VR Theater for Cardboard provides a virtual movie theater for 2D and 3D videos.
Many other apps claim to be VR, but just show a static side by side image of the movie: VR Theater allows you to move the head around, for a more immersive experience.
To better enjoy VR Theater and any other VR app make sure to have:
I develop the app on my Nexus 5 with a Homido virtual reality headset, you should expect a sub-par experience with older phones (older than the S4), or cheap headsets.
VR Theater has at the moment a limited video compatibilty: stick to mp4 files and all will be fine (a complete list of compatible formats can be found here).
If you have a movie that's not a mp4, you can convert it with Handbrake video transcoder beforehand.
Make sure to have at least one mp4 file on your device to play.
Tap on the top left button to open the side menu and select My Videos.
Navigate the directories until you find the mp4 file you want to play, and tap on it.
Keep the default "2D" and "16:9" selections for the 3D type and screen ratio respectively. Don't select a 3D format "just because": it doesnt' work that way!!!
You can select a .srt subtitle for the movie if you have one with the top right button.
Press the play button and insert the phone into the headset.
Enjoy!
Select a mp4 file from an external browser (like Solid File Explorer) or the link of a mp4 file on a web page (try "Sample mp4 file" on on this page if you need a sample.
Select "VR Theater" as the app to open the movie with
Follow the instructions for normal movies for the format selection
First make sure to actually have a 3D movie: VR Theater doesn't convert 2D movies into 3D ones!
Find out what kind of 3D format your movie is: SBS, TB or ToB or Anaglyph Red/Cyan.
Open the file as explained in the instructions for normal movies and select the 3D format to match the name of the file.
This is a table of the movies supported by VR Theater, and a short description of how they look when played with the 2D setting in VR Theater (or when opened with a non-3D video player):
2D | standard movies, they play correctly with "2D". |
Side by Side or SBS/HSBS | with "2D" you see the same image duplicated (side by side, hence the name). |
Top/Bottom, Over/Under or ToB | with "2D" you see the same image duplicated (one on top of the other). |
Anaglyph or Red/Cyan | with "2D" you see the correct picture, but the colors on the image look "wrong", with bluish or reddish borders. |
Select the right 3D format with VR Theater, or you will see a corrupted picture.
If the picture looks right instead, but the depth looks "weird", try inverting the 3D (see VR Controls).
Movies shot with 360° cameras like the Gear 360 can be watched with VR Theater.
Look at the name of the file: panoramic movies have usually the "panoramic" word and 180 or 360 in the filename.
Open the file as explained in the instructions for normal movies and select the screen ratio to match the type of panoramic movie you have (360 or 180 degrees).
Some panoramic movies are 3D as well: make sure to adapt the 3D format accordingly! The movies on this site for instance are both panoramic 360° and Top over bottom 3D!
VR Theater has some configuration presets to address the most common issues.
Open the side menu and select "Options" to see the presets menu.
Some of the options can be combined (e.g. you can have overheating/power consumption problems and a drifting problem: you can select first a fix, and then select another), other can't (the preset for the best performances and the one for reduced drain cancel each other).
Check the effects of your choices by selecting the bottom right buttons.
All options changes are saved automatically: if you are unhappy with your selection, the last preset button allows to restore the factory settings.
Almost all aspects of VR Theater can be configured: the top bar in the "presets" menu allows to select one of several options menu.
Things you can do in the advanced configuration menus:
The controls in the VR Scene can be activated by looking at them for a set time (configurable).
If you have a Cardboard V2 trigger, it will work with the app: in such case, you probably want to disable the visual controls through the options.
Most controls in the theater are hidden: to open the control panel, search a semi-transparent red circle and look at it.
Inside the panel that will open you can find the most used controls there (fast forward/backward, next/previous track, volume, pause, etc).
Less used options can be found in a second page of the panel. You can open it by looking at the
small button on
the top left of the panel.
The red semi-transparent circle you use to open the controls can be configured in position, size, and opacity.
First Panel | |
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pause/resume the playback |
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skip forward and backward a set configurable time |
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raise or lower the volume |
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start a countdown: at the end the view will be aligned |
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fast backward and forward. Use the play icon on the screen to stop. |
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previous and next video in the folder |
Second panel | |
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lock the view on the screen: only the controls will move with your head. Use again to restore the default behavior |
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invert the dept. Useful only with some 3D movies |
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switch to a theater for panoramic 360°/180° movies, or to a normal theater |
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switch 3D mode (2D, Side by Side, Top over Bottom, Anaglyph red/cyan) |
Only for non-panoramic movies | |
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move forward/backward and up/down |
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change the aspect ratio of the screen |
Only for panoramic movies | |
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zoom in or out, and restore the default zoom level |
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switch between 180° and 360° |
Extra controls | |
Screen | pause/resume playback (trigger/keyboard only) |
Right Bar | allows to seek to a specific time (may not work for some video sources) |
Empty Space | align the view (trigger/keyboard only) |
External devices (USB or Bluetooth keyboards and gamepads) work too
If you have an external controller, like a keyboard or gamepad, you can use it to select the controls in the VR Scene.
The supported keys are:
Other keys/buttons behave like the cardboard trigger: you can use other devices - like selfie triggers - to control the app.
Personal non-commercial use of this app is granted free of charge: there are no ads, no data mining, no payments of sort.
For feedback, support or to report a bug contact me:
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