Watching Video
Play a local fulldome or equirectangular movie in the 360 viewer
Last updated: 2026-09-27
Open a movie you already have and watch it in the same 360 viewer used for still images. Playback does not extract frames, start a render, or create a Sequence.
Open a movie
Use the top-left app menu:
- Choose Open Video….
- Pick one local file. The picker accepts
.mp4,.m4v,.mov,.mpg, and.mpeg. - A square frame opens as Fulldome domemaster. A 2:1 frame opens as 360° equirectangular. Any other shape asks you to choose Source format.
You can also drop one video file onto the app. Dropping several files, or a video mixed with other files, does not open. The message is Open one video at a time.
Recent Videos keeps the last 12 movies. An unchanged file reopens at its saved time and keeps its saved format. Locate… points a missing entry at a new path. Clear Recent Videos removes the list.
Canceling the file picker leaves the current view unchanged. The movie opens paused on the first decoded frame, or at the saved time for a recent file.
While it plays
The normal header, craft toolbar, and render navigation hide. The left viewer instruments stay: compass, gyroscope, Dome, and the viewing overlays. The player sits at the bottom center.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Play / Pause | Starts or stops playback. The movie stays paused after you open it. |
| Scrubber | Jumps to a time. A jump keeps the previous play or pause state. |
| Back / forward 5 seconds | Moves by five seconds. |
| Previous / next frame | Pauses, then steps one frame. The player stays paused. |
| Loop | Repeats the movie. Loop starts off each time you open a file. |
| Volume | Sets playback volume. |
| Close | Leaves the player and returns to the previous workspace. The position is saved. |
| File name menu | Open Video…, Recent Videos, and Source format. |
Fulldome domemaster plays as a circular equidistant image and turns Dome Mode on for that movie. 360° equirectangular covers the full sphere. Change a wrong choice from Source format in the file name menu. Dome Mode on an equirectangular movie only changes how you look at it. It does not change the file type.
Double-click the picture to enter or leave fullscreen. F11 does the same. The header menu Toggle fullscreen does the same. In that fullscreen view the player hides until you move the pointer to the bottom edge, or until a player control has focus. F does not switch this view to the 2D desk. Alt + V does not turn the viewer off during playback. During playback, Tab keeps ordinary focus movement. The still-viewer cycle All controls → Viewer controls → Image only stays off. See Keyboard Shortcuts.
Press Escape to close the player after any open menu closes. Minimizing the window pauses playback.
Keys are listed in Keyboard Shortcuts. Space, comma, and period follow the Single-key shortcuts switch in Settings.
Import one frame
Import Frame saves the current equirectangular frame as an ordinary still in Renders. The capture is the full decoded frame at the video’s own size. It is not a screenshot of the viewer, so camera aim, Dome mask, guides, and the player are not in the image.
The player stays open and paused. The new still appears in the library. It does not replace the movie or open itself.
Import Frame is unavailable for a fulldome movie. The control explains: Domemaster frame import is not available yet.
What this is not
Playback does not run a diffusion model, and it does not use the Format Converter. Stereo, VR180, cubemap, flat video placed in a scene, network streaming, and playlists are outside this player. Exporting a rendered Sequence to a movie is a different job: Exporting Sequences.