The virtual theater (or TV screen) was one of the first things I thought about when I heard about the power of new VR technologies. People don't want to switch devices if they don't have to and projecting output to a single rectangle in a virtual space makes a lot of sense on paper.
I would be the first to say that of course seeing people in real life would be superior, but with the internet I'm finding that some of my closest friends are sometimes thousands of miles away. This is a way to keep in contact that's as good or better than something like facetime and far, far superior to buying a plane ticket just to hang out.
A lot of people on HN (and general tech sites) seem to think that VR will be used primarily for something other than gaming.
If I were working on any kind of VR software in the next five years, it would be a game, absolutely no question about it. (A game that does not involve the character walking around, by the way.) As long as the hardware requirements for a good VR experience are high, anything else is a novelty.
Serious PC gamers are your audience. Period. Alternative hardware that doesn't rely on a beefy GPU will (for now) be extremely limited and uninteresting.
And even after a few years, you're still going to need a very good reason to spend at least a few hundred dollars on a VR set. I will be very surprised if home users are buying them for something other than games.
The one person I know making money with VR programming right now is not in the game, or even entertainment, business. Without giving away what he does, his clients buy VR gear and his software to experience a customer-specific simulated environment (and no, not porn).
Someone made a VR theater for the oculus rift (it's on Steam) which allows you to stream a movie or video to watch with other friends. That's pretty awesome.
You could share it with a friend who wasn't physically there if they had a similar setup, but I"m guessing they're talking about the fact people who are by themselves like watching TV and movies in VR compared to on a standard TV screen in a real room.
At first I balked at the idea of watching a movie in VR, but the more I think about it the more I like it. I could easily watch it while lying down on a bed for instance. It would need to be very high resolution however.
Most people I know what watch movies at home do so with distractions. They have their phone out seeing tweets and other notifications. They might have a spouse or kids or guests. They have snacks and drinks. All of those seems like it makes movies in VR likely to be a novelty for most. I'm not saying I won't try it. In fact I have tried it. But so far it hasn't been worth it. Maybe during a plane flight.
PS: Yes I get you could integrate the notifications stuff into VR. In fact if you want to get silly show a virtual tablet on your virtual coffee table in front of your virtual TV. Replying though will be an issue, at least for a while.
Source for that claim?? strapping on a headset doesn't seem like a great way to share a movie with friends, but that's just me.