I’ve been thoroughly enjoying my Meta Quest 3, especially the ability to cast my VR experiences to a TV to share with others. However, I believe adding stereoscopic 3D casting (Side-by-Side or Top-Bottom) would greatly enhance the shared viewing experience for 3D-capable TVs and monitors.
This feature would allow viewers to enjoy VR content in 3D, offering a deeper and more immersive experience for games, videos, and other applications that utilize depth. The technical feasibility seems within reach for the following reasons:
No significant bandwidth impact: Stereoscopic 3D casting would simply involve reducing the resolution in the horizontal or vertical direction (depending on the 3D format), without adding much overhead in terms of network bandwidth.
TV support isn’t a major concern: Even on non-3D TVs, Side-by-Side (SBS) or Top-Bottom (TB) 3D content is still viewable, albeit without the 3D effect. This means the feature could be available universally without causing issues for users with regular TVs.
Architecture: The key challenge lies in introducing an additional casting option alongside the existing 2D output. This would require some UI/UX updates to allow users to select between casting in 2D or stereoscopic 3D. However, the stereoscopic 3D information is already being rendered in VR, so leveraging that for casting should be achievable.
I believe this would be a valuable addition to the Quest experience, particularly for users who own 3D displays and want to share VR content in a more immersive way, though the side by side videos could also be enjoyed from within the headset, or those of your friends!
