How to Make a VR Video: Shoot, Edit and Upload 180° or 360°

A VR180 camera: two fisheye lenses side by side, one for each eye. The Kandao VR Cam 8K. Image: Kandao.

180 or 360, 3D or 2D: decide first

Meta's requirements for 180 and 360 video on Meta Quest TV show the options [3]:

VR180 is the usual choice for depth. "VR 180 offers an easier workflow and higher quality video compared to shooting in 360", writes the reviewer at ThreeSixty Cameras, because "the same number of pixels only need to fill half the space" [13]. 360 is for tours, events and places where the viewer should turn round.

Step 1: the camera

• A 360 camera. A two-lens model films two fisheye pictures, front and back; the stitching software that comes with the camera joins them into one 360 picture [8].
• A VR180 camera, or a Canon dual fisheye lens. Two lenses side by side, for 3D. Current models and prices: VR180 cameras and Canon lenses.
• A phone. An iPhone that records spatial video gives you 3D video for an Apple Vision Pro [11], and a Meta Quest can show it after you upload it with the Meta Horizon app [12]. One owner found it less immersive than VR180: the phone question.

Step 2: shoot it

• Keep it level. With VR180 "you need to make sure both lenses are level at all times" [7]. A tilted horizon makes the viewer tilt their head to keep their balance [8].
• Keep it still. Use a tripod and let the subject move [7]. Meta's rules for Quest TV exclude video that makes people sick "by being shaky or having too much accelerated motion" [4].
• Put it where the viewer's eyes would be. For VR180, "the approximate height of a seated person" [7]; for 360, "slightly below eye level" [8].
• Mind the distance. "Keep the subject at least 60cm away from the lenses or the 3D effect will look distorted" [7]. For 360, CenarioVR suggests "about 4-5 feet from the main subject" [8].
• There is no behind the camera. In 360 you and any lights you add are in the shot: leave, or start recording from the camera's phone app while out of sight [8].
• Keep movement off the seam. On a two-lens 360 camera, things on the line between the lenses can be distorted by stitching [8].
• Keep the action in front. In VR180 the 3D is strongest at the centre [7]; in 360 the front of the camera is the first view people see [8].
• Shoot at the highest resolution. In 360, "4K images and video only give you HD in each hemisphere" [8].

Watch a short test in a headset before the real shoot.

Step 3: stitch and edit

1. Stitch or convert first. YouTube's advice: "Stitch the file using either stitching software that comes with the camera or separate 180° or 360° stitching software" [1]. The result is an equirectangular picture, a whole sphere laid flat [8]. Canon's dual fisheye footage goes through Canon's EOS VR Utility, which converts it "into VR 180° images in equirectangular projection"; it needs a paid plan [9].
2. Edit in a VR sequence. "Use editing software to ensure the sequence settings are in VR and match your source footage" [1]: 360 or 180, mono or side by side, the same size as the footage.

Step 4: export and upload

1. Export an MP4. Meta's spec: .mp4, with 30 or 60 frames a second and 25 to 60 Mbps recommended; for spatial sound, first-order ambisonics [3].
2. Add the VR metadata, last. It tells YouTube and players the file is 180 or 360. YouTube says to "modify the file with an app like Adobe Premiere (2019 or higher) or script before uploading" [1]. Google's Spatial Media Metadata Injector, on GitHub, does it for 360, and for VR180 since version 2.1, its latest release (August 2018) [5][6]. For 3D, YouTube reads stereo metadata in the file [2]. Do it after every other program: in 2017 a Shotcut user found an edited VR video was "no longer 360" on YouTube, and Shotcut replied that some metadata "is not passed through" [14].
3. Upload to YouTube and wait. "It may take up to an hour for 360° playback to be available" [1]. A 3D video "will play side by side" until processing ends [2].
4. Or copy it to your headset. Some players read the format from the file name. Skybox, for example, reads LR_180 for side-by-side VR180 and 2D_360 or TB_360 for 360 [10]. Copying files to a Quest: moving videos to the headset.

When it plays wrong

• YouTube plays it flat and you cannot look round. The metadata is missing, was removed by a later edit, or YouTube is still processing. Inject it again as the last step, upload, and wait up to an hour [1].
• Two round fisheye pictures. That is the camera's unstitched frame [8]. Stitch it in the camera's software and export it as a 360 video [1].
• Two pictures next to each other. The player or YouTube treats it as 2D. In the headset, choose 3D side by side and VR 180 [10]; on YouTube, check the stereo metadata [2].
• Bent the wrong way. The player chose 360 for a 180 video, or the other way round. Pick the right one, or rename the file [10].
• Double images, or it hurts to look at. Something was closer than 60 cm, or the camera was not level [7].

More player fixes: VR video player settings.

Already have an ordinary video?

It cannot show what the camera did not film, but it can become 3D for a headset. Owl3D, the publisher of this guide, makes a converter that turns a 2D video file you have the right to use into 3D side by side, half side by side or top-bottom, which plays on a flat screen in the headset. It does not make 180 or 360 video. It runs on your own Windows PC or Mac, and it is not instant. The free plan converts up to 60 seconds of video at a time, with no watermark. It is an AI conversion, not footage from a 3D camera.

From Owl3DOwl3D converterA desktop app for Windows and Mac that turns 2D videos and photos into 3D.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make a VR video with my phone?

A 3D one, yes; a 180 or 360 one, not with the phone's camera alone. An iPhone's spatial video is 3D [11], and a Quest plays it [12]. One iPhone owner who watched a test on a Quest 3 wrote around 2024: "it is 3D but it is not immersive like you experience with VR180 videos." [15] We have not tested it. For 180 or 360 you need a VR180 or 360 camera; most pair with a phone app [8].

Can AI make a VR video from a normal video?

It can make it 3D, and some tools stretch it over a 180 or 360 sphere, but nothing appears that the camera did not film: can a normal video become 180 or 360.

Does Owl3D make VR180 video?

No. Owl3D's converter makes 3D side by side, half side by side or top-bottom from a 2D video, and Spatial Video for Apple Vision Pro on a Mac. It takes ordinary 2D video, not VR180 or 360 footage.