The artful opulence of watching Netflix with the Oculus Quest 2 proves VR isn’t just for gaming

[I’ve been skeptical about the appeal of watching a television (or movie) screen within virtual reality, but this entertaining story from Esquire provides a first-person explanation, including some of the factors that enhance and reduce the appeal of this kind of presence experience. See the original version for two more images.  –Matthew]

The Artful Opulence of Watching Netflix With the Oculus Quest 2 Proves VR Isn’t Just for Gaming

The headset’s virtual reality living room, in which you’ll hunker down to catch up on TV, is nicer than your reality.

By Justin Kirkland
October 7, 2020

I am decidedly not a gamer. Never was in my wheelhouse. I would avoid playing Mario Kart with boys after school, instead talking with their moms about more adult-oriented topics. It wasn’t because I particularly wanted to know about Mrs. Ramsey’s second marriage, I just didn’t want to be embarrassed by the fact that my hand-eye coordination wasn’t up to snuff. I would ask the boys if they wanted more pizza rolls. They’d nod. I’d go back to Mrs. Ramsey. I settled on the idea that perhaps gaming was not for me.

Cut to 2020. I am still very much not a gamer, but I do get the opportunity to dip my toe into that world on occasion, which is why I was fired up when I got the chance to test out the Oculus Quest 2. The all-in-one virtual reality headset will release to the public on October 13 (you can pre-order now), and it hails from Oculus VR, a Facebook company. That made me a bit nervous, as another way for Facebook to take a stake in my life, but data be damned. I logged in with my account, set up the internet connection, and the world was at my literal and virtual fingertips. Then, when presented with the option to shoot global terrorists with a machine gun or go on a tour of the Notre Dame cathedral, I decided to just go to the living room.

Let me explain.

You see, the Oculus Quest 2 has a Netflix app, and while I know that there are probably gamers out there reading this, livid that I would waste a Quest 2 by simply using it to watch Netflix, they don’t understand. Have you seen this goddamn Netflix living room? I ignorantly thought that Netflix in VR might mean you’d be thrown into a stretched out, 180-degree version of your favorite series—The Good Place, The Great British Baking Show, whatever. No, no. In this app, Netflix gives you opulence. Netflix gives you art. Seated on a plush red (VR) couch, the (VR) television screen you watch Netflix on is approximately twelve feet tall, surrounded by intricate (VR) stonework, and to your left, there is a massive three-paned (VR) window that reveals the snowcapped mountains of what I assume are the Alps. I can’t confirm this for you; I’m a journalist, not a geographer. What you need to know is that the virtual reality experience of Netflix is less about being immersed in the entertainment and more about going somewhere better than where you are right now.

And sure, the couch and the remote and the magazines on the table may not conjure the same type of realism you get from reaching down and touching your actual couch, but after a few minutes in the Netflix app, you really do get this feeling that you’re sitting in a luxury cabin with vaulted ceilings. Actually, it’s easy to get distracted. While some of the other streamers available on the Quest 2 (Amazon and YouTube, to be exact) offer somewhat crude 180-degree renderings, Netflix’s goes beyond what’s right there in front of you, offering 360 degrees of fully immersive experience. Look behind you. Look above you. It’s one of the only apps I experienced that covered every angle. And the built-in speaker is nestled right by your ear, fooling you into believing you have enough money to afford surround sound. To be frank, it’s a hell of a lot nicer than my actual reality. So nice, in fact, that I forgot where I lived for a while.

I think one reason I hadn’t really considered getting in on the virtual reality fun is because it didn’t look particularly comfortable. I don’t care if you can teleport me to Mars—if I don’t have a cushy seat, I’ll pass. But the lightweight nature, foam lining, and adjustable straps of the Quest 2 really do make it possible to enjoy what you’re watching without a lot of attention to this… thing on your head. So there I was, just me and my Netflix queue in my high-end cabin in the mountains. Well, until the battery ran low about three hours in.

After I put the headset on charge and went back to what I now call “Peasant Netflix,” I kept thinking about why I preferred that other world so much. My couch isn’t plushy and red, but it’s fine. My TV isn’t a dozen feet tall, but it’s plenty serviceable. More than anything, they’re both real. I think that’s the key to virtual reality, be it lifestyle apps or gaming or fitness programs (the Quest 2 has all three). It’s in our nature to want things we don’t have, and if we can’t have-have them, then we like to live in the illusion. Hell, it doesn’t matter if the vacation is bad as long as it looks good on Instagram, right?

Now, in this moment, virtual reality is so much more palatable than reality-reality. In this fantasy world, you can go outside without a mask on. You can afford to travel the globe and work out at a fancy gym, because financial demands are limited to a $299 Quest 2 price tag (plus however much your desired app costs). Technically speaking, part of the reason that the Quest 2 is able to bring fantasy to life is because its technical specs are top of its class. But on a more cerebral scale, it feeds into our greatest fantasies, no matter how base they may seem. Mine happens to feature a $20 million chalet in the Alps (I’ve been pricing them out; sue me). And it all exists for me, within a one-pound machine that you put over your eyes.

For gamers, the Quest 2 represents the next big adventure, no matter which VR title they claim as their favorite. For a VR rookie like me, the Quest 2 is more of a lifestyle elevation. Is it tacky to want what you can’t have? Maybe. But when it’s packaged neatly in a compact headset, what’s the hurt? And if you’re not a mountains person, that’s fine. The Quest’s home screen has different settings to choose from; the default was a tropical resort. Not my tempo. I’ll keep my mountains. The only add-on I might suggest is finding a way to get Mrs. Ramsey on the couch next to me. We have some catching up to do between episodes.


Justin Kirkland is a writer for Esquire, where he focuses on entertainment, television, and pop culture.

This entry was posted in Presence in the News. Bookmark the permalink. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

*
*

  • Find Researchers

    Use the links below to find researchers listed alphabetically by the first letter of their last name.

    A | B | C | D | E | F| G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z