The first Guinness World Record for non-stop virtual reality binge-viewing marathon has been set at 50 hours by two New Yorkers over the weekend. Alejandro “AJ” Fragoso, 26, and Alex Christison, 37, were glued to their couch with Oculus Rift VR-headsets on in their West Village apartment from Saturday, April 15 8:45 AM until Monday, April 17 10:45 AM. Under the Guiness World Records rules, they were allowed 5-minute breaks for every hour for the duration of the attempt for health reasons. Holding in urine for extended periods of time, for example, can lead to bladder and urinary tract infections. The biggest challenge, however, according to the participants, was staying awake for 50 straight hours. The virtual reality binge-viewing marathon was sponsored by CyberLink to promote the VR-playback feature on their latest PowerDVD 17 software.
The event was the first attempt at the Guiness World Record for longest VR video content, although the longest record for a virtual reality gaming environment marathon was actually set for 48 hours by a Thorsten S. Wiedemann of Germany last year. To fill those 50 hours, Fragoso and Christison watched back-to-back virtual reality movies which is a challenge in itself considering there are not too many VR video content, let alone good, entertaining VR video content that will not put a person to sleep. The New York pair watched Rogue One: Recon – A Star Wars 360 Experience, Kong VR: Destination Skull Island, The Walking Dead: Surrounded 360 Experience; Arrival VR, Stranger Things VR short, Superbad, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Blazing Saddles, The Iron Giant and more.
To ensure that the Fragoso and Christison did not cheat, take unwarranted breaks, or simply fall asleep, Guinness World Records and CyberLink required two witnesses monitoring the participants, rotating in four-hour shifts. CyberLink also hired Dr. Robert Glatter M.D. to perform physical checkups before and after the marathon event.
