Cordless VR headset recommendations???????

[Blitzen]

I'm think of turning in my trusty Reverb G2 headset ( which works great,) for a new improved cordless one.I recently tried the newest Oculus model, but couldn't get it to work well with GB or CloD ( couldn't adjust a very dark, contrast appearance of sims,)and had to return it eventually .Now I see some new under $1000.oo models like the HTC Vive XR ( which looks good on paper,)and wonder if there might be someone who has a cordless VR headset ( with controllers,) up and working well with  GB? I'm not in a hurry , but have saved my pennies and could go to Amazon now to purchase same. I need one the installs easily without me having to be very involved in set up.

[Aapje]

The Vive XR has been getting poor reviews pretty much universally, like this one:

 

The screen and blacks are also not that good, so if that's an issue for you with the Quest 3, then I don't see how you'll like the Vive XR.

 

I don't think that there is any wireless headset that is better than the Quest 3, so if you want something better, I'd accept the cable and go for a Crystal or such.

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

You're not going to find anything better than the Quest 3 with Virtual Desktop AV1 for wireless.

[chiliwili69]

Agree with above, it would be difficult to go to something better than Quest3 or Pico4/Pico4S if you want cordless.

If you were happily using the cable with the G2, why you go now to a cordless, this will restrict you options.

 

In fact, I have a Quest3 and I use it with the USB cable.

 

If you want good dark, you could try the Big Screen Beyond which has micro-OLED panels. But you will new basestations.

The cordless options are the ones maked in orange with XR2 chip:

[FTC_ChilliBalls]

If you‘re unwilling to wait a little longer, the current options are Quest 2, 3 or Pro, as well as Pico Neo 3 or 4.

 

Depending on our budget, you may want to consider:

 

- Q2 and PN3 as last gen budget option

 

- P4 as affordable in between, with the XR2 Gen1 chip being limited to 150 Mbit HEVC, but it‘s a complete package with a comfortable strap and pancake lenses. Some reviewers argue the P4’s screens are better than the Q3‘s.

 

- Q3 as the current top of the line with a better XR2 Gen2 chip having 200Mbit decoding for HEVC, as well as the AV1 codec, together with WiFi 6E and probably the best pancake lenses. Sadly, the standard headstrap is just there so you can replace it with another one. 
 

-The QP I wouldn’t recommend due to the price and it using the XR2 Gen 1 chip.

 

If you‘re willing to wait for a bit, Pico seems to have recently patented the Pico 4S. This is pure conjecture on my end, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn‘t just add the XR2 Gen 2 into the Pico 4 to make it more competitive against the Q3.

[Aapje]

Keep in mind that your list doesn't shows the type of screen or the type/quality of the optics in front of the screen, which are crucial parts when it comes to the quality.

[Blitzen]

On 3/14/2024 at 12:28 PM, Aapje said:

The Vive XR has been getting poor reviews pretty much universally, like this one:

 

The screen and blacks are also not that good, so if that's an issue for you with the Quest 3, then I don't see how you'll like the Vive XR.

 

I don't think that there is any wireless headset that is better than the Quest 3, so if you want something better, I'd accept the cable and go for a Crystal or such.

Thanks for the advice and the reviews.I’ve decided to give the Pico4E a try. It offered several improvements on my now older Reverb G2 ,including eye tracking and was priced right on Amazon. We’ll see if it’s a keeper.

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

The Quest 3 is a great headset when setup properly. It does need to render about 20 million pixels to look better than the G2 though. But the lenses and edge to edge clarity are night at day at these settings.

Edited March 16, 2024 by =DW=_Drewm3i-VR

[Aapje]

5 hours ago, Blitzen said:

Thanks for the advice and the reviews.I’ve decided to give the Pico4E a try. It offered several improvements on my now older Reverb G2 ,including eye tracking and was priced right on Amazon. We’ll see if it’s a keeper.

 

Pico have very little creativity and their products are quite similar to the Quest products. Display-wise there is not much light between the Quest 3 and the Pico 4. With both using LCD-screens, you are getting greys instead of blacks with both.

 

Keep in mind that for now at least (don't know about the new game engine), foveated rendering is not supported in IL-2, although it is in DCS and MSFS, if you play those. The lack of eye tracking is in my mind the biggest weakness of the Quest 3 when it comes to using it for simming. It makes a major difference in how far you can ramp up the settings (if the game supports it).

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

22 hours ago, Aapje said:

 

Pico have very little creativity and their products are quite similar to the Quest products. Display-wise there is not much light between the Quest 3 and the Pico 4. With both using LCD-screens, you are getting greys instead of blacks with both.

 

Keep in mind that for now at least (don't know about the new game engine), foveated rendering is not supported in IL-2, although it is in DCS and MSFS, if you play those. The lack of eye tracking is in my mind the biggest weakness of the Quest 3 when it comes to using it for simming. It makes a major difference in how far you can ramp up the settings (if the game supports it).

We need a Quest Pro 2 soon. Would be perfect if IL-2 would implement foveated rendering.

[Aapje]

3 hours ago, =DW=_Drewm3i-VR said:

We need a Quest Pro 2 soon. Would be perfect if IL-2 would implement foveated rendering.

 

I think that they've ran into issues with getting a good higher end display ready (or just as likely, with the power consumption), which is also why the first Quest Pro was so mediocre.

 

The obvious line-up is to put a highend OLED/micro-OLED/mini-LED screen into the next Quest Pro.

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

6 hours ago, Aapje said:

 

I think that they've ran into issues with getting a good higher end display ready (or just as likely, with the power consumption), which is also why the first Quest Pro was so mediocre.

 

The obvious line-up is to put a highend OLED/micro-OLED/mini-LED screen into the next Quest Pro.

They'll figure it out...if only they could put a bigger battery on the headstrap...oh wait ?

[Aapje]

Apple solved it with a big battery to put in your pocket. Meta might be kicking themselves that they didn't just do the same.

[FTC_ChilliBalls]

 

On 3/16/2024 at 1:09 PM, Aapje said:

Keep in mind that your list doesn't shows the type of screen or the type/quality of the optics in front of the screen, which are crucial parts when it comes to the quality.

IMO that ain't an issue unless you directly compare it side by side. 

 

On 3/16/2024 at 3:23 PM, Blitzen said:

Thanks for the advice and the reviews.I’ve decided to give the Pico4E a try. It offered several improvements on my now older Reverb G2 ,including eye tracking and was priced right on Amazon. We’ll see if it’s a keeper.

Pico doesn't expose its eye tracking in any accessible OpenXR layers, so software developers have no access to it, meaning unless they themselves natively support it, there is no way to configure it in any game.

Edited March 18, 2024 by FTC_ChilliBalls

[giftgruen]

13 hours ago, Aapje said:

 

I think that they've ran into issues with getting a good higher end display ready (or just as likely, with the power consumption), which is also why the first Quest Pro was so mediocre.

 

The obvious line-up is to put a highend OLED/micro-OLED/mini-LED screen into the next Quest Pro.

 

Absolutely.

 

Personally I am quite happy with my QuestPro, especially since I am using a 4090 and therefore beeing able to overscale resolution.

However, financiell invest was somewhat high, QuestPro is not cheap, you need a dedicated Wifi 6e router, you need addon Headphones, convenient headstrap and so on.

 

So some say it's not worth it and maybe are right.

 

Tried Quest 3 but better colors of the Pro for me are more important than the resolution disadvantage. A matter of taste probably.

A QuestPro II with 40% more resolution in each direction ( which is double pixels ), 10% more FOV and a faster decoder could be a GameChanger.

 

I also owned a HP G2. Yes: Spotting in the middle 20% of the lenses is better. All the rest - lenses, convenience, software stability, annoying cable, tracking - is way way worse.

 

Q3 or QPro are a nobrainer for me at the moment. The G2 feels simply outdated, I'd never go back.

Maybe the 'Sim specialists' like Aero or Crystal are better for IL2 - I never tried to be honest.

 

Edited March 18, 2024 by giftgruen

[Aapje]

2 hours ago, FTC_ChilliBalls said:

IMO that ain't an issue unless you directly compare it side by side. 

 

The extra sharpness, wider FOV and huge sweet spot and less glare are all lens improvements that benefit you, and aren't things that only stick out in a direct comparison.

 

1 hour ago, giftgruen said:

Personally I am quite happy with my QuestPro, especially since I am using a 4090 and therefore being able to overscale resolution.

 

For flight simming it's not so bad because the weak processor is not an issue and the eye tracking is useful in DCS and MSFS. A lighty-used second-hand one can be a good buy.

 

As a more general purpose headset, the Quest Pro was very poor, especially for the money.

 

Edited March 18, 2024 by Aapje

[w00dy]

On 3/16/2024 at 2:23 PM, Blitzen said:

Thanks for the advice and the reviews.I’ve decided to give the Pico4E a try. It offered several improvements on my now older Reverb G2 ,including eye tracking and was priced right on Amazon. We’ll see if it’s a keeper.

 

I think you will be happy with the Pico 4, I bought mine black Friday weekend for a bargain price of £260 off Amazon. I have been very impressed with it coming from my old Dell WMR headset.

 

I also only use it to play IL2, so didn't want to spend loads on a VR headset.

Edited March 19, 2024 by w00dy

[giftgruen]

 

On 3/18/2024 at 1:35 PM, Aapje said:

For flight simming it's not so bad because the weak processor is not an issue and the eye tracking is useful in DCS and MSFS. A lighty-used second-hand one can be a good buy.

 

As a more general purpose headset, the Quest Pro was very poor, especially for the money.

 

 

I dont agree at all here.

 

Especially for Non-Simming, the wireless option, acceptable tracking  and good controllers are quite okay.

 

G2, Varjo Aero, Pimax Crystal loose here cause a lot of VR games are rather annoying to play with cable.

So which wireless alternatives do we have that are really much better for "non sitting stuff" but also work acceptable fine for simming ?

 

I agree with the price argument.

 

But If you are a hardcore simmer and want to get the best, then you probably need a cable bound option - and also have to invest some bucks into an Varjo Aero or Pimax. And a G2 is simply inferiour in almost all aspects. Yes. It's rather cheap in the meanwhile. That's all. 

Edited March 19, 2024 by giftgruen

[Aapje]

40 minutes ago, giftgruen said:

Especially for Non-Simming, the wireless option, acceptable tracking  and good controllers are quite okay.

 

Yes, but then I would suggest a Quest 3, which is half the price and has a much stronger processor & GPU, so it can run standalone games better. Meta also tends to first release new hardware and then unlock it's capabilities over time, so the Quest 3 will keep getting better.

[Blitzen]

5 hours ago, w00dy said:

 

I think you will be happy with the Pico 4, I bought mine black Friday weekend for a bargain price of £260 off Amazon. I have been very impressed with it coming from my old Dell WMR headset.

 

I also only use it to play IL2, so didn't want to spend loads on a VR headset.

I'll get it today or tomorrow and we'll see if it is an improvement and works as advertised...stay tuned.

[Blitzen]

Just arrived and I'm busy setting it up, but one thing that escapes me is how I use it with GB? Anyone ready to give me the secret?

The ReverbG2 tied in with  MS Mixed Reality ,sort of automatically. If I disable Reverb headset will the Pico 4(E) do the same?

I have activated Eye Tracking but maybe I need game play in order to see this feature working?

Finally its got a very firm face cushion-it's already got me thinking about seeing if there is a more comfortable replacement...

[chiliwili69]

4 hours ago, Blitzen said:

Finally its got a very firm face cushion-it's already got me thinking about seeing if there is a more comfortable replacement

The shape of the cushion was not good for me:

 

 

There is several 3rd party kits for Pico4, but I am not very much up to date since I don´t have the Pico4.

 

https://www.amvrshop.com/products/pico4-face-cover

 

https://vrcover.com/pico-4-accessories-for-comfort-hygiene/

[chiliwili69]

4 hours ago, Blitzen said:

how I use it with GB? Anyone ready to give me the secret?

 

[chiliwili69]

4 hours ago, Blitzen said:

how I use it with GB

Theoretically there are several options to use the Pico4 with GB. I don´t know which one is the best.

 

I would try first the new improved Pico Connect (former Streaming Assistant) and SteamVR with USB cable and if it works then try via Wifi.

 

 

[w00dy]

I bought the AMVR comfort head strap for my Pico 4 from Amazon, it costs a little more but is very good.

 

Here's a review of it 

 

[w00dy]

5 hours ago, Blitzen said:

Anyone ready to give me the secret? The ReverbG2 tied in with  MS Mixed Reality ,sort of automatically. If I disable Reverb headset will the Pico 4(E) do the same?

 

You don't use MS mixed reality software with the Pico, linked a YouTube video below with how to set it up. The best way is to download the phone app and create an account first.

 

Edited March 21, 2024 by w00dy

[Blitzen]

Thanks guys…will continue to explore thanks to vids above.I imagine I should unplug the ReverbG2 first ?

If all works I will definitely replace the face cushion and add the accessories to the head support. Has anyone used one of these long enough to have an opinion on battery life or accessories that lengthen it?

[w00dy]

Yes unplugged you Reverb first.

 

Battery life lasts over 2 hours for me without a cable. though I mainly use a cable with a built in charger when playing. After over 2 hours using the cable, battery has hardly been used.

 

INIU Link Cable with Charging Port, [5m]

 

Edited March 21, 2024 by w00dy

[Blitzen]

What is the Pico app address to get started to connect with my PC?

[w00dy]

4 minutes ago, Blitzen said:

What is the Pico app address to get started to connect with my PC?

 

It's called Pico VR this is the link to the android app

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.picovr.assistantphone.global

[Blitzen]

I think I've done everything correctly but can't get the PC and headset to connect wirelessly.No USB port.

[w00dy]

I think you want Pico streaming assistant to connect your pc to your headset 

 

https://www.picoxr.com/uk/software/pico-link

I wouldn't use Pico connect yet, as it's still a beta

Edited March 21, 2024 by w00dy

[Blitzen]

2 hours ago, w00dy said:

I think you want Pico streaming assistant to connect your pc to your headset 

 

https://www.picoxr.com/uk/software/pico-link

I wouldn't use Pico connect yet, as it's still a beta

I've been trying to use that utility, but it gets to the wireless connection screen, it just won't connect no matter how long I wait. The Pico4E has no USB cable so I'm unable to try that.

[w00dy]

The Pico 4 needs a 5Ghz connection to your router to work, I would check your router and the Pico headset is connected to your router.

 

May be worth watching this video, covers WiFi setup from time 5.40 on the video 

 

 

[Blitzen]

These are the responses I'm getting:

But initially I get a response in the headset that I have a good setup for the new headset.

[w00dy]

It may seem a silly question, but have you turned on the streaming assistant on your VR headset as well?

 

Because you have to turn it on, on your PC and headset, for the two devices to connect.

[Blitzen]

6 hours ago, w00dy said:

It may seem a silly question, but have you turned on the streaming assistant on your VR headset as well?

 

Because you have to turn it on, on your PC and headset, for the two devices to connect.

Not a silly question at all! I have not, but not for lack of trying ! I have not found that option in the headset, can you point the way? It simply hasn’t made itself obvious. I’m not at the point of tearing my hair out, but near that point. I’d really like to make this work and not return it next week.

[DBCOOPER011]

2 hours ago, Blitzen said:

Not a silly question at all! I have not, but not for lack of trying ! I have not found that option in the headset, can you point the way? It simply hasn’t made itself obvious. I’m not at the point of tearing my hair out, but near that point. I’d really like to make this work and not return it next week.

 

I have the pico connect version 10.0.25 beta on mine and its an easy install and to use. Download the connect software on the desktop first then in the HMD.You will have to use steamvr with pico connect as it wont work with openxr as of now.

The link below is for the desktop software. You will have to download the apk in the headset to link them up.

 

https://www.picoxr.com/global/software/pico-link

[DBCOOPER011]

Looking at the picoxr reddit, there may be some other software needed for the enterprise version...

 

 

[Blitzen]

49 minutes ago, DBCOOPER011 said:

Looking at the picoxr reddit, there may be some other software needed for the enterprise version...

 

 

No joy with this either..One needs to somehow connect with the headset and I just don't see how since its wireless?