YouTube launches its standalone VR app

Just in time for Daydream, YouTube launches its standalone VR app

Coinciding with the debut of Google’s new Daydream View VR headset, YouTube this morning announced the launch of its YouTube VR app, which is available first on Daydream. The standalone application turns all of YouTube’s content into an immersive experience, even if the videos weren’t built for VR viewing. To do so, YouTube VR will display standard videos in a virtual movie screen in app’s new theater mode. Of course, 360 degree videos on YouTube will work best in this app.


In the theater mode, the video itself fills the main portion of the screen, while video information – like the title and description – is off on one side. The other side of the screen displays your queue so you can see what’s coming up next. Player controls are down at the bottom.
This way, you can watch and browse at the same time, says Google.
ytvr-watch-spherical-browse
The app also includes other features like voice search, support for spatial audio, and the ability to sign in to your YouTube account so you can follow your subscriptions and view your playlists.
Today, much of the content on YouTube is not optimized for VR, but Google believes the format will become a more popular means of storytelling in the future.
That said, the company is investing in the technology by seeding the network with VR content. It has been helping YouTube creators gain access to VR equipment in YouTube Spaces, as well as learn how to use it to film in 360 degrees.
At launch, that means there’s already a number of videos to watch in the new VR app. The company calls out a few examples of those across genres, including videos from beauty blogger Meredith Foster, Tastemade’s cooking videos, HuffPost RYOT’s breaking news, as well as others from Curiscope, Natural History Museum in London, StyleHaul, and Fitness Blender, to name a few. The NBA will soon have videos for YouTube VR, Google also noted.
Virtual reality is an entertainment format that makes viewers feel like they're in the middle of the action. It's among the buzziest consumer technologies this year, with tech giants likeFacebook, Samsung and Google investing billions to deliver headsets and VR experiences to consumers more widely. But using VR is an unfamiliar experience compared to movies and even video games, leading to skepticism that VR will find a wide audience.
Thursday, YouTube said in a blog post the new stand-alone VR app allows viewers to fully experience YouTube videos shot with 360-degree cameras, as well as watch all of the site's standard clips by "screening" them in a virtual movie theater.
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The latter is a tactic that a lot of video companies use. It allows them to have an app available for VR even if they don't have very much virtual reality to actually watch. But YouTube emphasized VR content it has available already. It called out an immersive apartment tour withMeredith Foster, Tastemade cooking videos and breaking news from HuffPost RYOT, among others.
In order to use the new app, you’ll need a Daydream-ready phone, like the recently launched Pixel, and the Daydream View headset.

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