My Varjo Aero Review

[dburne]

Varjo Aero Review after 1 week:

 

I received my new Aero on Wed. Jan 26th. This after a short Customs delay at Fed Ex in Memphis TN. Several of us in this shipment had this delay – Fed Ex wanted more information, so we had to fill out a form and submit to them. Only delayed my shipment by a couple of days but it was irritating trying to find out what needed to be done and the proper form to get and fil out. Hopefully future shipments to the U.S. Varjo will provide all the required information on their end. Crazy thing is not all shipments had this happen but certainly several of us did.

 

Prior to my installing the Aero software, I did a thorough cleaning out of all my VR stuff. Windows Mixed Reality, WMR for Steam VR, Vive Console, and yes – even Steam VR. When cleaning out Steam VR I used this method: https://steamcommunity.com/app/250820/discussions/2/1640917625015598552/ In addition once that was all done I went into all my appdata folders and deleting all files related to VR. I believe this cleaning out process helped in my having a good experience from the getgo.

 

The headset came packaged very nicely, and installation was a breeze. Downloaded and installed the Varjo Base along with fresh install of Steam VR. I already had the Lighthouse 2.0 tracking system and controllers that had come with my Index, so those were already set up and ready to go.

Headset: I have found it to be quite comfortable. Way more comfortable than my Index, and probably pretty close to the comfort of the Reverb G2. Headset is slightly heavier than the G2 but not what I would consider heavy. I love the straps on this thing and how it mounts, takes a bit to get it just right but man when it is OMG that sweetspot is just all over. I would say it is around 85-90% pf the image.

 

When first putting headset on you are greeted by a poof of fresh air on your face. This is the internal fan blowing gently on your face. After the initial poof of air I felt, I really did not notice it any more while gaming. It does help keep things nice and cool in the headset. I am not aware of any way to turn it off. I expect it might bother some people but I think most it will not.

Then you are greeted with gazing at a dot. This sets the eye tracking and IPD for you. One can manually enter an IPD value, but still have to gaze at the dot. Some might get annoyed by this. I view it as a pretty minor annoyance myself and kind of like knowing my IPD is set accurately every time.  I do find the headset quite comfortable and have no problem wearing it for extended periods.

 

And now – the image. The image clarity is truly unsurpassed, it is incredible. Sharp as  a tack across the entire sweet spot. I can hold my  head still and just gaze all around at the cockpit and be able to read everything quite clearly. Sweet Spot I would say is between 85-90% of the image.  And the cockpits are just gorgeous. In fact at first I found myself gazing too much at them and losing some situational awareness lol. Now for the other part – the scenery. Yes the scenery detail is very nice and sharp. However, as with other headsets the scenery does degrade some the further out it is. But no where near as it does with other headsets. Shimmering – I still see just a slight shimmering off in the distance, but again no where nears as much as in previous headsets. Plus with the Aero I am not running any MSAA or AA of any kind. IMHO it is just not needed.

 

Performance – here was the surprise. I am running at a Steam VR resolution of 130%. This is with the Aero default setting of High. This gives me 3580x3068 per eye. Aero currently has no support for Motion Compensation/Reprojection. Varjo has stated it is coming. I will tell you though I find I do not need it. As long as my fps runs at 45 or higher I get a very smooth experience. Maybe occasional fine stutters when really low but hardly noticeable. Coming from both Reverb G2 and Vive Pro 2, I actually get the same if not a little better performance with the Aero at better resolution and gorgeous clarity.  I could not have been more pleased with this aspect as I was so concerned about if I could even run the thing with acceptable performance. I tell you if you can run either the Reverb G2 or Vive Pro 2 with decent performance you will be ok with the Aero. I will also state I changed my VR pre-rendered frames in Nvidia Control Panel from the default of 1 to 2. This seemed to help smooth things out also.

 

Distortion – none that I see really in IL-2. DCS does have some and currently requires one use the provided Debug Tool by DCS to flip top and bottom of each lens. Menus still have some distortion but flying does not. I understand the next Open Beta update of DCS will have a fix for this.

 

I have many hours in now with both DCS and IL-2 Great Battles and am very happy with this headset.

Now for the cons, yes even a 2k dollar  plus headset has some cons:

FOV: Small. Vertical FOV is really small. When headset is position correctly for optimal image/sweet spot, it sits kind of low. In fact when putting on headset you will get down arrows to tell you it needs to sit lower.  The vertical FOV is practically not existent. To look up you will need to move your head up. Now looking down at say your instruments is golden. Not only can you see them clearly but moving eyes left and right you can see all of them clearly without even moving your head. Horizontal FOV is better. Varjo lists it as app 115 degrees. IL-2 reports it as 88 degrees. Here is the thing – it appears to be decent. However I think probably because the vertical is so much smaller it gives the illusion of a larger horizontal FOV.  I myself am much more about quality of image than I am about having a larger FOV. So for me the Aero is just fine, I have no problem with the FOV. If one is more about a larger FOV than say the quality of the image, they will likely be disappointed with the Aero FOV. But man oh man, that image is just so sharp.

 

Sharpness outside the cockpit – yes it is better at a distance than any of my previous headsets, but still not what I would say perfect. You will still see some blurriness, and a small amount of shimmering depending on your settings.  But again certainly better than I have ever seen. Spotting and target ID – I am not going to be any help on this one – I would imagine it is better but can not really say how much. I do single player only and toggle icons on and off.  I have no shame.

 

Audio – Aero includes earbuds with mic to plug into the headsets 3.5mm audio port. I did not like it, too tinny. However I have never liked any of my headsets built in audio, always choosing rather extended earbuds plugged into my Creative audio jack on my motherboard. So for good audio you will also need to supply your own. I user Razer Hammerhead earbuds plugged into my Creative sound and love them. For mic I just have an inexpensive desktop Mic. This setup works just fine for me.

 

Tracking: Aero also does not come with tracking system, you will need to provide that. I already had Lighthouse 2.0 system that came with my Index, and it works great with the Aero. Vive Trackers will work also. Considerable additional expense on top of an already expensive headset.

 

So to sum it up: Aero is an incredible headset and for me the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. I am absolutely thrilled that I have it. I already have many hours in with it in the week that I have had it, and undoubtedly will be many more. I am retired and able to spend quite a lot of time with my flight sim hobby so I feel I will get my money’s worth out of this headset. I just don’t see anything that will come close in the near future. Plus it already has eye tracking and foveated rendering should any games begin to support that, it will be ready. Is it with worth 2K dollars plus? Man that would be very hard to say, and likely dependent on the individual and their circumstances along with how much they would use it. It is quite a lot of money, I can only say for me after a week of heavy use I have no regrets so far in spending the money for it. And I am sure Varjo will make it even better as times moves on. IMHO this is frankly a whole new level of VR for me.

 

I will also say I have been impressed by what I see from Varjo support. I have seen a handful of new users with technical issues due to possible defect in their new headset, Varjo has been quick to respond and their policy seems to be once confirmed they expedite a new headset out and only ask return of the original upon receiving the new headset.  That is pretty impressive as it should be for a headset this expensive.

 

I hope this information helps anyone currently considering the new Aero and whether they want to invest that much into a VR headset. I feel very confident this will be my daily VR driver now for all the games that I play and will be for quite some time. Will see how it does in the longevity department but I am expecting that not to be a problem - hopefully.

[shirazjohn]

Thanks for your time reviewing this headset it sounds fantastic but for me coming from G1 and G2 the additional cost of base stations etc on top of an already pricey headset is going to be out of my league at the moment . I'm hoping there will be a G3 or Index at some point which maybe more competitively priced.

 

Anyway thanks and have fun.   

[Airborne-1980]

Thanks for the review Dburne! I'm exited to get mine.... well... in a couple month or so. 

[dburne]

Update: For MSFS 2020 flyers you may already be familiar with the NIS OpenXR Tool Kit for folks running the Reverb G2. Today the author of the Open XR toolkit has released a new version that now also has support for the Varjo Aero. Should give even better performance and visuals with the Aero in that sim.

Not sure when I will get a chance to check it out = I have MSFS2020 as well but really don't fly it that much. It is not my go to flight sim. Can't shoot or bomb anything

 

 

 

Edit: Varjo also supports the Open XR runtime , so you can set Varjo Base to be the default runtime for OpenXR. Definitely gets better performance in MSFS 2020.

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by dburne

[Guest deleted@134347]

well, my headset is a total waste now. It can't track shit and SteamVR no longer recognize it. I've reinstalled every possible driver, used every possible USB port along with a powered external hub, etc.. The base software reports "can't find headset", then it finds it, no tracking, restart it, Base says "no video signal", then I re-plug it in to a different USB port - it starts seeing it again, but can't see basestation, no tracking, SteamVR pukes...

 

If it's the x570 USB crap from the G2 days then this will be the last nail for me using AMD chipsets, holy f$#k. However I haven't had a single problem with VivePro2 on it..  Is it a faulty headset? opened a ticket with Varjo today, no clue when they'll respond. To say this is infuriating is an understatement... sigh..

 

i'm just venting, waited all week to play and this.. I feel for others who get faulty stuff and then run around like chickens pulling their hair out.. ?

Edited February 5, 2022 by omicron_21

[dburne]

7 hours ago, omicron_21 said:

well, my headset is a total waste now. It can't track shit and SteamVR no longer recognize it. I've reinstalled every possible driver, used every possible USB port along with a powered external hub, etc.. The base software reports "can't find headset", then it finds it, no tracking, restart it, Base says "no video signal", then I re-plug it in to a different USB port - it starts seeing it again, but can't see basestation, no tracking, SteamVR pukes...

 

If it's the x570 USB crap from the G2 days then this will be the last nail for me using AMD chipsets, holy f$#k. However I haven't had a single problem with VivePro2 on it..  Is it a faulty headset? opened a ticket with Varjo today, no clue when they'll respond. To say this is infuriating is an understatement... sigh..

 

i'm just venting, waited all week to play and this.. I feel for others who get faulty stuff and then run around like chickens pulling their hair out.. ?

 

Hate to hear that - have you contacted support? Hopefully they will get you sorted asap.

[Guest deleted@134347]

3 hours ago, dburne said:

 

Hate to hear that - have you contacted support? Hopefully they will get you sorted asap.

yup, opened a ticket.. I think my headset is faulty there's no other way to explain it. VIvePro2 works like  a champ on the same USB ports, same drivers..

 

The first thing that seemed odd about Aero was yesterday when I turned it on for the first time since last weekend and only 1 lens (left side) was on and the right side was totally dark. I re-powered it, re-plugged it and then both sides/screens came on. I wasn't able to reproduce this one sided operation since then. It powers on, Base sees it, then goes in to "headset disconnected", then it restarts its services, sees the headset but no tracking (doesn't see base stations), after 1-2 minutes it finally starts seeing them and it tracks, however with some weird delays every 5-10 seconds. SteamVR technically sees it's plugged in (the headset icon comes on in SteamVR status window), but then it pops up with an error "SteamVR can't connect to your headset, make sure you don't have any extensions between the graphics card and headset", i.e. it's like there's no enough power or the signal is corrupted.. Weird stuff...

[dburne]

I have also ordered a Comfort Kit for my Aero.

https://www.studioformcreative.com/product-page/varjo-vr-3-xr-3-counter-balance-comfort-kit-200-gram-7oz

 

Just want to try it out. Personally I find my Aero to be comfortable, but considering all the hours I put in each week if this makes it even more comfortable I will be please.  Probably will have in 4-5 days and will advise how it does.

Edited February 5, 2022 by dburne

[Guest deleted@134347]

1 hour ago, dburne said:

I have also ordered a Comfort Kit for my Aero.

https://www.studioformcreative.com/product-page/varjo-vr-3-xr-3-counter-balance-comfort-kit-200-gram-7oz

 

Just want to try it out. Personally I find my Aero to be comfortable, but considering all the hours I put in each week if this makes it even more comfortable I will be please.  Probably will have in 4-5 days and will advise how it does.

 

35$ for 2 bags of sand? ?

 

if you ever used LiPo batteries, or any other heavy batteries, just strap them on, i mean even some old AA's would work..  It'll look punk and fun ?

 

but kidding aside I never liked anything on the back of my head, even that twisty knob is annoying as my head touches against the chair. But if it works for you then that's a great mod!

[dburne]

58 minutes ago, omicron_21 said:

 

35$ for 2 bags of sand? ?

 

if you ever used LiPo batteries, or any other heavy batteries, just strap them on, i mean even some old AA's would work..  It'll look punk and fun ?

 

but kidding aside I never liked anything on the back of my head, even that twisty knob is annoying as my head touches against the chair. But if it works for you then that's a great mod!

 

Somehow after spending 2K plus on a VR Headset the 35 bucks did not bother me lol.

[Guest deleted@134347]

2 hours ago, dburne said:

Somehow after spending 2K plus on a VR Headset the 35 bucks did not bother me lol.

 indeed.. ?  look at us.. 3090.. varjo... periphery... damn, the amount of money we put in to our hobby is nuts..  ?

[Freycinet]

Thanks for taking your time in both ways: taking your time before reviewing, and taking your time to write a review!

[firdimigdi]

19 hours ago, dburne said:

I have also ordered a Comfort Kit for my Aero.

https://www.studioformcreative.com/product-page/varjo-vr-3-xr-3-counter-balance-comfort-kit-200-gram-7oz

 

Just want to try it out. Personally I find my Aero to be comfortable, but considering all the hours I put in each week if this makes it even more comfortable I will be please.  Probably will have in 4-5 days and will advise how it does.

 

I made a counterweight for the G2 out of a piece of a sheet of lead, folded it a few times, squeezed it as flat as possible in a vice, bent it to fit the contour of the rear strap and wrapped it in wide black electrical tape then velcroed it to the rear of the headset. Together with the addition of a wider leather strap on the top it does indeed help with that headset which is notoriously front-heavy.

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by Firdimigdi
words

[blue_max]

thanks for the review!

[RAAF492SQNOz_Steve]

Tonight, decided to run my recently delivered Aero at the max graphics setting, in Varjo Base, and 100% SS and all IL2 anti aliasing turned off for a flight through the snow capped peaks of the Kuban Peninsula.

I will have to be honest and admit it was not a Wow moment, ......................................................  was a F*****n Wow moment. 

 

Was just beautiful and will have to fly the Swiss Alps in MSFS soon to compare. Was really only the trees on the lower slopes that took away from the experience.

Was monitoring my fps with the Aero graphically maxed out and had a pretty consistent 60 fps that was a surprisingly smooth experience.  Will have to try a combat mission later and see if any negative fps issues arise in that scenario.

 

Not noticing any in game distortion when looking for it apart from some weirdness right at the very top but that is only occurring for a very small area and when your eyes are in an atypical position.

 

One interesting issue I noted was when wearing the headset at the Varjo recommended height, would get significant chromatic aberration in the top third of the image. Adjusting the headset up slightly and playing with horizontal positioning pretty much eliminated chromatic aberration.

 

Seems that with the aspheric lenses fitted to the Aero, correct positioning for YOUR eyes is very important to get the optimum visual experience.

 

Will I leave the Aero graphics settings on the highest setting?, not sure but was certainly impressed with the experience in a non combat scenario.

 

Get a pretty steady80 fps when running Varjo Base at setting High and IL2 MSAA x2which is my more normal configuration.

 

FYI, running a 5800x with a RTX 3090 GPU

Edited February 10, 2022 by RAAF492SQNOz_Steve
Added details on my normal settings Aero performance

[messsucher]

Very interesting. VR will have a great future it seems, and it will be definitely the way to go for sims.

[dburne]

3 hours ago, RAAF492SQNOz_Steve said:

Tonight, decided to run my recently delivered Aero at the max graphics setting, in Varjo Base, and 100% SS and all IL2 anti aliasing turned off for a flight through the snow capped peaks of the Kuban Peninsula.

I will have to be honest and admit it was not a Wow moment, ......................................................  was a F*****n Wow moment. 

 

Was just beautiful and will have to fly the Swiss Alps in MSFS soon to compare. Was really only the trees on the lower slopes that took away from the experience.

Was monitoring my fps with the Aero graphically maxed out and had a pretty consistent 60 fps that was a surprisingly smooth experience.  Will have to try a combat mission later and see if any negative fps issues arise in that scenario.

 

Not noticing any in game distortion when looking for it apart from some weirdness right at the very top but that is only occurring for a very small area and when your eyes are in an atypical position.

 

One interesting issue I noted was when wearing the headset at the Varjo recommended height, would get significant chromatic aberration in the top third of the image. Adjusting the headset up slightly and playing with horizontal positioning pretty much eliminated chromatic aberration.

 

Seems that with the aspheric lenses fitted to the Aero, correct positioning for YOUR eyes is very important to get the optimum visual experience.

 

Will I leave the Aero graphics settings on the highest setting?, not sure but was certainly impressed with the experience in a non combat scenario.

 

Get a pretty steady80 fps when running Varjo Base at setting High and IL2 MSAA x2which is my more normal configuration.

 

FYI, running a 5800x with a RTX 3090 GPU

 

Interesting that is one thing I have not tried yet, setting Aero to it's highest setting. Will have to give that a try.

[Nikoz]

hi guys,

 

Thank you for sharing your feedback on Aero, it's very appreciated. Wondering how much GPU memory does it consume when playing IL2 in different settings? Just trying to figure out if 12Gb of 3080ti would be enough? Please would you be able to share some numbers when you have a chance? 

 

Cheers

Edited February 10, 2022 by Nikoz

[dburne]

10 minutes ago, Nikoz said:

hi guys,

 

Thank you for sharing your feedback on Aero, it's very appreciated. Wondering how much GPU memory does it consume when playing IL2 in different settings? Just trying to figure out if 12Gb of 3080ti would be enough? Please would you be able to share some numbers when you have a chance? 

 

Cheers

 

I tested this for my 3090 card with Aero in DCS Hornet campaign mission. It used right at 14 GB of Vram tops for the mission. I am sure IL-2 will be less. 
I will try and check that on my next PWCG campaign mission. However keep in mind there are some new sky technology updates upcoming that has been stated will start to use more Vram - don't know how much though..  For just IL-2 though I would say 12GB would be safe.

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by dburne

[chiliwili69]

6 hours ago, RAAF492SQNOz_Steve said:

decided to run my recently delivered Aero at the max graphics setting, in Varjo Base, and 100% SS and all IL2 anti aliasing turned off for a flight through the snow capped peaks of the Kuban Peninsula

 

WOW! that´s a quite good performance given that Kuban mountains are demanding (CPU) and Aero at highest with 100%SS is about 29.5 Million pixels. (50% more than G2 which is 19.5 at 100SS%). That 3090 is a real beast. Seems that the Varjo software is more efficient than the WMR.

Is there too much visual difference from High to Highest?

Enjoy the views!

2 hours ago, Nikoz said:

Wondering how much GPU memory does it consume when playing IL2 in different settings? Just trying to figure out if 12Gb of 3080ti would be enough? Please would you be able to share some numbers when you have a chance?

 

I was doing some test with IL-2 VR to see the VRAM needs.

 

 

Summary is that the amount of VRAM depends on the complexity of the scene (number of polygons, Low vs Ultra Settings) but not the number of total pixels of the VR device or how much %SS is applied. So you will be quite safe with the 3080Ti and whatever VR headset you will use the near future.

[dburne]

I switched to highest setting in Varjo Base this morning. Surprised that performance is still decent. I am in middle of a DCS Hornet campaign, I set DCS for 80% which gives me 4228x3624 per eye. Just flew a mission and it was gorgeous. I will try it in my IL-2 PWCG campaign here soon. 

[dburne]

Well I have gone back and settled on the default High setting for Varjo Base, and currently using the default Steam VR resolution of 150%, 3844x3296 per eye. No AA. Will see how good this does over the next few days.

 

In other news I received my Studioform Counter Weights and Strap late yesterday and ended up flying with it most of the day today. My first thought after attaching them and lifting headset over my head was wow this certainly added some weight. Once I got it adjusted for my head though it turned out to be pretty nice. No I am not going to tell new Aero owners to run out and get this as it is a must have because it is certainly not. I will say after using it several hours today it does seem to make an already fairly comfortable headset even more comfortable. It is balanced better - previously was a little front heavy. And I did not have any discomfort from flying all day with it today. So I will likely leave it attached. Having that top strap helps also.

 

I would suggest to any new owners if you are bothered by how it feels front heavy then might be worth picking one of these up to balance it out. Or if you are a do it yourself kind of guy there is always that as well. Or leave it as is cause it ain't bad either.

 

As far as the headset goes after using a good solid 2+ weeks, I am still quite happy with mine. I would say probably it's two main weaknesses in my opinion would be the FOV especially the vertical. Nothing they can do about that currently. Also has some chromatic aberration at certain angles, maybe they will be able to improve that with future software updates. I know they are aware of it. Not enough to really bother me but now that I am used to it starting to notice it some more.

 

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by dburne

[Guest deleted@134347]

I am happy to report that my tracking issues with Aero were fixed by using.. v2 base stations..

 

So, even though Varjo states they support V1 the reality is the support very spotty as illustrated in my 1.5 week troubleshooting saga. Nothing in my troubleshooting was pointing at the base stations since SteamVR and Varjo itself "saw" them, i.e. they were active as icons and reported their respective channels to SteamVR. However, Aero simply refused to use their signal for some weird reason, or when it was working (1 out of 20 tries) it used v1's signal when the conditions were absolutely perfect, however them being in my basement under the same light, in the same sport every time those "factors" are pretty freaking elusive.

 

V2 or go home.

 

so there.. ?

[RAAF492SQNOz_Steve]

3 hours ago, omicron_21 said:

I am happy to report that my tracking issues with Aero were fixed by using.. v2 base stations..

 

So, even though Varjo states they support V1 the reality is the support very spotty as illustrated in my 1.5 week troubleshooting saga. Nothing in my troubleshooting was pointing at the base stations since SteamVR and Varjo itself "saw" them, i.e. they were active as icons and reported their respective channels to SteamVR. However, Aero simply refused to use their signal for some weird reason, or when it was working (1 out of 20 tries) it used v1's signal when the conditions were absolutely perfect, however them being in my basement under the same light, in the same sport every time those "factors" are pretty freaking elusive.

 

V2 or go home.

 

so there.. ?

Very pleased that you finally got a result  after trying so many things.

 

Hopefully you now spend some time enjoying that glorious clarity.

 

All we need to do now is get VRNecksaver working with the Aero ............................

[dburne]

10 hours ago, omicron_21 said:

I am happy to report that my tracking issues with Aero were fixed by using.. v2 base stations..

 

So, even though Varjo states they support V1 the reality is the support very spotty as illustrated in my 1.5 week troubleshooting saga. Nothing in my troubleshooting was pointing at the base stations since SteamVR and Varjo itself "saw" them, i.e. they were active as icons and reported their respective channels to SteamVR. However, Aero simply refused to use their signal for some weird reason, or when it was working (1 out of 20 tries) it used v1's signal when the conditions were absolutely perfect, however them being in my basement under the same light, in the same sport every time those "factors" are pretty freaking elusive.

 

V2 or go home.

 

so there.. ?

 

Good info to know thanks for sharing, luckily I already had Lighthouse 2.0 that came with my Index kit and my tracking has been flawless with the Aero.

I am certainly racking up the hours on this thing.

 

[Donik]

On 2/3/2022 at 9:37 AM, dburne said:

FOV: Small. Vertical FOV is really small. When headset is position correctly for optimal image/sweet spot, it sits kind of low. In fact when putting on headset you will get down arrows to tell you it needs to sit lower.  The vertical FOV is practically not existent.

 

This was all I needed to see.  Looks like I'll be waiting a while longer yet.  I really want a VR experience that's going to compare to my Ultrawide 3840x1600 pancake experience.  Fortunately, I'm patient.

[dburne]

3 hours ago, Donik said:

 

This was all I needed to see.  Looks like I'll be waiting a while longer yet.  I really want a VR experience that's going to compare to my Ultrawide 3840x1600 pancake experience.  Fortunately, I'm patient.

 

Always glad to help.

[Guest deleted@134347]

So how do we update V2 base stations without HTC headset?

 

With V1 there was an option to simply hook them up to a PC via USB cable and the update would happen automatically from SteamVR.

 

However, with V2 the update is only possible via bluetooth, but not PC bluetooth mind you, only via Vive/Index HMD bluetooth. which Varjo Aero doesn't have.

 

Someone recommend this little usb<->bluetooth dongle thingie to overcome this issue. Has anyone used it?

 

https://www.virtualbuilds.com/product-page/usb-wireless-receiver-dongle

 

 

Edited February 17, 2022 by omicron_21

[dburne]

7 hours ago, omicron_21 said:

So how do we update V2 base stations without HTC headset?

 

With V1 there was an option to simply hook them up to a PC via USB cable and the update would happen automatically from SteamVR.

 

However, with V2 the update is only possible via bluetooth, but not PC bluetooth mind you, only via Vive/Index HMD bluetooth. which Varjo Aero doesn't have.

 

Someone recommend this little usb<->bluetooth dongle thingie to overcome this issue. Has anyone used it?

 

https://www.virtualbuilds.com/product-page/usb-wireless-receiver-dongle

 

 

 

Hmm that is a good question. Have there been any recent firmware updates for the Lighthouse 2.0 trackers? I guess in my case I could always plug the Index in and use that to update the firmware but my tracking is excellent and not sure I would want to do that. But yeah for those that just purchased the trackers by themselves that is a good question. Maybe send Varjo support a message asking them what they would suggest?

 

Although I also enjoy MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries with the VR Mod , can't get it to run at all in the Aero so I would not mind using the Index for it if I get a hankering for it.  I sent a support request to Varjo to see if they had any ideas on why that game will not run in their headset. I ended up wiping out all my progress in it though trying to get it to run in the Aero so am in no rush really to play it again.

Edited February 17, 2022 by dburne

[dburne]

New more detailed instructions from Varjo on proper fitment of their headsets.

I can attest it takes a little time to work it out for optimum image clarity. Once you get a feel for where that is it is much easier.

 

https://varjo.com/vr-lab/optimal-vr-or-xr-headset-positioning/

[dburne]

So I added one more mod to my Aero:

 

 

Edited February 28, 2022 by dburne

[Drum]

What is that thing Don?

[dburne]

7 minutes ago, Drum said:

What is that thing Don?

 

https://pointctrl.com/

[kissTheSky]

Gives another meaning to “clickable cockpit”. 
 

What are your impressions?

[dburne]

3 minutes ago, kissTheSky said:

Gives another meaning to “clickable cockpit”. 
 

What are your impressions?

 

These are very early impressions. First I was on a waiting list for a year to get it, so was pretty excited when my turn to order finally came up.

I did a rough calibration of the unit, but it is not a good calibration likely because the Aero is a new headset with different format. The guy behind Point Control is going to jump on Discord with me tomorrow and we are going to go through calibrating the unit together. I got I think his first unit with the casing designed to fit over the Aero and allow it's vents to still breath so am kind of a test bed for him as well.

 

I did a full cold start on the Hornet in DCS using this. I was somewhat clumsy at first as I was learning the intricacies of the device. I was not as fast as I was doing so with my regular mouse, but again I am sure that is because it is so new and I need to get acclimated to using it.  The mouse I was very acclimated to using. It as very cool reaching for the actual switches and manipulating them with button presses on the finger units. Really emulates actually flipping switches with the hands quite well.

But, I found myself wanting to just reach for my mouse to finish the cold start - simply because that is always how I have done it, so too soon for me to say really just yet. I could see it becoming a very neat thing to have and use, will see.

 

Then of course there is the deal of having yet another cord running from my headset to the PC. Really not that big a deal, but it is there. I have it wrapped with my headset cable for a few feet which helps. I understand he is entertaining developing a wireless model some time in the future. I also want to try just working with Windows in VR using these as well, should work just fine but will see. With the Aero finally I have a headset I could work with Windows in with no problem.

So verdict for me is still out, I will wait till I get some good time in with the device before deciding if it is for me.

 

I will give it a few days and time for me to get more used to using Point Control rather than my regular mouse and let ya know how I get along with it.

[paul_leonard]

Very interested in your ongoing observations.  I pre-ordered April 2021 so still have a way to go before my turn given he is still working on Q1 2021.  May I suggest you start a new thread?  Although not much application in BOX but I'm beta testing CLoD VR which has a clickable cockpit.

[dburne]

7 hours ago, paul_leonard said:

Very interested in your ongoing observations.  I pre-ordered April 2021 so still have a way to go before my turn given he is still working on Q1 2021.  May I suggest you start a new thread?  Although not much application in BOX but I'm beta testing CLoD VR which has a clickable cockpit.

 

Sure will be glad to. Going to give it some days first though to get really acclimated to it.

[Dagwoodyt]

2 hours ago, dburne said:

 

Sure will be glad to. Going to give it some days first though to get really acclimated to it.

Are you using "finger rings" too?

Edited March 1, 2022 by Dagwoodyt

[dburne]

4 minutes ago, Dagwoodyt said:

Are you using "finger rings" too?

 

Yes - the FCU's - Finger Control Units ( one right and one left) each have three buttons on them. The buttons represent - left mouse click, right mouse click, and scroll. FCU's of course are wireless.

After proper calibration, you reach out with either finger to the button you want to press or manipulate, and then do so by button presses.

Edited March 1, 2022 by dburne

[dburne]

Something new Aero users need to be aware of.

If you are starting Varjo Base software and happen to be logged into Steam - then Varjo Base starts Steam VR automatically - in the background.

What I mean is you will not have the tray icon showing Steam VR running but it is. If you try to launch Steam VR in this case, you will get an error message.

This has thrown a few new users off. 

If you launch Varjo Base and are not logged into Steam, it does not do that - you can then launch Steam VR as you normally would. I have a shortcut to vrstartup.exe from the Steam folder on my desktop which works great.