Meta seeks to improve the video experience in its Quest headsets with a new streaming hub, the Disney+ app, immersive effects, Dolby Atmos support and later Dolby Vision.
Gaming is well supported on Quest, but when it comes to video Meta is far behind Apple Vision Pro in both software and hardware.
Meta is now trying to address this – at least on the software side. That was the message at the annual Connect presentation, where Mark Zuckerberg predicted that video content will become a huge category in headsets in the future.
New streaming hub
The new streaming hub is called Meta Horizon TV. It is an app that aggregates content from streaming services, similar to Google TV and the Apple TV app. At launch, Prime Video, Pluto, Dazn and Twitch are highlighted.
Within the same app, users will be able to find "immersive" content created specifically for VR headsets. Soon, an exclusive 3D clip from the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash will be added.
Later, Disney+ will be launched as an app for Quest. Some of Disney's content will also appear in the new hub.
The new Meta Horizon streaming hub on Quest. Photo: Meta
Improved software
Meta also promised improved support for films in different aspect ratios – something Apple Vision Pro excels at.
- "And our upcoming platform investments will eliminate letterboxing, displaying media in a correctly sized window based on its aspect ratio. That means you’ll get an optimal viewing experience, as the director originally intended," said Meta.
Films like M3GAN and The Black Phone can be experienced with new 'immersive' effects, exclusive to Meta Quest.
Also read: Watch films virtually at Hogwarts or the Alien containment room
Dolby Atmos and Vision
Finally, the company announced that Dolby Atmos is now supported in the new Meta Horizon TV app after updating your headset to Horizon OS version 79.
Support for Dolby Vision will be added later, although this is not very useful as long as the LCD screens in Quest headsets cannot reproduce HDR-quality images. Meta has yet to unveil plans for headsets with micro-OLED or micro-LED displays.
