Platforms like Facebook and YouTube currently allow desktop users to watch videos in 360-degree mode. This is of course catered towards virtual reality where with a proper headset, users can pan around with the headset and check out their surroundings. The good news for VLC users is that it looks like the desktop version of the app will now support 360-degree videos.
This is based on the preview version of VLC 3.0 and follows the Spatial Video specification and was developed with a company called Giroptic. Of course given that our desktops aren’t exactly equipped with gyroscopic or accelerometer sensors it won’t work quite the same way as you would expect from a virtual reality headset or mobile, so you will have to use your mouse to pan around like you would normally.
However we guess the upside is that if you do own a VR headset like the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive that you should be able to enjoy VR content via VLC player. Then again it’s not like there are many movies that have been released for VR just yet, so for now we guess its uses are limited to the content that is currently available, but it is better than nothing, right?
If you are interested in taking it for a spin, hit up VLC’s website for the details. The developers also expect that it will eventually find its way to mobile devices and even the Xbox One.
Filed in . Read more about Apps, Virtual Reality (VR) and Vlc.