How To Use Cinematic Mode To Turn PS VR2 Into A PS5 Display

There are lots of reasons you might want to own a PlayStation VR2 headset, whether it's putting yourself in the driver's seat of a "Gran Turismo" game or filming a TikTok of your parents being scared to death by "Resident Evil Village." But there's one great PS VR2 feature you may not have considered: cinematic mode.

Cinematic mode allows you to use the PS VR2's headset as a self-contained display, giving you full access to the PlayStation 5's UI and all its apps entirely within the hardware's small-yet-impressive goggles. Instead of using your TV, cinematic mode allows you to play games and watch media on the PS VR2's simulated 226-inch display. With everything else blacked out, it's basically giving you your own private theater to play games and watch media — all without having to get off your couch.

The best part of PS VR2's cinematic mode is how easy it is to use, allowing you to jump right in and use it as its own display for a variety of applications.

Starting up PS VR2's cinematic mode is a very simple process (if only all how-to guides were this easy):

1. Make sure the PS VR2 headset is connected to the PS5 via a USB-C cord.

2. Turn the PlayStation 5 console on.

3. Turn the PS VR2 headset on.

4. Open a non-VR game or media app. Cinematic mode will turn on automatically.

Seriously, that's it. Once those steps are completed, your PS VR2 headset will serve as a PS5 display. And if you need to tweak any settings, that's surprisingly easy as well. From the PS5 home screen, select Settings > Accessories > PlayStation VR2 > Cinematic Mode. You can also quickly access a number of cinematic mode settings straight from the headset's control center, just by pressing your controller's PS button.

Cinematic mode settings you can adjust including screen brightness, headset vibration, visibility, play area size, see-through view, and eye tracking. One useful setting is Screen Size, which allows you to shrink or expand your virtual screen to the perfect size. Finally, you can reset the position of the virtual screen at any time by pressing and holding the options button on your controller.

Depending on what type of TV you have at home, using the PS VR2 as its own display may afford you superior specs. For example, many televisions don't offer a 120Hz refresh rate, but you can still play 120Hz-capable PS5 games at the supported refresh rate using cinematic mode. Other games and media run from 24Hz to 60Hz.

One downside to PS VR2's cinematic mode is decreased resolution, as the headset will run at 1080p rather than its usual 4K. But since the headset's OLED lenses are so close to your eyes and the PS VR2 offers HDR, the image quality presented by cinematic mode can still be impressive. This makes cinematic mode a great option for watching movies or other media through your PS5. The large virtual screen will make it feel like you're sitting front row in a movie theater, even if you're watching YouTube or home videos you shot with your smartphone.

Using PS VR2's cinematic mode as a display isn't just convenient for you, but potentially great for the people you live with as well. Since the headset is fully capable as its own display, you don't even need a TV to play your PS5. If your significant other just wants to watch "The Last of Us" and not actually play it, they can be free to use the TV while you quietly sit next to them, playing PS5 while fully immersed in cinematic mode.