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Emerging Technology

What is the Theta V 360 Camera?

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. 

Getting Started

1. Before using the Theta camera, make sure that it's charged.

Plug the USB cable into the bottom of the camera and connect it to your computer to charge it.
Find more detailed instructions on charging the camera

2. Press the Power button (the top button on the side of the camera) to turn it on.​
Use the Mode button (the bottom button on the side of the camera) to switch from still photos to video. 
Find more detailed instructions on charging the camera

3. Press the round button on the front of the camera to take a picture or
begin recording video.

Find more detailed instructions on taking a picture or recording a video
     

Connect the Theta to your smartphone

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

Tips for Recording 360 Video

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

Sharing Your Work

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. 

View and Share Images and Video Using Your Smartphone

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. 

View and Share Images and Video Using Your Computer

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.

Upload 360 Video to YouTube

  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

Share 360 Images using RoundMe

Use RoundMe to compile your 360 images and share with your friends:

  • Visit https://roundme.com/ and upload your 360 images. You can also set a location.
  • Add interactive elements to your images to describe what you want your viewer to focus on
  • Use the directional sounds feature to images to create an immersive experience for the viewer

Share Your Tour

  • Share the link to your tour and view it on your desktop computer or your phone
  • OR Borrow a Google Cardboard or the Oculus Quest 2 headset to view the tour as a virtual reality experience

For Educators

Use the Theta in your classroom to:

  • Record participatory learning activities
  • Foster experiential learning
  • Introduce students to international perspectives
  • Create a virtual learning environment with H5P

Students can:

  • Immerse themselves in complex concepts & processes
  • Visit places they may not otherwise be able to
  • Gain new perspectives on art and culture
  • Create their own Virtual Reality experiences

You may also want to borrow: 
 Virtual Reality Viewer Classroom Kit
*Available for educators only

  • The kit, which can only be borrowed by educators, includes 30 Google Cardboard headsets.
  • All students need is a cell phone and a Wifi connection to get started. 
  • Interested in using the Google Cardboard kit in your classroom, but not sure where to start? 
  • Contact your librarian, Muyi Ogunleye (mogunleye@centennialcollege.ca) for support and resources. 

Try it out!

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. 

Virtual Reality Viewers in Action

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

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