Meta has already equipped the Quest with the capability to watch personal content, but sifting through a file system and viewing it on a basic panel doesn’t quite match the immersive feel of a true home theater. The company is now toying with ideas to enhance this experience.
Mark Rabkin, the Vice President overseeing Horizon OS and Quest, shared in a recent post on X that Meta is developing a home theater feature for Horizon OS. This operating system powers Quest and is poised to support various third-party headsets too.
When questioned about why such a feature doesn’t already exist, Rabkin responded, “Our team is diving into experimentation with lighting and other visual effects to determine what delivers the best experience. We’re also focused on creating dynamic sound.”
Interestingly, this isn’t Meta’s first foray into theater environments. Back in 2014, when Meta was still Facebook/Oculus, they launched Oculus Cinema for Samsung Gear VR. This eventually evolved into Oculus Video for both Gear VR and Rift, allowing users to both view personal content and rent movies directly. By late 2015, Oculus Social emerged, offering up to five users a platform to connect and enjoy Twitch and Vimeo streams in a range of virtual theaters.
Jumping to more recent history, Meta’s Horizon Home on Quest, updated in 2021, was another step forward. It enabled multiple users to converge in your personal space to watch videos and jump into VR apps together. However, it lacked key features typical of dedicated home theater apps, like customizable environments and sophisticated playback controls.
Despite varying content options over the years, Meta’s apps inadvertently added hurdles for users accessing traditional content, pushing them toward more open solutions such as Bigscreen and Skybox, as well as popular apps like Prime Video, YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix.
Looking ahead, Meta’s next attempt at creating a dedicated theater won’t likely merge all these fragmented apps into one colossal platform. Still, providing a seamless way to watch personal content in an immersive setting could be just the ticket needed to gain traction.
