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W. Mass. group offer free HTC Vive, Gear VR demos

TheBlu virtual experience. (Image courtesy HTC Vive.) [1]
TheBlu virtual experience. (Image courtesy HTC Vive.)

If you are located near Northampton, Massachusetts, or plan to swing by, Northampton Community Television [2] is offering free public virtual reality demos using the HTC Vive and Gear VR headsets.

Stop by the NCTV facilities at 380 Elm St. on Tuesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. and on Wednesdays and Fridays from 2 to 3 p.m.

It’s part of a larger project that the non-profit is involved in, which will include developing community viewing through libraries, at senior centers, and after school and summer programs in western Mass and near Boston. There are also plans to begin teaching immersive storytelling in 360 video and in virtual reality, and in late 2016, to begin offering production services, virtual literacy curriculum, classes, and access to the “virtual commons.”

“We want to ensure that the public is a partner, not just a blind virtual consumer, in this emerging communication medium by supporting virtual literacy, public access to the technology, and best practices in its use,” Al Williams, executive director at NCTV, in an announcement released today [3].

The HTC Vive currently offers the highest quality immersive virtual reality experience available.

Watch a video from HTC Vive below.