If you have similar questions regarding Oculus Casting, then this guide is just for you. First, we will briefly see about Oculus Casting and its transformation into Meta Casting. Then, we move on to understanding what exactly is Oculus Casting and its requirements. After that, we will explore all the steps to cast with Oculus Quest on different display devices.
A Brief Note on Oculus (Meta Quest)
Oculus started as a crowdfunding project in 2012 with Oculus Rift, a Virtual Reality (VR) Headset. It is a type of head-mounted display device to play VR Games. The device integrates several sensors to track the position of the person’s head, eyes, and other movements. Based on this data, the display changes the field of view of the person playing the game to give an immersive experience. In 2014, Facebook acquired Oculus and in 2016, it launched the Oculus Rift CV1. The Oculus Quest is a high-end standalone VR Headset from Oculus (Facebook) released in 2019. After the success of Quest, Facebook released the updated Oculus Quest 2 with a new design and latest hardware.
In late 2021, Facebook was brought under Meta, which also owns WhatsApp and Instagram. As a part of this rebranding, it also changed the Oculus brand to Meta. Therefore, the Oculus Quest, Quest 2, and other Oculus branded VR headsets are now Meta Quest, Meta Quest 2, etc.
What is Oculus Casting?
Using Oculus Quest or Quest 2 is very easy. There are no wires or cables. Just wear the headset on your head, grab the controllers in your hands and start playing. It is that simple. Each eye has a separate display, which is OLED for the original Quest and LCD for Quest 2. Oculus Quest can output 1400 × 1600 resolution images at 72 Hz. The Quest 2, despite its inferior LCD, can produce 1832 × 1920 resolution images at a 72 to 120 Hz refresh rate. All these specs are good for the person wearing the headset and playing. But what about others who want to see the display or the gameplay? How can they view the content? This is where the Oculus Casting feature comes into play. You might have used Chromecast or other similar casting devices/techniques to project the content of your smartphone onto a bigger display, such as a TV. The Oculus Casting is a similar feature, where you can display the gameplay from the VR headset on a TV, computer, or even a Smartphone.
What Do You Need to Cast with Oculus?
We know that there is a possibility to project the content off of Oculus Quest or Quest 2 to a bigger display. But what are the things you need to do this? The first and most important is a compatible casting device. Some smart TVs have built-in Chromecast. With such TVs, the casting process becomes very easy as you don’t need any additional hardware. If your TV doesn’t have a built-in Chromecast, then you should have a Google Chromecast device. Alternatively, some streaming devices such as Roku and NVIDIA Shield have Chromecast support. The next best way to cast the content from Oculus is using the official smartphone app. You can view the content on the phone itself or connect the phone to a larger display (TV or monitor) using appropriate cables and adapters. After sorting out the devices, make sure that all of them are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
How to Cast with Meta Quest, Meta Quest 2, and Oculus?
Let us now see the procedure to cast with Meta Quest and Meta Quest 2 (also known as Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2).
Cast to Smart TV
The best way to experience the Oculus casting is to view the gameplay on a large display TV. For this, your TV must have a built-in Chromecast feature or you must plug in a Google Chromecast device to the TV’s HDMI Port. In either case, make sure that your TV is cast-ready. Now, turn on the Oculus Quest (or Quest 2) and wear it. Make sure that both the Oculus and the TV are using the same Wi-Fi network. Start a VR game and press the button on the right-hand controller. This will bring up the quick menu. In the bottom left corner, there is a shortcut to share the display. The icon looks like a VR Headset with Wi-Fi signals on top. When you press this, you will get a “Cast From This Headset” option with a list of compatible devices just below. Select the correct TV, Chromecast, or Streaming device from the list and click on next. That’s it. The Oculus will start casting to TV.
Cast to Smartphone
If you don’t have Chromecast, then the alternative is to stream the content to a Smartphone. For this, you have to install the official Oculus (now Meta Quest) app from App Store or Google Play Store, depending on your device. Log in to the app with your Oculus credentials. On the top right corner of the app, there is a cast button, with a similar icon to what we saw on the Oculus headset. Tap this icon to begin casting. First select the correct Oculus headset, from which you want to cast the content. Next, you have to select the device to which you want to cast to. By default, your smartphone will be the casting target. If this is okay leave it like that. You can output your smartphone’s display to a TV using an adapter. You can also select TV or another compatible Chromecast device from the drop-down menu near the phone. After selecting the device, just click on the ‘Start’ option to begin Oculus Casting.
Cast to Computer
There is another way to cast the content of your Oculus. You can use the official casting website and see the gameplay on a computer. On a computer, open a browser and open the link oculus.com/casting. The home page asks you to log in. Use your Oculus credentials and log in. Now, start the Oculus Quest Headset and press the Oculus button to open the menu. Browse to Sharing and click on the Cast option. From the list, select your computer and click on next. Additional Information If you successfully started casting your Oculus to a TV or compatible device, then you can see the live gameplay on a large display device. In order to stop casting, browse the Sharing menu once again. Select cast and then click on the Stop Casting option. You can do a similar action from the smartphone app also. When you are casting off of Oculus, you will notice a drop in the battery life. This is normal. If you are recording in addition to casting, the performance of the headset and/or the app might degrade.
Conclusion
Oculus Quest is now Meta Quest. Only the name has changed but the performance and popularity remain the same. Oculus is a popular brand of VR Headsets with Quest and Quest 2 in their line-up. A person wearing the headset can get a completely immersive gaming experience. But if others, who are around the player also want to see the game, then casting is the only option. In this guide, we saw the basics of Oculus and its changeover to Meta Casting. Then, we moved on to the requirements of Oculus Casting. Finally, we saw the procedure to cast with Oculus onto TV, Smartphone, and computer. Comment * Name * Email * Website
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