3D movies have been, and continue to be, a bit of a gimmick. But the technology can also be used well — just take a look at James Cameron’s Avatar films, or CG movies like Moana and Zootopia. With the death of 3D TVs, though, there haven’t been many easy ways for consumers to see 3D content at home. Enter the VR headset: For years, intrepid VR owners have been ripping 3D Blu-rays to enjoy on their stereoscopic displays. Apple made 3D films a key selling point for the Vision Pro. And now Meta has finally jumped into the game with its own library of 3D films for Quest 3 and 3S headsets, which launched alongside a new Disney+ app featuring 3D content and environments. Finally, you can enjoy Tron: Legacy as it was truly meant to be seen (sort of).
As someone who’s spent dozens of hours watching 3D movies on the Apple Vision Pro, I was keen to see how Meta delivered them on significantly cheaper headsets. My big takeaway? 3D movies are an exciting new feature for existing Quest 3 and Quest 3S owners, but they’re also constrained by the company’s OS. It’s also unclear why it took so long to make 3D movies happen on Quest headsets, or why the popular Quest 2 is left out entirely.
First, the good: Disney has made its library of 3D films available on Disney+ (actual titles depend on your region), including the entire run of Marvel, Pixar and recent Star Wars titles. Disney+ subscribers just need to select a title, confirm it has 3D support and hit play. The opening scenes of Guardians of the Galaxy and the car chase from Black Panther all looked great on the Quest 3, with a wonderful sense of depth that you don’t get from watching them on 2D screens. Disney+ also includes the high framerate 3D versions of the Avatar films, which look incredible on the Quest 3, and were previously only available to watch at home on the Apple Vision Pro.
I’ve long thought 3D movies looked better on VR headsets than theaters, since they’re far brighter than a projected cinema screen dimmed by 3D glasses, and that remains true for the Quest 3. If you still have a Quest 3 or 3S collecting dust, and you’re already a Disney+ subscriber, it’s worth checking out the 3D library of movies. Just be sure to throw on a pair of headphones, as the Quest’s tinny speakers have very little depth and no low-end impact. The Quest 3 supports both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, but those are basically marketing terms on this device. The headset’s LCD screens don’t support true HDR of any kind, and Atmos doesn’t make much of a difference on its weak speakers.
Meta has updated its Horizon OS to more resemble Apple’s visionOS over the years, but unfortunately, it’s not nearly as flexible when it comes to playing video. You can’t just rescale the Disney+ window on the fly to make it larger — it has to fit into a specific spot in Meta’s OS. As a front row cinema sicko, I prefer having video windows completely filling my field of view, and occasionally bleeding into my peripheral vision. The only way to achieve that on the Quest 3 is by playing 3D videos within the cinema environment, where you can choose to sit in the front, middle or back rows. It gets the job done, but it’s not ideal if you want to juggle a 3D video along with other VR apps.
While it’s nice to see Meta finally offering 3D movies, I genuinely wonder why it took the company so long to do so. The Quest 3 launched in the fall of 2023! There’s nothing technically preventing the Quest 2 or 1 from streaming 3D either. I figure that Apple has maintained some sort of exclusivity over 3D Disney+ content since the Vision Pro launched in 2024, but that didn’t prevent Meta from offering 3D films on its own. At this point, as Quest sales are on the extreme decline, it’s not really much of a selling point.
Perhaps Meta just wanted to have a shiny new feature for its upcoming $1,300 VR Glasses, which is set to arrive in spring 2027. I haven’t tested those yet, but I can imagine watching high quality 3D movies on a much lighter pair of glasses will be much more comfortable than strapping a Quest headset on your noggin. For now, though, it’s certainly a nice feature to have if you still own a Quest 3 or 3S.
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