Open a 360° video or photo from your camera, phone or drone and look around inside it. Drag with the mouse or finger, use the arrow keys, or tilt your phone; zoom with the wheel or a pinch, switch to little planet or VR split screen, and go fullscreen. Your file is played locally and never uploaded.
Last updated:
⟲ Drag to look around · scroll or pinch to zoom
0° N·FOV 80°
0:000:00
Showing the demo panorama. Choose your own 360° video or photo above.
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How to use the 360 Video Viewer
Choose a 360° video or photo, or drop it on the box. A demo panorama is shown until you do.
Look around by dragging the picture, using the arrow keys, or pressing Use motion sensor on a phone.
Zoom with the mouse wheel, a two-finger pinch or the Zoom slider.
Check the layout: if the picture looks doubled, choose 3D top-bottom or side-by-side; for VR180 files choose 180° coverage.
Press the fullscreen button (or double-click) for an immersive view, or pick VR headset to use a cardboard viewer.
360° and VR video layouts
Layout
Frame shape
Typical resolution
Settings to use
Mono 360° (equirectangular)
2:1
3840×1920, 5760×2880, 7680×3840
Mono, 360°
3D 360° top-bottom (over-under)
1:1
3840×3840, 5760×5760
3D top-bottom, 360°
3D 360° side-by-side
4:1
7680×1920
3D side-by-side, 360°
VR180 3D side-by-side
2:1 (each eye 1:1)
5760×2880, 8192×4096
3D side-by-side, 180°
Mono 180°
1:1
2880×2880
Mono, 180°
Files straight from dual-lens cameras are sometimes stored as two round fisheye images instead of an equirectangular frame. Those need to be "stitched" in the camera's own app or desktop software first; then export as a 360° (equirectangular) video and open it here.
How a 360° video is projected
An equirectangular frame stores the whole sphere around the camera like a world map: the horizontal axis is longitude (−180° to +180°, the front of the camera in the middle) and the vertical axis is latitude (+90° straight up at the top, −90° straight down at the bottom). For every pixel on your screen the viewer computes the direction of the ray through that pixel, rotated by your current heading (yaw) and tilt (pitch), and converts it to map coordinates:
u = 0.5 + longitude ÷ 360°
v = 0.5 − latitude ÷ 180°
The colour at (u, v) in the video frame is drawn on screen. Because this runs on the graphics card for every pixel and every frame, straight lines stay straight in the normal view (a rectilinear, pinhole-camera projection). The little planet view instead uses a stereographic projection centred on the ground below the camera.
Controls
Action
Mouse / touch
Keyboard (click the view first)
Look around
Drag; flick to keep turning
Arrow keys (Shift for bigger steps)
Zoom
Scroll wheel or pinch
+ and −
Play / pause
Play button
Space or K
Fullscreen
Fullscreen button or double-click
F (Esc to leave)
Reset view
Reset button
R
Frequently asked questions
How do I play a 360 video on my computer?
Open the video in this viewer. It maps each frame of the equirectangular video onto a virtual sphere with WebGL and shows the part you are looking at, so you can drag with the mouse, use the arrow keys and zoom with the scroll wheel. Ordinary video players show the same file as a stretched, flat picture.
What kind of files does it support?
Equirectangular 360° videos and photos, the format that 360 cameras, drones and most editors export: a 2:1 frame for mono 360°, 1:1 for 3D top-bottom, 4:1 or 2:1 for side-by-side and VR180. Videos must be in a format your browser can play, normally MP4 with H.264 (HEVC/H.265 works in Safari and Edge on supported hardware) or WebM.
My video looks doubled or split in two. What should I do?
It is a 3D (stereoscopic) video with one picture for each eye. Choose 3D top-bottom if the two pictures are stacked, or 3D side-by-side if they are next to each other. The viewer then shows one eye, or both in VR headset mode. The layout is guessed automatically from the frame shape and names like _TB or _SBS.
Can I look around by moving my phone?
Yes. Press Use motion sensor and allow motion access if asked (iPhone and iPad always ask). The view then follows the direction the back of your phone is pointing. Dragging still works and adjusts the starting direction.
Why is the video too large or blurry?
Each frame is uploaded to your graphics card as a texture. Most computers handle 8K (7680×3840) video, but some phones are limited to 4096 pixels and the tool will tell you. A 360° video spreads its pixels over the whole sphere, so the visible part always looks softer than a normal video of the same resolution; zooming out (wider field of view) looks sharper.
Does it work with VR headsets?
Choose VR headset (split screen) on a phone in a cardboard-style viewer to see both eyes side by side; with a 3D video you get real depth. Dedicated headsets usually have their own player apps, but the normal view of this page also works in their built-in browsers.
Is my video uploaded?
No. The file is opened with a local object URL and rendered on your device; nothing is sent to a server.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.