Meta’s just-released Quest 3 virtual reality headset features some serious upgrades from the Quest 2: and probably the most notable is its array of front-facing color cameras. This allows better pass-through video than the grainy, black-and-white of the previous generation. Better pass-through cameras means better mixed reality; and better mixed reality means a new kind of porn. In other words: The Quest 3 lets you invite virtual naked people into your home. Whether you actually want to invite porn stars into your home is a different matter.
The Quest 3 is not the only headset with cameras in front. PC-based headsets like the HTC VIVE Pro 2 and others have front-facing cameras, and the not-released-yet Apple Vision Pro will probably crush all others when it comes to augmented reality, but the release of the relatively inexpensive Quest 3 is leading to more pass-through porn production. But the genre is in its early days, and like any early innovation, it can be fairly complicated to get right. You may have to spend a little money, too. Below is a step-by-step guide to watching augmented reality VR porn on a Meta Quest 3 headset.
How to watch virtual reality porn on a Meta Quest 3
There are basically three “levels” of porn-viewing on a VR headset. The first two—simply streaming video, and streaming “immersive” 3D video—work the same on the Quest 3 as on any other VR headset. I covered the basics of how to stream VR porn here. Below is how the new kind of porn—mixed reality, or augmented reality porn—works on a Meta Quest 3 and other VR headsets with decent front-facing cameras.
Get the right VR headset: I have a Quest 3, so this guide is based on that that, but the general ideas apply to any headset with cameras out front. Scroll down for some suggestions on headsets.
Make sure you have a fast connection: In order to work, streaming VR video requires huge files to transfer to your headset. I have a cable modem and it worked great, but a slower connection will require you to down-rez the content or result in buffering (probably at inopportune times).
Download and install DeoVR. You can download this app either directly from your headset or through the Meta Quest app on either Google Play or Apple’s App store. This free VR video player and browser can be used for any type of content, but the largest creator of pass-through porn uses this for streaming its videos. Which brings me to:
Sign up for a membership to a site producing pass-through porn content. At the time of this posting, there aren’t many companies creating this kind of content. The industry leader in this niche is Sexlikereal, which requires a subscription. I realize that paying money for porn is very 2003, but for something as new as this, you have to shell out for a monthly subscription for the full experience. But you could try some other free sites, and there might be dribs and drabs available.
Use DeoVR to navigate to the website of your choice.
Click “Pass Through” on the search panel to your left.
Select a video and start streaming.
Congratulate yourself: You are now on the cutting-edge of porn-viewing.
If you’ve had to patience to jump through these hoops, you should now have a virtual version of a your porn of choice in your home. But to really get the most out of your experience, you have some work to do.
Suggested VR headsets for streaming pass-through porn
Apple Vision Pro (expected to be released in 2024)
How to get the most out of augmented porn
Credit: Sexlikereal/Stephen Johnson
If you were hoping that pass-through enabled pornography would instantly make it seem like your porn-star-of-choice was actually in your home, you are no doubt disappointed. Convincingly integrating live video and pre-recorded 3D content is so technologically difficult, I give producers props for even trying, but my results have been mixed at best. Still, I gave this the best shot I could, and here are some tips.
Have a wide open area: You’ll need a fair amount of open space to make this work.
Make sure it’s brightly lit: Current pass-through cameras aren’t great, but they work better with more light.
Assume the correct position: VR porn is generally shot from a static camera, so the POV is standing, lying down, or sitting. If you’re not in that same position it will look wrong. Clicking the pass through button (it looks like an eye) to see the scene without the blue screen being stripped out can help. It will look like this:
How the VR porn sausage is made.
Credit: Sexlikereal/Stephen JohnsonAlign the video content: Try to connect video elements with real-world furniture and body parts. This content, generally, involves simple items like tables and chairs, so have some ready to put in the right places. I found that the simplest thing to make work was content of people standing in front of me.
Work with the settings: DeoVR allows you to mess with all kinds of settings, from the size of images to their position, pitch, hue, and more. How these should be set depends on your device, your house, the video that was shot, and too many other factors to tell you how these setting should be, so the only thing you can do is experiment. DeoVR’s guide is helpful, but ultimately, it’s a trial-and-error thing.
Credit: Sexlikereal/Stephen Johnson
Avoid the floating sausage effect and giant people: Much pass-through porn is shot with a blue-screen suit covering the actor with the exception of a body part. If your video isn’t positioned in the right place, said part will appear to float in space. This is low-key hilarious, but can be avoided by lining up the video and jiggering with its size and position until the sausage is where the sausage belongs. Another problem: scale. Get it wrong, and you’ll have a giant on your dining room table.
Credit: Sexlikereal/Stephen Johnson
Is augmented reality porn worth it?
Your mileage may vary, but I found this experiment in cutting-edge porn to be mainly a chore—a lot of effort for little result. Part of the issue is that the content itself must be rigidly controlled to work within the narrow parameters needed for VR porn. The camera has to be locked down in only one of a few positions, and one half of a coupling (almost always the male half) has to stay perfectly still most of the time. The result is a static, lifeless feeling made worse by the fact that the “action” doesn’t really fit together with the setting.
Any change in camera position requires you to change positions physically to try to get the “you are there” effect, and you’ll probably have to monkey with 15 menus to try to match everything up again. Trying to make it “look right” is an interesting challenge, but it’s about as far from “erotic” as you can get.
