View your own 360 videos and photos on a Meta Quest 2 headset

Media from any 360 camera can be viewed in a Meta Quest 2 headset. Using SideQuest, the Android File Transfer app, OpenMTP, or simply browsing the directory structure from a PC, copy content to the headset for viewing in Meta Quest TV or a third party media viewer.

One of the following:

• SideQuest (macOS and Windows, choose the Advanced Installer)
• Android File Transfer (macOS only)
• OpenMTP (macOS only)
• A direct USB mass-storage connection (Windows only)

There are many amazing experiences available in the Meta Quest app store and Meta Quest TV, but that’s just the beginning. Anyone from individual creators to larger production teams can play their own immersive media on a Meta Quest headset. Content created with 360 cameras such as those from GoPro, Insta360, Ricoh, Kandao and other manufacturers can be copied directly to a Meta Quest headset and experienced in immersive virtual reality. This ‘sideloading’ process is also useful for quick viewing during production, or demonstrating immersive media concepts and projects to clients without needing to host them on a service.

The first requirement is to make sure the media is ready to go into the headset. Some 360 cameras create ready-to-use 360 video and photos directly from the camera, but media from some cameras will need processing first. Camera manufacturers all have their own processing software designed to be used with their cameras, but there are also standalone software packages made for stitching and other processing.

For sideloading, make sure videos use the MP4 or MKV container and are compressed using h.264 or h.265. A fairly high bitrate (up to 100Mbps) will ensure that quality remains high. Still images should be in JPEG format.

Before any of these methods will work it is important to enable Developer mode for the headset. No actual development work is required; this simply allows a USB connection to be made with the headset and the device’s storage to be browsed and managed from a Mac or PC.

1. First, register as an Oculus developer. To be an Oculus developer, a credit card or two-factor authentication must be added to the organization’s account to help establish your identity. Once that’s done, give the organization a name. If you plan to publish to the store make sure it’s something suitable for public viewing.
2. Next, open the Meta Quest app on your smartphone, choose your headset, find the Developer mode option and enable it.
3. Finally, connect the Meta Quest headset to your computer with a USB-C cable and grant permission in headset when you see the prompt.

All of these steps are necessary before a computer can be used to access files on your headset. Additionally, macOS Ventura users may need to quit the Preview app on their Mac before any utility is able to connect to the headset.

Make sure the Sidequest’s Advanced Installer was downloaded. Once USB access has been granted in the headset and the SideQuest app has recognized the device, choose the folder icon to manage files on the headset.

Mac users can use the free Android File Transfer utility. Once installed, this will open automatically when a Meta Quest headset (or any Android device) in Developer Mode is connected, once access has been allowed from within the headset.

After installing OpenMTP for the first time it is important to reboot the computer. Once that’s done, the software will open automatically when a Meta Quest headset (or any Android device) in Developer Mode is connected, once access has been allowed from within the headset.

Windows users can browse the headset’s storage directly. In the headset, allow access to the device when it is connected and it will show up as a regular storage volume.

In Meta Quest 2, we recommend using the Movies, Pictures, Download, or DCIM folders, which will automatically be indexed by Meta Quest TV.

Creating subfolders within these locations can help manage content when browsing the device storage in Windows or in the Android File Transfer utility on macOS. However, the Meta Quest TV app simply displays all the files in one list even if they are grouped into subfolders. For this reason it’s wise to name files appropriately. Be aware that when using SideQuest to manage files in a headset it may be necessary to reboot the headset to see new files.

In headset (after a reboot if SideQuest was used), open the Meta Quest TV app and navigate to ”Your Media”. Alternatively, use a third party viewer such as DeoVR, Pigasus, or SKYBOX VR.

If it’s comfortable for you, the headset can be left tethered to the computer via a USB-C cable during normal use. In addition to staying accessible for file management, it will charge using power from your computer.

Those interested in publishing work for others to find and view can publish into Meta Quest TV by using Meta Quest Media Studio. This dedicated media management tool enables immersive media creators to publish VR-first content into Meta Quest TV. Also an option are third-party immersive media ecosystems such as YouTube VR and DeoVR.