Plex has announced their latest enhancement, bringing the ability to watch your library content in VR! Just in case you are still trying to figure out what the best media server to go with is. Plex will continue to answer this each time they bring something new to the table, and this round is a good one.
With the simple use of a Google Daydream headset and your phone (any model that supports Google Daydream), you can dive right into your collection and watch it inside of a VR scenario, such as a virtual living room. You can browse your collection and choose what to play, customize an avatar and even bring friends into the experience. The whole thing is called Plex VR, giving it an obvious and recognizable title. It supports Android devices only (obviously) at the moment.
Since you are using Daydream to pull it off, you don’t need to have access to a high-end computer to pull it off. You just need a nice phone (and a headset). This also means you can take it on the road and enjoy the experience anywhere.
It is quite similar to Netflix VR, which takes you into a log cabin experience with a giant projection screen in front of you. Only Plex takes it further by allowing you to change the scene you’re in. You can just simply have everything floating in front of you and everything else blacked out, or you can be in a high-rise living room environment, or even a drive-in theater.
You can invite up to four friends to join you as you watch your film (that makes a total of five people watching the same film at the same time). They will be in the scene with you real-time (ie, sitting on the couch next to you), and you can even voice chat with them live as you are watching the film. That way you can still interrupt the movie with bad jokes or scene spoilers (or flirt if you’re on a virtual date while physically being on opposite sides of the Earth).
It can also play files that are stored locally on your phone, including 360 degree, 180 degree, and 3D videos.
It is free to all Plex users, although some features are reserved for Plex Pass users only, including the ability to invite friends into the mix. To give you a taste of things though, they are giving a free week of co-watching to all users when they first start using Plex VR. You will need a separate app for Plex VR, which can be found in the Google Play store right here. You can find Google’s Daydream headset here. in two different colors (slate/grey and snow/white).
