Virtual reality (VR) is quickly becoming the new technological frontier. However, a set of challenges and hurdles need to be overcome, including things like low latency, high refresh rate, high resolution, a wide field of view and rock solid tracking, among others.

Now that we can actually build VR headsets that begin to meet these requirements, we are seeing a rising interest in VR. As it rises, so does the interest in creating new media to be experienced in using virtual reality. Journalism is a medium built on relevance. Journalists should always be finding new ways to tell stories and deliver content. It is a goldmine for storytelling. What better ways to tell a story to someone than to put them right in the center of it?

By using VR, the consumer isn’t just reading or watching something play out; they’re experiencing it. The super-realistic effect nature of VR allows people to connect with the subject matter on a much deeper level than just reading about it. Any storyteller wanting to do something more interesting than their peers should surely be considering the sheer power of VR.

The question of virtual reality, though, is not how powerful it is. It is apparent that the question of VR is one of viability and availability. Telling stories must be easy to do, and access to those stories must be readily available. This is the biggest challenge that VR faces. If the tools to tell a story with VR aren’t easy to pick up and learn, VR will fail. If VR technology isn’t both top-of-the-line and affordable, VR will fail.

Accessibility is one concern for Thomas Hallaq, assistant professor of journalism and mass communications. However, he thinks it’s still very promising. Hallaq said, “We’re seeing more technology become accessible, and more people have access to that technology. Just look at smartphones.” If the technology is widely available and companies like Oculus, Samsung, HTC and Valve can overcome the inherent hurdles, VR will succeed in being a desirable means of storytelling. Like radio, TV and the Internet before it, virtual reality will change the way we tell stories.

If you don’t know what to watch in the coming holiday, here are the top movie search engines on the web. Some require little or no input before they give you titles, while others want to find out exactly what your interests are.

Rotten Tomatoes     

Instead of telling Rotten Tomatoes which films you like, you can tell it what kind of films you enjoy, which actors you want to see, and other aspects to help it find the best movie for you. The quality of Rotten Tomatoes recommendations is changeable but it’s also a nice way to find the right film for any mood.

IMDb

IMDb automatically recommends similar films to the movie you search for instead of asking you to input ratings (评分) or to tell it what movies you like. At the bottom of the page, a “Recommendations” section will show you a variety of other films being displayed, based on information gathered from its database, which examines films to find similarities and differences.

Jinni     

Whether you want to search for films based on your mood, time available, or reviews, the site has it all. But Jinni’s most amazing feature is its semantic search. You can enter words like “films that show Chris Farley yelling” and the site will return films that match your question. Go to use Jinni. You won’t regret it!

Criticker     

Instead of just allowing you to rate films, Criticker compares your ratings to those of other users and see how closely your tastes match those of other users. Once the service finds matches, you can view these users’ lists and see which movies they like. Combining community and functionality, Criticker is a unique, yet worthwhile service to check out.