The Cinema Update — our biggest release yet!
Good news everyone! We’ve spent the past year working on The Cinema Update, our biggest release since we launched the Bigscreen Beta in March 2016.
The Cinema Update features a new cinema environment and significant improvements to performance and streaming. Watch the trailer and read the release notes below.
New Cinema environment
- Huge 100-foot screen
- Hyper-realistic dynamic lighting. The screen shines light onto the walls and seats, and the room becomes very dark — pitch black — if the screen is black
- 40 AI bots (NPCs) make the Cinema feel lively, as if you’re in a real theater with a bunch of people
Massive performance improvements
Thanks to our new C++ engine, you will see significantly reduced CPU, GPU and RAM usage in both Singleplayer and Multiplayer. We aren’t done yet, so expect even more performance improvements in the future
Flawless 1080p 30fps desktop streaming
In Bigscreen Multiplayer, you can see each other’s desktop screens (screen sharing). Previously, it would use a ton of CPU and might only be a 2fps slideshow, making it nearly impossible to watch movies with friends in Bigscreen.
Our new streaming technology can easily stream flawless 1080p videos at 30fps. All streams are peer-to-peer, private, and encrypted. Your data/desktop does not stream through our servers; it only goes directly to the people in your Multiplayer room.
Native desktop audio streaming
- Natively integrated into Bigscreen, no additional software required. Just plug in a pair of headphones or a speaker, and select it in Settings>Audio as your “Desktop Audio Mirroring device”. You’ll hear sound in both your headset and in this mirror device
- The desktop audio stream is now streaming in stereo (previously mono) and at a higher quality (increased bitrate)
Experimental support for Windows 7 & “VR Ready” Nvidia Optimus laptops
Performance will not be as good as Windows 8/10 PCs. This is our first experimental release. Please test it and give us feedback. We plan to improve this even further in upcoming updates.
What is Bigscreen Beta
For those new to Bigscreen: it’s a free VR app that lets you use your computer in VR. Play your fav PC games, watch any videos (VLC, MPC, Netflix, etc.), use any of your existing PC apps on a big screen in customizable worlds like an immersive cinema theater.
“You can use Bigscreen by yourself in “Singleplayer” or invite up to 4 friends (“Multiplayer”) in public or private rooms”
What’s next?
- Even more performance improvements to CPU & GPU usage
- More environments
- Even higher quality desktop streaming options
- Positional desktop audio streaming
- Movie nights, game nights, and more Community Events
Bigscreen Beta is free on Steam & Oculus
Download Bigscreen Beta for free on the Oculus Store or Steam!
Do you ❤ Bigscreen?
Join the Bigscreen Community chat server on Discord. It’s a great forum to provide feedback, bug reports, chat with devs, and participate in events we host.
Special thanks to our Jay, RipRooRingGood, Morbo, Stuartgil1977, koosha, and the other 938 alpha testers that helped us squash bugs and act in our trailer!
If you love us, please leave us a review. If you have any issues or bugs, please email us, or post on our Steam forums.
