Jump to content

YouTube VR


Spencerr

Recommended Posts

Is there a YouTube VR app in development for HTC VIVE XR Elite? If not, the VIVE team should work with Google to get YouTube VR on VIVEPORT.

Seemingly, the only way to watch VR180 videos on YouTube in stereo 3D is via the official YouTube VR apps. The supported browsers on HTC VIVE XR Elite can play 3D YouTube VR180 videos in 180 degrees, but there is no current way to watch them in 3D (as they were intended to be viewed).

Since YouTube VR is the most popular app on Quest right now,, I think it makes sense to consider this at some point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi @Spencerr

I can comment on what we support, since I help out with the browser 🙂I can't comment what google is working on - but we're always glad to work with partners!

360 video works quite well in our browser, our video app, and other 3rd party apps. That said, not all content - webpages or movies are configured correctly. For instance, let's look at the top results for 360 video on youtube:

image.thumb.png.81bc5150a52a4451696c6d95c8b3d9fa.png

The top video is lower quality (since it is very old) but it plays in 360 after selecting the "fullscreen" option on the video. 

The second video is labelled and not actually 360! What to do!
If the video is yours - re-encode with the 360 video tag, or inject the proper video metadata tag with a tool like thespacial media injector ( https://github.com/google/spatial-media/releases/tag/v2.1 ) - while making sure that the tag matches the content - 360,180,360 stereoscopic side-by-side or top-bottom
If the video is not yours - use the VR option in the video player(available after hitting 'full screen') to select the appropriate type of video - in the case of the snake island video - it's actually 180 - so i select that and it plays just fine.
image.thumb.png.c6500660c90698fff9c54dcec25cb597.png

Thanks for the question - and i hope it helps you enjoy more great content!

-Alex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Alex. Thanks for the response.

 

The VIVE Browser is great at playing flat 2D 360 and 180 degree videos, but the problem is that most of the VR180 YouTube videos are actually also in 3D, which is not supported by the browser.

 

Here’s an example. This is a VR180 YouTube video that is also in 3D.

 

If I use the official YouTube app on my phone and enable VR mode, the video will display two unique images, one for each eye. (I circled an area in the video where this is clear.) This would create a 3D depth effect in a VR headset.

spacer.png

However, if I were to watch this video in the VIVE Browser, there is no depth effect. The VIVE Browser displays the same image in each eye. I think this is a YouTube limitation rather than an issue with the VIVE Browser, so hopefully Google has something planned.

-Spencer

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Spencerr

Stereoscopic left/right or top/bottom videos work just fine - they were options in the screenshots above!  They get picked up from the metadata of the video - in which case the 3

As noted, this may be a decision by google or perhaps it has to do with the metadata of the video itself - try the injector!  https://github.com/google/spatial-media/releases/tag/v2.1

If i search for another video - say "360 splash dolphin"

I can see that the video is top/bottom stereoscopic when playing in 2d mode 
image.thumb.png.4714fdec97ec8f6c2a5f3223a735c058.png

and when hitting the "fullscreen" button it seems to detect it as a 360 top/bottom video successfully - if not select the 360 stereo option
 image.thumb.png.44feabe0fdb4a1f2d4e7aebe1d74d734.png

I'm guessing the difference has to do with an option in the upload page or in the metadata - as noted in the metadata-injector that google provides, which requires processing with the app and re-upload of the video to register https://github.com/google/spatial-media/releases/tag/v2.1

-Alex
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah, I see now. Thanks for clarifying! It's a shame many of the currently uploaded VR180/360 videos on YouTube are not configured this way, but it’s great there’s a work around. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...