Emerging Technology

Theta V is an easy-to-use 360 degree camera that allows you to take full panoramic photos and videos. Photos and videos can then be viewed on your computer or phone, uploaded to YouTube, or experienced through a virtual reality viewer like Google Cardboard. 360-degree photos and videos can be a great way to experience an event or learn about a new place if you're not able to physically be there. 

Learn more about how to request emerging technology items (and other library materials!)

• Watch the THETA 360 Developers instructional video for the top 6 most useful camera functions for new users.

It's easy to take photos & video directly from the Theta camera. However, because the camera doesn't have a viewfinder, you may want to connect the Theta to your smartphone. This will allow you to preview photos and video that you take, as well as control the camera remotely from your phone. 

Here's how:

1. From your phone's app store, download the Ricoh Theta app (for Android & iOS)
2. Next, press the Power button on the side of the camera to turn it on. 
3. Below the Power button, press the Wifi button. This will turn on your camera's wireless hotspot. You'll know the wireless hotspot is turned on when you see a Wifi symbol flashing on the front of the camera. 
4. On your phone, navigate to your Wifi settings. 
5. From the list of available networks, choose the one that starts with THETA. 
6. You will be prompted to enter a password. The password with be your camera's serial number, which you can find on the bottom of the camera. Enter all the digits that you see after YL. 
   E.g. If you see YL00 001017 on the bottom of your camera, enter 00001017 as the Wifi password. 
7. You'll know you're connected to the Wifi once the wireless symbol on the front of the camera is lit but stops flashing. 

Find detailed instructions for connecting your Theta V to a smartphone

Check out these articles on recording 360 video to help you get started:

Once you've taken some videos or images with your Theta V camera, there are a few different ways that you can share your work. 

NOTE: You can only share images & videos stored on your smartphone to Twitter & Facebook. If you would like to upload a video to YouTube or share the image in a different way, you will need to use a computer.
See the instructions below for more information. 

1. Use the USB cable provided with your Theta V camera to connect the camera to your computer. Follow the instructions on the screen to save the images from the camera to your computer. Learn more. 

2. To view the images and videos on your computer, download the Ricoh Theta V Basic App under Computer Applications. Follow the instructions on the screen to finish installing the app. Learn more. 

3. To view images in the app: 

• Open the app and choose File in the top left-hand corner of the screen and select a 360 image to view 
• OR Choose a file saved on your computer and drag and drop it into the window of the app
• Use your mouse to drag & scroll within the image or choose the auto-rotation button on the bottom of the screen to rotate through the full image. Learn more. 

4. To view videos in the app:

• Open the app and choose File in the top-left hand corner of the screen and select a 360 video to view
• Before you can view the video, it will have to be converted. When the Convert Video window pops up, choose Start. 
• Once the video is converted (this could take a while), you can use your mouse to drag & scroll within the video or choose the auto-rotation button on the bottom of the screen to rotate through the full image. Learn more. 

Once you've uploaded the images & video to your computer, you're ready to share them! Find instructions below for sharing on YouTube or by using Google Tours.

1. Follow the steps above to download the Ricoh Theta Basic App for Computers. Once the app is installed, open the video file you would like to upload to YouTube and convert the video to an MP4 file by following the prompts on the screen. NOTE: Make sure the file is saved to your computer before conversion. Do not convert the file directly from your camera. 
2. Once the video is converted, download the Ricoh Theta Movie App for Computers. Open the .zip file and extract the files. Select the installer file and follow the onscreen prompts. Once the file is downloaded, you will see a Ricoh Theta Movie Icon on your desktop. 
3. Drag and drop the converted MP4 file for your video onto the Ricoh Theta Movie Icon. This will convert the audio for your video to 360 degree spatial audio. NOTE: You have to drag the file onto the icon to begin the conversion. Do not open the file within the app. 
4. Once the sound has been converted, login to your YouTube account and upload the converted file. After the video is uploaded, press Publish. YouTube will automatically upload the file as a 360 video. 

For more detailed instructions, see these instructions on How to upload to YouTube easily from RICOH THETA

Develop a lesson or assignment using the Ricoh Theta & RoundMe. 

1. Invite students to borrow a Ricoh Theta camera from the library or contact Muyi Ogunleye (mogunleye@centennialcollege.ca) at the library to reserve multiple cameras and borrow them for your class to use. 
2. Ask students to use the camera to take 360 degree images of a key location (i.e. a neighbourhood, restaurant, hotel, hospital, pond, park, etc.) or an event (i.e. a play, performance, sporting event, protest, community gathering, etc.). Students may want to take additional 2D photos with their own camera. 
3. Students will upload their 360 degree images to RoundMe. For each image they upload, they can add a description, identify key points of interest and add sounds. 
4. Ask students to submit to you the links to their tours and compile them in a document. 
5. On the day students are invited to submit their tours, borrow the Google Cardboard Classroom Kit. Ask students to bring their smartphones to class. Invite students to view their classmates' tours, summarize what they learned and how well the information was conveyed. 

Students in the Emerging Tools and Technology class at the Story Arts Centre try out our kit of Virtual Reality Viewers