There have been a few threads lately with people experiencing issues with the Virtual Theater in their browsers. In the hopes of collecting some useful metrics, please indicate what OS and browser you are using, and whether it is working for you. I am adding a poll for each, but it would be even more useful if you indicate all three answers in your reply. Please also include the version of your OS. Thanks!
Thanks for the replies so far! If anyone votes No or Yes, with some issues on the first question, please provide extra details about your setup and the problems you encounter.
On laptop I’m testing with (Mac - MacOS 11.6.4) -
Virtual Theater is working well, with some issues, using both Safari (default browser on this system) and Chrome.
Still seeing some sorting issues in the My Library/Fridge -
When testing immediately after the update, sorting was 1000% better than ever with only the below listed glitches -
Sort by Date glitches if “Collections” is set to “All”. (Example, experiment 191 placed between 211 and 212) S13 episodes not showing at all when sorting by date and collections set to “All”.
As of today? – Sorting is back to it’s previous crazy behavior? (Both Safari and Chrome)
After the most recent update, I had issues once getting the video to play in Safari until I restarted the Mac? It would display subtitles but no audio or video, very odd. Video would play fine in Chrome? Quitting Safari, closing open tabs, clearing cache, etc didn’t help, only started working again in Safari after a reboot. Should have opened the Web Inspector in Safari before rebooting to see if there were any errors with any scripts, etc, but was impatient, had been a long day. Haven’t been able to duplicate the issue since.
On phone I’m testing with (iPhone SE2) -
As noted elsewhere, still getting the “Resolution not supported” error. It’d be nice to see a wider range of screen resolutions / mobile devices supported. People who prefer the Virtual Theater over the VHX SetTop Box apps will be more likely* to have a mobile device like a phone with them on their couch, than a desktop or laptop PC. I think that many will be looking for more of a “lean-back” experience, rather than a “Lean-Forward”? Especially looking ahead to the 2nd and 3rd waves of new members as the Gizmoplex has its official wide opening?
I actually have a Mac mini connected via HDMI in my home theater. I’ve purposefully left it off while testing the apps and the Virtual Theater to try and keep myself as outside my own bubble of personal experiences as possible. Trying to approach the apps and Virtual theater like many of my customers would?
Macs of various shapes & sizes here. I’ve been doing all of my “testing” (such as that may be) in Chrome, since Ivan has said that’s their initial target environment, but the only thing that doesn’t work for me in Safari is full screen video.
With a 27” monitor, I find that “theater zoom” (not “full screen”) works quite well, nearly a 20” diagonal movie within the red curtains and seat row at full size. All the above browsers can do that. If I do want full-screen, like for newer (HD) seasons, I’ll use Chrome. I have no problem with using Chrome. It’s just that I’m usually using something else.
The problem with Safari (Mac and iPad) is that going full-screen centers the full-screen movie in the display’s top-left corner (so only the bottom right of the video is visible). I suspect this is a Safari quirk that ultimately may just need some special-case workaround code, but I understand prioritizing Chrome fixes first.
Oh, BTW/FYI: on iPhone 13 Safari, the theater gives the message “This screen resolution and orientation is not supported” regardless of phone orientation. The (non-theater) Gizmoplex app works fine.
Also, I just tried Chrome on Mac and I can see the backer wall fine, though only the bottom half of the name search field lets you click in it to add/edit search text. The search button is also only clickable bottom-half. My Chrome version is 100.0.4896.75 currently.
It works for me on Chromebook, other than the known bugs like sorting not working. Chrome is the only browser I have. It’s not just integrated into the OS, it basically is the OS.
Gplex working ok but had sync issues in the live shows and the unedited versions. The sync is fine in the final versions of the 2 shows and in the Robot Wars temporary cut.
I am running Windows 11 on my laptop and Android 12 on my phone. Browser is Chrome. The biggest issue I am seeing is that, when I try to cast to my TV using Chromecast, the aspect ratio of the classic episodes is not retained. Instead, the video is stretched to fill the screen causing the image to be distorted.
The aspect ratio is retained when watching on the phone or laptop. The problem only happens when casting to the TV. However, I am not really interested in watching on my phone or laptop.
On a more serious note, if you’re having problems you may also want to list what browser extensions you have installed, as many types operate by either redirecting browser calls (ad and script blockers, in particular) or injecting new ones.
If you have a laptop, you can stream via HDMI instead of casting. Duplicate or extend the computer screen (depending on preference). Then you get full screen experience. =)
