Adult content and Sony PlayStation have never been great pals. Add Virtual Reality (VR) to the mix and that stance is equally strict, with a ban on anything remotely pornographic.
Vr technology was primarily designed for gaming but VR porn has exploded in popularity in recent years. Video recorded from a camera on an adult performer’s head is beamed directly into your eyes via a VR headset.
Until now, people wanting to watch VR porn had to either sideload it, or pay for one of the alternative apps that allow you to stream via a URL. But a new alternative called WatchVR gets around that limitation, by offering a free (if somewhat limited, currently) way of streaming VR porn directly without subjecting you to ads.
It’s not a first, with Littlstar allowing you to play directly from a USB stick, or stream via a similar multi-part setup process; WatchVR takes a similar approach, currently restricting users of VirtualRealPorn for the time being.
At present, 3K resolution is supported, with plans for full HLS (live streaming over HTTP) being added soon. Viewing modes include Mono-360, TB-360 and TB-180.
It’s probably worth pointing out that the WatchVR app doesn’t offer any content itself. You’ll need to be a subscriber to a site offering compatibility, which, as mentioned is only VirtualRealPorn right now. However, already built into the platform is a system to allow WatchVR to simply add new content sources via RSS.
Studio and content producers will need to get in touch with WatchVR to get the details on how to activate the RSS options, if they want to distribute their own content.
How to use WatchVR
Set up is easy – click on My Account and select PSVR Streaming App. That’ll bring up a URL – make a note of it.
Next, install WatchVR on your headset. Open it and select ‘Add’. Type the URL you just noted (or when there are other content sources, the site you want to add) and click OK. Then all you need to do is open the channel you just created and start viewing.
