Bigscreen Beyond 2

[2/JG26_natris]

Please chilli are you sensitive to refresh rate? For me lower refresh rates lead to "blinking" picture, and when eg. looking at ground it is very hard for me to search for dots for prolonged time. I had this problem with 60hz G2 and afaik also with Pimax Crystal 72hz (not sure); 90hz is fine for me (I also needed at least 75hz on old crts). I wonder how the 75hz base works. AFAIK all the VR goggles work so that the picture blinks for a bit and then it is black rest of the time; that would mean that it may be problematic; or am I totally off? Please when you receive it, can you comment with regards to this?

Edited April 24 by 2/JG26_natris

[chiliwili69]

2 hours ago, 2/JG26_natris said:

Please when you receive it, can you comment with regards to this?

 

Yes sure.

I had no problems with my previous headsets at lower frequencies than 90Hz. All of them were fine but never went below 72Hz:

Index (80Hz), Rift-S (80Hz), Pico4 (72 Hz), Quest Pro (72&80Hz), CrystalLight (72Hz) and currently Quest3 (72Hz)

 

[chiliwili69]

Some delays for the BSB2, they have to scrap 5000 circuit boards!, good they caught it before delivering:

https://store.bigscreenvr.com/blogs/beyond/improved-controller-tracking-and-production-delay-for-bigscreen-beyond-2

[chiliwili69]

nice surprise!

 

[chiliwili69]

And here compared with the Quest3. It is amazing how the Quest3 with 2064x2208 pixels and streaming is so close to a 2560x2560 with DP.

Most likely if I will keep the BSB2 is because confort and forget about batteries and Wifis. I forget Meta!.

 

[chiliwili69]

It looks like glare is an issue here for dark scenes...

 

[Aapje]

Yeah, they have OLED which is great for blacks and then they undermine that advantage with the glare.

 

Just like they undermine the advantage of a light headset with a facial interface that doesn't breathe.

 

[chiliwili69]

Today I got a message from DHL Germany, my pre-order will arrive next Tuesday-23rd Sept. Let´s see If I also suffer from the diplopia issue...🤪

[Goldwrench]

Got mine last Saturday (9/13). Of course I was out-of-town at the time! I have put it through its paces a bit this week. The glare is not as pronounced as the BSB1, but it is definitely still there. The glare was not reduced nearly as much they claimed IMO. For flight sims like Il-2, it is even more noticeable because it is at the bottom which is where the dark instrument panels are. The real game changer for me is the independent IPD adjustment for each eye. I have significantly sharper visuals (which also lead to better depth perception) because with the custom face gasket Bigscreen provided with my BSB1, I really needed a different IPD for each eye. The BSB2 fixes that, so now my left eye is as sharp as my right eye. It does have a noticeably bigger FOV than BSB1 which is compounded by a significantly larger sweet spot. These combine for a much larger perceived area of sharpness. Ok, I'm going to go fly some P-47 missions now!

[chiliwili69]

16 hours ago, Goldwrench said:

The real game changer for me is the independent IPD adjustment for each eye.

Yes, this is one of the features which I think it is unique in this device, as far as I know no other devices allow to set the via hardware the IPD of each eye, no all faces are 100% symetrical.

 

One critical question!!😬😬😬  Do you suffer the diplopia in this headset? look here.

Please give me some hope!

 

[Goldwrench]

4 hours ago, chiliwili69 said:

 

 

One critical question!!😬😬😬  Do you suffer the diplopia in this headset? look here.

Please give me some hope!

 

No, and that applies to both BSB1 and BSB2. I did have to look up diplopia to figure out what the heck you’re talking about! 😂

[Varibraun]

19 hours ago, chiliwili69 said:

Yes, this is one of the features which I think it is unique in this device, as far as I know no other devices allow to set the via hardware the IPD of each eye, no all faces are 100% symetrical.

 

Yes, I really wish that Pimax had this too, I still haven't had much success with adjusting the offsets myself in the Pimax Play software.  I will be interested to hear your thoughts in addition to @Goldwrench on this feature.

[chiliwili69]

17 hours ago, Goldwrench said:

No, and that applies to both BSB1 and BSB2.

Hey!! this is good then. @Merlin-the-mog, this should be then not a problem of IL-2 but something in your software configuration with IL-2.

[chiliwili69]

Well guys, my BSB2 arrived today! So, I have been testing it for 2 hours with the audio strap.  And no diplopia at all.

 

Configuration was like with the Index, just lunch IL-2 and all is done. I was really missing this easiness.

 

With the Quest3 I had to do a number of things (be sure Q3 battery is charged, be sure at least one controller has battery, prepare extra battery nearby, switch on device, launch streaming app, link device with Airlink, close all those meta default windows, go to desktop, launch IL-2), but now just launch IL-2.

 

I run in 75Hz mode which gives clearly a more detailed image of the scene. I put 130% supersampling in SteamVR (4060x4060) which is about 33 million pixels and my 5080 was about 80% loaded. Perhaps I can put a bit more like 150% but the image is clearly better than in the Quest3 for the same amount of pixels.

So in terms of image clarity is a clear winner over the Quest3.

 

 

But the best aspect of the BSB2 over the Quest3 is not the better image or forget about Wifis or batteries, it is the light weight and the feeling of not having a brick hanging in your face. The lack of rotational inertias when the head is turned is definetely a good thing.

 

The custom made rubber mask fits perfectly in my face, so well that now I am totally blinded (with all my previous devices I always was able to look a little bit through the nose, I miss that).

 

The Audio strap is ok, and combined with the rubber mask is ok as well, but I would prefer that they made a bigger and more traditional face mask like the Index or Quest3.

Perhaps someone will invent a clasical mask for the B2B. The headphones are ok (of course better than Quest3) but I they are floating over my ear like the old headphones of the first walkmans. I need to see if I can use normal Hifi headphones.

 

I use just one BaseStation and the overall tracking is as good as with the Index, but I need to test it more.

 

In terms of FOV, I would say it is similar to the Quest3.

 

The glare is there in dark scenes with bright lights, but in daylight scenes no issue at all.

 

I have two weeks to decide if I keep it and sell the Q3. For now the BSB2 is winning, for need to test it in longer sessions.

Edited September 23 by chiliwili69

[Goldwrench]

25 minutes ago, chiliwili69 said:

I run in 75Hz mode which gives clearly a more detailed image of the scene. I put 130% supersampling in SteamVR (4060x4060) which is about 33 million pixels and my 5080 was about 80% loaded. Perhaps I can put a bit more like 150% but the image is clearly better than in the Quest3 for the same amount of pixels.

So in terms of image clarity is a clear winner over the Quest3.

I don't think 150% will benefit you. TBH, 130% probably isn't doing much either. It doesn't for me. You could run at 100% and with a 5080 you could then increase in-game graphics settings and still maintain low frame times.

[Aapje]

On 9/24/2025 at 12:39 AM, chiliwili69 said:

With the Quest3 I had to do a number of things (be sure Q3 battery is charged, be sure at least one controller has battery, prepare extra battery nearby, switch on device, launch streaming app, link device with Airlink, close all those meta default windows, go to desktop, launch IL-2), but now just launch IL-2.

 

I don't think that wireless Quest is a fair comparison to a wired BSB2. My wired Quest 3 experience lacks most of these downsides.

[chiliwili69]

On 9/25/2025 at 3:10 AM, Aapje said:

I don't think that wireless Quest is a fair comparison to a wired BSB2. My wired Quest 3 experience lacks most of these downsides.

Yes, you are right, but I initially also was using the Quest3 with a USB cable with two connections, one for the PC and another for power supply. But occasionally the connection didn´t work properly, I don´t know exactly why, then I switched to the wireless one which was more reliable and gave the same image quality.

[chiliwili69]

I have been testing it a bit more and I learnt that the headphones of the Audio Strap have several adjustaments and one of them (turning the wheel) allow you to move the headphone closer to your ears, which is good to gain better audio quality. So, perhaps headphones would not be needed.

 

I also was having a problem when launching IL-2 (which trigger SteamVR). The device needs about 10 seconds (VR display in grey meanwhile) to get the tracking working (I only have one base station V1.0). But the issue is that the point of view in VR in the main initial menu in the hangar is not at the right place. I am like 3-4 meter high and looking backwards. Every time I launched IL-2 the problem was again there.

 

One way I have found to avoid that issue is to launch first SteamVR (from a desktop shorcut pointing to the VRmonitor.exe app in the SteamVR directory C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SteamVR\bin\win64 ) and then IL-2. So, everything is perfect in this way.

 

Another minor issue is that when I switch off the PC from Windows the BSB2 is a still on. The BSB2 is connected with two USB connections to the PC (one for Power, the other for Power+Data). So I have to switch off the PSU switch to get the BSB2 off. I wish there would be a switch in the small box to avoid switch off teh PSU every time.

On 9/24/2025 at 1:11 AM, Goldwrench said:

I don't think 150% will benefit you. TBH, 130% probably isn't doing much either. It doesn't for me. You could run at 100% and with a 5080 you could then increase in-game graphics settings and still maintain low frame times.

Yes, you were quite right:

 

[Goldwrench]

7 hours ago, chiliwili69 said:

I also was having a problem when launching IL-2 (which trigger SteamVR). The device needs about 10 seconds (VR display in grey meanwhile) to get the tracking working (I only have one base station V1.0). But the issue is that the point of view in VR in the main initial menu in the hangar is not at the right place. I am like 3-4 meter high and looking backwards. Every time I launched IL-2 the problem was again there.

 

I always start the program on my PC and then move to my "sim pit," so the initial view is always off because the headset isn't even on yet. But once the main menu in game shows up, all you have to do is re-center your view with whatever key bind you have for Default VR View (usually NumPad 5 but I have button bound to it). 

[Dagwoodyt]

18 hours ago, chiliwili69 said:

The BSB2 is connected with two USB connections to the PC (one for Power, the other for Power+Data). So I have to switch off the PSU switch to get the BSB2 off. I wish there would be a switch in the small box to avoid switch off teh PSU every time.

That's a definite negative. I have the Aero power brick on a power strip along with the base stations so everything can be turned off immediately when not in use. Perhaps a usb isolator attached at the pc' usb port could be used in similar fashion to remove power from the Power+Data connection.

[2/JG26_natris]

21 hours ago, chiliwili69 said:

Another minor issue is that when I switch off the PC from Windows the BSB2 is a still on. The BSB2 is connected with two USB connections to the PC (one for Power, the other for Power+Data). So I have to switch off the PSU switch to get the BSB2 off. I wish there would be a switch in the small box to avoid switch off teh PSU every time.

 

AFAIK most of the motherboards have a mode in which they turn off power to usbs when turned off; it is some kind of EU requirements. If you do not otherwise use usb power, it should be possible to avoid turning off the PSU...

[chiliwili69]

14 hours ago, 2/JG26_natris said:

AFAIK most of the motherboards have a mode in which they turn off power to usbs when turned off; it is some kind of EU requirements. If you do not otherwise use usb power, it should be possible to avoid turning off the PSU...

Hey!  thank you very much for this info. I had no idea about it.

In the BIOS of my ASUS Prime X670-P, there an option to do that. It is in the Advanced/APM configuration, in the "ErP Ready" there are three options:

I opted for the Enable (S4+S5) and now the BSB2 is also off when I shutdown the PC.

Great people in this forum!

[chiliwili69]

Well, after two weeks of testing the BSB2 and Quest3, today I have decided to keep the BSB2!! I will sell the Quest3.

 

Today I had several quick-start mission in my favourite plane (Spit)in my favourite Auttum Kuban map in Novorosiysk at 19:00 sunset with scattered cumulo nimbus.

So then I realized the higher contrast and rich colors of the BSB2, it was a bit like a WOW moment, a feeling of presence, of being there, like the one I had with my first headset (DK1) or later with Index. As it was getting darker my eyes adapt to the little light, I switch on the interior light of the cabin and what a nice view! and after 1 hour of darkness whne I back to the main menu in the hangar I had to close my eyes for the sudden excess of light.

So Yes!, I prefer the BSB2. But the Quest3 is a very good device, a clear winner if the cost is put in the equation. But in my evaluation I didn´t consider the cost.

 

I will try to enumerate the reasons for opting the BSB2 over the Quest3, and the weight of each reason. Just considering only IL-2 game.

 

1. Less Rotational inertia(40%): Not a brick in my face. In quick turns the Quest3 move from my face, with the BSB2 that doesn´t happen.

2. Better image quality(30%): Very noticeable in gauges, etc. Here some comparison pics.

3. Less complexity (10%): Just launch SteamVR and IL-2 with a thin DP cable (I already had one basestation). Like the Index. No streaming apps and wifi Links.

4. No need to charge batteries (10%): On the Quest3 (I used Air Link) I had to charge Quest3+extra batteries and controllers.

5. Goodbye to Meta (5%): I hate Meta for neglecting PCVR and killing Oculus soul. Perhaps until Quest4 in 2027?  😉 

6. Better audio (5%): Much better than Quest3 speakers, but easy solution with headphones.

 

But the Quest3 is better in other aspects

 

1. Better ege-to-edge clarity: the Quest3 clearly has better and larger lenses, The BSB2 also has good lenses, but the Quest3 is superior here. full stop.

2. Less glare: In the BSB2 the glare is present in certain scenes, not necesarily fully dark scenes with lights, but also in day light scenes. 

3. Better facial mask: The Quest3 with the right aftermarket strap and counter-balance weights is quite comfortable. More here. I am still improving the BSB2 comfort.

4. No blurry when moving head: With BSB2, when moving the head I notice a kind of blurr which instantly disappear whn I stop my head. More here. It is not a major issue, I have not adjusted the brightness yet (it is at 100%)

 

The tracking (with one base station) is good in both devices, well with BSB2 I don´t need to have the lights on.

The FOVs are also very similar, but having bigger lenses in Quest3 you feel like you see more FOV, but they are very similar. I have not measured them.

On the performance side both run perfectly in my PC (7800X3D with a 5080) with 75Hz (BSB2) and 72Hz (Quest3).

 

Overall I think that micro-OLED panels with 2560x2560 and that light weight are already giving very good images and phenomenal flying experience. The only thing I would ask now for a better headset would be more FOV first.

[Picchio]

@chiliwili69 Could you try night flying in DCS (or MSFS?) and check how lens glare looks like? Preferably without wearing NVGs of sorts... I am asking because last time I checked (long ago), nights in IL2 were rendered a bit differently and I don't seem to recall pitch dark and deep black levels (at least compared to moonless nights in DCS). I would like to read your opinion on this matter 🫡

[chiliwili69]

13 hours ago, Picchio said:

Could you try night flying in DCS (or MSFS?)

Sorry, I don´t have them installed in my PC, I only play IL-2 which offers me enough variety and content so far. Perhaps other BSB2 owners use DCS/MSFS.

In the past I tried DCS just because they implement VR before IL-2, but since IL-2 had VR I quit DCS.

I still remember that experience after 10 years!