The Oculus range of virtual reality headsets provide access to a variety of high-quality, immersive applications, but Bigscreen Beta can recreate a cinema experience and play any movie straight from a laptop. There are several movie or video streaming applications available on the Oculus Store including YouTube and Netflix. Users can even directly download videos specifically made for VR such as Space Explorers, a documentary about life on the International Space Station, or Travelling While Black, a documentary about the risks African-Americans face while traveling across America. However, other applications don’t provide the opportunity to watch anything the user wants.
The Bigscreen company is a California-based startup founded in 2014 and has versions of the application designed for productivity, gaming, and socializing. Since launch, it has become of the highest-rated applications on the Oculus store and enjoys an 86-percent positivity rating on the Steam Store. The application also lets users view live free TV, and has a comfortable rating meaning it’s perfect for those new to VR.
To download the application head over to the Oculus store and add it to your collection. Once added, the app can be accessed in the same way as any other application on an Oculus, by using the launcher found on the Quest line of headsets or by using the computer application on a Rift. To stream through Bigscreen after the initial setup, the user will need to select their surroundings. The home cinema is recommended, or multiplex cinema for those that want a cinema-like experience.
Big Cinema Feel At Home
There are several ways to watch movies using the app. Firstly, there’s the option to rent one of Bigscreen’s collection of movies through the in-app menu. Secondly, there’s the option to stream video files and all that’s required to do this is to open the video player option and ensure the files are downloaded to the device. The user can then drag and drop a movie file into the VR headset folder on their computer. This then allows the opportunity to enjoy the saved movie on the big screen. However, if the plan is to watch a movie as a group, then everyone will need to have the file saved to their headset.
If all that seems too complicated, users can simply stream directly from their computer, including through many streaming services such as YouTube and Netflix. To do this, download the Oculus app on a Windows computer (Mac is not currently supported) and then open the application on the headset and computer. From the settings menu, the user will want to select the ‘Remote Desktop’ option and enter the code that appears on the headset. The user can then pick the resolution and audio refresh rate before settling down to enjoy anything that is on their Windows screen in VR.
