Virtual Desktop

Virtual Desktop is an application developed for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive that improves your VR experience on Windows.

You can browse the web, watch movies or even play games on a giant virtual screen.

Other features include:

  • Hardware accelerated 360 video playback
  • Ability to play/stream YouTube 360 videos
  • 3D Side-By-Side video support
  • Custom environments
  • Multi-monitor (recommended with Windows 8+)

Download it

You will need the latest Oculus 0.8 Runtime.

If you are running Windows 7, you will first need to install Service Pack 1 and the latest Platform Update.

Windows 8 and 10 provide better performance through a new capture API

If you are using a Windows 'N' edition, you will need to install the Media Feature Pack. Download it for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10.

Windows 7/8/8.1/10 

Release notes

Version 0.9.36 [Beta] 10/25/2015
  • Oculus runtime 0.8 support
  • Added 360 Photos tab
  • Added sounds in environments
  • Improved UI overlay for 360 videos
  • Fixed non-fullscreen games capture
Version 0.9.34 [Beta] 6/30/2015
  • Added option to stream lower quality videos
  • Bug fixes
Version 0.9.33 [Beta] 6/28/2015
  • Added ability to play YouTube 360 videos
  • Bug fixes
Version 0.9.32 [Beta] 6/27/2015
  • Direct Mode support
  • Updated to SDK 0.6.x
  • Added ability to play fullscreen games

Give feedback

Tell me what you think on the Oculus forum thread. Features that are being worked on include support for OpenVR (HTC Vive) and motion controls.

Virtual Desktop is free with DK1 and DK2 but if you would like to help with the development effort, you can donate. Thanks!

FAQ

I get a crash on startup, something about 'provide value'
  • This will happen if you have an older version installed. Go to Control Panel -> Programs and Features, and uninstall all the entries you see there then install the latest version.

I get a message that says "No Headset detected"
  • Make sure you have the latest Oculus 0.8.x Runtime installed. Virtual desktop is not compatible with 0.7.x or prior versions.

The application freezes after a couple seconds or I get poor performance using an Optimus laptop
  • To avoid the freeze and also improve the performance with the Rift on your laptop, it is recommended to disable Optimus. If there is no option in your BIOS to do so, follow these steps:
    • Open NVIDIA control panel
    • Manage 3D settings
    • Global settings tab
    • Power Management Mode settings, select "Prefer Maximum Performance"
    • Preferred Graphic Processor settings, change from "Auto select" to "High Performance NVIDIA Processor"

I can see the nebula background but my desktop appears as a black screen on Windows 8.x
  • This can happen with some multi-GPU or Optimus configurations. Try disabling Optimus or make sure the rift is plugged into the same adapter as your monitor.

I can't see my taskbar or desktop icons in extended mode
  • Make sure your monitor is setup as the main display and not your Rift. You can use the "Set Rift as main display" option in the Games tab to automatically change and restore the main display when launching games.

How do I run non-VR games in Virtual Desktop?
  • Just start them as you normally would and they should appear in Virtual Desktop. If a game crashes or refuses to start, playing the game in Windowed or Windowed Fullscree mode should solve the issue.

Is there a way to emulate multiple monitors?
  • You can trick windows into thinking you have monitors connected to any of your free DVI/VGA ports on your video card(s). To do this:
    • Right click on the desktop, click 'Screen Resolution'
    • Click 'Detect' on the next screen
    • Click 'Another display not detected' and under the multiple displays option select 'Try to connect anyway on: VGA'
    • Click 'Apply'
  • Another option is to buy an HDMI adapter like the Headless Ghost