Skip to main content

Why binge watch when you can binge experience? TV is about to seem old-school

future of binge watching woman on couch
Westend61/Getty Images
You’ve just had a long, exhausting day: The boss was breathing down your neck, the commute was a stop-and-go nightmare, and your 756th TPS report just wasn’t as stimulating as the first. I know what you’re thinking — it’s time to binge. Time to put your feet up on the coffee table, crack open a beer and turn off the stresses of the day as you stream three more episodes of your favorite show.

But let’s be honest; watching other people pretend isn’t exactly the prize you worked all day to earn. So why not climb Everest instead? Or maybe drink that beer on a tropical beach as you talk trash to your friends, whose avatars are playing volleyball nearby? Hell, instead of spectating as actors perform that train heist, why don’t you leap from the back of a horse onto the speeding train? Wouldn’t you prefer to be the one throwing the touchdown pass for your favorite sports team rather than simply watching someone else get all the glory?

In the future, post-work relaxation isn’t about turning off and becoming passive.

In the future, post-work relaxation isn’t about turning off and becoming passive. It’s about coming alive to celebrate your freedom from the grind. It’s about selecting from an endless catalogue of visceral simulations and virtual realities that we can live inside and participate in, letting us become a part of the story rather than merely watching it pass by in front of us.

Studies have shown that VR headsets successfully hijack our brains in a way TV never has, giving users a sense of “presence” by blocking out all the cues that normally ground us to reality. Our limbic systems activate, and our bodies and minds suddenly believe the digital experiences we’re having are as real as our normal day-to-day life, allowing for a true sense of meaning and connection. With the exponential evolution of technology (consider that wireless version of the Oculus Rift — the Oculus Go — was announced only a 18 months after the wired version) it won’t be long until we find ourselves with lightweight glasses (or even contacts) and a pair of haptic gloves that bring the level of realism to an even more convincing level.

Westend61/Getty Images
Westend61/Getty Images

The resolution goes up, the brain-hijacking becomes more efficient, and binge-watching becomes binge-experiencing.

At this year’s Seattle Interactive Conference, Adobe’s Director of Product, Video and Creative Cloud, Laura Argilla, told a conference room full of developers and designers about her company’s plans to empower VR creators. Imagine a Photoshop for virtual-reality experiences. In an age where the average person can create YouTube videos and Photoshopped images on the fly, is it possible that soon we’ll all be the creators of our very own relaxation realities?

Even the idea of entertainment begins to blur as personal-development and problem-solving become fun. For instance, Argilla says, imagine public-speaking simulations that put you in front of larger and larger crowds to help you gain comfort with all those eyes. Imagine amateur sleuths poking around precise 3D scans of real crime scenes, trying to solve crimes that stump detectives. Imagine physical therapy exercises that trick the senses, causing stretches to become more impactful and fun to perform — and you can perform them on the surface of the moon during a meteor shower, instead of in a sterile doctor’s office.

Join your friends at a virtual pub, winding down with a drunken walk along the Great Wall of China.

The future of binge-watching and entertainment will be about variety, about exploration and experimentation, participation and connection. Go and see a VR concert while you eat your post-work meal at home, then join your friends at a virtual pub afterward, winding down with a drunken walk along the Great Wall of China with that friend who lives on the other side of the country.

Subscribe to your favorite VR creators much like you already do for your favorite YouTube creators. Scroll through genres of experiences on Netflix and Hulu, rather than just through genres of film. Do virtually all the things you normally would have been too tired or too broke to do in the real world, and turn your binge time into a second lifestyle of fulfillment. And if you’re too tired from your long day to slog through the haptic hand gestures and run around on the VR treadmill, the binge-watching is still there for you in spectator mode; even then, you could still choose to be in the experience instead of just watching it from afar.

It may sound radical, but this is a future fast approaching. Consider that the master of binge-watching, Netflix, understands this so inherently that one of its newest releases OtherLife — an Australian film about a company that sells virtual reality experiences — isn’t even listed as “Sci-Fi,” but merely a “Drama.”

As the old cliché goes, the future is now, and thus your days of binge-watching are quickly transforming into a second life of binge-experiencing: a vivid and varied combination of entertainment, gaming, self-development, and relaxation.

But, hey, isn’t it about time you got to play as hard as you work?

Steven Parton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
How to cancel Sling TV
Sling TV.

Sling TV delivers a top-notch streaming service filled with sports, movies, and plenty of shows to fall in love with. However, if you're not feeling the love after the season is over, it might be time to cancel your Sling TV subscription.

Sling TV is already one of the most affordable streaming options out there, thanks to its two-track system with Sling Orange and Sling Blue. While its well worth the price tag, especially compared with pricier live-streaming options like Hulu + Live TV, if you're not using the service, then it's time to cancel.

Read more
This smart 4K projector is nearly half-price in Walmart’s sale
The Wimius smart 4K projector on a desk.

If you've been thinking about installing a projector in your living room to create a cinematic experience, you won't want to miss this offer from Walmart. The Wimius smart 4K projector, which is originally priced at $360, is down by nearly half to only $190, for huge savings of $170. We're not sure how much time is remaining before this bargain ends though, so if you're interested, we highly recommend completing your purchase as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the Wimius smart 4K projector
Setting up a home theater projector is an excellent way to create a movie theater vibe at home, and you won't have to spend hundreds of dollars if you go for the Wimius smart 4K projector. Its projection size ranges from 50 inches to as large as 300 inches, so if you've got a big enough wall or projection screen, it will really be like you're watching movies at the cinema. The projector is capable of 4K Ultra HD resolution, and it has an extremely long lamp life of 200,000 hours so it will be a long time before you need to replace its bulb. It also offers auto focus and keystone correction technology for even better visuals.

Read more
These Sony OTC hearing aids offer optimized audio and all-day comfort
Man wearing Sony CRE-C10 OTC hearing aids.

There's a lot to be said about OTC or over-the-counter hearing aids. They're more accessible, usually because they're more affordable, and you don't need a prescription to get some. That's precisely why they're called "over-the-counter." Of course, they're really meant for mild to medium hearing loss, however. If you experience severe hearing loss you'll need to go to your local physician, as you might expect. But also one of the great things about this relatively new, untapped category of sound devices is that there are a lot of great options from brands you wouldn't expect. Take Sony, for instance, which has several OTC hearing aid options, and they're available at Best Buy of all places.

You can walk in, off the street, and walk out with them same-day, or buy them online and have them shipped to your house. How's that for excellent service and accessibility? But if you need a quick introduction to some of Sony's best OTC hearing aid options, we've got you covered.

Read more