CONTRABAND icon

CONTRABAND

Contraband is a VR screening room for independent films, AI cinema, and documentaries. It uses scheduled screenings, guest booking, and audience voting to recreate a shared cinema experience inside a Quest headset.

CONTRABAND

Overview

Contraband is a VR screening room for independent films, AI cinema, and documentaries. It is designed for scheduled screenings rather than on-demand playback, with films shown to a shared audience at a set time inside the headset.

The product’s core purpose is to recreate the feeling of attending a cinema while keeping the experience virtual. The site emphasizes the same start time for everyone, a large-screen viewing layout, and audience presence without faces or avatars. Viewers sign up on the website, book a screening, and then join through the Contraband VR app on Quest 3 or 3S.

What Contraband offers

Scheduled VR screenings

Films screen at a published time rather than on demand. That keeps the experience communal and gives viewers a shared starting point.

VR-only viewing on supported headsets

The service is built around Quest 3 and Quest 3S, with screenings accessed through the VR app. The screenings page also states there is no web or mobile playback.

Audience presence without avatars

The room is designed to feel like a cinema rather than a chat room or avatar space. The site says there are no faces and no avatars, but real audience audio is present.

Audience audio controls

Viewers can choose whether to hear everyone or only their own people. That suggests a built-in social audio control for the screening room.

Post-screening voting

After the movie ends, viewers vote, and those votes determine what screens next. This makes the audience part of the programming loop.

Guest seat booking

Users can book seats for guests, and guest entry is handled with a code at the gate. The setup supports group attendance without sharing one login.

Common use cases

  • Attend a remote screening event

    Use Contraband when you want to watch a film with a live audience feeling but cannot be in the same physical theater. The shared start time and room audio are built for event-style viewing.

  • Watch films that need a venue

    Use it to present films that may not have wide theatrical or streaming distribution. The site explicitly positions the service around independent films, AI-made features, and documentaries that have been passed over elsewhere.

  • Bring guests into the same screening

    Use it as a group viewing option for friends or guests. The booking flow supports guest seats, and guests get a code to enter at the gate.

  • Participate in audience-led curation

    Use it when you want the audience to help shape future programming. After screenings, viewers vote, and those votes decide what screens next.

  • Watch through a supported VR headset

    Use it only if you have a supported Quest headset and want a VR-native screening room. The source pages make clear that viewing is handled inside the VR app rather than in a browser.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Creates a shared screening experience with a fixed start time, which fits event-style film viewing.
  • Keeps the room focused on the film by hiding faces and avoiding avatars.
  • Supports audience audio choices, including hearing everyone or only selected people.
  • Lets guests attend through code-based entry after a seat is booked.
  • Includes audience voting that influences what screens next.

Cons

  • The site says playback is only available through the VR app on Quest 3 or 3S, with no web or mobile viewing.
  • The pricing page currently returns a 404, so public plan details are not available from the source pages.
  • The source pages do not document integrations or broader platform support beyond the Quest devices named above.

FAQ

What devices can I use to watch Contraband?

Contraband is accessed through its VR app, and the screenings page says content is available exclusively on Quest 3 or 3S with no web or mobile playback.

How does a screening work?

The site describes scheduled screenings that take place at a set time. After signing up, you can view upcoming screenings, book a ticket, and then join in the VR app when the screening begins.

Can I bring guests to a screening?

Yes. The homepage says you can book seats for guests, and they receive a code to enter at the gate.

Is there public pricing available?

The site does not show pricing on the pricing page, which currently returns a 404. The homepage says the first 100 signups get early access, and that no credit card is needed to join the early access list.

Does Contraband integrate with other services?

The source pages do not list integrations or external platform connections. The available workflow centers on account sign-up, booking, and joining through the VR app.

Quick Facts

Category
VR cinema
Primary content
Independent films, AI cinema, documentaries
Platform
Quest 3 or 3S via VR app
Playback
No web or mobile playback
Access model
Scheduled screenings with ticket booking
Source domain
contraband.watch