The following is an edited transcript of the video above… but you’re def not like the other VR normies, you be reading n shit. Built DIFFERENT. Proud of you.
So you’re going through social, questioning your own existence,
and you see your favorite immersive video creator just posted that they uploaded a new VR video. (PS Follow me on Instagram and Twitter) But how exactly do you go from Link In Bio to tossing back some virtual cold boys with Kuya in VR? In other words, how the hell do you watch an immersive video in VR and what immersive video platform should you be using?
Today I’ll be walking you VR users through the various immersive video platforms and how to use them to watch immersive videos that aren’t porn.
When I say “immersive video,” I’m really talking about an all encompassing term that includes:
- VR 180 stereoscopic
- VR 360 stereoscopic
- 2D 360 monoscopic
- 2D 180 monoscopic
We’re collecting all these video formats and calling it immersive video. And in the immersive video field, there’s essentially three big players, and that’s YouTube VR, DeoVR and Oculus TV. And who you choose to main largely depends on what kind of headset you use and whether you’re a casual or hardcore VR head.
You can skip to a specific section by clicking on your character of choice:
We’ll be going over each one and dropping points into attribute sliders for:
- Accessibility
- Content library
- VR app options
- Community
Okay. So first, we’re going to start off with the platform we’re all familiar with, the Internet video, Sugar Daddy of them all, YouTube.
I. YouTube VR
So some quick backstory, YouTube could’ve kept the immersive-video infinity stone and added it to the Google gauntlet, but instead, they thought VR was more of an infinity paperweight when they realized phone-in-the-box vr wasn’t it, and Google just bailed on VR like a dad that went out to pick up some milk and never returned, and instead decided to start a new family with XR in like, Valparaiso Indiana or something. [go vikings]
YouTube Accessibility: 3/5
As far as Accessibility goes, only Android-based VR headsets, like Quest and Pico models, natively support YouTube’s VR app. So if you’re a questie, good news, there’s a platform that you finally have over PCVR players…
PRO-TIP: make a “watch later in VR” YouTube playlist to easily queue up VR content. You can add videos while on desktop, mobile, etc, and then access that playlist of just-VR-videos in your headset, ready to watch.
YouTube kiiiiinda works for Windows Mixed Reality, in that you technically can watch via the Microsoft Edge browser with the 360-viewer browser extension, BUT, it forces all VR video to be monoscopic. So like… if you ever wondered what it’s like to give your eyes VR blue balls, there you go.
All the other PC VR headsets, your only real option to watch a YouTube VR video would be to rip it. And that’s exactly what Virtual Desktop had in mind when they built in their “VR video viewer” feature into their app. So, yoho and a bottle of rum. 🏴☠️
So with all that being said, accessibility is a 3/5, because it shuts out all the non android headsets. Which sucks cause YouTube also has the deepest Content Library since youtube is THE internet library of videos… that aren’t porn.
YouTube Content Library: 5/5
You just can’t beat it. Sorry Vimeo, nobody cares about your 8k cinematic ultralandscape davinci color graded motion designer reel full of spec work, cause Youtube is the first place people think of when it comes to video content (TikTok brooding in the bg & rubbing their hands tho). YouTube content library is 5/5, hands down, which also means that they have a super deep community of creators and audience, people commenting and liking your videos.
YouTube Community: 4/5
Which would make you think YouTube’s Community would also be 5/5, but the way Youtube de-prioritizes immersive video content kinda chips away at the stat bar. The absolute majority of YouTube’s audience is watching on 2d devices, fair. But that means, immersive video gets NO love from the algorithm. So hopefully people are subscribed to your channel and hit the little tacobell icon and follow you on social to see you actually posted, cause otherwise you’re just uploading pixels into the void… which is what I guess we all do at the end of the day… 4/5 for community – you just gotta level grind with no buffs or hacks to unlock that audience. We’re playing the game on hard mode, but it is what it is.
YouTube VR App Options: 3/5
So VR app options: YouTube as a VR video player is… ok. In-headset, you can only stream 4k max despite uploading an 8k video for some reason; and 4k is the bare minimum resolution you’d wanna watch in VR, and i’m not even sure what their max frame rate is. The VR controls are pretty basic – play, pause, not a whole lot going on, but they do support closed caption – which is a nice… but it’s not great. The focal distance (aka the disparity) is kinda wonky, but the fact that they even have the option is still nice. Searching for VR videos is also decent in that you can set filters for the types of video formats that come up in your search. Super useful to sift through the billions of videos on youtube’s ultra deep content library. So VR app options, 3/5, mostly being held back by resolution limits and lack of player options, but playlist creation and caption support keep it floating in the upper-mid tier.
TL;DR
So to quickly recap, YouTube VR is great for quest headsets, but broken for everybody else. YouTube as a VR player has meh video quality, some accessibility options, and it’s all built on a functioning and popular content platform that we’re all familiar with. Be sure to make your own custom playlist for VR videos so you can queue up all the immersive vids together and access them later in your quest headset.
PC VR headsets… you’re kinda shit outta luck with YouTube VR…
II. DeoVR
But WHO GIVES A FUCK? Because now we finna roll with the big boys. I’m talking about DeoVR baby, the Ferrari of VR video players… because despite being a powerful machine, only a couple dozen people actually have it.
DeoVR Accessibility: 4.5/5
Aight so the DeoVR app is available on all headsets; it works, and you can kiinda access it through web browsers but webxr being as finicky as it is makes it a little hit or miss. But really, we’re talking about watching VR videos in a VR headset, and in that regard Deo scores a 4.5/5
Half a point off because as of recent events with DeoVR putting up a subscription paywall for “premium” videos (I’ll make a whole post about this one day), I gotta knock it down a notch. Honestly I could go on a rant about the whole paywall thing and how it’s way too early in the immersive video field to be doing this, especially cause immersive video has ZERO mainstream hits to convince potential audiences to buy a subscription…
But I get it… y’know, roads gotta get paved and servers gotta serve, can’t knock the hustle. It’s still a great platform and TRUST ME, I’ve seen a good chunk of the premium videos, you’re absolutely not missing out on anything with just the free version… yet.
DeoVR App Options: 4/5
Let’s dive into App options. Jumping from YouTube to DeoVR’s player is like swapping bland chicken wings for top-tier Korean fried chicken. It’s GREAT. Need tilt and zoom? DeoVR’s got you. Filming quirks? No problem, you can adjust. The player is S-TIER, the gold standard for immersive content.
But with all that being said; is it a flawless app? Not quite. DeoVR is still finding its feet in the digital realm. They’re rolling out updates and tweaks, but they’ve got work to do. No in-app playlist feature, search can be a hit or miss, and categories? Some are, let’s say, unique. I mean, ‘twerk’ and ‘crypto’, really? But with their solid base and frequent updates, DeoVR’s potential is sky-high. If they nail search and add key features like playlists and captions, they’ll be unstoppable. For now? Solid 4/5 for DeoVR’s app options.
DeoVR Content Library: 3/5
But all that being said, even if they did have all those quality of life features added, it would only be worth it if the content library was big enough to take a deep dive into. But because DeoVR is relatively new and very niche, the content library is also pretty lacking when compared to daddy Youtube. So you can see how maybe the lack of sorting and searching might be indicative of their priorities because there’s not exactly a whole lot to sort and search through, and for that I gotta give DeoVR a 3/5 for content library. And part of the problem for DeoVR’s lack of content is because the community is also lacking…
DeoVR Community: 2/5
Let’s break it down: DeoVR is a VR-centric platform in a world where not everyone’s into VR… yet. It’s new tech, and the community is still in its infancy. However, with VR on the rise, especially with Meta’s headset boom and Apple jumping into the mix, the VR content sphere is set to grow. We’re pioneers in this space, shaping the terrain of immersive video.
Yet, for now, DeoVR’s community score is a mere 2/5 due to its small size. And hey, those who are there? We ain’t the happiest campers; commenting is limited to the desktop version and there are NO NOTIFICATIONS on whether you received replies to your comments! Would also love a simple thumbs up/down option without committing to a ‘favorite’. I’m not always looking for a long-term relationship with every video, y’know?
TL;DR
So to recap; DeoVR has one of the best VR video players hands down, with a ton of customizable viewing options, great video quality, and even a local file player. But because they’re new and immersive video is niche, their content library is small, as is their community. And even though I think it’s still way too early for a premium subscription model, I still got high hopes for the future of DeoVR, and I hope yall join in to help their platform grow.
III. Oculus TV (aka MetaTV)
So we’re not gonna go deep into Oculus TV because honestly their player is is F-tier dog shit for almost everything. It’s only accessible for Meta headsets (1/5 access), super awful to navigate and find content (1/5 app), the content library is just cribbed from other apps with only a handful of ok exclusives (1/5 content library), and there’s no community because there’s no way to comment on any videos (1/5 community) unless you count sharing videos in Facebook groups but.. c’mon.
The only silver lining here is that Oculus TV also has Quill content, and Quill is pretty fucking great. If you’re not familiar, Quill is a VR illustration program where you can draw in all spatial dimensions, and you can even do some animation with it as well. People typically post these slice of life quill scenes and it’s nice because it’s full 6dof experience, but the majority are just like 15 second loops. Which is a chill and unique experience of its own. There’s even some short-film sorta content in Quill as well. Rare, but it’s there.
But if you wanted just Quill content, then you could use the Animation Viewer app which is ONLY Quill content; otherwise there is zero need to use Oculus TV’s poorly sorted feed to sift for questionably good content. Oculus TV, 1 out of 5, might get my meta account shut down but it’s PC VR gang all day so who cares.
In conclusion...
YouTube VR is best for Questies & Pico people with all the QoL bells n whistles you’re accustomed to, but because papa Google never came back from getting milk, the VR video experience is a bit deprecated and starting to show its age.
DeoVR is hands down the best VR video player with tons of player features, an ever growing content library of VR videos… and is the choice for spicy videos (so you know the player is legit). But because VR video is super niche and DeoVR lacks community tools, the content can seem lacking. But DeoVR is constantly updating their app and including new features, so this is the platform to be on the lookout for.
Oculus TV is absolute shit, fuck outta here. Oculus TV looks like it smells like mothballs and green tea. Oc TV gets lower Nielsen ratings than paint drying on a wall. Oc TV be making “green bubble” jokes with their shattered iPhone 4 cutting up their pocket. Oc TV thinks water is spicy. Oc TV eats mayonnaise sandwiches on Wonderbread. Oc TV hangs shopping bags on door handles for their garbage. Oc TV only owns one towel and no wash cloths. Fuck off with this dusty ass app.
If you got any more fun zingers, feel free to @ me on Instagram, X/Twitter or Bluesky. Thanks for reading/watching; stay immersed.
