The Meta Quest 3s Netflix app has been shut for good but the alternative is better than it ever was

Date:
Wed, 17 Jul 2024 10:46:09 +0000

Description:
Netflix's Meta Quest browser experience is better than the app ever was, but it's still a flawed system.

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The Meta Quest 3 Netflix app has been officially deprecated if you try and use it to stream content to your Quest VR headset itll no longer work, and youll get a playback error instead. But the new browser-based experience that replaces it is leaps and bounds ahead of what we had before, so you wont miss the old streaming method.

The Netflix app was one of the few streaming apps you could download on
Quest, but it was flawed (to put it politely). There was no passthrough support to watch in mixed reality, and streams were capped at 480p (standard definition, or SD).

While the app had its supporters they were few and far between, and the Netflix app was deemed by many, us included, as a waste of digital library space. So it came as no surprise that Netflix would come up with a different strategy for supporting the Quest 3 ditching the app completely and instead bringing its streaming service to the Quest browser .

Weve tested it out and the difference is night-and-day. Streams are now a significantly crisper 1080p (full-HD), and you can choose to watch Netflix content in mixed reality or in your virtual home environment. Whats more you can move the window around to position it for comfortability or multitasking, you can view on a curved or flat screen and resize the display as required, and you can dim or brighten the environment to make it feel more or less like youre watching in your own private VR movie theater.

Its turned Netflix-in-VR from a niche oddity to a genuinely great example of the tech. Now we just need other streaming platforms to follow suit. The
first step for VR streaming

Its worth noting you can use the browser to watch content from other best streaming services like Disney Plus but when testing these other platforms there was a noticeable dip in quality compared to Netflix. Apple's Vision Pro is much better for VR video (Image credit: Apple)

The darkened cinema-like experience remains (as thats a feature of the
browser itself) but the picture quality is grainier, perhaps due to the services not offering the same level of browser support as Netflix.

Whats more, while browser-based experiences are generally fine its not a perfect solution, even on the Netflix side of things. Primarily because you cant download shows or films to watch offline say, when you take your next flight. This was lacking in the original Netflix VR app too, but now its a feature that might be impossible to implement unless the platform creates a new dedicated app.

Apps for Disney Plus and Prime Video on the Apple Vision Pro do support downloads, so perhaps theyll keep this functionality when they get a Quest 3 port (although who knows if thatll happen).

Meta hasn't made video content as much of a focus for Quest as Apple has with the Vision Pro, but if the Netflix experience proves popular we could see it invest more in that aspect of VR. We'll just have to watch this space. You might also like Even in VR, Taskmaster is way harder than I thought it would be Apple Vision Pro finally hits the UK here'show you can try one Vision Pro at one I love Apple's revolutionary headset, so why do I hardly ever use it?



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/virtual-reality-augmented-reality/the-meta -quest-3s-netflix-app-has-been-shut-for-good-but-the-alternative-is-better-tha n-it-ever-was


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