It is good to see existing electronic devices finally enable support for virtual reality. Oculus has announced the Samsung Gear VR is now compatible with the Google Chromecast. This means anyone can share their mobile VR experiences with the people around them. All it requires is a TV screen and a Chromecast to get up and running.
Expanding VR to the Television Screen
It is good to see companies work on more solutions to let VR users share their experiences. More specifically, owners of a Samsung Gear VR and a Google Chromecast can now stream their gameplay to TV screens. This is quite an intriguing development, especially when sharing the experience with family and friends. One downside of mobile VR is how no one can actually see what you are seeing.
Chromecast support may arrive on additional VR hardware in the future. Considering there is an influx of mobile VR headsets as of late, it will be good to see more devices receive Chromecast support. This also levels the playing field between tethered and mobile VR headsets. Sharing the things you see with others is part of the virtual reality experience. Moreover, it may also entice others to experience with a VR headset in the future.
To start sharing your Samsung Gear VR experience, simply update the Oculus app on your Android phone. Once that is done, there will be a Cast button within the application. Select the Chromecast device in question and start streaming to the connected monitor. It is a very simple process that shouldn’t take more than two or three minutes to complete. Moreover, it provides a more social VR experience as well.
Now that one can share their experiences with others, mobile VR is becoming far more interesting. The Samsung Gear VR is a rather cheap HMD compared to the desktop-tethered versions out there. Granted, one needs a Google Chromecast to provide this functionality, but those devices are relatively cheap to procure as well. All things considered, this is a smart move by Oculus, and we can only hope other manufacturers follow their lead by example.
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