Hulu said its recently launched virtual reality app is now available and viewable on the Oculus Rift, the new high-end headset from the Facebook-owned VR specialist. 

That experience, which requires users to connect the Rift to a high-octane PC, “creates a polished, sharper and highly responsive viewing experience in the Hulu VR app,” Hulu said.

The Hulu VR app, released in March, was originally optimized for Samsung’s Oculus-powered Gear VR platform. The Oculus Rift started shipping in late March. 

Timed with the expansion of its VR app on the Rift, Hulu said it has launched a “new, immersive virtual environment” to watch the first season of Syfy’s 12 Monkeys. Viewers who visit the 12 Monkeys show page will transported to the Temporal Facility, which houses the show’s time machine, Hulu said, noting that it partnered with show executive producer Terry Matalas and production designer John Mott to create the VR experience.

This represents the first “show space” for the Hulu VR app, and more are in development.

The Hulu VR app currently features more than 30 pieces of original VR content for free to viewers with or without a Hulu subscription.

VR will be a big topic at tomorrow’s Next TV Summit in San Francisco, which will start off with a keynote discussion with Ben Smith, Hulu’s head of experience.

If experiencing is believing when it comes to virtual reality, Oculus will soon put that notion to the test.

The Facebook-owned VR company shed some light on its retail initiative Monday, announcing that the Rift will be launched at 48 Best Buy stores on May 7 as part of “The Intel Experience.” Oculus said it expects to support more in-store Rift demos at more Best Buy stores this summer.

The company has also set up Oculus Live, an online form that lets interest consumers schedule Rift demos at Best Buy stores up to a month in advance.

“For many, this is a first chance to jump into truly immersive VR,” Oculus said.

Additionally, a “small number” of Rifts will be offered at select Best Buy stores starting May 7, with some online sales offered via Microsoft and Amazon starting May 6 at 9 a.m. PT.

“Quantities will be extremely limited while we catch up on Rift pre-orders,” the company said, while also acknowledging that “many pre-order customers are still waiting for their Rifts, so we’re offering those customers a chance to purchase Rift from retail instead – while keeping their pre-order benefits, like the EVE: Valkyrie Founder’s Pack and priority status for Touch pre-orders.”

Shipments of the Rift started in late March. Facebook has not announced unit sales, but doesn’t see VR having a material impact on revenue in 2016 as it starts the slow road to mainstream consumer adoption.

Get complete coverage of VR trends and technologies.

Sony’s PlayStation VR headset for the PS4 console will start at $399 and hit the market in October 2016, the company announced Tuesday in tandem with this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The PlayStation VR will debut across multiple regions, including Japan and other parts of Asia, North America, and Europe.

Though it has to be paired with a PS4, Sony’s pricing on the PlayStation VR undercuts the introductory pricing for two high-end VR platforms -- the Oculus Rift ($599) and the HTC Vive ($799), which must be tethered to high-performance PCs. Google is reportedly working some new VR products, including a more advanced version of Cardboard that will be made of plastic, but still requiring pairing with a smartphone, as well as a higher-end self-contained VR headset. 

PS VR, which uses an OLED display, will support a resolution of 1920×RGB×1080 (960×RGB×1080 per eye), a field of view of approximately 100 degrees, and 3D audio processing.

Sony said  more than 230 developers and publishers are working on software titles for PS VR, and that software titles in development for the platform currently number more than 160. Examples include Eagle Flight (Ubisoft), EVE: Valkyrie (CCP Games), Headmaster (Frame Interactive), Rez Infinite (Enhance Games), Wayward Sky (Uber Entertainment).

Additionally, The Playroom VR (from Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios) will be offered as a free download via the PlayStation Store to all PS VR owners simultaneously with the launch of the system. 

Sony said PS VR will also feature a “Cinematic”  mode that lets users watch a variety of content via a “large virtual screen” while wearing the headset.  Supported content for Cinematic mode includes standard PS4 games and videos as well as some PS4 features, including Share Play and Live from PlayStation. The system will also support 360-degree photos and videos that are captured by devices, including the omnidirectional cameras on the PS VR. 

HTC started to take pre-orders for the Vive today at 10 a.m. ET, introducing a virtual reality platform that will cost $799 and go head-to-head with the Oculus Rift.

HTC, which has also announced international pricing for the Vive (it’ll fetch C$1,149 in Canada, £689.00 in the U.K., and €899.00 across other parts of Europe, for example), said the pre-order package bundles in three VR titles: Fantastic Contraption, Job Simulator and Tilt Brush, a 3D painting system from Google. The Vive kit will also include two wireless controllers and a 360-degree tracking and room scale movement sensors.

HTC, which is limiting orders to one Vive unit per customer, said it expects to start shipping the Steam VR-powered platform on April 5.

Like the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive users must tether the platform to a high-octane PC (HTC recommends PCs with an Nvidia GeForce GTC 970/AMD Radeon R9 290 equivalent or greater GPU, Intel i5-4590/AMD FX 8350 or greater CPU, at least 4 gigabytes of RAM, and HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 or newer video outputs).

Out of the chute, the HTC Vive will be a bit pricier than the Oculus Rift, which opened preorders on January 6 and starts at $599. Earlier this month, Oculus started to take pre-orders on Oculus-ready PCs and Rift bundles that start at $1,499.

Samsung, meanwhile, is trying to prime the virtual reality pump by bundling the Oculus-powered Gear VR headset with its new Galaxy S7 and S7 edge smartphones. The Gear VR regularly sells for $99, but is compatible only with select Samsung smartphone models.

Google reportedly is working on at least two new VR platforms -- a smartphone-powered viewer that would be a notch above its Cardboard platform, as well as a self-contained VR headset.

In January, the Consumer Technology Association predicted  that interest in new VR products, such as the Oculus Rift, Gear VR and HTC Vive and coming Sony VR headset for the PS4, will cause unit sales to surge 500% in 2016 and reach 1.2 million units sold. CTA also expects VR to generate $540 million in revenues this year, up 440% from 2015.

RELATED:'Virtual Reality -- Ready for a Closeup' Webinar, Feb. 24, with Andrew Trickett (Merge VR) and Tony Mugavero (Littlstar), moderated by Next TV editor Jeff Baumgartner

Sony hasn’t announced a 2016 launch date for the PlayStation VR, the virtual reality headset that will pair up with the PS4 console, but GameStop CEO Paul Raines said he’s preparing for a fall debut.

“It’s a big launch. We’re getting ready for it,” Raines said in a TV interview with Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo. “We will launch the Sony product this fall.”

He said GameStop is also in retail distribution talks with Oculus, the Facebook-owned VR specialist, as well as with HTC, maker of the Vive VR platform.

Oculus started taking preorders for the Oculus Rift last month ahead of shipments that will begin this spring, and yesterday started to take preorders for Oculus Rift-PC bundles that start at $1,499. Preorders for the HTC Vive are expected to open on February 29.

Google, maker of the entry-level  Cardboard VR viewer,  is reportedly developing a new VR headset that will rival the Samsung Gear VR and require the user to pair the device with a smartphone, and is said to be working on a more advanced self-contained VR headset.

Raines said it’s hard to measure the VR market right now, but is bullish about it because current forecasts “all start with a ‘B’.” He referenced a Goldman Sachs forecast that sees the VR market eclipsing that of TV by 2025.

You can view the Raines interview below:

NBCUniversal International Networks said it has tapped Secret Location to produce 15 episodes of Halcyon, a new short-form scripted series that will be offered on Syfy’s linear channels around the world, on Syfy’s Web sites, and, partially, via the Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) platform.  

The programmer said Halcyon’s 15 episodes will alternate between 10 episodes that will be available to view on Syfy linear channels and the Web, and five VR episodes to be distributed through Oculus Rift, “with additional premium and mobile platforms to be announced.”

Viewers who watch only the linear episodes of the series, will have access to “short recaps” of the five VR episodes. Preorders for the Oculus Rift started last month; shipments are expected to start on March 28, with additional distribution at "select retailers" to follow in April. 

Production of Halcyon began in Toronto in February 2016, but Syfy has not announced a premiere date.  

Directed by Benjamin Arfmann (Random Stop) Halcyon is a police procedural series set in 2058 set in a future in which “virtual reality is as ubiquitous as smart phones are today.” The series’ main character, Julie Dover is a detective in the Virtual Reality Crimes Unit who is investigating “the first real-life murder to take place within virtual reality.”

“Syfy is the perfect home for launching this innovative, hybrid linear and virtual reality series,” Steve Patscheck, EVP global programming, NBCU International Networks, said in a statement.  “We look forward to partnering with Secret Location on Halcyon, as Syfy international channels break new ground with the launch of the brand’s first scripted virtual reality series.”

"VR is being exposed to more and more people and with projects like Halcyon, we intend to help this immersive form of entertainment grow," added Secret Location President James Milward.

Halcyon is being produced with financial participation of the Independent Production Fund, a  Canadian private foundation that makes equity investments in original digital drama series.

Virtual reality and 360-degree video have become a growing priority for the pay TV industry, particularly among programmers, so I dipped my toe into the platform to see what all the fuss is about.

My first experience with VR was with Google Cardboard, a very inexpensive way to get a taste of the technology and some of the content that’s being developed. There are plenty of Cardboard apps available, and I found the whole apparatus easy and accessible, though the experience had that poor-man’s VR feel to it.

More recently, I’ve been kicking the tires on the Merge VR, a sturdier, foam-based and higher-end display that supports all of the Cardboard apps and some other features and functions — such as easily accessible control buttons — that aren’t present in Google’s entry-level set-up. It’s a nice step up, and certainly a big step up from Cardboard.

But late last year, I was gifted a Samsung Gear VR, the Oculus-powered mobile headset that works with select smartphones, including mine, the Galaxy S6 edge plus.

The Gear VR presents a far more immersive, tightly integrated experience, offering a 3D world and a small but growing walled garden of content, including games and an array of short videos and VR experiences from partners such as Discovery Channel and Syfy. The platform’s accurate head-tracking navigation is another plus.

However, the quality of the content is hit and miss. A zip through a desert in a Star Wars setting was a fuzzy, pixelated mess, but Titans of Space, a downloadable journey through the solar system and beyond, was a sharp and interesting visual delight. VR productions/clips of recent boxing matches from Showtime and Fox Sports gave me a ringside view of the fight game that I’ve never had before.

I also enjoyed GrooVR, a funky, thematic VR experience driven by the beats and tones of one’s own music; it went as far as allowing me to link the app to my Spotify account. A puzzle/adventure game called Land’s End was another visual pleasure.

But I also couldn’t tolerate staying in these environments for more than 30 minutes at a sitting, which fits in well with why the current video focus for VR is on shorter-form fare. I did enjoy experimenting with the Netflix VR app for Gear VR, but I’d be hard-pressed to watch an hour-long TV episode on it, let alone a two-hour movie.

User tolerance, though, is just part of what would prevent me from staying in the experience for much longer than 30 minutes. A big problem is that the smartphone that connects to and powers the Gear VR headset becomes a hot potato in 20 minutes or less. More than once, I saw this message: “Your Gear VR needs to cool down to maintain optimal performance.” 

Soon after that message appeared, the video from any game I was playing would stutter, sputter and flicker, and I’d have to set everything aside so it could cool down.

For what it does well and not so well, Gear VR could serve as a gateway to even higher-end platforms. I’m not ready to make the investment required for the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive (the Oculus Rift, for instance, starts at $599, but I’d also have to spring for a high-octane PC), but I will certainly be in the market for the PlayStation VR because it will work with a device I already own — the PlayStation 4.

Editor’s note:  For much more on the emerging market for virtual reality and 360 video, check out our special section on those topics in the February 15 edition of Multichannel News.  In addition to features on how programmers and studios are experimenting with this new medium and how VC dollars are pouring into the sector, we’ll also have a Q&A with Littlstar founder and CEO Tony Mugavero.

Facebook continues to preach cautious optimism about Oculus Rift, the high-end virtual reality headset/platform that will start to ship to consumers in April.

Regarding pre-orders, which opened up earlier this month, Facebook isn’t offering any sales figures yet, but seems satisfied with the early results.

“Yes, I am happy,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday on the company’s Q4 earnings call, when asked about pre-order activity. “I don’t show much joy, but I am happy.”

And he reiterated that gaming will be the core focus of the Rift early on, expecting to see more than 100 VR games and “experiences” come to the platform this year.

“It’s going to be gaming for the beginning. That’s the initial market,” Zuckerberg said, noting that about 250 million people have an Xbox, PlayStation or Wii. “I think we’re off to a good start.”  

But Facebook also knows that it’s shooting high-end – the core Oculus Rift bundle (which includes the headset, a remote, an Xbox One Controller and two games) starts at $599, with Rift-PC combos starting in the $1,500 range.

Facebook CFO Dave Wehner tempered the near-term expectations, noting that “it’s early to be talking about large volumes...At this point I don’t think we’re giving a lot of color around supply chain and that sort of thing. It’s not going to be material to our financials this year.”

Some analysts are taking that to heart. “We have heard from investors whose estimates for VR-related 2016 revenues are $2 billion, and, in some cases, more than $3 billion. Both seem excessive to us, or at least too speculative,” Carlos Kirjner, senior analyst at Bernstein Research, said in a research note issued Thursday. He rates Facebook shares at “market-perform” with a 12-month target price of $150 per share.

VR was just one area of focus during the call, with Zuckerberg calling video “an important part of the Facebook experience,” as users now watch 100 million hours of video on the social media platform each day.

He said FB is experimenting with video discovery tools and opened the door for even grander plans --  “exploring ways to give people a dedicated place on Facebook for when they just want to watch videos. “We’re also exploring ways to give people a dedicated place on Facebook for when they just want to watch videos,” he said.

Facebook has also opened up a video channel for Instagram that, in a Twitter-like twist, lets users share and watch “moments” from events. 

HTC will start to take pre-orders for Vive, its high-end virtual reality headset/platform, on February 29 and reach commercial availability in April, according to the Telegraph.

HTC top exec Cher Wang told the pub that the Taiwan-based CE giant will refocus on VR and less so on smartphones. “Yes, smartphones are important, but to create a natural extension to other connected devices like wearables and virtual reality is more important," she said.

HTC has not released pricing on Vive, a headset developed in partnership with game developer Valve (Portal, Half-Life) and built on the Steam VR platform.

Oculus opened preorders on the Rift last week for a package that starts at $599 and includes the headset, Oculus remote, requisite cables, an Xbox One Controller, and two games; shipments are expected to start in April, about the same time Vive will be hitting the market. 

On the high-end VR front for self-contained platforms (Samsung’s $99 Gear VR headset must be paired with a compatible smartphone), the PC-powered Oculus Rift and Vive will tangle with Sony’s PlayStation VR system for the PS4. However, a review of Sony’s system (via a demo at last week's CES in Las Vegas) calls it a “mid-ranged alternative” to Vive and the Oculus Rift.

Facebook is set to offer a $99 version of the Gear VR mobile headset with Samsung this holiday season and follow early next year with the Oculus Rift headset, but company CEO Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t expect virtual reality to catch on like wildfire right out of the chute. 

It will take some time for VR to become adopted by consumers on a broad basis, perhaps following the growth rate of first-gen smartphones, but Facebook is in the virtual/augmented reality game for the long-term, Zuckerberg emphasized Wednesday on the company’s third quarter earnings call.

“Virtual reality has the potential to be the next computing platform that changes all of our lives,” he said. “It's important also to recognize that this is going to grow slowly, like computers and mobile phones when they first arrived. So we're committed to Oculus and virtual reality for the long-term.”

VR and other new platforms “take a long time to develop,” Zuckerberg acknowledged.

“But just to put that in perspective and compare it to the development of previous computing platforms like phones and computers, I think the first smartphones came out in 2003, and in the first year, I think BlackBerry and Palm Treo were the initial smartphones that came out,” he said. “I think they each sold in the hundreds of thousands of units.”

On the content end, he said gaming is VR’s “most obvious market…Then the next thing that we think is going to be huge is video and immersive experiences, both things that people can create, like the social content that they share on Facebook today, and more professional and premium content both short form and longer form.”

Facebook, which acquired Oculus VR in 2014 for $2 billion, also isn’t yet pinning any firm financial expectations on VR. Company CFO David Wehner wouldn’t discuss the possible operational expenses that Oculus could absorb in 2016.

“We're, as Mark said, very bullish about the long-term opportunity for VR and excited about the launch for the Rift next year,” Wehner said. “But VR is still very much in the development stage, so it would be early to be talking about large shipment volumes.”

But analysts are keeping a close eye on those developments.

“There is great interest from the Street on the evolution of Oculus, in part because of its potential contribution to revenues but most importantly because of its potential impact on operating expense (guidance) growth,” Bernstein Research analyst Carlos Kirjner said in a research note. “Zuckerberg was very clear in his attempt to lower expectations on the number of Oculus units sold next year, suggesting to us that the total impact of potential subsidies to hardware will be limited.”