Playback

Playback and format guide

StereoLift delivers your 3D video in Full Side-by-Side format — both eyes at full original resolution in one wide frame. This guide lists tested players and playback paths for the major VR headsets, 3D displays, and stereoscopic software players, explains what to do if 3D mode does not switch on automatically, and shows how to preview the 3D effect without a headset.

Quick start

Open the downloaded video in one of the recommended players for your device. The device guide below lists a tested option for every major platform.
Many dedicated 3D players switch to Full Side-by-Side mode automatically when they read the embedded stereoscopic metadata.
If 3D mode does not switch on, set the format to "Side-by-Side" or "Full SBS" in the player's settings and the picture will render correctly.

Output at a glance

Primary output: Full Side-by-Side 3D. Each eye keeps its full original resolution in one wide frame, with no half-width compression.
Maximum resolution: Up to 4K per eye for supported source material.
Maximum frame rate: Up to 90 fps. The output frame rate matches the source unless you select a reduced output profile.
Containers: MP4 by default for broad compatibility. The output is delivered as MKV instead when the source audio codec is not MP4-compatible (for example FLAC, TrueHD, DTS, Opus, or PCM), so compatible source audio can still be preserved without re-encoding.
Audio handling: Source audio is normally stream-copied without re-encoding, including multi-channel and high-bitrate tracks. If a file contains both a standard compatibility track and an unsupported Apple Spatial Audio track, the compatibility track is preserved. Files whose audio tracks cannot be repackaged safely are delivered without audio.
HDR handling: HDR10 sources are preserved end-to-end: 10-bit color depth, BT.2020 primaries, and the source's master-display and content-light metadata are carried into the delivered file.
Anaglyph option: A separate anaglyph conversion is available as a child order for playback in any regular video player with red-cyan glasses.

Device and player matrix

Recommended player or setting for each platform StereoLift output is verified against. Pick the row that matches your target device.

Platform	Recommended apps or players	Best fit	Notes
Meta Quest and Pico	SKYBOX, Pigasus, 4XVR, Bigscreen	Direct Full SBS playback in dedicated VR media players.	If the app does not detect the format automatically, select Full SBS in its 3D settings.
Apple Vision Pro	SKYBOX, Moon Player, Reality Player	Third-party SBS playback on visionOS.	Output is standard Full SBS, not Apple's MV-HEVC spatial format. Apple's native Photos and Apple TV spatial experiences do not play SBS files; use one of the third-party players above.
PSVR2	Rad TV	Stereoscopic side-by-side playback on PSVR2.	Some Rad TV features, including local file handling, require a premium subscription.
3D TVs and projectors	Display-native 3D mode or external player	Displays that accept Full SBS input directly.	Older HDMI 1.4-era 3D displays were designed around half-width SBS and frame-packed Blu-ray formats, so behavior on Full SBS varies. Selecting Side-by-Side or Full SBS manually in the display menu is usually enough.
Android TV, Fire TV, and NVIDIA Shield	Kodi	Living-room playback with explicit stereoscopic mode switching.	Kodi reads the embedded 3D metadata directly and is the most reliable choice for 3D mode switching on TV-class devices.
Windows	PotPlayer, Bino	Desktop playback with built-in 3D mode switching.	PotPlayer offers the fastest switching between SBS, anaglyph, and cross-eye output via its right-click menu.
macOS	mpv, Bino	Desktop stereoscopic playback on Mac.	mpv handles Full SBS reliably from the command line. Bino offers a graphical interface where building from source is acceptable.
Linux	Bino, mpv	Desktop playback with strong stereoscopic controls.	Bino is available via Flathub. mpv covers cross-eye and anaglyph viewing directly from the command line.
iPhone, iPad, and Android	nPlayer	Mobile playback with full 3D post-processing controls.	Open Settings → Video → Post Processing, enable it, then choose 3D Mode and select side-by-side input.
Standard 2D players	Any regular player with red-cyan glasses	Anaglyph playback without dedicated 3D software.	Order the separate anaglyph conversion when a SBS-aware player is not available on the target device.

Will my player auto-detect the 3D format?

Every delivered file carries standard stereoscopic metadata: container-level 3D flags and frame-level signaling where the format supports it. Many 3D-capable players use this to switch into Full SBS mode automatically. Platforms that strip or ignore the metadata on re-encode require Side-by-Side to be selected manually, which still works in any compatible player.

Why does a 2D player show a squished image?

If a regular 2D player opens the file, both eyes look horizontally squashed. The file is not damaged — it carries metadata that tells the player to fit the wide frame into its normal display area. A 3D-capable player splits the frame first and renders each eye at full resolution. To free-view the file at its native 2:1 width for cross-eye stereoscopy on a regular monitor, run mpv --vf=setsar=1:1 your-file.mp4, or open the file in PotPlayer on Windows and switch to cross-eye output from its right-click 3D menu.

Is StereoLift output the same as Apple MV-HEVC spatial video?

No. Apple's MV-HEVC spatial format encodes each eye as a separate HEVC track inside an Apple-specific container and is required by Apple's native spatial-video apps on Vision Pro, iPhone, and iPad. StereoLift output is standard Full SBS, which works in the SBS-aware players listed above — including third-party SBS players on Vision Pro (SKYBOX, Moon Player, Reality Player) — but not in Apple's native Photos or Apple TV spatial experience.

Can I upload my 3D video to YouTube?

Yes. YouTube accepts Full SBS uploads. StereoLift writes the usual stereoscopic metadata for MP4 delivery, but YouTube's final 3D handling depends on its own ingest and playback path. The YouTube VR app on Meta Quest and Pico headsets is the most relevant target; the standard web and mobile players currently show the file as a single wide 2D frame. Two upload tips: keep the source roughly 16:9 so the resulting SBS file lands at a YouTube-friendly aspect ratio, and avoid vertical (9:16 or taller) sources — YouTube routes them into Shorts, which uses a different player with no 3D mode.

Back to the converter View pricing examples