Bigscreen Beta News

Hi everyone,

Today's update:

Version: 0.90.9.dd31ef

• bug fixes, crash fixes
  
• some users who weren't able to create accounts (Code -117 or stuck at 55%/60% fetching Oculus) should be able to create accounts now
  

The new modern-themed cinema environment is coming soon.

We wanted to release it tomorrow, but we're making some last minute tweaks to the lighting to make it even more awesome. It will launch in a couple days, early next week!

RSVP here for the grand unveiling launch party next Friday night (optional RSVP for Oculus users) https://www.oculus.com/experiences/event/1197289733787167/



Let me know if you have any other bugs/crashes/feature requests!

- shanks

Hi everyone!

On August 20–25th, Valve is hosting The International 2019, the DOTA 2 eSports tournament, in Shanghai, China. With a $32 million prize pool, it is the biggest eSports tournament in the world.

Originally posted by shanks

Growing up, I played thousands of hours of DOTA. I wasn’t good at the game, but I still enjoyed the exhilarating team wipes and nailbiting victories, and raged at the frustrating failures. I fondly remember watching Free to Play, a Dota documentary made by Valve (farewell Dendi!)

Each year, I’ve watched The International and always wished I could attend the event. For many of us, it can be difficult to physically attend due to costs, travel expenses, work schedules, etc.

Thousands of fans around the world can hangout together in Bigscreen’s VR living room to watch the tournament live. With avatars, virtual environments, and voice chat, Bigscreen gives people a chance to meet other DOTA 2 fans and watch the tournament together.

• August 15 — August 18 Group Stage: 18 teams divided in two groups of nine teams each where they play in a round-robin format. Top four teams in each group advance to the Upper Bracket of the Main Event.
  
  
• August 20 — August 24 MAIN EVENT: The main event begins on August 20th with 18 invited teams competing for five days before the Finals. Opening ceremonies, Arcana voting, All Stars Game, film contests, and cosplay contests will also take place this tournament week.
  
  
• August 25 FINALS: The top teams that make it to the Finals will have a chance to win over $14 million for First Place!
  

RSVP to watch The International DOTA 2 FINALS event here!

This event is available worldwide for free, and RSVP is optional and not required. It is social and cross-platform on all supported headsets.





Over the past few months since we launched Bigscreen TV, we’ve been hosting many events like SpaceX Rocket Launches, Fortnite World Cup, Overwatch League (OWL), and the Tomorrowland music festival. Thousands of people have attended these live VR events. In the coming months, we’re planning to host more rocket launches, eSports tournaments, and 3D movie nights.

As Bigscreen makes a bigger push into eSports, we plan to create an “eStadium” virtual environment where fans can gather together to cheer for their favorite teams.

This Friday, we will also be revealing a new modern-themed cinema environment. Join us for the grand unveiling on Friday August 16 at 7PM Pacific. Don’t forget to bring popcorn!

Hey everyone,

Check out the latest patch notes, new channels added to Bigscreen TV, and upcoming updates!

We added a new Desktop Menu Mode back in Patch #5, but many users were confused on how to bring it back. To make it easier for everyone, simply tap on the menu button on your controller to bring your menu back into VR even if you have Desktop Menu mode toggled on. (This feature is not available for Index users yet)

• Menu button on controller will bring menu back into VR, even after turning on Desktop Menu mode
  
• Performance improvements when Desktop Menu is used
  
• Portrait mode is supported again
  
• Fixed issue with muting blocked users
  
• Side Room big screen should be working properly again
  
• Fixed an issue with screens showing up as blank screens
  
• Fixed projector light in the Big Cinema
  
• Various bug fixes, crashes, and minor performance improvements
  

• MST3K - Forced by evil scientists to watch bad B-rated movies, an imprisoned janitor and some robots make fun of the films to keep their sanity.
  
• Horror 24/7 - Horror fans rejoice, your channel is alive. Featuring terrifying horror, suspense, and monster films all day, everyday.
  
• Helpdesk - Not sure where to go to seek help? Hang out here and watch the tutorial videos!
  
• Bob Ross - The Joy of Painting returns at 12pm PT today!
  
• Overwatch League: Week 3 of the Stage 4 Playoffs has already started!
  
• FReality Podcast - Tune in to the weekly VR/AR/MR podcast with over 500 people tomorrow!
  

• New Cinema environment is almost here!
  
• TV channels in private/singleplayer rooms.
  
• Official premium 3D Movie Nights in Bigscreen.
  
• Official DOTA 2 "The International 2019" VR event in Bigscreen.
  
• Playstation VR development is underway!
  

Read more here: https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality/comments/cmt9pj/today_in_bigscreen_spacex_rocket_launch_3000/

SpaceX will launch the next mission of NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract from Launch Complex 40 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Watch it LIVE with friends, old and new, in Bigscreen!

Faclcon 9 will launch on July 25

🕝 2:30PM PT
🕠 5:30PM ET
🕤 9:30PM UTC

Hey everyone,

We’re excited to launch Bigscreen TV today, a new way to watch movies, news, anime, sports, and more in VR with friends.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b_qjWmIviQ&feature=youtu.be

• Movies & TV: Rifftrax, MST3K, Anime, Pokémon, Pluto Movies, Comet, Shout! Factory, and more
  
• Gaming & Sports: Red Bull TV, 24/7 Poker, 24/7 Trivia, CBS Sports, FOX Sports, Top Twitch (Ninja, Shroud, Sodapoppin, Timthetatman, Lirik, DrDisrespect, DrLupo, Pokimane, Summit1g), and more
  
• News & Finance: NBC, CNN, Bloomberg, Sky News, Newsy, Cheddar News, RT America, Weather Nation, Crypto News, and more
  
• Random: Monstercat, Lofi Hip Hop Beats Radio, Comedy Central, NASA, SpaceX, 24/7 Cats, and more
  
  

• Channels are free and live, provided by free, ad-supported services we have integrated, like YouTube, Twitch, Pluto, Comet. Some content will have advertising by the provider (ex. Twitch) and some content may not be available in all countries (ex. CBS Sports). Most channels are available 24/7.
  
• Bigscreen TV is social: each TV channel supports thousands of people (in groups of 8 people per room). Thousands of people around the world can watch a League of Legends eSports tournament live together in VR in Bigscreen.
  
• TV channels are public, making it easy to find people with similar interests. Join the SpaceX channel and meet other SpaceX fans to watch a rocket launch with!
  
• Bigscreen is cross-platform, and works on every major PC and Mobile VR headset, including SteamVR (HTC Vive, Valve Index), Windows Mixed Reality, Oculus Rift, Oculus Go, Oculus Quest, and Samsung GearVR. Bigscreen’s TV feature is also cross-platform, and works on every headset at launch.
  

For the past 3 years, Bigscreen has only had user-created Bigscreen rooms (up to 12 friends per room). Host a room on a Windows PC and Bigscreen’s screensharing features enable people to watch videos with friends, play PC games, and collaborate together.

Bigscreen TV rooms are public and created by Bigscreen. High-quality video streams directly from providers like YouTube and Twitch. Thousands of people can watch a Bigscreen TV channel together, in groups of 8 people per channel room.

No Windows PC required. No screensharing or upload bandwidth requirements. Instant access in one-click to a curated selection of live TV channels.

The existing Bigscreen features you love are all still here: private and public rooms are still fully supported. Offline mode is supported too (no account required!)


The new starting environment is a beautiful modern-themed "Home"

• We're working on a new modern-themed CINEMA! We hope to release it within a couple weeks. This is one of the top requests!
  
• We are working on 3D Movie Nights, more Bigscreen TV Channels, a Friends System, new Environments, enabling Channels in private/public rooms, and more.
  
• We are improving Valve Index support and working on new avatars to support the Index controllers.
  

Let me know what you think!