Using Stream to 3D with Nreal Air / XREAL Air Glasses
A tested guide to streaming stereoscopic 3D from Stream to 3D on a Windows PC to VLC on an Android phone and original Nreal/XREAL Air glasses, including the unusual reconnect step required when switching the glasses into SBS 3D mode.
The original Nreal Air, later branded XREAL Air, can display stereoscopic Side-by-Side video and works well as a portable display for content created by Stream to 3D.
This guide documents a setup that has been tested successfully with:
- Nreal Air NR-7100RGL glasses
- OnePlus Open Android phone
- VLC for Android
- Stream to 3D running on a Windows PC
- Stream to 3D's network Stream workflow
The important point is that Stream to 3D performs the 2D-to-3D processing on the Windows PC.
The Android phone receives and plays the already-converted stereoscopic stream, while the Nreal Air provides the stereoscopic display.
Tested result: Real-time 2D-to-3D streaming from Stream to 3D through VLC on a OnePlus Open to the original Nreal Air works very well. Switching the glasses into their SBS 3D display mode briefly disconnects the external display on the tested phone. Accepting the new Cast prompt reconnects the glasses in 3D mode.
The temporary disconnect and reconnect is the unusual part of this setup. It is easy to interpret it as a failure when it is actually part of the successful mode change.
How the setup works
The tested signal path is:
2D video → Stream to 3D on Windows → stereoscopic network stream → VLC on Android → USB-C → Nreal Air
Stream to 3D creates the stereoscopic result on the PC.
The phone does not need to perform the 2D-to-3D conversion itself, and no Stream to 3D software needs to run on the glasses.
For the original Air's stereo display mode, Full Side-by-Side (Full SBS) is the cleanest target where practical.
A 3840 × 1080 Full-SBS image contains:
- a 1920 × 1080 left-eye view
- a 1920 × 1080 right-eye view
placed side by side.
What you need
For the tested network-streaming setup you need:
- a Windows PC running a Stream to 3D edition or licence with Stream available
- the original Nreal Air / XREAL Air glasses
- an Android phone with compatible USB-C DisplayPort video output
- VLC for Android
- the Windows PC and phone connected so that they can communicate over the same local network
The instructions below describe the behaviour of the OnePlus Open.
Other Android phones with compatible USB-C video output may behave similarly, but external-display handling and reconnect prompts vary between manufacturers.
Edition note: Network Stream is available with Stream to 3D Complete and Standalone. The Real-Time edition is focused on Play and does not include the Network Stream workflow described on this page.
Stream 3D from the PC to the original Nreal Air
1. Start with Stream to 3D on the Windows PC
Choose Stream in Stream to 3D and select a short, familiar 2D video for your first test.
The Windows PC and Android phone should be on the same local network.
For an initial receiver test, HTTP with AVC is the simplest starting combination because it provides broad player compatibility.
If the Configuration Wizard is enabled, Release 6 lets you choose:
- Compare and recommend
- Use Temporal
- Use Depth Guided
Compare and recommend is a useful starting point when real-time performance is uncertain because Stream to 3D measures practical conversion choices using the selected source and the current PC.
Stream is measured separately from normal Play because network video encoding adds additional work.
Start the stream and note the network address shown by Stream to 3D.
See the main guide:
Stream Converted 3D Video Across Your Network
A successful Configuration Wizard result proves the measured PC-side workload with its safety margin. It does not prove the Wi-Fi connection, Android decoder or final glasses display route.
2. Open the Stream to 3D output in VLC
On the OnePlus Open:
- Open VLC for Android.
- Open the network stream address displayed by Stream to 3D.
- Confirm that the video is playing.
- Connect the Nreal Air directly to the phone using its compatible USB-C display connection.
- Allow the phone to display or cast to the glasses.
At first, the Nreal Air will normally behave as an ordinary 2D external display.
If Stream to 3D is producing SBS video, seeing the two eye views side by side at this stage is expected.
The glasses have not yet been switched into their stereoscopic display mode.
3. Switch the original Nreal Air into SBS 3D mode
This is the critical step.
With the glasses connected and the Stream to 3D output available in VLC:
- Press and hold the Brightness + button on the Nreal Air for approximately three seconds.
- The glasses may go blank and the phone may appear to lose the external display.
- Do not treat this brief disconnection as a failure.
- On the tested OnePlus Open, Android then asks whether it should Cast to the device again.
- Accept the new Cast/reconnection request.
- The glasses reconnect in their SBS stereoscopic display mode.
- VLC's SBS output is now separated into the appropriate left- and right-eye views.
The Stream to 3D output should now be visible as stereoscopic 3D.
Important: On the tested OnePlus Open and original Nreal Air combination, the temporary disconnect followed by a new Cast prompt is expected when the glasses change into their 3D SBS display mode.
This reconnect step is easy to miss and is one of the main reasons for documenting this particular setup.
Full SBS and image quality
The original Air stereo mode is associated with a 3840 × 1080 Full-SBS display surface:
- 1920 × 1080 for the left eye
- 1920 × 1080 for the right eye
For the cleanest mapping, use an appropriate Stream to 3D Full SBS configuration where the PC, encoder, network and receiving device can sustain it.
If you still see two complete images side by side after attempting the mode switch, the glasses are probably still operating in ordinary 2D mode.
If the image is stretched, cropped or unusually narrow after entering 3D mode, check VLC's external-display and aspect-ratio behaviour before changing Stream to 3D's depth settings.
Release 6: Temporal or Depth Guided?
Stream to 3D Release 6 provides two complementary ways of producing the stereoscopic image.
Temporal
Temporal is Stream to 3D's established conversion method.
It has lower processing requirements and provides the broadest route to real-time conversion across Windows PCs, including hardware where the more computationally demanding Depth Guided method cannot sustain real-time operation.
It remains particularly useful when efficient real-time processing is the priority.
Depth Guided
Depth Guided uses AI-assisted monocular depth estimation to derive visual depth information from individual frames.
Processing takes place locally on the Windows PC.
Depth Guided provides Quality and Performance modes and can operate in real time on suitable hardware.
Neither method is universally best. Different source material, hardware and viewing preferences can favour different results.
For Play and Stream, the Configuration Wizard's Compare and recommend option can measure useful Temporal and Depth Guided configurations using the actual selected source and PC.
See:
Choosing Temporal or Depth Guided Conversion
What if Depth Guided cannot run in real time?
Real time is not a requirement for creating a 3D version of the video.
If your preferred Depth Guided configuration cannot keep pace with the source, use Convert instead.
Convert creates a reusable stereoscopic video file and does not have to finish processing each frame before the next source frame arrives.
This means either Temporal or Depth Guided can be used even when conversion takes longer than the original video's running time.
Once the conversion is complete:
- make the resulting SBS file available on the Android phone
- open it in a compatible player such as VLC
- connect the original Nreal Air
- switch the glasses into SBS mode using Brightness +
- if the OnePlus Open asks to Cast to the glasses again, accept the reconnection
See:
Convert 2D Video into Reusable 3D Files
It is not limited to stored video
One of the more interesting aspects of using Stream to 3D with glasses such as the Nreal Air is that the Windows PC does not have to process only conventional video files.
Current Stream to 3D releases also support Live Sources, including:
- the PC screen
- cameras
- compatible capture devices
A Live Source can be used with the applicable Play, Stream or Convert workflow.
For example, a PC-screen setup can conceptually be:
Windows application or browser → PC screen capture → Stream to 3D → stereoscopic network stream → VLC on Android → Nreal Air
A capture-device setup can similarly be:
External video source → capture device → Windows PC → Stream to 3D → stereoscopic network stream → VLC on Android → Nreal Air
The 2D-to-3D processing still takes place on the Windows PC.
The original Nreal Air hardware test documented on this page used an ordinary video file. The Live Source examples above use the same current Stream to 3D Network Stream architecture, but the individual PC-screen, camera and capture-device combinations have not each been separately validated with this particular OnePlus Open/Nreal Air hardware chain.
See:
Live Sources: PC Screen, Camera and Capture Devices
Why PC-side processing is useful
This arrangement separates the demanding processing work from the portable display.
Stream to 3D can use the processing resources of the Windows PC to:
- analyse the ordinary 2D source
- create the stereoscopic left- and right-eye views
- use Temporal or Depth Guided conversion
- encode a network stream where required
The Android phone then acts primarily as a network receiving and playback device.
The Nreal Air acts as the stereoscopic display.
That means the glasses themselves do not need the processing power required to run Stream to 3D's conversion methods.
It also means improvements to Stream to 3D's PC-side processing can benefit the viewing experience without requiring a change to the original glasses.
Troubleshooting
I still see two pictures side by side
The SBS video is reaching the glasses, but they are probably still operating in ordinary 2D display mode.
Repeat the original-Air Brightness + long press and complete any Android Cast/reconnection prompt that appears.
The glasses went black or disconnected when I switched to 3D
On the tested OnePlus Open configuration, this is expected while the Nreal Air changes display mode.
Watch the phone for a request to reconnect or Cast to the glasses again.
Accept the request.
The glasses should then return in their SBS stereoscopic display mode.
The image is stretched, cropped, tall or narrow
Check:
- that Stream to 3D is producing the intended SBS layout
- that the Nreal Air is actually in its SBS display mode
- VLC's external-display and aspect-ratio behaviour
Establish the correct display layout before changing Stream to 3D's depth controls.
The stream stutters
Network Stream has to sustain several things at once:
- 2D-to-3D conversion
- video encoding
- network transfer
- Android video decoding
Use Compare and recommend for the Stream workflow when appropriate.
For the first connection, HTTP and AVC provide a useful compatibility baseline.
If necessary:
- use Temporal
- reduce the processing or output workload
- improve the local network connection
- or use Convert instead of real-time Stream
Depth Guided is not fast enough for real-time Stream
That does not prevent you from using Depth Guided.
If your edition includes Convert, create the stereoscopic video file in advance and play the finished file afterwards.
Convert has no real-time processing deadline.
The phone does not output video to the glasses
The Android phone must provide a compatible USB-C video-output path.
This guide has been specifically tested with the OnePlus Open.
Other Android phones can differ in their external-display capabilities and behaviour.
Original Nreal Air versus newer XREAL glasses
This guide describes the original Nreal Air / XREAL Air NR-7100RGL.
Do not assume that newer XREAL glasses use the same controls.
Current XREAL One-series glasses, for example, provide their own on-device 3D controls and explicitly distinguish:
- Full SBS — 3840 × 1080
- Half SBS — 1920 × 1080
Newer XREAL models may also provide their own device-side 3D conversion capabilities.
Stream to 3D is a separate PC-side conversion route. It can provide Temporal and Depth Guided conversion, reusable file conversion, network streaming and supported Live Sources before the resulting stereoscopic video reaches the glasses.
For a newer XREAL model, use XREAL's current instructions for selecting the appropriate display mode:
Tested configuration
The workflow on this page has been directly tested with:
| Component | Tested configuration |
|---|---|
| Glasses | Original Nreal Air NR-7100RGL |
| Phone | OnePlus Open |
| Player | VLC for Android |
| Host | Windows PC running Stream to 3D |
| Workflow | Stream to 3D Network Stream |
| Stereo mode | Full Side-by-Side |
| 3D mode switch | Hold Brightness + for approximately 3 seconds |
| Phone behaviour | External display disconnects; accept the new Cast prompt |
| Result | Successful stereoscopic 3D playback |
Other Android phones with compatible USB-C DisplayPort video output may work similarly, but the external-display behaviour can differ.
Direct Windows-PC-to-original-Air and iPhone/iPad workflows are not documented here as tested configurations.
Related Stream to 3D guides
- Stream Converted 3D Video Across Your Network
- Choosing Temporal or Depth Guided Conversion
- Convert 2D Video into Reusable 3D Files
- Live Sources: PC Screen, Camera and Capture Devices
- Stream to 3D Release 6
Stream to 3D is developed and published by IWAHDK LTD. Source video and audio are processed locally on the Windows PC.