The well-known VR company Oculus released its TV experience for its inexpensive all-in-one Go headset today. The new experience lets you watch your favorite shows from Hulu, Netflix and more, on a virtual TV that the company touts as being the equivalent of 180-inches in real life.
Oculus TV was announced about 2 months ago at Facebook’s F8 conference. Surprised to hear that it was announced by Facebook? Don’t be. Facebook announced its acquisition of Oculus back in March 2014. There was quite a bit of backlash at the time, but the company has remained true to its brand and focused on developing great VR products and experiences.
While dedicated apps like Netflix already exist in Oculus’ experience store, Oculus TV provides a unique twist by putting you in a futuristic living room environment with windows that overlook nearby mountains for a view that we all wish we actually had.
The Oculus TV experience behaves like a container for many other apps. You run other apps like Hulu, SHOWTIME and Netflix on the virtual TV within it, making it an interesting execution to say the least.
Perhaps the best part of Oculus TV is that it is designed for Oculus Go. This recently released headset features an all-in-one design that allows you to enjoy VR wherever you settle down for the day. Since the headset houses its own rechargeable battery, there is no need for clumsy wires while being entertained.
The current lineup of supported apps include Netflix, Hulu, SHOWTIME, Facebook Video, Red Bull TV, Pluto TV, Neverthink, and Newsy. Definitely not a long list, and it is a bit surprising that YouTube is an omission at launch.
With just 17 reviews at the time of this post, reactions seem a bit mixed so far. It is currently sitting just below 3 out of 5 stars, with many of the user complaints being that they want more apps like YouTube to be supported.
While the number of apps supported is small, there is definitely something to be said about the ability to take a virtual living room with you that sports both a great view and a 15-foot bezel-less TV.
Options to avoid bezels on a TV in real life are limited and expensive. Typically you’d want to look into projectors or potentially a hybrid option like Hisense’s $3,000 laser TV. With the cost of the Oculus Go starting at just $199 and TV experience being free, it seems like a much more cost-effective solution, albeit a more lonely one.
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