Microsoft’s new Spectator View rig lets you share what you’re seeing on the HoloLens with others

Microsoft’s HoloLens is a pretty mind-blowing augmented reality headset that is just a glimpse of the future. When Microsoft launched the HoloLens, it was initially available in the United States only — but the company later expanded its availability throughout the world. Today, the company is announcing a pretty neat feature for the HoloLens which will let you share exactly what you’re seeing and your interactions on the HoloLens with others.

Microsoft is calling it the new “Spectator View”. To put it simply, the Spectator View uses a DSLR camera (or any other camera that supports HDMI output) to record what you’re seeing on your HoloLens via another HoloLens. With this rig, you will be able to record high-quality videos of HoloLens experiences and share it with others.

At the moment, HoloLens already has a similar feature built-in, but that wasn’t capable of recording high-quality video. The Spectator View, on the other hand, can record holographic experiences in high-quality, and you can also see it in real-time. Since you’re essentially using your camera to record the holographic experiences in the HoloLens, you can also use the Spectator View to show a live feed — which is similar to what Microsoft does at its official events, but that kit costs Microsoft between $15,000 and $50,000 as that uses a Red Dragon camera.

Oh, you can also take still pictures with the Spectator View.

Setting up the actual Spectator View rig isn’t easy though, as you’ll have to build it yourself — however, Microsoft seems to have some pretty detailed instructions on how to build a Spectator View rig yourself here.

Obviously, the Spectator View will require you to have two HoloLens devices which is pretty costly considering the HoloLens costs $3,000. At the end of the day, the Spectator View is likely for Microsoft’s enterprise customers and partners who are working with the company to build new experiences for the HoloLens. As for consumers, this new Spectator View will be much more useful when and if Microsoft launches a cheaper HoloLens in the future.

You can watch Microsoft’s demo of the new Spectator View rig below: