How to show the headset view on a TV at your VR venue

A TV showing what the player sees is one of the cheapest things you can add to a VR venue. Friends and parents watch instead of staring at someone waving their arms, the queue stays entertained, and passers-by stop to look — some of them join the queue. The operator can also see when a guest is stuck. Here is what Meta Quest and Pico can do out of the box, where built-in casting falls short in a venue, and how to set up the network so the picture holds.

What the headsets can do on their own

Both families have built-in casting. On Meta Quest you can cast to the phone app, to a compatible TV or streaming device, or to a browser on a computer. Pico headsets can cast to the Pico mobile app and to compatible screens. Exact menu names and supported receivers depend on the model and firmware version, so check the current help pages of the maker for your specific headset.

At home this is perfectly fine: one headset, one TV, one person who starts casting and forgets about it.

Where built-in casting falls short in a venue

• It is usually started or confirmed inside the headset. Someone has to put the headset on or ask the guest to do it — every time it drops.
• One headset, one receiver. Casting is a one-to-one link. Switching the TV to another headset means stopping one cast and starting another.
• It does not survive interruptions well. Sleep, a restart or a lost connection typically ends the cast, and it has to be set up again.
• The operator has no control. There is no central place to see what each headset is showing or to choose which one goes on the big screen.
• Some apps may block capture. Protected video content in particular may not appear on the cast.

The same Wi-Fi requirement

Built-in casting expects the headset and the receiver to be on the same Wi-Fi network and able to see each other. This is the most common reason casting "does not work" in a venue:

• Guest networks often isolate devices. Many routers and venue Wi-Fi setups stop devices on the guest network from seeing each other. The headset then cannot find the TV at all.
• Two networks, two worlds. If the TV is on the building's network and the headsets on your own router, they will not find each other.
• Mixed bands. Some receivers only support 2.4 GHz while headsets work best on 5 GHz; make sure your router offers both on the same network or pick receivers that support 5 GHz.

Lag: what causes it and how much matters

Any wireless cast has some delay: the headset has to encode its view, send it over Wi-Fi and the receiver has to decode it. How noticeable it is depends mostly on the network — signal strength, how busy the band is, and how many other devices are streaming at once.

For spectators and the queue, a small delay does not matter; nobody watching can tell. For the operator keeping an eye on a guest it does not matter much either. Where it becomes a problem is when someone outside the headset tries to guide the player in real time. To keep lag down:

• use 5 GHz and keep the router within clear line of sight of the play area;
• keep phones, laptops and other streams off the headset network;
• avoid mesh extenders between the headset and the TV where you can;
• if the picture stutters, test with one headset first — then add others one by one to find the limit of your network.

One TV for several headsets

Most venues have more headsets than TVs. The practical options are:

• Rotate. Show the most watchable game at the moment and switch when it changes. With built-in casting that means stopping and restarting from inside the headsets; with a venue system it is a choice on the operator's screen.
• A computer driving the TV. A PC or laptop connected to the TV can show more than one stream if your software supports it, at the cost of smaller pictures.
• One screen per zone. If your layout has separate zones, a TV per zone is simpler than splitting one screen.

Pick games that read well from outside: clear action, not a lot of fast head-turning. A rhythm or shooting game is easier for a crowd to follow than a slow puzzle.

A word on guests' privacy

The TV shows the headset view, not a camera, but it is still what a guest is doing. Mention it at the counter, and turn the big screen off for guests who would rather not be on show.

How UnitVR handles it

The Live view add-on in UnitVR sends the headset view to the operator's tablet, laptop or PC and to the room TV or projector, controlled from the same operator panel that runs sessions. The operator sees what the guest sees without a second headset and without walking into the hall. Read more on the features page; add-ons and the free 7-day trial, during which every add-on is switched on, are on pricing.

Summary

• Built-in casting on Quest and Pico is fine at home but is one-to-one and started inside the headset.
• Casting needs the headset and receiver on the same network; guest Wi-Fi often blocks it.
• A dedicated 5 GHz network for headsets and screens solves most problems.
• For several headsets and one TV, you need a way to switch from the operator's side.

For the full list of what venue software should cover, see VR arcade management software: what it should do and how to choose.