Facebook/Oculus released a number of promotion images alongside the Oculus Quest’s big reveal, during the Oculus Connect 5 event last year. Many, including myself, brushed over one particular image, which implies that there could be improved sharing capabilities on the upcoming Oculus Quest headset.
Let’s look at the image and I will tell you what I see…
The image above portrays you as the player, who holds the Oculus Quest Touch controllers ahead of you (known by its signature tracking loops that appear over your thumbs). You’re sitting rather low, likely on the sofa or chair in front of a rather large lounge TV display which is displaying what looks like a simultaneous stream/share cast from the same Oculus Quest.
What confirms this more is that the controller’s position and the blue in-game hands that are displayed on the TV screen in front of you illustrate that what the player is doing is also being cast/streamed on to the TV screen. So to me, this implies that the Quest could feature improved sharing capabilities that might see the headset allow ChromeCast streaming to a compatible TV display.
Currently, the Oculus Go allows sharing to its mobile app, which only until very recently allows support for audio capture too (when recording), this ability allows people nearby to share the experiences of the headset wearer, albeit on a rather small screen. If the Quest allowed streaming to Chromecast devices, this would open even greater possibilities, not only for sharing content with others in the same room but also for content providers on YouTube or Twitch to record and stream VR content.
You could say the TV could be displaying a fullscreen view of a shared capture feed from Facebook.com. Which can be done on the Oculus Go, and this image might indeed imply that. But without any overlaying UI on top of the capture, it feels more focused on a direct sharing feed to the TV.
This promotional image above showing simultaneous gameplay appearing on a large TV screen, to me, implies improved sharing capabilities on the Oculus Quest. The Go used Chromecast tech to share to the Oculus mobile app, so it’s highly likely it will do the same on the Quest, but maybe it will not only require the application and instead it could allow direct/universal Chromecast streaming to any compatible device.
Could this be a miscommunication on their part, or is this really a hint at some improved sharing capabilities on the Oculus Quest? Let me know what you think in the comments below.
