You can do a whole variety of things if you have a VR headset, such as play VR games and having immersive virtual experiences.
One of these includes watching VR videos as well as VR movies that are specifically designed to be enjoyed in virtual reality.
This post will go through the different methods you can employ to watch videos in VR, Not only just videos that are specifically made for VR but 2D videos as well.
Quick Summary
In this post, we will shed light upon:
- How to watch full VR videos on your PC
- How to watch 180-degree and 360-degree videos on your PC
- Top VR video players currently available
So without further ado, let’s get into it.
How to Watch VR Videos on a PC?
When it comes to watching VR videos on your PC, they can also be viewed in a couple of different ways depending on what their format is.
VR videos are available in two different formats:
- Anaglyph 3D
- SBS
If a film or video is in the first format, then that means you can actually enjoy it without the need of a VR headset. If it’s in the latter format, then you’ll need a VR headset to fully immerse yourself into the video.
Anaglyph 3D
To enjoy Anaglyph 3D movies, you’ll need a pair of Anaglyph glasses which you can get for fairly cheap on Amazon or even at a local store nearby.
While this format can give you a certain depth, and you can enjoy a movie in 3D, it’s not really the immersive experience that you imagine when you think of VR.
It’s true. This isn’t really VR but rather just a slightly deeper way of experiencing a video or a movie.
Please note that VLC can easily play Anaglyph 3D movies.
It should be the media player of choice for you since it’s free, secure, and easily available from their website.
SBS
When it comes to true VR video, you’ll need a VR headset to enjoy it properly, of course.
First of all, ensure that your VR headset is properly connected to your PC and that it’s working properly.
If you have an Oculus Quest 2, then you can pair it with your PC with the help of an Oculus Link Cable or through Air Link. We’ve provided full instructions on how to connect it to a PC in one of our posts.
If you have a VR headset that works with SteamVR, then you can run SteamVR to first test whether or not the VR headset is properly connected to your PC or not.
Once you’re sure that the VR headset is properly connected and ready to go, you can start to enjoy whatever VR video or movie you intend to watch.
Once again, there are many VR videos available on video-sharing platforms online, such as Youtube, Vimeo, and Netflix. You can enjoy them there, or you can enjoy them offline as well.
To enjoy certain videos offline, you must first either download the video files or get them in some sort of physical format such as a Blu-ray.
To run such formats, you might need a specialized VR player. We’ll provide some options of great VR video players later in this post.
How to Watch 180-Degree and 360-Degree Videos on a PC?
When it comes to 180-degree and 360-degree videos, you can easily watch them on your PC without even having a VR headset.
This is the great thing about them as you don’t have to spend money buying a VR headset to enjoy them thoroughly. Of course, while it won’t be as immersive, it’s still an interesting experience to have.
There are many 180-degree and 360-degree videos present on Youtube and other online video sharing platforms that you can check out.
Many of them are just immersive experiences of real-world places that are very transportive. In other cases, you can even find music videos, movies and other experiments that are filmed in this format as well.
Watching 180-Degree and 360-Degree Videos Online
If you intend to watch such videos on an online video sharing platform, then you can simply load them up there and enjoy them.
When the video is running, you can use your mouse to look around and enjoy the different scenes that the videos have to offer.
In such videos, you look around by holding the left-click button of your mouse and then moving it around.
Watching 180-Degree and 360-Degree Videos Offline
When it comes to watching such videos offline, you can download them off of the internet or purchase them in a physical format.
They’ll have video files that can be run through traditional media players that you might already have on your PC.
VLC can easily run such video formats, and the way you look around and enjoy the scenery in such videos is the same as in online videos. VLC is free to use, and you can easily download and install it on your PC from their website.
Great VR Video Players
We decided to compile some of our top picks for the best VR video players so you can use them to easily watch VR videos whenever you want.
The top VR video players are:
SKYBOX VR Video Player
The great thing about the SKYBOX VR Video Player is that you don’t have to configure it manually.
Whenever you use it to load a certain video format, it automatically detects if it’s Anaglyph 3D, VR, 2D, 180-degree or 360-degree. Once that’s detected, the video player configures its settings automatically to provide you with the ideal viewing experience.
It’s super easy to use and definitely the VR video player to go for if you’re a person that wants no fuss and wants to get straight into the action.
Total Cinema 360 Oculus Player
The Total Cinema 360 Oculus Player is another great media player that offers a variety of options to its users.
You can play all types of videos on it, including 3D, 2D, 180-degree and 360-degree. Furthermore, it provides you with many settings to alter playback such as slow-motion, fast-forward and more.
It has both a PC version as well as a MAC version. Furthermore, you can also get it on iOS or Android devices.
VR-X Player
VR-X Player is another flexible VR video player that you can get on Steam and also on the Play Store.
Hence, it does not matter if you have a PC-based VR headset or a smartphone-based VR headset; you can get it on either platform and enjoy videos in virtual reality.
Wrapping Things Up…
As you can see, there are many different resources available on the internet for you to enjoy VR videos on your PC with ease.
If you have a VR headset, you can fully immerse yourself in the world of a VR video or movie. If you don’t have one, that’s fine, too, since you can still enjoy 180-degree and 360-degree movies with no issues.
What types of VR videos and movies do you watch on your PC? Let us know in the comments section below.