Would you and your friends want to watch TV shows and movies on Oculus Quest 2? Here are the best ways to do it.
In addition to being great for VR gaming, the Oculus Quest is also a great media device. It is becoming increasingly popular to watch movies in virtual theater environments with VR headsets, so we’ve compiled this list of the best apps and different ways to watch movies on Oculus Quest.
Whether you want to rent a film or watch something for free, sit down virtually with your friends or try something out on your own, we have everything for you.
Bigscreen for Oculus Quest
One of the best all-in-one ways to watch movies and TV on Oculus Quest 2 is with Bigscreen, an app that lets you sit in cinema-oriented settings and watch content on the big screen, hence the name.
Bigscreen gives you several options for playing your own content or streaming licensed content, both free and paid. It also has a lot of social options, which makes it the best app for watching movies and TV with friends in VR. Here are the options, broken down into categories.
Bigscreen: on-demand rental
First and foremost, Bigscreen has a library of Films on demand Available for rent, including some 3D movies. You can see these by going to the Movies tab in the main menu, where you can rent all the available movies.
The selection of films available is decent as Bigscreen has managed to land deals with some major film studios like Paramount, Funimation, and others.
After you have completed the payment, you can view it in an environment of your choice. You can also invite friends into rooms to watch movies you rent – all they have to do is make sure they get access to the rentals on their own device before they join your room.
Bigscreen: Free public movies and TV rooms
Bigscreen also has public spaces where free TV shows and movies are constantly streamed, similar to free-to-air TV channels. There are channels specifically dedicated to a show, such as the Classic Doctor Who and Rick & Morty channels, as well as those that focus on a specific genre of movies or TV shows.
These rooms sometimes contain ads and run on set schedules, leaving you unable to choose what to watch when you need to. They’re all public too, so you’ll be watching with everyone else joining the room too. You don’t have to interact with anyone and can choose to mute people if you just want to focus on the screening without worrying about speaking or listening to others.
Bigscreen: Stream personal media content in Bigscreen
If you have a PC with media content, you can also play it back in Bigscreen.
There is a built-in video player that can play any local video files stored on your Quest headset. You can transfer a video file from your PC to your Quest using an app like SideQuest, but this is a somewhat cumbersome and tedious option (especially given the Quest’s small memory size). Your friend will also need this video file to watch them together.
The smoother option (which requires a little more setup) is to stream content from your own DLNA media server running from a computer on the same network as your Quest. A DLNA media server allows other devices on your local network to stream media content from your PC – if you’ve already set one up, it should be displayed in Bigscreen without any additional steps. Some media server applications, such as B. Plex have optional DLNA server options that can be activated through the settings menu.
If you haven’t set up a DLNA server yet, we won’t go into the process here – there are plenty of guides online and it can be a bit of a process. If you’re just setting it up for your quest, it might not be worth it. Instead, it may be easier to use the virtual desktop feature.
Bigscreen: stream your desktop
Not to be confused with the Quest app of the same name, Bigscreen also offers virtual desktop functionality. This allows you to stream a view of your desktop PC on Bigscreen, which allows you to watch local video files from your PC on Bigscreen by accessing them on Windows Media Player, VLC or a similar app.
To stream your desktop view on Bigscreen, you’ll need to install the PC VR version of Bigscreen (either via Steam or Oculus) and open the app in desktop mode (you don’t need a PC VR headset to do this). In the Oculus app, download Bigscreen and right click on it in the library where you will see the option “Start in desktop mode”. This will bring up a big screen menu on your PC where you can connect to your Quest headset and start streaming.
While you can try to go to streaming sites like Netflix or Disney + in your PC browser and stream the video on Bigscreen, it is very likely that the video feed will just appear black due to digital rights management measures of the streaming services. To do this, you need to use a native VR app for each service, if available (see below).
Netflix on Oculus Quest 2
Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services in the world. Fortunately, there is also a native app for Oculus Quest.
The Netflix app can be downloaded for free from the Oculus Store and puts you in a small, cozy cubicle with a large screen (see image above), on which you can browse and play Netflix content from your region. However, unlike Bigscreen, there is no way to use the Netflix app to watch with friends or in any social function. We have also found that the quality of the video stream is limited, so the movies may not look particularly sharp visually.
YouTube VR, Google Play Movies on Oculus Quest 2
The YouTube VR app isn’t just an internet video app – it also offers a fairly diverse and wide range of rentals and TV shows. YouTube now works seamlessly with the Google Play Movie and TV library so you can buy or rent content and play it on YouTube, including the VR app.
Given the wide availability of movies on the service, YouTube VR is the best option for watching movies in VR when you have something very specific on your mind. The downside is that it’s a pretty boring environment to look at, with minimal customization. There are also no options to watch with friends, so you can see it all by yourself.
To watch movies or TV shows with YouTube in VR, download the YouTube app on Quest, open it, and sign in to your account. You can then browse the available films and TV shows that can be rented via the Movies tab in the app’s menu. However, you will need to purchase / rent the content through a computer or mobile device – you cannot purchase access through the VR app. Once you’ve paid for the movie or show you want to watch, you can stream it in VR on the YouTube app.
All existing content that you have permanently in your Google account (either via YouTube or Google Play Movies and TV) is displayed in VR under the “Movies” tab.
Can I stream Hulu, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video on Oculus Quest 2?
The short answer: it depends.
Certain streaming services offer native VR apps that you can use on Quest headsets, such as Netflix (as described above) and Prime Video VR. However, others like Disney + and Hulu don’t currently have native VR apps available on Quest.
However, it is possible to watch some streaming content with the Oculus Browser, just like you would on a computer. This may depend on the compatibility of the streaming service in question, but we were able to get Disney + working and most of the others should work too. You can simply log into the service through the Oculus browser and then either look in the window of your home environment or go full screen to hide all distractions.
Skybox VR, Pigasus VR, FandangoNOW
There are other apps on Quest that have features similar to Bigscreen for streaming personal content from a media server on your PC, such as: B. Pigasus VR Media Player and Skybox VR Video Player. Both have DLNA and local file support, but are paid apps as opposed to Bigscreen which is completely free. Similar to Bigscreen, the FandangoNOW app also offers rental films, but is not available in all regions and is one of the worst-rated apps in the store.
These are the main ways to watch TV shows and movies on Oculus Quest. Let us know what movies you see in VR in the comments below.
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