How to Watch Movies in VR

Watching a movie in VR has a totally different experience altogether and if you are someone who loves to watch movies then VR movie watching experience has to be on your to-do list.

VR movie watching takes you to a whole new different world, where you can sit peacefully inside a virtual theatre and enjoy some of the best experiences without being disturbed.

Something that I personally like when it comes to watching a movie in VR is that you can completely concentrate on the movie and you are not going to be disturbed by anyone asking the story during the climax of the movie.

Another point worth mentioning is that you get to have a really nice VR experience where you get to watch a movie on the big screen.

With several apps out there that make watching a movie pretty easy with any VR headset. You can even get a Daydream VR headset(affordable) and use it to watch movies in VR with the help of your smartphone.

In the post, we would discuss every VR headset possible and the best way that you can watch movies on them.

Personally, I like watching movies on the Oculus Go because there are no wires and I just need to plug in my headphones and sit back and watch all the movies.

There no wires on the Go like the Vive or Rift and the image resolution is way better in comparison to the mobile VR headsets.

So, Oculus Go is like my go-to headset when it comes to watching movies or any other 360 degree videos. Gear VR is another great option as well as it has some really good apps to watch a movie.

Now, let’s move on to how you can watch movies in VR and the different apps that make it happen-

1. Watching movies on the Oculus Rift

Watching movies on the Oculus Rift is a pretty cool experience, the image quality on the headset is gorgeous and if you own a Rift then you know what we are talking about.

There are many apps out there that you can use to mirror your computer screen on the Oculus Rift but the app that comes first in my mind is the BigScreen Beta.

This app is really easy to use and highly customizable so that you can watch a movie the way you want. Something interesting about this app is that you can invite someone to come and hang out with you int he virtual theatre.

So, basically, you can watch movies with your friends inside the VR theatre. Only one person needs to have the movie downloaded in their laptop, the rest can watch it from the app.

This way you don’t need to download all the movies to watch in VR since you can share movies with your friends.

Another app that you can possibly use is the Virtual Desktop. Virtual Desktop is not something I usually go for but if you want to watch 3D movies then you can go for this app.

The Bigscreen Beta app does not support 3D movies else everything is almost the same when it comes to watching movies with these two apps.

The Virtual Desktop is a little annoying to me in comparison to the other app, so let me know if you have used it and felt the same way.

2. Watching VR Movie with the Vive

Vive is a VR headset that tops the list when it comes to offering the best VR experiences.

If you own a Vive then you already know that your movie watching experience is going to way more immersive in comparison to any other headsets mentioned in the list.

One of the easiest ways to watch a video on Vive is with the help of Vive Video. It is pretty easy and simple to use and most importantly it is FREE to download.

You can easily watch a movie on this especially if you do not want to go through the hassle of downloading a paid app to specifically want movies.

Although if you want to have the best movie watching experience then you can go with the VirtualDesktop. Yes, the Virtual Desktop works well with both the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift.

So, once you have downloaded the app, you can easily watch any movies in a VR theatre in a way similar to that of the Oculus Rift.

3. Watching VR movies on Gear VR

Watching a movie with the Gear VR is much more comfortable as it is portable being a smartphone powered VR headset.

If you are interested in having a wireless movie watching experience then headsets like the Gear VR or the Oculus Go are perfect.

Gear VR has many apps that help you watch movies in VR and one of them has to be the

Having NetflixVR makes everything so easy. You can even stream movies from your PC using the Skybox app and in the case, you want to watch it from your phone memory you can do that as well.

You can use the Samsung VR app to watch movies from your phone memory and this is probably one of the easiest ways to watch a movie on the go.

The fact that the Gear VR headset is portable makes it really easy to watch movies on the go making this VR headset one of the best for watching movies in VR.

4. Watching movies on PlayStation VR

PlayStation VR is a pretty popular headset and if you own this console based headset then you are lucky as you get to choose from so many different apps on which you can watch movies.

You have apps like NetflixVR, Hulu and HBO Go that make the process easier and the cinematic mode on the PlayStation VR is like the icing on the cake.

If you own a PSVR then you already know watching a movie in bliss with this headset and you can even buy movies from the PlayStation Store to watch in VR.

5. How to watch movies on Daydream VR

Daydream VR is another portable VR headset that probably has more subscription-based apps in comparison to the Gear VR.

So, if you are interested in watching a movie on Daydream VR then things are going to get really easy for you. You can get almost any app on the Google PlayStore including the NetflixVR and HBO Go.

Watching a movie on the Daydream VR is the best experience as along with quality it also allows you to have that option to choose between different movie apps.

You can even use Skybox VR in order to stream movies from your PC to the phone and watch it with the VR headset.

Phone compatibility might come as a limitation for this VR headset.

6. Watching movies on the Windows Mixed Reality Headsets

This was a little tricky as Windows Mixed Reality headset does come with the Movies and TV app that can help you watch 360-degree videos really well, however watching a 3D movie was not possible.

Luckily, we have the SteamVR store and you can get the BigScreen Beta app for free from it. This would help you watch movies in a Virtual environment with you Mixed Reality headsets.

If there are any other third party apps that you use with WMR headsets then let us know about it in the comments down below!