VR Live Cams Have Fizzled... But Dreamcam Wants to Change That

VR broadcasting company DreamCam launched earlier this year in partnership with xHamster. It’s hoping to take on the challenge of live action VR camming, offering a quality and reliable service to performers and their fans.

While pre-recorded VR porn has technically blown up since its introduction around 2015, VR live cams have struggled to take off. A handful of companies have stepped into this market, but ultimately failed to make it a viable business – AliceX’s ‘virtual girlfriend experience‘ is a notable example that springs to mind.

How does DreamCam fit in?

For users, DreamCam has developed a service that provides live-streamed 4K-quality VR images at 60fps (frames per second), making it the same quality as a lot of pre-recorded VR content. Streamers need only a compatible headset and an internet connection to view it.

For studios and cam models, DreamCam offers a VR camera to create immersive live content for viewers. Using both an original 2D camera along with a DreamCam, performers can potentially increase their tipping revenue by reaching a wider audience. An audience who may want to explore them more intimately by paying for private sessions.

To the end-user, DreamCam doesn’t really exist – it’s software that is licensed to adult companies, starting with xHamster. Through the deal, xHamster is hosting a white label version of Stripchat’s live cam platform.

So why have VR cams previously been such a flop?

Co-founder and CEO of DreamCam, Stan Gearson says “until now, the VR experience in the adult industry has been limited to recorded content. We’re the first and only company able to offer the quality of recorded VR content at a comfortable and reliable streaming quality.”

However, when we reported on the top VR live cam sites in 2017, the common issue was lack of choice. In our Camsoda review, we noted that it was lucky if you could actually catch a live VR show in action without checking the schedule in advance. Now, Camsoda has just two VR channels – both offline at the time of writing.

Virtual girlfriend experience, AliceX, took the biggest hit by closing the live cam feature entirely and reverting back to non-VR live camming. With no response from them as to why. Peep360, another listed in that roundup, says it is currently under maintenance… but it has said that for quite a while.

Is the problem quality, or content?

While better quality is of course important, the issue historically with VR live cam appears to lie with the limited content. Despite DreamCam’s promise of viewing models 24/7, there are only 6 VR live cams currently live via Stripchat at the time of writing.

DreamCam expects this to change as the service partners with more studios and models.

How does DreamCam work?

DreamCam is compatible with most VR devices. Supported headsets include HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, Oculus Go, DayDream and Gear VR. Once you’ve downloaded the GizmoVR player, just enter vr.stripchat.com in the address bar at the top of the screen and open your selected room.

By enabling real-time voice communication, users have found it “very convenient to just talk to a model in a private session instead of typing text,” the company says. By enhancing intimacy for the viewers, a VR live cam also creates new methods of monetization for the performers and studios within the peer-to-peer private sessions. DreamCam also offers live portals avatars, virtual equipment and furnishings for their [virtual] rooms.

DreamCam mentions on its site that it’s also promising to offer detailed manual and recommendations for models on how to work with VR-camera and training on how best to use the new tech.

Perhaps the approach of working directly with performers will help revive the interest in live action VR cams more broadly – you can’t have viewers without performers, but by allowing simultaneous dual broadcast to VR and non-VR viewers alike, performers don’t have to miss out on earnings by testing out new approaches.