What 360° video is, where to find it, and how to watch — with or without a headset.
In a browser: Most 360° video hosted on YouTube, Vimeo, or dedicated players supports mouse-drag navigation on desktop and gyroscope-based tilting on mobile — no plugin or headset required.
On a headset: Apps like the Meta Quest Browser, Oculus/Meta TV, or legacy Samsung Gear VR / Oculus Video app render 360° video with full head-tracking for a more immersive experience.
Standard 360° video uses equirectangular projection — a flat rectangular frame (typically 2:1 aspect ratio) that gets wrapped onto a sphere during playback. Stereoscopic 3D 360° video is tagged with suffixes like _3dpv (top/bottom) or _3dph (left/right) to separate the two eyes' views, a convention popularized by the original Samsung VR / Milk VR platform.
The original Samsung VR app (rebranded from Milk VR in 2016) hosted thousands of 360° videos from partners including NYT VR, Discovery, and Comedy Central, plus user uploads via the Samsung Creators Program. The service was discontinued as Gear VR was phased out. Much of that content style — travel, documentary, and creator-submitted 360° video — lives on today across YouTube 360°, Vimeo, and standalone headset stores.
Use headphones with spatial audio when available — many 360° videos include ambisonic sound that changes as you look around. Keep videos at the highest resolution your connection supports; 360° footage is stretched across a full sphere, so a 1080p 360° video looks roughly like 270p on a flat screen. 4K or higher is recommended where possible.