How to use Oculus Video on your Gear VR

Oculus Video is the video app for the Gear VR. It allows you to watch your own media, Facebook 360 videos, Twitch streams, Vimeo videos and all kinds of video. It’s a neat addition to the repertoire of the device and one I use a lot. Here’s how to use Oculus Video on your Gear VR.

Watch your own media in Oculus Video
If you have home movies or movies stored on your phone or PC, you can watch them on your Gear VR. You can either load it onto your handset or stream from your PC. I find the experience smoother if I load the movie onto my handset first but your mileage may vary.

1. Copy your media to the Movies folder on your handset.
Simply drag and drop the video file as you would any other file.

2. Load the handset into Gear VR and navigate to Oculus Video.
If you don’t already have Oculus Video installed, get it from the Oculus Store.

3. Navigate to the video from the left menu option My Videos.
The left menu shows all your options, My Videos is close to the bottom. Use the center dot and touchpad to select.

4. Play the video and select a theater option.
Sit back and grab the popcorn as your movie begins to play!

The Oculus Video app also allows you to access Twitch streams, Vimeo videos and 360 videos from the left menu. Facebook videos require you to log into Facebook in the right menu.

While my Galaxy S7 has an HD screen, it isn’t as good as my TV. Depending on the quality of the movie, you may notice pixels and lower quality than usual during playback. However, given the immersive nature of the experience it is unlikely that it will get in the way of your viewing pleasure!

Want to know how to play Google Cardboard apps on the Samsung Gear VR? How about learning to launch Gear VR apps without Oculus?