How to Convert MVC 3D Video to Apple Vision Pro Spatial Video

If you've been building a 3D video library for years — whether for a 3D TV, a projector, or an older VR headset — you probably have it stored as MKV or M2TS files with an MVC (Multiview Video Coding) 3D track. Now you have an Apple Vision Pro, and you want to actually watch those movies. You'd think they'd just play, right?

They don't. Apple Vision Pro plays spatial video in a format called MV-HEVC (Multiview High Efficiency Video Coding). MVC and MV-HEVC are both stereoscopic formats, but they're not directly compatible — Vision Pro simply won't recognize MVC. You need to transcode.

The good news: if your 3D content is already in an MKV or M2TS file with the MVC track intact, conversion is straightforward. Here's how it works.

What You'll Need

• An MKV or M2TS file with an MVC 3D track — The file needs to contain both the base view (left eye, a normal H.264 stream) and the dependent view (right eye, stored as a delta from the base). This is the standard way 3D content is packaged in these containers.
• SpaceRay — A Mac app that decodes MVC stereoscopic video and re-encodes it as MV-HEVC spatial video for Apple Vision Pro (or Side-by-Side 3D for other headsets).
• A Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later) — SpaceRay requires Apple Silicon. It uses Apple Silicon-specific video frameworks and hardware-accelerated HEVC encoding. Intel Macs are not supported.

Step 1: Check Your Source File

Before you convert, confirm your file actually has an MVC 3D track. Not every 3D video is MVC-encoded — some are already Side-by-Side, some are frame-packed, and some labeled "3D" are just 2D files with 3D metadata. SpaceRay will tell you what it sees when you load a file, but if you want to check ahead of time, tools like ffprobe or MediaInfo will show you the codec of each track. Look for h264_mvc or a dependent view stream.

If your file is already Side-by-Side 3D, you don't need MVC-specific conversion — SpaceRay can still produce an MV-HEVC output, but the process is simpler. This guide assumes true MVC source.

Step 2: Convert with SpaceRay

This is where the actual work happens — turning your MVC-encoded file into MV-HEVC spatial video that Apple Vision Pro can play natively. Open SpaceRay and drag your MKV or M2TS file into the window. SpaceRay automatically detects the 3D format and shows you what it found.

Under the hood, SpaceRay is doing something sophisticated. MVC stores video as two layers: a base view (the left eye, essentially a normal 2D H.264 video) and a dependent view (the right eye, stored as a compressed delta from the base). SpaceRay decodes both streams, reconstructs the full stereoscopic pair, and re-encodes everything as MV-HEVC — the spatial video format Apple Vision Pro expects. All of this happens automatically. You don't need to understand the codec details.

Choose your quality preset. Higher quality means larger files and longer encode times, but the visual difference is worth it for movies you actually care about. On an M1 Pro or better, expect roughly real-time encoding — a two-hour movie takes about two hours to convert. Hit convert and let it run. SpaceRay uses Apple's hardware HEVC encoder on Apple Silicon, so your Mac stays responsive while it works.

Step 3: Transfer to Vision Pro

Once the conversion finishes, you have an MV-HEVC file ready for Apple Vision Pro. Transfer it to your headset via AirDrop or USB, and open it to watch in immersive stereoscopic 3D.

The depth effect is genuinely impressive — content mastered for 3D really does look fantastic on Vision Pro. It's a completely different experience from watching the flat 2D version.

Bonus: Quest 3 and Other Headsets

Not everyone is on Vision Pro. If you're using a Meta Quest 3, Quest Pro, or another VR headset, SpaceRay can also output Side-by-Side (SBS) 3D from the same source file. One source, two output formats. Convert once for Vision Pro, once for Quest — or just pick whichever format you need. It's the same straightforward process either way.