Guide: Live streaming VR video at DeoVR using HLS in up to 8K!

Live streaming with DeoVR is a major priority right now, and we’re looking to both improve live previews in the VR headset (via a local network or through wired connection), and establish live streaming over the internet to anywhere in the world. Want to learn more about live streaming 8K VR footage? Read our simple guide below. 

Live streaming to a local headset is most useful for producers on set who wish to see how the footage appears from a VR production camera. It can instantly show the director’s vision on screen in the Quest and Pico headsets. We have seen evidence of DeoVR being used for this purpose by some huge worldwide companies so you're in safe hands. 

We have achieved this with a number of VR cameras, using a Raspberry Pi. The goal now is to streamline it so it works with all the new cameras about to launch with DeoVR support. 

Live internet streaming is how VR camera users work in VR, which requires a media server's infrastructure. DeoVR has partnered with a number of projects, connecting their cameras and servers to great effect. 

Currently, the DeoVR team is working to establish an infrastructure that can provide live stream broadcasting on the DeoVR platform using a VR camera, phone camera or any other web camera. The goal is to greatly improve DeoVR’s ability to stream straight from VR camera to supported Quest and Pico headsets, with the end result as close as possible to the original.

Streaming using HLS 

HLS is currently the easiest option for streaming 8K@60fps footage through the VR headset using a local network live preview. It delivers smooth playback and high image quality with zero artifacts. A potential option is a Raspberry Pi streaming server that will utilize the RTSP stream from the camera and generate an HLS stream for the DeoVR player. HLS URLs are already supported in DeoVR.

How to stream live VR video to DeoVR player using HLS

To set up a live stream from your camera to DeoVR you will need:

• A VR headset (Quest family, Pico 4 or SteamVR headsets) with DeoVR player installed
• A camera that can stream via the RTMP or RTSP protocol (such as Kanado VR, Teche 3D180VR or the new CalfVR)
• A computer connected to the same network as your headset

A potential media server is the open-source MediaMTX server. It can be used with the default configuration to quickly set up an  HLS stream for your camera.

1. Start the MediaMTX media server on your computer with default configuration
2. Configure your camera to stream via RTSP or RTMP to the media server. See your camera’s instruction guide for full details. The URL for the stream will look like rtmp://YOUR_IP/live (where YOUR_IP is the IP address of your computer in the local network).
3. Launch the DeoVR video player on your headset, then click on the address bar at the top (see image above). If https is the active protocol, switch to http
4. Enter the following URL: http://YOUR_IP:8888/cam/stream.m3u8
5. If the image is not correct, make sure to select 180 Lat/Lang and SideBySide.
6. Success! You're now streaming 8K VR footage live using DeoVR.

You can also implement DeoVR JSON file to simplify the URL, you can find instructions on how to create a json file in the DeoVR documentation. 

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