Currently finishing DirectShow playback for PC to handle codec issues. Will be releasing an update with script heatmaps soon. After that, need to focus on UE5/OpenXR update with new UX and passthrough. It’ll support loading external image files for thumbnails (holding off on generating thumbnails for now because it’s difficult to do in the background with mobile hardware without causing performance issues or crashes). I still recommend using XBVR if you’re interested in organizing your library with thumbnails and tags, though.
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HereSphere update v0.9.7 for the Quest, Quest 2, and Quest Pro is now available. This update adds support for bluetooth devices on App Lab, script heatmaps, quality of life improvements, and minor bug fixes. Try out the free App Lab demo (also available on itch.io). To switch to the release candidate channel, visit the HereSphere App Lab page, scroll down to “Version”, and then select “0.9.7 (RC)” from the drop down box.
- Added support for bluetooth synchronized peripherals on App Lab (already available on itch.io version). In the synchronized peripherals menu (access by clicking on the play button with radio waves above the seekbar), enable the synchronized peripherals toggle, then click on the “Scan Bluetooth Devices” button, and then accept the requested permission. The app will scan and connect to supported bluetooth devices.
- Added script heatmaps, which will be displayed on the seekbar when a script is loaded. Cool colors represent lower speeds, while warm colors represent higher speeds. The vertical area that is colored represents the movement range.
- Added an “Auto Collapse Main Menu” toggle to the user settings under the miscellaneous group. When enabled, the main menu will automatically collapse after clicking on a file to play a video.
- Added a filename suffix “_2D” that will force the player to use flat screen settings (monoscopic and perspective projection).
- Reduced aspect ratio tolerance for autodetecting video projection format for VR videos.
- Added “_F120” or “_120F” filename suffix for fisheye 120 degree linear lens projection.
- Added an “Open Random Playlist” keybinding.
- Increased http timeout to 90 seconds (from 60 seconds).
- Added code to better handle serialization changes between different update versions.
- Fixed issue with file explorer dates displaying time in UTC instead of the local timezone.
Note: Quest 1 headsets don’t support the necessary permissions for bluetooth scanning on App Lab, so you’ll still need to use the sideloaded itch.io apk if you want to use bluetooth synchronized peripherals with Quest 1.
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@HereSphere hi there! Wondering if you had any roadmap items to share for new features/capabilities of the Quest 3 or anything new within Airlink. Thanks!
Hi im just learning about the quest 2 with heresphere and scripting… i have a handy and a pc as well… do people download videos and the scripts onto pc and then load it to the quest2 and play it via heresphere? I am a noob sorry.
Yes, you can either use SMB (shared folders) or XBVR to stream videos and scripts from your PC. For SMB, you can follow this guide. I’d recommend using your computer’s hostname instead of the IP address.
For XBVR (which I’d recommend if you want thumbnails and tags), follow these instructions:
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Download xbvr from here (make sure to select the correct one for your computer): Releases · xbapps/xbvr · GitHub
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Run xbvr on your computer.
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Launch your computer’s web browser. Type in http://127.0.0.1:9999 to access the xbvr UI.
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Go to xbvr options and add your folders with your videos.
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Go to scrapers and add the sites that your videos came from.
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After the scrapers finish running, go to files. Your videos and scripts should show up under matched. If they don’t, go to unmatched, and then click on the match button, and select the correct scene for both your video and script.
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Go back to xbvr options. Click on players. Make a note of the xbvr IP address, which probably starts with http://192. If you want to add the ability to delete files and sync data from HereSphere, click on the Heresphere tab, and then enable the corresponding toggles.
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Launch HereSphere, go to the web browser, input the xbvr IP address from step 7. Press the web api button that looks like a play button on 4 tiles to the left of the input box.
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Once the HereSphere web UI loads, click on a thumbnail to play the video. If you couldn’t match some videos, click on the “unmatched” button near the top of the HereSphere web view UI.
You can connect to your Handy in HereSphere by clicking on the icon that looks like a play button with radio waves above the seekbar. That will open up the synchronized peripherals menu. Input your connection key and enable the toggle.
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If I create video tags I lose them if I change the location of the video.
Is there a way to keep the video tags?
Yes, go to the video settings. there’s a save icon next to the button labeled “Global Settings”. Click on that button to save an “hsp” file to the same directory as the video. Move that file along with your video. When you open the video in a new location, it’ll load the settings/tags contained in the hsp file.
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When I add a new name for a video tag, a suggestion comes up on the left hand side.
These suggestions are very useful, a great feature you have added there 
Is it possible to reset these suggestions, or have it show the same name in mixed or different cases?
For example, I used a lowercase name for a video tag, ‘handjob’, but then decided I wanted all the tag names uppercase. Subsequently, when I create a new video tag for the uppercase version, ‘HANDJOB’, the lowercase ‘handjob’ suggestion is shown, so I have to manually input ‘HANDJOB’ each time rather than clicking on the suggestion.
You currently can’t edit the auto-suggestions, but it’s on the to-do list.
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Is there bluetooth support for the Handy?
Not yet, it’s on the to-do list, but probably won’t get around to working on it for a while.
My script latency changes everytime I reconnect to the handy (guess my router, which came with my apartment, isn’t very great). Having to spend a minute or two playing around with the sync offset to find the correct value every time is getting kind of old. Anyone have any suggestions for a quick methodology to find/dial a good offset each time I connect Heresphere?
With it be possible for Heresphere to autodetect an appropriate offset with some sort of ping like technique?
HS pings the server before every play/pause/seek command and tries to calculate the best latency from that data. Not sure if it’s the best approach, but it’s typically pretty accurate when I try it (usually 0 time offset works for me, maybe +/- 100ms). Try setting the time offset to a lower value, and then just pause and play the video.
Ah ok, I didn’t realise it already has that built in. I’ll test more leaving it at 0. Although so far I’ve been landing at values between -150 - -300 (I’m not in the US) which makes me think in my case its not getting a good value with this implementation.
How can I toggle the display of XBVR tags with a video that has a Heatmap? If the scene doesn’t have a script the tags show up normally above the play bar.
Are you sure the tags are formatted correctly? In order for them to appear above the seekbar, there need to be multiple tags in the first tag track at the top. Check the video tags menu in HereSphere. I tested on my system, and tags display correctly with the heatmap enabled. Most likely, it’s just coincidence that your scripted videos don’t have correctly formatted tags.
It probably is. Alright I’ll take a look thanks!
Any news on the next update for HereSphere and what features will be added?
I have only one word for you: passthrough
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