My Varjo Aero Review

[Dallas88B]

7 hours ago, dburne said:

Well I am much older and retired.

Yes me too. now.

 

[chiliwili69]

On 3/23/2022 at 9:16 PM, dburne said:

CV1?

I just told you that so you can compare how the VR experience has been improved om visual quality from the early days, from your first VR experience in IL-2 to the current one with the Aero.

[dburne]

2 hours ago, chiliwili69 said:

I just told you that so you can compare how the VR experience has been improved om visual quality from the early days, from your first VR experience in IL-2 to the current one with the Aero.

 

Well as I mentioned in that post, there really is no comparison. Whole nother ballpark really especially comparing to Rift CV1. The Aero is just on a whole new level of it's own. It's only drawback is it's small FOV. But users of Reverb G2 and Quest 2 are likely not going to be bothered by it. Pimax ,and to a lesser extent Index and  Vive Pro 2 users will definitely feel more confined. But for many that dang image clarity across nearly the entire screen soon makes them forget. I would say probably the vast majority. It sure did me ( have not owned a Pimax to clarify). And Index users have the added benefit of already having the Lighthouse 2.0 tracking system and great controllers. I was quite happy that I already had Index for this reason.

[dburne]

Ok so after spending almost a week with my new prescription glasses I was comfortable enough to go ahead and place my order with VR Optician for the lens inserts for my Aero. I chose the Fed EX Priority option for shipping so hopefully will have them soon. I also chose the blue light filtering option, not entirely sure what that means from what I can gather may help reduce eye fatigue.

 

I will update the thread with my thoughts on the new lens inserts once I have them in use. Certainly excited to try them out.

[TheSNAFU]

2 hours ago, dburne said:

Ok so after spending almost a week with my new prescription glasses I was comfortable enough to go ahead and place my order with VR Optician for the lens inserts for my Aero. I chose the Fed EX Priority option for shipping so hopefully will have them soon. I also chose the blue light filtering option, not entirely sure what that means from what I can gather may help reduce eye fatigue.

 

I will update the thread with my thoughts on the new lens inserts once I have them in use. Certainly excited to try them out.

I did the fed ex priority with vr optician as well and they were here quickly after production. The inserts are outstanding. I can see clearly and am free of glasses while in vr. Great investment. 

[dburne]

46 minutes ago, TheSNAFU said:

I did the fed ex priority with vr optician as well and they were here quickly after production. The inserts are outstanding. I can see clearly and am free of glasses while in vr. Great investment. 

 

Awesome thanks for the feedback, can't wait to get these!

[dburne]

Holy crap my lens inserts order from VR Optician is shipping today via Fed Ex. That is really fast turn around time (ordered on Saturday). Hopefully will be trying these out here soon.

[dburne]

So I have two orders shipping via Fed Ex today.

My VR Optician Lens Inserts

Couple of accessories from Virpil ( very small order ).

I get notice from Fed EX that both of these shipments will require a signature.

 

Really? Man that is aggravating. Why in the world both these companies are shipping what I consider to be relatively small orders requiring a signature. If it was an entire VR headset yeah I would understand. Or a complete stick assembly.

Well I am retired and hopefully should not  be a problem but still just aggravating that on day estimated to arrive I will have to be on lookout for it all day. Especially difficult though if gaming with both my headset and earbuds on.

Edited March 29, 2022 by dburne

[Dallas88B]

It's the sender demanding the signature.

But a signature is a pointless exercise.

"The signature is unreadable" "the signature is John Doe"... so what does getting a signature prove?

Just to prove the point I have signed Donald Duck and equivalent rubbish on packages sent to me and they still hand over the parcel. 

It's just security theatre.

[TheSNAFU]

20 hours ago, dburne said:

So I have two orders shipping via Fed Ex today.

My VR Optician Lens Inserts

Couple of accessories from Virpil ( very small order ).

I get notice from Fed EX that both of these shipments will require a signature.

 

Really? Man that is aggravating. Why in the world both these companies are shipping what I consider to be relatively small orders requiring a signature. If it was an entire VR headset yeah I would understand. Or a complete stick assembly.

Well I am retired and hopefully should not  be a problem but still just aggravating that on day estimated to arrive I will have to be on lookout for it all day. Especially difficult though if gaming with both my headset and earbuds on.

I wonder if it is somehow related to your area. I did not have to sign for my lenses from vr optician. Or maybe they’ve changed policy recently. Good news is you will have them soon! 

[dburne]

1 hour ago, TheSNAFU said:

I wonder if it is somehow related to your area. I did not have to sign for my lenses from vr optician. Or maybe they’ve changed policy recently. Good news is you will have them soon! 

 

Yep that is true, pretty excited to get them. Tracking is showing scheduled delivery pending, currently in Frankfurt.

The one from Virpil is really bad requiring a direct signature, just a spare cable, throttle cover and mouse pad.

Edited March 30, 2022 by dburne

[Drum]

I got my prescription lenses last week, but my Aero headset has been stuck in a warehouse just outside of Hong Kong waiting to be shipped.  Apparently, there's still a Covid-19 lockdown happening there.  Two week wait so far...

Edited March 30, 2022 by Drum

[dburne]

3 hours ago, Drum said:

I got my prescription lenses last week, but my Aero headset has been stuck in a warehouse just outside of Hong Kong waiting to be shipped.  Apparently, there's still a Covid-19 lockdown happening there.  Two week wait so far...

 

Bugger hope you get it soon!

[Dallas88B]

Happening a bit in Asia.

I have a Mac sitting at China's airport Shenzhen since March 21

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Dallas88B

[Drum]

Sounds pretty bad over there, here's to hoping we get our gear by next week then.

[dburne]

Wow my lens inserts from VR Optician are out for delivery today. That is pretty darn quick ordering on Saturday and shipping overseas. Not sure how much chance I will get to try them out , we have family in along with grandkids till Saturday. Might manage to get a short time in with them. If not I will give them a full workout on Saturday.

[dburne]

Will try and have a quick look here shortly.

 

 

Edited March 31, 2022 by dburne

[dburne]

Ok so had a quick look at a cockpit along with menu screens. Wow what a difference, just like the difference my prescription glasses made for my every day use so I am not surprised. I will get to fully check these out flying some missions on Saturday when grandkids leave. 

The lenses just snapped right in my Aero beautifully.  I just thought my Aero was sharp before, now it is like crystal clear.

 

I did not realize how bad my eyesight has gotten as I have aged, there was a fella on Discord urged me to get my eyes tested and go this route with VR Optician for my Aero and now I am so glad I did. I also would not hesitate to recommend VR Optician to anyone that is looking for prescription lens inserts for their VR Headset. Unless you are fine wearing contacts this definitely is the way to go rather than mess trying to be careful and wear glasses with a VR headset.  No way could I ever wear contacts myself, can't even put eyedrops in my eyes lol. These are the answer for me it seems.

[Koziolek]

Hi Dburne, please clarify which lenses you have to wear in VR? The ones which give you perfect eyesight or the ones for reading?

[dburne]

29 minutes ago, Koziolek said:

Hi Dburne, please clarify which lenses you have to wear in VR? The ones which give you perfect eyesight or the ones for reading?

 

I have one prescription that I got from the eye doc. I got two sets of regular glasses with that same prescription, one set for reading the computer, and another set with progressive lens for everything else. These are just regular glasses I wear.  I sent this one prescription to VR Optician and I guess they did the rest. My order confirmation from VR Optician says "Intermediate Distance". Can't remember if I selected that or they did for me.  It worked out quite nicely for me. I think you just send your prescription in and VR Optician kind of does the rest.

[Koziolek]

this is strange, I thought you need perfect eyesight ( in glasses of course) to see clearly in VR. And  wearing "intermediate Distance" glasses makes you shortsighted, which makes infinity blurred

Edited April 1, 2022 by Koziolek

[dburne]

29 minutes ago, Koziolek said:

this is strange, I thought you need perfect eyesight to see clearly in VR. And  wearing "intermediate Distance" glasses makes you shortsighted, which makes infinity blurred

 

All I can say at this point was from what short time I could spend with it everything looked so much better. Grandkids are in so will be tomorrow before I can get some serious time in with them. From what I can see so far I am quite pleased.

[TheSNAFU]

4 hours ago, dburne said:

 

All I can say at this point was from what short time I could spend with it everything looked so much better. Grandkids are in so will be tomorrow before I can get some serious time in with them. From what I can see so far I am quite pleased.

For the vr lens inserts they use the distance part of the prescription. I was a little concerned about that but once I got them they work great. All the clarity of my glasses without having to wear them in the headset. 

[dburne]

10 minutes ago, TheSNAFU said:

For the vr lens inserts they use the distance part of the prescription. I was a little concerned about that but once I got them they work great. All the clarity of my glasses without having to wear them in the headset. 

 

Yep so far from what I have seen that is the same for me from initial impression. I tried wearing my glasses one time only in the headset prior to sending the prescription along with my order to VR Opticians and saw it would be good. I only did it one time for fear of scratching the lenses on this headset. I will get a lot of time tomorrow to wear them on some long missions. I don't anticipate my feelings about them to change any.

 

Used to with my Aero I would have to wear it either high or low to get a better image clarity. Not so with the inserts, headset centered on my head and clarity was all across the image. Splendid!

 

So after all this I have ended up with:

A pair of glasses for reading my computer monitor.

A pair of glasses with progressive lenses for everything else.

A pair of lens inserts from VR Opticians for the Aero.

Man I am getting old but so enjoying these now.

Edited April 1, 2022 by dburne

[dburne]

I guess that last update to Varjo Base did somehow increase the horizontal FOV of the Aero.

Previously IL-2 was reporting my FOV as being 88 degrees, it now reports it as 96 degrees. I thought it seemed a little wider but thought it was placebo at the time. Especially since Varjo did not report that in the release notes of the update. Some YouTubers did.

[dburne]

A new review of the Aero , a little lengthy but does a good job of covering most things. I am pretty much in agreement with his review. Good take away from it toward the end, he includes a statement from Varjo that the Aero has already exceeded all expectations they had on sales - might help explain the very long lead times currently.

 

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by dburne

[SCG_Fenris_Wolf]

I disagree with the dude. Don't get me wrong, I did like the Aero. But it's not worth more than one thousand even at this point in time.

 

Especially since the reveals in the last two weeks, with the upcoming clear pancake lens designs in the Meta Cambria and the Valve Deckard who offer great sound, inbuilt tracking and controllers and the same eye-tracking functionalities plus face tracking - for under $1000 with a sharply superior software package than the Aero - the Aero really struggles hard for a right to exist at this price point. It's the early-bird-device that demands heavily for being 3-6 months early with non-Fresnel lens designs.

 

How he's getting a wider FOV in the Aero than in the G2 is incomprehensible. It is just false. It's a downgrade regarding FOV and especially nose overlap, there's no feeling of 3-Dimensionality at close range due to this.

 

Both in real-life tests and in read-outs from renderer the FOV of the Aero is much smaller. That's a hard fact. Anyone who says otherwise either doesn't know what he's talking about, how to measure or read it out, or flat out lies. I do not assume the latter though.

 

The distortion was still there too after the recent update.

 

The extra software is just another normal layer - and feature-wise beaten by Mixed Reality Software, by Vive Software and Oculus/Meta Software - and SteamVR anyway. Why even mention it?

 

It seems more like he's struggling to justify the purchase. It's the best headset for Flight Simulators currently, true, but with the mushiness during motion not for racing. The lack of FOV also means a loss in feeling of speed, as the peripheral impression of objects flying by is missing.

 

This forced positivity is a phenomen often seen by people identifying with relatively expensive purchases, while others who do not remain balanced and critical eventually butting heads with "fanboys", who start calling those who don't agree "haters". Both sides are wrong. Best to remain down-to-earth and objectively critical.

 

That sharp Rift was also very visible in the Pimax community as well... oh man, feathers flew and still fly there. People complaining even get kicked.

 

What I also see is that I'm actually gathering opponents in the forums by critically testing these headsets. It's really odd nowadays, but explains why YouTubers most often find things super-duper. They worry about backlash.

 

 

Edited April 15, 2022 by SCG_Fenris_Wolf

[Guest]

3 hours ago, SCG_Fenris_Wolf said:

I disagree with the dude. Don't get me wrong, I did like the Aero. But it's not worth more than one thousand even at this point in time.

 

Especially since the reveals in the last two weeks, with the upcoming clear pancake lens designs in the Meta Cambria and the Valve Deckard who offer great sound, inbuilt tracking and controllers and the same eye-tracking functionalities plus face tracking - for under $1000 with a sharply superior software package than the Aero - the Aero really struggles hard for a right to exist at this price point. It's the early-bird-device that demands heavily for being 3-6 months early with non-Fresnel lens designs.

 

How he's getting a wider FOV in the Aero than in the G2 is incomprehensible. It is just false. It's a downgrade regarding FOV and especially nose overlap, there's no feeling of 3-Dimensionality at close range due to this.

 

Both in real-life tests and in read-outs from renderer the FOV of the Aero is much smaller. That's a hard fact. Anyone who says otherwise either doesn't know what he's talking about, how to measure or read it out, or flat out lies. I do not assume the latter though.

 

The distortion was still there too after the recent update.

 

The extra software is just another normal layer - and feature-wise beaten by Mixed Reality Software, by Vive Software and Oculus/Meta Software - and SteamVR anyway. Why even mention it?

 

It seems more like he's struggling to justify the purchase. It's the best headset for Flight Simulators currently, true, but with the mushiness during motion not for racing. The lack of FOV also means a loss in feeling of speed, as the peripheral impression of objects flying by is missing.

 

This forced positivity is a phenomen often seen by people identifying with relatively expensive purchases, while others who do not remain balanced and critical eventually butting heads with "fanboys", who start calling those who don't agree "haters". Both sides are wrong. Best to remain down-to-earth and objectively critical.

 

That sharp Rift was also very visible in the Pimax community as well... oh man, feathers flew and still fly there. People complaining even get kicked.

 

What I also see is that I'm actually gathering opponents in the forums by critically testing these headsets. It's really odd nowadays, but explains why YouTubers most often find things super-duper. They worry about backlash.

 

 

Yep. Cancel culture getting everywhere.

[WIS-Redcoat]

Agreed.  With the news about oculus half dome why would anyone want an Aero today?  I think people should hold out till they shouldn’t.

 

 

“Half Dome was our first prototype to achieve two key milestones. First, using Fresnel lenses, it supports a 140° field of view. Second, by physically moving the screens based on eye tracking, it ensures that the image remains sharp, even when inspecting close objects. This was our first step toward more immersive and visually comfortable VR displays in the lab.“

 

https://www.oculus.com/blog/half-dome-updates-frl-explores-more-comfortable-compact-vr-prototypes-for-work/

 

 

[SCG_Fenris_Wolf]

Ah well, don't get me started on the hoverboard from back to the future.

 

 

Joking aside, the Cambria is already in mass production. We'll see, literally.

[dburne]

17 hours ago, WIS-Redcoat said:

Agreed.  With the news about oculus half dome why would anyone want an Aero today?  I think people should hold out till they shouldn’t.

 

 

“Half Dome was our first prototype to achieve two key milestones. First, using Fresnel lenses, it supports a 140° field of view. Second, by physically moving the screens based on eye tracking, it ensures that the image remains sharp, even when inspecting close objects. This was our first step toward more immersive and visually comfortable VR displays in the lab.“

 

https://www.oculus.com/blog/half-dome-updates-frl-explores-more-comfortable-compact-vr-prototypes-for-work/

 

 

 

Lol Half Dome only exists in a sealed box in a very dark closet in a very remote area only Zuck knows about.

That cat was buried a long time ago. The only guy left from that original PC-VR gaming bunch is Carmack and he is nothing but a figure head any more. Focused on mobile living his quiet life in Texas.

 

Zuck has left PC-VR gaming and is focused on his social Meta utopia. That is why he wanted the Oculus name killed off. It was associated with PC gamers. This new utopia where he has everyone's data to play with, literally.

No "Meta" software resides on my PC anywhere. Nor will it. Ever.

 

In any event I so love my Aero. Been giving this sucker a heck of a workout every day since getting it in late Jan.

[Dallas88B]

1 hour ago, dburne said:

This new utopia where he has everyone's data to play with, literally

 

That's the plan I reckon.

In this day and age it still amazes me the amount of personal information people put onto the internet.... a goldmine for identity theft and fraud.

 

That is good about the Aero... great to have such technology available. It certainly sounds good on the Varjo Aero site.

[firdimigdi]

Pancake lenses in one form or another have been around for some time, less so in VR (some prototypes exist but nothing mainstream AFAIK). They come with their own sets of drawbacks, like the need for higher brightness for example. We're bound to find out sooner or later I guess.

[WIS-Redcoat]

17 hours ago, dburne said:

 

 

In any event I so love my Aero. Been giving this sucker a heck of a workout every day since getting it in late Jan.

I can’t agree more.  I swear it’s a joy to look over and know I’m about to use that headset.  I’ve never been so pleased with a VR HMD like this.  Don’t get me wrong, I look forward to the next headset to knock this off it’s block, but damn I’m thankful I was a day one preorder.  
 

 Honestly one of the best parts for me is the push button desktop view.  Works like a charm and I don’t need a monitor on my sim setup.  As well as using the same audio headset for in and out of VR (No more audio device changing) It’s has literally transformed the “logistics” side of VR use for me.  

Edited April 17, 2022 by WIS-Redcoat

[dburne]

6 hours ago, WIS-Redcoat said:

I can’t agree more.  I swear it’s a joy to look over and know I’m about to use that headset.  I’ve never been so pleased with a VR HMD like this.  Don’t get me wrong, I look forward to the next headset to knock this off it’s block, but damn I’m thankful I was a day one preorder.  
 

 Honestly one of the best parts for me is the push button desktop view.  Works like a charm and I don’t need a monitor on my sim setup.  As well as using the same audio headset for in and out of VR (No more audio device changing) It’s has literally transformed the “logistics” side of VR use for me.  

 

Hmm sounds like I need to check out that desk top view some more. I had a quick look at it initially but that was about all. I just started out without it and got used to doing all my launching from the desktop. Will have a look at it tomorrow.

Thanks for the feedback,

[dburne]

Varjo Aero 500 HRS later by VR Flight Sim Guy,

 

 

 

 

I guesstimate I have close to 400 hours in my Aero so far, still loving it and my experience is similar to this guy's.

One difference is I am not as put off by not having motion reprojection yet as I find my experience to be smooth enough for me. And this is even flying the Apache low and close to the ground. 

Edited April 21, 2022 by dburne

[SCG_motoadve]

2 hours ago, dburne said:

Varjo Aero 500 HRS later by VR Flight Sim Guy,

 

 

 

 

I guesstimate I have close to 400 hours in my Aero so far, still loving it and my experience is similar to this guy's.

One difference is I am not as put off by not having motion reprojection yet as I find my experience to be smooth enough for me. And this is even flying the Apache low and close to the ground. 

MS FS2020 needs motion reprojection, or else it is not smooth.

Vive Pro 2 In Il2 with the 3090Ti motion reprojection is super smooth ,  even at resolutions I play 3520x3520, with no motion reprojection you can see ghosting, what resolution do you have in the Varjo? do you get much ghosting in IL2?

Edited April 21, 2022 by SCG_motoadve

[dburne]

45 minutes ago, SCG_motoadve said:

MS FS2020 needs motion reprojection, or else it is not smooth.

Vive Pro 2 In Il2 with the 3090Ti motion reprojection is super smooth ,  even at resolutions I play 3520x3520, with no motion reprojection you can see ghosting, what resolution do you have in the Varjo? do you get much ghosting in IL2?

 

I run the default of High. Maybe a little ghosting here and there, nothing that really bothers me.

[dburne]

Posting this morning on the official Varjo Discord:

 

Quote

Dear community,

I am thrilled to bring some brilliant news!

With the help of our hard-working team and more stable Aero supply, we can now decrease the delivery lead time to 4-8 weeks. The estimate is that we will reach the promised lead times within the next two weeks.

 

https://discord.com/channels/839478779256897546/953295284841115709/967024080131870750

[Varibraun]

2 hours ago, dburne said:

Posting this morning on the official Varjo Discord:

 

Thanks for posting...great news!