VR video player with immersion-enhancing algorithms, streaming, and media library features · By
I just got a quest 2 for xmas. Have been viewing SLR with DeoVR and I've read several places that heresphere is better. I tried installing heresphere using the quest 2 app library but the app search finds nothing. How do I install heresphere on my quest 2?
P.S. If anyone has a link to a FAQ that covers this I would appreciate seeing it.
You'll need SideQuest to install HereSphere on your Quest 2. You can get it from here:
https://sidequestvr.com/setup-howto
If you're only interested in testing out the demo, install the SideQuest easy installer. Follow the SideQuest instructions, and then search for HereSphere in the SideQuest web browser. Click on the "download app (itch.io)" link, which should take you to the itch.io page for HereSphere. And then scroll down to the demo link and click on it to install the HereSphere demo. In your Quest 2 app library, click on the drop down box in the upper right corner, then find unknown sources. HereSphere will be listed there.
If you want to install the paid version of HereSphere, you'll need to install the SideQuest advanced installer. Follow the SideQuest instructions, and then click on the down arrow icon in the SideQuest app on your PC, and then select the HereSphere apk file that you've downloaded from itch.io.
To stream SLR content with HereSphere, you'll need to click on the download links, which will use your SLR download quota. SLR no longer supports a public API for streaming their videos, so DeoVR will probably be better if you stream SLR content. If you want to stream videos from other websites like CzechVR, POVR/WankzVR, or NAVR, then they support the HereSphere web API, which allows you to view their library in a convenient web interface in HereSphere.
While I've got your attention I'd like to ask some (many) questions. I apologize if I'm a PITA. If you skip any questions then please consider them as a feature request.
1) How do I do a web search?
2) There are a zillion filenames (links) in my media library. Do you have any idea where they might have come from?
3) How can I find where a file in my media library came from?
4) How can I tell if an entry in the media library is a link or a downloaded file?
5) Where are downloaded files stored?
6) Settings are reset when each video starts and I have to change them every time. Can I specify default settings? Or maybe just not reset them.
7) Zoom speed is really slow and is much faster on DeoVR. I like to zoom in to quickly see something and then zoom out quickly.
8) How do I hide everything from my grandkids? The quest is their favorite toy when they come over. A ten-year-old can and will find everything on the quest within minutes. DeoVR has a password to start the app. This is a deal-breaker request since their parents would kill me.
1) HereSphere uses webview for the web browser. I'm not sure why SLR's search input box disappears after the page is loaded when using webview. If you have a PC with lots of storage space, you could download the videos and use XBVR to setup your own local web server that provides thumbnails and tags. Lots of advanced users go this route since HereSphere provides a nice interface to browse your local videos with XBVR.
2) I'm not sure. You can clear them from the media library. There's a hand icon that lets you select all the items.
3) The media library should show the directory of the file in the media sources list. For downloaded links, it's not possible (and usually the download links are temporarily generated by the website, so they won't work if you click on them again after some time).
4 and 5) The app doesn't actually download the files. It streams directly from the download link.
6) You can set a preset for each group of settings. Like for the "Image" group, click on the "Image" button, and then save over the first preset to make it the default for new videos.
7) Zoom speed can be adjusted in the key bindings menu. Find the "Increment Origin Forward" keybinding (about 2/3 down the list). Increase the "Scale" value for the key binding.
8) Click on user settings in the left side panel. Under profile, input a new profile name. This acts like a password, since you'll need to input the exact profile name to load the saved settings/history. You can delete folders from the media library by clicking on the text that says "Media Library", and then click on the delete icon next to the entry.
Lot's of good answers that solve my problems. Thanks so much.
> The app doesn't actually download the files. It streams directly from the download link.
Bummer. I thought I'd be able to rewatch slr videos again without eating into my download limit. I guess I'll have to download them to my PC and serve them. One more thing to learn.
The "Default" profile is loaded first. Since you've previously played videos using the "Default" profile, those videos appear in your media library. You can clear those files from the media library. Click on the text that says "Media Library", and then click the delete icon next to each entry. The media library shouldn't show the files from your private profile if the "remember last profile" toggle is disabled.
If you're referring to the player showing clickable files/folders in the file explorer, then there isn't a way to prevent that. The player remembers the last folder that was opened for each profile, so you could make sure the last folder used with the "Default" profile is one that you're comfortable with others viewing.
Thanks. I should have figured that out. I was confused about what the media library was.
Feature request: Add the same password feature that DeoVR has. Sometimes I go in and forget to switch profiles. This creates the stuff I don't want. Also it is a pain to have to go to user settings each time. The grandkids have no need to use heresphere even in default profile. Surely others have the same need when sharing the headset. This feature should be easy to implement.
Since HereSphere is a sideloaded app, it appears that it can't take advantage of the Quest 2's built-in app lock feature. I'm not sure I want to make a custom pin lock feature, since users could accidentally lock themselves out and lose their data. Once HereSphere is available on App Lab or the Quest 2 store, you should be able to use the Quest 2's app lock feature.
