Skip to main content

Watch Real Madrid play Bayern Munich in virtual reality with your Gear VR headset

nextvr real madrid bayern munich
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Looking forward to the 2016 International Champions Cup match between FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid tonight? If so, there’s a new way you can watch the game — in stunning virtual reality.

The game will be streamable through VR if you have access to a Gear VR headset, and it will start streaming on August 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

One of the perks of watching the match in VR is the ability to “go anywhere and experience anything,” and while that may be a little overstated, virtual reality coverage of sports is becoming a lot more popular, and it’s not hard to imagine one day feeling like you’re at the match.

The match will be covered by NextVR, and the cameras will capture the match in a wide field of view from multiple angles, essentially allowing users to watch from the stands, from along the sidelines, and even from behind the goals.

To watch the match, you’ll need to dock your phone to the headset and then open Oculus Home. If you haven’t already downloaded the NextVR app, you’ll need to do so — that’s where you’ll find the new ICC channel, which will show alongside MLB, Fox Sports, and other sports channels.

While watching the match you’ll also probably want to make sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi, and obviously you’ll need to make sure that you actually have access to the ICC channel before the game, as matches are licensed differently in different countries.

Recently Next VR has streamed events like the U.S. Open, NBA games, Premier Boxing Champions fights, and more. The company isn’t only focused on sports, however — it has also recently streamed presidential debates in the U.S.

It’s likely that more sports events will be streamed by the company in the near future — especially considering the fact that the firm has a five-year partnership deal with Fox Sports.

Editors' Recommendations

Christian de Looper
Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…
Apple ‘Reality’ AR/VR headset: major leak shares new details
A render of Apple's VR headset.

A new report reveals several interesting details about Apple's AR/VR headset, which is expected to arrive in 2023. Apple remains silent on this product, but there have been enough patents filed, as well as leaks, to provide confirmation that the iPhone maker has done intensive research into the first of several AR wearables.

The latest news comes from The Information, which has provided some of the most detailed data of any leaker so far. The headset was already expected to be incredibly lightweight, which could be due to the battery being worn around the waist, as explained in the report. Apple's VR solution is said to feature a hot-swap design for the battery that would make the reported one-to-two-hour battery life less annoying.

Read more
How this new Quest VR app totally sold me on exercising in virtual reality
Playing a fitness game in VR with the Quest Pro.

Including more variety of movement is important for everyone, but this is particularly critical for people like me, a tech worker that tends to spend a large amount of time behind a computer or fixed in place, interacting with the latest app on my phone.

VR is already good at inviting more movement, particularly when playing fast-action games. Having experienced this with games like Beat Saber and Until You Fall, which involve a large amount of arm movement, I was intrigued by the prospect of exercising with an app specifically designed for fitness, like Supernatural.

Read more
Watch Meta demonstrate full-body VR tracking with just a Quest headset
Meta Reality Labs showed full-body avatars.

Meta Reality Labs is making big strides in avatar rendering with the latest advances combining machine learning (ML) with sensor data from Quest VR headsets to show your full body, including arms, legs, torso, and head. The result is a very realistic and accurate representation of the poses and movements of a person wearing a Quest 2 headset.

QuestSim: Human Motion Tracking from Sparse Sensors with Simulated Avatars

Read more