Hulu and Netflix are jumping on the virtual reality train. All aboard, early adopters.
Both streaming video services will soon offer virtual reality apps that let users explore content and watch what they want in 3D virtual spaces. Netflix is up first, with an app launching in theGear VR store on Thursday, just hours after it was announced on stage at Oculus Connect.
While the video itself plays inside the headset on a virtual screen — banish all hopes of stepping into your favorite TV show or movie, at least for now — the app's browsing interface is an interactive "Netflix Living Room." This is a valuable feather in Netflix's cap, marking the "first" subscription video app for VR and yet another platform for the ubiquitous service.
Hulu's plans are a little further out, with its VR app set to launch sometime in the fall of 2015. In addition to a new VR browsing interface for existing Hulu programming, you can expect to find some amount of original content as well. The first such offering is The Big One, a bonus short film connected to Hulu's RocketJump: The Show.
This is just the start, too. Oculus VR revealed a number of other incoming apps Thursday, including content from Twitch, Vimeo, TiVo, Facebook (obviously) and more. Which is perfect timing, given the reveal of a $99 Gear VR consumer edition and the imminent arrival of Oculus Rift.
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