VLC Media Player - Player supports 360 ° videos

Summary

• A collaboration between Giroptic and VideoLan to support 360 videos on VLC
• VLC Media Player soon available on virtual reality headsets
• VLC could dominate the VR video player market

The open source VLC Media Player video player is considered by many to be the best media player. 

A collaboration between Giroptic and VideoLan to support 360 videos on VLC

The latest update to the player brings a feature that VR enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting - support for 360-degree videos. It is now possible to freely watch panoramic videos on VLC, by moving the image to change the point of view using the mouse cursor or keyboard, as is the case for example on YouTube 360.

To offer this new support, VideoLan, the firm behind VLC, has partnered with camera manufacturer Giroptic. Together, the two companies have developed new functionalities that make it possible to display photographs, panoramas and 360-degree videos on the player.

VLC Media Player soon available on virtual reality headsets

For the moment, only the PC version of VLC allows you to play 360 ° videos. The mobile app will also offer this feature very soon. With the mobile version, users will be able to change the point of view by moving their smartphone in the desired direction. The operation will therefore be similar to that of many other 360-degree video players available today.

Otherwise, VideoLan announces upcoming support for virtual reality headsets like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive or Samsung Gear VR. The update will be deployed in the course of 2017. Users will then be able to watch 360 ° videos in virtual reality, by moving their heads naturally to change their point of view. We can also expect to see support for 360 ° audio with this update. Spatial sound is indeed essential to enjoy 360 ° videos in virtual reality.

VLC could dominate the VR video player market

- many qualities of VLC and its popularity could allow the software to establish itself among the best media players in the virtual reality market. Hopefully, however, the dedicated version of the player's VR headsets will live up to the other variations.

For the time being, 360 degree video support on desktop version of VLC is only a technical preview. It is therefore possible to be confronted with bugs and other inconveniences. However, the developer team is actively working on improving the player. In any case, the arrival of VLC in the virtual reality sector is excellent news and testifies to the good health of the market.