Finding the right way to play a 360º video on a VR headset can be tricky.
What is Look & Play Software
Look &Play is a software that allows you to easily play 360º videos. After putting on the headset, a play button appears and the user can start the video by looking at the button. When the video is done, the user returns to the selection menu.
What is a native 360º video player?
Every all-in-one VR headset has their own 360º video player.
We’ve compared the Look&Play to the native 360º players in four areas:
- Ease of use
- Menu
- Branding
- 360 degree video compatibility
Ease of use
Native 360º players are operated with the headset controller. In practice this can be quite confusing for an inexperienced user. It takes a while to understand the controller, which is why at first users often fail to start the video.
Look&Play is a lot easier in this, because it is controlled simply by looking. Instructing inexperienced users is therefore simple; just look at the icon and the 360º video will start.
Menu
In the Look&Play waiting area, only icons and titles of playable 360º videos show. Users cannot perform other actions or return to the main menu. This is perfect for new users because they won’t get lost in endless options.
Native 360º videos often have multiple options. This way users can easily return to the main menu, fast forward, pause, or skip the video. Experienced users navigate through this with ease, for new users it won’t be that easy.
Branding
Native 360º video players do not have branding options. With Look&Play, both the background and the title icons can be customized. This way the proper branding can be placed.
360 degree video compatibility
A 360º video has many factors that can affect the fluent play of the video. Examples are resolution, bitrate and frames per second. Listed below is a comparison between the two native video players of the most popular all-in-one VR headsets and Look&Play.
Oculus native video player | Pico G2 4k native video player | Look &Play | |
Monoscopic | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Stereoscopic | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Advised bitrate | Stereo (20 mb/s)Mono (40-60 mb/s) | ||
FPS | 30-60 FPS | 30-60 FPS | |
Resolution | 3840 x 3840 px3840 x 1920 px | 3840 x 3840 px
3840 x 1920 px |
More information about what the specs mean: https://mobfish.net/blog/vr-videos/
Conclusion
Are the people you’re showing the video to experienced VR users? Then a native 360 degree video player will suffice. Otherwise Look&Play is an easy solution. Especially in events, experience centers or during presentations, Look&Play is very useful.