As noted by AppleInsider, Apple leaker Steve Moser says he’s discovered a reference to “Play 3D” in the code for the Apple Vision Pro’s TV app.
In a tweet, he says, “In visionOS Beta 2 the TV app contains: ‘Play 3D.” I wonder if Apple will upgrade user’s libraries to 3D like when they upgraded iTunes libraries to 4K (Image is a render).”
Apple Vision Pro and movie viewing
In its introduction of the Vision Pro at last month’s Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple touted cinematic and 3D features for the spatial computing system. Here are some of the related nuggets from Apple’s website:
“Vision Pro can transform any room into your own personal theater. Expand your movies, shows, and games up to the perfect size while feeling like you’re part of the action with Spatial Audio. And with more pixels than a 4K TV for each eye, you can enjoy stunning content wherever you are — whether that’s a long flight or the couch at home.”
“Turn your room into a personal movie theater with the Cinema Environment. Enjoy shows and movies at the frame rate and aspect ratio the filmmaker intended with immersive Spatial Audio. Or use a majestic Environment like Mt. Hood to make your screen feel 100 feet wide.
“All‑new Apple Immersive Videos are 180-degree 3D 8K recordings captured with Spatial Audio — putting you right inside the action and transporting you to places you’ve never been.
“Enjoy 3D movies with amazing depth and crisp motion. Watch the story leap off the screen like never before.”
Sigmund Judge of ScreenTimes has tweeted that “We have confirmation that the upcoming Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, a series about Godzilla and other monsters of that story universe, will be shot on Apple’s Spatial Video format. This will make it the first show to be captured for use on the VR/AR headset.”
About ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’
Here’s the summary of the series: Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real, the series explores one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.
Legendary’s Monsterverse is an expansive story universe of multi-layered experiences centering around humanity’s battle to survive in a world that is under siege by a catastrophic new reality — the monsters of our myths and legends are real.
Beginning in 2014 with “Godzilla” and continuing with 2017’s “Kong: Skull Island,” 2019’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” and 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong,” Monsterverse films have accumulated close to two billion dollars globally at the box office and is ever expanding with the latest iteration being a new anime series, “Skull Island.”
Apple’s goal for spatial content
According to the NoFilmSchool website, it seems that Apple’s goal for spatial content is to have the same content be viewable as 2D and 3D from the same video file. This is done by encoding both frames of the 3D version into one frame, which is then split between the two “eyes” of the headset. When viewing this content in 2D, only one eye of frames is shown, making it seems like a 2D plane. By activating the second set of frames in the other eye of the headset, the content is then viewable in 3D.
The Vision Pro is due in early 2024 with pricing starting at US$3,499. However, it apparently will only be available in limited quantities at first.
