The latest update for the SLR app (v13.9) includes a major improvement to our game-changing passthrough feature, plus some important enhancements for the UI experience among other notable changes for the better. [Updated May 2023 with information about first alpha channel passthrough scene]
First, you can enjoy a great leap forward in passthrough. The first Alpha Channel passthrough scene has been released: Laya Rae in Therapy and Temptation. User comments have been very positive so far: "The passthrough was much improved... Just my opinion but moving forward all passthroughs should use this as their blueprint! Great work." and "Finally passthrough done properly. Looks crazy with the Pico 4."
The SLR devs have extended the fisheye layout, meaning studios and producers can take advantage of this and prepare videos with an alpha channel. If you're a fan of the passthrough experience so far, this takes the whole thing to the next level. We have full instructions available for creators, and here's how it benefits passthrough:
- This offloads greenscreen/background removal into post-production level, meaning the final results will look much better. For example, no more losing fine details like hair. And creators are now free to color correct the footage without worrying if it will affect the chroma key operation in the app.
- It can add an alpha channel to any video, converting it into an optional passthrough version. With the advent of AI background removal tools, it is only a matter of time before this is commonplace in turning any VR scene into a passthrough scene.
As well as the SLR Originals scene above, these two example videos also explain how it works:
New as of June 2023 (v13.10): Three different colours can now be selected for passthrough.
The first SLR Originals scene to use the incredible new alpha channel feature is out now: Laya Rae in Therapy and Temptation and more scenes making use of the alpha channel function are all set to be released - keep checking back for the latest updates.
How To Use Alpha Channel:
It's very easy. Simply open one of the applicable videos in the SLR app and click the 👁️ icon in the player. Turn this on and the alpha channel should be set automatically.
Creators are working with this tool and many more scenes using this feature are about to be released.
Recommended headsets: Meta Quest Pro with stereoscopic color passthrough, Pico 4 (monoscopic color passthrough)
Compatible headsets: Quest 2, Valve Index (monoscopic black and white passthrough)
Please note: Passthrough is not compatible yet for Oculus Link cable on the PC
Along with passthrough, the UI has undergone an important overhaul. Now the SLR app will remember the active tab from the player panels, making it more natural and intuitive to navigate. Also, the 'Drag Video' function has been rename to 'Dome Rotation', to explain better how it works within the app, along with a useful extension. It can now consider the rotation banking of the controller and rotate the dome accordingly. To explore this, go to Global Settings > Player, or you'll see the new option for "Dome rotation with roll" in the player settings.
There are some other small but important improvements too, including bug fixes for high-bitrate videos, videos with AMD drivers and other minor UI issues. And now the thumbnails in the Playlist panel show icons for Passthrough and Scripted videos. For legal compliance reasons, playlists are no longer allowed to be named using forbidden words - if this happens, you'll get the message 'invalid title' and you'll have to rename it using accepted terminology.
We’ve also enabled p2p messaging on the SLR forum. Admins and regular users can create private threads, and users will receive an email notification with each reply. Also they will see this message among all the other forum threads - only visible to them alone.
All these updates are available on the SLR app, available for the Quest, Quest 2, Quest Pro and Windows headsets. Try it now and let us know your thoughts on our busy, friendly forum.