the word go. The news is everywhere after one or two phones went up in flames, followed by images emerging of one burnt out on a plane. What started out as a Note 7 recall has ended with the complete discontinuation of the handset and probably the whole Note series altogether.

burned out note 7 recall

Unfortunately for Samsung, the Note has been irreparably damaged in terms of brand – up in flames so to speak. To design the Note 7 replacement and sell it under the Note branding would be a terrible shout.

After investigating the issue, Samsung concluded that the batteries were slightly too big for the Note 7. The batteries became crimped in the device, overheated and short-circuited.
The original cost of the Note 7 recall was in the region of 1.8 billion dollars. The cost of an entire recall and discontinuing the phone is an eye-watering 17 billion dollars. For a company like Samsung, who make laptops fridges, ovens, smart accessories, TV’s and tanks (as in army tanks) 17 billion is a drop in the ocean, but they did cut their revenue forecasts for the third quarter by 33% following the recall.

That’s the obvious cost, but the repair work costs money too – and that’s just the brand. Samsung are now offering financial incentives to customers, encouraging them to stay with the South Korean phone manufacturer. In the US, they are offering to pay $100 off your phone bill if you return your Note 7 and switch to another Samsung phone. In South Korea they are offering just under the equivalent of $65. Samsung are effectively paying their customers to stay with them. Meanwhile, they have also quickly distanced their flagship phone, the Galaxy S7, from thoughts that a similar problem could occur.

Following the Note 7 recall, Samsung are looking to move the launch of the Galaxy S8 forward to February 2017.

img_0499

This is a nightmarish time for Samsung. Apple just released their new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. It seems to be going smoothly for them with no issues popping up. Also, Google announced their new Pixel and Pixel XL. And to top it all off, Christmas is right around the corner and Samsung’s name will be more than a little blemished for the next few months. Or at least until they release their next flagship in early 2017.

Irish PlayStation VR Launch: First look and release information

Marty
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Irish PlayStation VR Launch: First look and release information

What else would you be doing of a Tuesday evening except getting hands on with the latest VR headset at the Irish PlayStation VR launch.

We’ve already looked at the heavy hitters in the VR space, like HTC Vive, and the entry level experiences, like Samsung Gear VR and Freefly VR. In the middle of it all, there was this big empty space, a space that Sony’s PlayStation VR could possibly fill.

What makes PlayStation VR different from the others?

Sony are no strangers to the gaming world with PlayStation being one of the most loved consoles in the world. Samsung Gear VR, obviously, needs a Samsung phone. The HTC Vive needs a beast of a computer to run the intense graphics experience – making it a very expensive device. The PlayStation 4 is an affordable gaming platform, which would be far more popular amongst average gamers than high-end computers.

Irish PlayStation VR LaunchOne thing that became quite clear at the Irish PlayStation VR launch was how this headset had greater potential to find its way into Irish homes than the HTC Vive. It also provides a much better gaming experience than the Gear VR. But how good is it? Read on.

The PlayStation VR headset

The most important part of the setup has to be the headset. Due to the fact PlayStation VR is emerging relatively late in the day, it’s impossible to avoid comparison with the competition. Comfort-wise, the headset is great. It’s adjustable at the rear and front to ensure a universal fit and optimal comfort. There was a little bit of fogging up, but we’ve yet to find a headset that has survived this test.

The only real negative we noticed with the headset was a little bit of light-leak. But to be quite honest, we were so distracted by the sheer immersion, it didn’t make much difference to the experience.

Apologies for the choppy video throughout, the event was in a bit of a blackspot.

One other massive thing to point out. The PlayStation VR headset is completely compatible with glasses. Rejoice!

PlayStation VR controllers

The biggest step up for the Sony PlayStation VR from Samsung Gear VR is the hand paddles. The colourful ping-pong balls on top serve an important purpose. Similar to HTC Vive, the PlayStation VR tracks your movement. The Vive requires a large space with two sensors placed around the gaming space. PlayStation VR instead depends on a small camera you would place in front of your TV. This then picks up on the lights atop your controller and VR headset. It also makes you look like a member of Daft Punk.

Sony’s setup is extremely smart. It’s much easier and cheaper to implement that HTC’s while delivering a very similar experience. It also means you can use a standard PlayStation controller within a lot of these games, the ping-pong controllers or no controller at all.

Martin using PlayStation VR controllersGames available for Irish PlayStation VR Launch

The first thing we noticed with the PlayStation VR games were the graphics. They weren’t up to the levels of the HTC Vive. Sure enough, they were ahead of the Gear VR by some distance, but they did seem a little blocky. First of all, it’s important to realise we were playing demos. It’s also important to realise that the level of immersion from the overall experience more than makes up for the graphics.

Think back to the old arcade games, or Time Crisis. It wasn’t about the graphics. It was about feeling like you were there while playing with a G-Con Gun. This is what the PlayStation VR sets out to achieve – and it nails it.

London Heist

So, we’ve discovered the measure of success for a VR game. It’s a game where as soon as it starts, you know what you can interact with. As London Heist starts out, you’re in a van with a Ross Kemp looking geezer. You can pop the hazards on, drink a milkshake, change the radio station and even lean out of the van. Then lads on motorbikes appear and you have to shoot them up. When you run out of ammo, without even thinking, you load a new clip into your Uzi. Yes, somewhere between putting the headset on and the game starting, you channelled your inner John McClane and started kicking ass.

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood

What the christ was that all about. Between the rollercoaster nausea and gigantic killer pig corpses, that was a simply bizarre experience. But, what an experience it was. The level of immersion with Rush of Blood was, well the best we’ve experienced to date. Yes, it’s a bold claim, but one we stand by.

“Gary is shooting signs for no good reason while descending into the mouth of a pig” – why you have to love VR gaming.

Even a man whose day job is the consistent attempted murder of his mother found Rush of Blood a little intense.

Right before he practically announced that Goos3D.ie was his favourite tech website.

What is the Irish PlayStation VR launch date and price?

The Sony PlayStation VR will be available from GameStop for €399.99. The latest VR headset is expected to launch in Ireland on 14th October. Still, if you’re knocking around Dame Street in Dublin, you can pop into their pop-up shop and try out PlayStation VR for yourself.

Dare to Care: Five times I missed my smartphone

Marty
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Dare to Care: Five times I missed my smartphone

After one month without a smartphone to raise funds for the Irish Cancer Society, I’ve picked out five times I missed my smartphone this month.

I missed my smartphone in the gym

People will often hear me talking about going to the gym. People who really know me, also know it’s likely a complete lie. I’m not a regular in the local gym but, at the same time, I do enjoy popping in every now and then. Smartphones play a funny part in the hour or so you spend in the gym. You’ll likely notice it a lot more the next time you’re there.

i missed my smartphone in the gymFirst of all, there’s the woeful music that gyms play. My good lord. At the risk of realising I’m aging, how does anyone think that stuff is motivational. I like trodding along to Metallica or maybe a podcast through Spotify. Recently, SkyGo has weighed in too, though I’m sure it’s not great for the rhythm.

Then of course, it would be sacrilege if tech wasn’t involved somewhere in my terrible fitness regime. My Huawei Watch gives me my live heart-rate while keeping track of all the metrics I measure. I won’t be sharing these any time soon.

I missed my smartphone while driving

Once or twice over the past month, I’ve been completely lost behind the wheel. On one hand, it’s exciting to not really know where you’re going. Also, you get to see some lovely places that were, until just five minutes previous, were complete mysteries. At the same time, jumping across three lanes of traffic while apologising to everyone and hoping for the best, isn’t much fun. I’ll be looking forward to having Google Maps back.

Just ask Jon. Himself and Dean had to journey from Limerick to Dublin to see Goos3D.ie nab silver at the Blog Awards.

I missed my smartphone during lunch time

Actually, every time you sit with someone and you don’t have a smartphone, you realise just how much everyone uses their phone. There’s only so many times you can glance at your Nokia 3310 before you have to initiate conversation with someone. Chances are they won’t be listening, but you have to persevere.

I missed my smartphone while taking toilet breaks

Oh sure, be all high and mighty but you use your smartphone on the toilet. Toilet breaks are longer than ever because of smartphones. Over the past month, I’ve read my share of records from a strategically placed Guinness Book of Records and where that wasn’t available, resorted to reading shampoo bottles and the likes.

miss my smartphone

Fun fact: This is Lilleput – the world’s shortest cat. She’s just 5.25 inches tall. Awwwww

I missed my smartphone in general

Okay, so this is quite broad and general but bear with me. Granted, I consider myself to be a bit of a techie and that was always going to be the biggest challenge-disconnecting. A bit ironic of course considering Nokia’s old motto:

I’ve missed, and I know the lads were the same, using Facebook, Gmail and the likes of Twitter. Sure enough, there’s been the odd trip to a laptop, but it’s the hour on lunch or weekend trip somewhere. Not having the usual information and updates to hand, made me a little uneasy. Now, I don’t take back what I said on Today FM – it hasn’t been as difficult as expected and I could even go another while.

With that said, I’d simply rather not. Giving up your smartphone is much easier than you think, but my oh my is it a nice thing to have in your pocket for when you need to know something.

With the month finally complete, our donation page is still open. You can still donate to the Irish Cancer Society below and help beat cancer.

support-cancer-reserach

Sky VR Review: TV broadcaster to make VR mainstream

Gary
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Sky VR Review: TV broadcaster to make VR mainstream

Back in March, Sky decided that they would look to become a player in the VR space. Ever since, we have been looking forward to what content Sky would bring when it launch. We previewed the app in August gave us a glimpse of what we could expect. Now the Sky VR app is available in Ireland. We’re here to give you a run down on what could be a big splash in the VR space.

What is Sky VR?

 

Sky VR has been in the pipeline for a number of months and represents their commitment to the next generation of entertainment platforms. What is does, is allow the user to experience high-quality content in VR. The content available varies, with sports, movies, entertainment and nature categories represented well. However, if you are looking for live content, the Sky VR app will leave you disappointed. There is no live content available currently, but that’s not to say it won’t be available in the future.

Where can I get Sky VR?

It’s clear that Murdoch and Co decided to make the Sky VR app accessible to all during development. One of the main concerns when it was announced, surrounded the cost of the app. Thankfully, the Sky VR app is free to anyone who wants to download it. It is also available to download on Android and iOS for the masses, and on the Oculus store and through Gear VR for the purists.

What do I need to use Sky VR?

sky-vr-hardwareBecause the Sky VR app is available on several platforms, the hardware requirements are quite basic. As a start, anyone with an Android smartphone running Lollipop can access the content through the app, even without a VR headset. Using a standard headset will enhance the experience, allowing you to easily view the 360° content. Using a good set of headphones is also recommended, helping you feel like you are really within the content you’re watching. When reviewing the Sky VR app, we used a basic set of iCandy VR goggles and some Sony BTN 200 headphones, which worked really well. Don’t forget, you can pick up VR viewers, cheap as chips, in Flying Tiger these days.

What to watch on Sky VR?

Ok, so you’ve downloaded the app and have your headset and have your headphones at the ready. What should you watch first? There is a lot of choice within the Sky VR app to keep you occupied. If you’re a sports fan, you can relive Leicester City’s league win last season, or watch Anthony Joshua prepare for his World Title bout. For movie fans, you can put yourself into The Jungle Book, and experience meeting King Louis and Baloo from Mowgli’s perspective. Or perhaps you’d like to sit and watch an interview with the cast of Suicide Squad in 360. The content is bite-sized, so you won’t spend hours on the app, but there is more than enough to give you a quality VR experience.

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