Oculus Quest 2 Watching Movies

[Adimar Poynter]

Oneof the best all-in-one and flexible ways to watch movies and TV on Oculus Quest 2 is Bigscreen, an app that lets you sit in cinema-focused environments and watch content on the big screen, hence the name.

First and foremost, Bigscreen has a library of on-demand movies 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 any of the movies available.

Bigscreen also has public rooms that constantly stream free TV shows and movies, similar to free-to-air TV channels. There are channels dedicated specifically to one show, like the Classic Doctor Who and Rick & Morty channels, along with ones that focus on a particular genre of movie or TV show.

Not to be confused with the Quest app of the same name, Bigscreen also has virtual desktop functionality. This will allow you to stream a view of your desktop PC to Bigscreen, which you can use this to watch local video files from your PC in Bigscreen by pulling them up on Windows Media Player, VLC or a similar app.

Certain streaming services offer native VR apps you can use on Quest headsets, such as Netflix (as detailed above) and Prime Video VR. However, others like Disney+ and Hulu do not have native VR apps available on Quest at the moment.

However, it is possible to watch some streaming content using Oculus Browser, just like you would on a computer. This may depend on compatibility of the streaming service in question, but we were able to get Disney+ working just fine and most others should work too. You can simply log in to the service via Oculus Browser and then either watch windowed in your home environment, or go full screen to block out all distractions.

Here's something I didn't expect to discover during my Oculus Quest 2 review: the resolution is so good that it's almost as useful for watching movies as it is for playing games. Even if I wasn't interested in playing VR titles, I think the Quest 2 has plenty of utility as a dedicated movie and TV watching device.

If you've ever lay in bed and watched a movie on your phone, consider that you could have been watching it in glorious (nearly) 4K resolution in what's essentially a virtual movie theater. I am one such bed-movie watcher, and have recently learned that the Quest experience is just so much better.

Even if you have a TV in your bedroom, the problem with televisions is that they are a) loud, and b) fixed to a permanent position in the room. When you watch a movie on the Quest, not only is it on the size of an IMAX with sound piped in through earbuds, but it also moves around with you. Turn your head in any direction and get comfortable by whatever means necessary and the screen will remain right in front of your face.

For me, silently watching movies in bed is often necessary so as not to wake my sleeping partner. I can't turn on the TV because the light and sound will disturb her, but I can pull on the Quest, shove some earbuds in, and feel like I'm watching Transformers: Dark of the Moon on opening night (in an empty theater, obviously).

Of course, movie watching isn't limited to laying in bed. The beauty of the Quest is its wire-free portability. It's like taking a cinema with you wherever you go, on a long flight or road trip. The image quality of the Quest 2 is slowly but surely opening my mind up to all of the different possibilities in how it can be used.

I know you're probably thinking you don't want a screen strapped to your face while you watch an entire movie, but I find the feeling of the headset itself sort of falls away as I get immersed in whatever I'm watching. And it's easy to get immersed when you're completely cut off from the world around you, and all you can see is this massive screen and crystal clear picture in front of you. A high-quality pair of earbuds is all you really need to complete the experience.

The Quest 2 battery will last about three hours while watching TV, which is plenty of time to watch at least one movie or a few shows. With the Elite Strap and battery accessory Oculus sells, you can extend that up to six hours. I think the bulky strap might be uncomfortable for watching shows while laying in bed (I haven't tested it yet myself), but for sitting on an airplane or something it should work out great.

Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube all have native apps on the Quest 2 that offer a great cinema-like experience, but you can watch other streaming services like Hulu and HBO Max through the Oculus browser or Firefox Reality. The video streaming quality isn't quite as high as it is in the native applications, but it certainly isn't bad either.

Finally, you can also transfer videos directly from your computer onto the Quest 2. The Quest shows up as a drive on PC, but on Mac you'll need to use the Android File Transfer utility. You can put full 4K movies onto your Quest 2 this way, just keep in mind that the $299 model only comes with 64GB of available space.

Sports-watching app Xtadium is a Quest 3 must-download for the novelty value alone: This app lets you watch sports in a new, immersive way. Once you download Xtadium, either from the Meta Quest App or directly from your headset, you can check out live, free NBA games from a court-side seat, sit octagon-side for UFC events, sit right on the turnbuckle for lucha libre wrestling matches (see photo), and more. a 360-degree view of your sport-of-choice is a legit "whoa" moment. Top-notch VR!

If you want to stream movies directly from your PC or Mac to your Quest headset, the Skybox VR app will do it, as will Bigscreen (more on Bigscreen, below). Skybox is $9.99, but it is a highly rated app that is reportedly easy to use, and allows you to stream anything from 2D movies to 3D movies to full virtual reality videos. Bigscreen, however is free.

Bigscreen allows users to host and join viewing parties where you and some friends (or interested strangers) can rent the same movie, eat virtual popcorn, and chill out. You can watch ad-supported movies or rent them from the service, but everyone watching has to pay for the same movie.

Bigscreen allows users to host and join viewing parties where you and some friends (or interested strangers) can rent the same movie, eat some virtual popcorn, and chill out. You can watch ad-supported movies or rent them from the service, but everyone watching has to pay for the same movie.

I do have a 4K copy of Dr. Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness on my Plex server on my local network. Yeah, yeah, I got it a while ago and it was the only one I had in 4K. Watching this on Skybox was a real experience. The 4K looks fantastic and I really could fool myself into believing I was watching a large movie screen.

Secondly, to watch anything, you pretty much have to sit up. Resting your head against your chair is mildly uncomfortable and laying down on your couch as you would a big-screen TV in your living room is simply out of the question.

Thanks to the power of VR, you can experience the feeling of watching movies in a theater (or a variety of locations really!) with friends anywhere across the world. I've compiled a list of VR movie apps that also feature multiplayer, and best of all these are all free!

There are several different ways to enjoy watching movies in Big Screen - share your desktop and stream services like Netflix, Hulu, Youtube etc to Big Screen, play video files directly from your computer, device or cloud, or you can watch or rent popular movies directly from inside Big Screen itself!

One thing that makes Big Screen stand out from the others (besides its fun environments and social options - I'll get to those later) is the fact that you can actually watch 3D movies, no glasses needed! Now to be clear, don't assume that just any movie can be watched in 3D. You'd have to rent or purchase a movie that actually has 3D support. Watching a movie like this is absolutely fantastic and makes you question how this kind of technology is even possible in VR.

Bigscreen has some of these 3D titles specifically to rent in their catalog, you can tell them apart by the circle on the top left that says '3D'. You can also watch some 3D trailers in app to get a feel for what these will look like.

Speaking of environments, Big Screen offers a wide selection (many pages!) of locations to watch movies in, that vary in size and style. Some of these include a traditional movie cinema, cozy living room/home setups, drive in movie style, to sci-fi themed stadiums. All environments are very high quality, you'll have a hard time choosing!

Last but certainly not least are the social features. You can create your own avatar and customize it to your heart's content. Big Screen uses spacial voice chat meaning if someone is sitting on your left, you will hear them out your left ear, and if they are further from you, they will sound further. Don't worry though, during the movie you can mute or block people in case they are being too loud or have background noise that might be ruining your experience.

You can find more information about Bigscreen here, it's available on Quest, Steam, Oculus PCVR, and Desktop (via remote desktop). Big Screen also supports cross platform so you Quest users can watch movies with Steam users, and vice versa!

There are a couple of different ways you can access these events. The first is from your Meta Quest menu, simply open up your library and launch the 'events' app. Browse from the listing and simply select one that looks interesting - if you have Horizon Worlds already installed you will get dropped directly into the experience.

You can also access them from directly within Horizon Worlds itself, by clicking the left menu button to bring up the Horizon Worlds dashboard. Then select the home button, click the green 'attend' button, then select an event from there.

Not to be confused with watching movies from inside Venues in Horizon Worlds, Meta's 'watch party' feature allows users to invite their friends over to their 'Meta Horizon Home' environment to watch Oculus TV shows together.

3a8082e126