The idea of strapping a display to your face might still seem like a dream of the past to most people, but over the course of this year we’re going to see many reasonable, retail-ready ways to do just that. Virtual reality has made a surprising comeback, thanks to VR Headsets like Samsung Gear, Google Cardboard, Oculus Rift, Zeiss VR One,etc, and it looks to be more than just a trend. With that in mind, we will show you how to watch 3D movies on different VR headsets.
VR Headsets supported 3d movie formats
Before going any further, you should be clear what 3D movie formats can be played on popular VR Headsets listed below:
Samsung Gear VR: After searching for format supported by Gear VR, we get the answer, the Gear VR by default supports most common video formats including 2D MP4/AVI/FLV and 3D SBS MP4/MKV, only audio which Android standardly supports work and that is AAC and MP3. AC3 and DTS were removed because of high licensing costs.
Related topic: Top 5 3D Movies for Gear VR | Watch 3D Movies on Gear VR
Oculus Rift: If you own the consumer version of Oculus Rift, then you can watch 3D movies with the Oculus Cinema app, which supports both Side by Side and Top and Bottom 3D movie contents that comply with the following standard:
Video encoding: H.264 is recommended, H.265 video can also be played
Video resolution: 1280×720 is recommended, higher resolution will not provide better quality
Bit rate: recommend to use a higher bit rate than a typical web stream at that resolution
Encoded resolution: 3D movies should be encoded “full side-by-side” with a 1:1 pixel aspect ratio. Content mastered at 1920×1080 compressed side -by- side 3D should be resampled to 1920×540 resolution full side -by -side resolution.
Related topic: Import 3D Movies to Oculus Rift | Watch Movies on Oculus Rift DK2
Google Cardboard: To watch your own videos on Cardboard with 3D effect, you can download a free app called Cardboard Theater, supports SBS, Over/Under and Red-Cyan anaglyph formats as well as plain 2D movies in all formats originally supported by your phone.
Related topic: Watch 3D Video on Google Cardboard | 3D Blu-ray to Google Cardboard 2
Zeiss VR One: The Zeiss VR One offers a Cinema app enables you to enjoy virtual reality experience just like sitting in a 3D movie theater. The VR One Cinema app can play “.mov” and “.mp4” file formats. If you have a Side by Side video that is specially formatted for 3D, you can simply add the keyword “SBS” to the file name of the video and the app will automatically show the correct content for each eye. In addition, movies in 720p resolution are best for watching in the VR One Cinema.
Related topic: Transfer 3D Video to Zeiss VR One
Play unsupported files on VR Headset
Do not have enough Side by Side 3D movies in hand for viewing directly on VR Headsets listed above? Don’t worry, with our powerful 3D Movie Converter for VR Headsets, you can easily create 3D movies from all unsupported file formats including 3D Blu-ray disc, 3D Yify Torrent movies, 2D Blu-ray/DVD/video to VR Headsets compatible SBS/TAB\Anaglyph 3D mode with MKV/MP4/MOV/AVI/MP4 file format.
To get better 3D visual effects on your VR Headsets, you can adjust the output file resolution as 720p which are best for watching with VR cinema app. Adjust 3D video depth to strengthen 3D effect or switch left right image for change the displaying order of SBS 3D movie.
How to Setup VR Headsets to watch 3D movies?
To view your SBS 3D video files on your Gear VR, follow these steps:
1. On your MicroSD card file directory, navigate to Oculus > Movies > Your Movies
2. Create a new folder within “Your Movies” and label it “3D”
3. Import or move your side-by-side 3D videos into your newly created “3D” folder
Once you have created your 3D content folder and imported compatible video files, insert your MicroSD card into your Galaxy Note 4 (if it isn’t already), dock the phone in your Gear VR, and don the virtual reality headset. Then:
1. Navigate to Oculus Cinema from the main menu
2. Navigate to “My Videos” from the Oculus Cinema content library menu
Select the 3D video you wish to view (if you followed the above steps it should have a “3D” label in the upper righthand corner)
3. Choose the cinema mode to begin playback
Play 3D movies on Oculus Rift Kit 2 DK2:
1.Download and install VLC player.
2.Download and install VR Player.
3.Then download the DK2 Tracker to track motion within VP player.
4.Expand the zip file of DK2 Tracker and copy the files to the following location: C:\Program Files (x86)\VR Player\Trackers.
5.Open VR player and set the tracker you have just copied as below:
There are different options to view 2D or 3D movies, you can have a reference at the examples below:
1.Select Oculus as extended Desktop in the Rift Display Mode Program.
2.Make sure your windows monitor is setup so your rift is secondary.
3.Options for watching 3D movies:
Menu – Media – Format – Side by Side
Menu – Media – Projection – Plane
4.Options for common 2D movies:
Menu – Media – Format – Mono
Menu – Media – Projection – Plane
5.Open selected movies:
Menu – File – Open File – With VLC…
6.Browse and select the movie you desire to watch.
7.Switch to Oculus screen:
When the movie is playing, move the video screen onto your Oculus screen with the instructions: In the Oculus is your second monitor to the left, hit these keys:
Hit Windows Key + Cursor Key Left (Do this twice to move the window to your Oculus)
Hit Windows Key + Cursor Key Up (This maximizes the window)
8.Put on your headphones and enjoy movies on Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 DK2 with pleasure.
Transfer 3D movies to Zeiss VR One
With iPhone:
1.plug the phone into your computer. After opening iTunes, select your phone at the top (Step 1)
2. Open the Apps Menu (Step 2).
3. Scroll down (Step 3) you will find the VR One Cinema app listed under the”File Sharing” menu.
4. Just select it, you can either drag and drop videos into the window on the side, or click the “Add” button to search through your folders (Step 4).
And that’s it! All the videos you add here will be listed under the “Movies” folder inside the app.
5. Feed your iPhone 6 into its custom-made tray and insert the tray into the Zeiss VR One and then don the headset.
6. Navigate to the Zeiss VR One Cinema app on your iPhone 6.
7. Go to “My Videos” folder from the Cineme app content library menu.
8. Select the 3D video you wish to play and choose the cinema mode to begin playback.
With Android:
1. Connect your Android phone via USB cable and open Android file transfer.
2. Create a folder “VRCinema” on your phone at root level.
3. Drag and drop any .mp4 file into this folder.
5. Insert the tray with your Android phone into the Zeiss VR One and then don the headset.
6. Navigate to the Zeiss VR One Cinema app on your Android phone.
7. Go to “My Videos” from the Cineme app content library menu.
8. Select the 3D video you wish to play and choose the cinema mode to begin playback.