Summary
Here's a technique that lets other people see what you see on your Oculus Quest by looking at a TV screen. A simple and complete tutorial.
Virtual reality is frustrating for those who are not immersed in it. You can see the somewhat curious reactions of someone using a VR headset, but if you don't know what they're seeing, it's still frustrating. On a PC VR compatible headset or a PlayStation VR headset, it is possible to view on the screen but this is not the case with the Oculus Quest which is a stand-alone headset and does not require a PC or a game console. Here is a technique that allows you to display the view of the Oculus Quest on a television, however.. Perfect for sharing virtual reality moments with friends or family.
Cast technology for sharing the Quest view on TV
To be able to share the Quest view on a TV, you can use Google's Cast technology which is built into the Quest.. Oculus currently supports the following connected devices for Quest casting - Chromecast, Chromecast Ultra, NVIDIA Shield TV and Google Home Hub. Chromecasts are simple HDMI dongles that allow you to “stream” video and music services like YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, and now Oculus to your TV. They don't use a remote control, your phone acts as a controller.
Chromecasts
The Chromecast typically sells for $ 30 while the Chromecast Ultra sells for around $ 70. The main difference between the regular Chromecast and the Ultra is that the Ultra supports 4K. The Quest isn't a 4K device, but if you have a 4K TV, it's best to get the Ultra for other applications.
La technology Nvidia Shield TV
The Nvidia Shield TV is an Android TV-powered TV box that integrates Chromecast Ultra. This is the only TV box Quest can launch on.
How to stream Quest content to a TV:
While the Quest is worn by someone, open the Oculus app on the smartphone the Quest is connected to. Tap the Cast icon at the top right of the app. Choose the TV you want to stream to, set the video quality to High, then click Stream. The person using the Quest headset will now see a VR prompt asking if they are sure they want to stream. Tell him to accept this prompt.
After a few seconds you should now see and hear the Quest view on the TV. You might need to lower the volume because the person using the headset will hear it, and there is a few seconds of delay which is extremely annoying.
Note that streaming can sometimes reduce performance.
You can now have the view of the Oculus Quest on your TV and therefore share with your friends or family. With this technique, virtual reality becomes less selfish and even becomes a great activity to share with friends. Seeing how other people react to VR can be genuinely hilarious at times especially when it comes to VR horror games.
