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Relativty: An open-source VR headset for $200

(www.relativty.com)
322 points LorenDB | 5 comments | 15 Nov 24 01:55 UTC | HN request time: 1.01s | source
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jsheard ◴[15 Nov 24 02:22 UTC] No.42143406[source]▶
From the GitHub this is only capable of 3DoF tracking, which puts it in the same category as the defunct Oculus Go headset, or Google Cardboard. 6DoF is really the bare minimum to qualify as proper VR nowadays.

For the uninitiated 3DoF means the headset only tracks the rotation of your head, not your heads absolute position as you move around, while 6DoF tracking does both. 6DoF is also much harder to implement.

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chii ◴[15 Nov 24 02:46 UTC] No.42143534[source]▶
3dof is sufficient, imho, for a large number of VR use cases, because most people don't have a full room dedicated to it, but is at a desk. Sitdown VR setups would be more common, if the equipment was cheaper.
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1. a2128 ◴[15 Nov 24 11:39 UTC] No.42146016[source]▶
3DoF without tracked controllers is not VR IMO, it's just a head mounted display. It's not sufficient for any VR use case other than like watching a movie. You won't be able to play any modern VR games. Maybe you'd be able to play old Google Cardboard or Oculus Gear games since those were made with no controllers in mind.
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2. freeopinion ◴[15 Nov 24 13:14 UTC] No.42146600[source]▶
So, a $200 display? With how many pixels? Is it better than a 29" curved monitor?
3. SirMaster ◴[15 Nov 24 15:59 UTC] No.42148064[source]▶
Am I the only one who just wants a great super high res OLED headset just for watching movies?

I want super high res so the quality is comparable to a TV or projector setup, and I want OLED because of contrast performance for dark scenes.

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4. int_19h ◴[15 Nov 24 18:49 UTC] No.42149695[source]▶
You're not the only one, and there's a separate market for such things, but it's mostly Chinese brands.

I've had pretty good experience with https://goovis.net/products/g3max specifically for movie watching. It has 2560x1440 (per eye) OLED, so not quite 4K; I do hope to see a proper 4K headset like that some day for a reasonable price.

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5. SirMaster ◴[15 Nov 24 19:16 UTC] No.42149928{3}[source]▶
I am currently using Xreal Air which I got for $200.

https://www.amazon.com/Glasses-Massive-Micro-OLED-Augmented-...

For $200 they are good. They are native 1080p Sony micro-OLED panels. Brightness and contrast are excellent. I got them mainly to use when traveling, but I also use them laying in bed sometimes.

The resolution is higher than it seems because the 1080p is only displayed across about a 40 degree horizontal FOV, so the PPD is actually very high at about 49, which is markedly higher than even something like the Apple Vision Pro. It's also RGB stripe OLED. I cannot see the pixels like I can with VR headsets.

But alas, there are issues that bother me like ghosting and other internal reflections inside the lenses. Though all VR headsets I have tried have these issues which bother me, so I am not sure if that will ever actually be solved to a level that is unnoticeable by me.

The other thing about the glasses is that they don't recreate a theater, and a virtual room, so the apparent size of the virtual screen isn't consistent as it mainly depends on your imagination for how big you imagine it being. If you view a virtual screen in a fully virtual environment like Bigscreen Beta, then you can fully trick your brain into making the virtual screen seem as big as you want, even IMAX sized, and it really does feel like it.

The problem with full VR environment headsets and large FOV over 100 degrees means that the virtual screen only takes up at most about half of the panel, because a 55 FOV for a virtual screen on a headset with a 110 FOV is about as big as most people would be comfortable. So then a true 4K per eye headset would still only give you a 1080p victual screen. Though I think this is still a level which is good enough.