When Facebook acquired virtual reality headset maker Oculus and gained access to its main product, the Oculus Rift, the assumption was that VR experiences would increasingly make their way to the social media giant. So far, the VR headset has been successful in its own right, and the Oculus Spaces app has served as the main point of entry for using Facebook in a somewhat limited VR environment.
Now, Oculus Spaces is getting a brand-new feature that should significantly enhance the social sharing aspect of the experience. Spaces will now allow users to share Facebook Live video sessions that are generated from within the app, as Road to VR reports.
The new Live support means that users can now set up a virtual camera in Oculus Spaces that can be positioned anywhere in the VR environment and broadcast to other Facebook users — just like with a 2D Live session. This builds on Spaces‘ current ability to share selfies and add them to the Facebook Timeline, as well as the Facebook Messenger call feature that lets users engage in “VR-to-reality” videoconferences.
The Spaces version of Facebook Live will work just like it does on other platforms. Facebook friends can comment and ask questions during Live sessions, and the VR user who’s doing the broadcasting will be able to see the usual emoji reactions, and will have the option of picking comments and highlighting them to the audience.
Facebook is highlighting the educational and business value of the new Live feature, showing off in its promotional video how teachers could enact “VR office hours” to meet with students who are also equipped with their own Oculus Rifts in more natural simulated environments. Other students without VR headsets could view the sessions, just like any other Facebook Live broadcast.
The new feature is live (no pun intended) in Spaces as of today. You can download it or install the latest update, and you should be ready to go Live on your Oculus Rift. Check out our Oculus Rift review to see if this is the right VR platform for you.
