WMR headsets no longer work with Windows 11 v.24H2

[eslader 1,784]

18 hours ago, Matt Webb said:

Any chance HP will release a firmware up date to remove the WMR dependency?

As anyone who has had HP inkjet printers knows, they make great hardware but are abysmal at writing drivers for it. The G2 was great because HP handled the hardware and someone else handled the "get the hardware to talk to the computer" part. Even if HP were to write drivers for it (they won't), they would probably be horrendous.

 

I suspect a class-action lawsuit or two is coming. When you buy something, you're entering into a contract. You agree to give the seller money and the seller agrees to give you the product. Nothing in that contract should be able to say "and by the way the seller can take it away from you whenever they want without compensating you."

The lawsuit won't be over this specifically, VR is too niche to get mass tort lawyers excited -- if a case won't buy the principals a Gulfstream each, they're not interested. But this is just another in a long line of examples of companies releasing expensive hardware that later gets arbitrarily bricked because someone in the manufacturing chain has ADD.

TP Link seems poised to sunset its Kasa line in favor of it's Tapo line. That's going to severely annoy those of us who bought into the Kasa ecosystem because these are actual physical light switches and outlets that get installed, and it's not cheap to outfit an entire house with them. Fortunately, there's a way to use Kasa hardware outside of the cloud so if we're willing to put in the work we'll end up not having to replace every electrical device in our homes. But the point is that when people buy into a technology they should have reasonable assurance that the companies pushing that technology won't kill them off on a whim.

The VR thing would be more understandable if MS was a startup and just went out of business, or even if MS just stopped development on WMR. But intentionally stealing it from customers who bought into the ecosystem seems like it should be actionable. Of course, the same is true for music we buy that suddenly gets yanked, or movies we buy that suddenly get taken down, etc. I embrace new technologies as much as the next nerd, but there really is something to be said for purchases that can't be arbitrarily cancelled by the vendors. Perhaps if massive settlements and fines got involved, the "they have to kill off unprofitable aspects of the business no matter what" argument would die down (not that it's a good argument anyway, Friedman economic theories are universally garbage and almost every significant problem we have in society today can be traced back to them).

 

 

Edited February 12 by eslader

[tamsini 278]

19 hours ago, FlyIce said:

Facebook thing is not an issue using Q3. I have both G2 and Q3 and for the MSFS, G2 is still superior to Q3 in terms of image clarity and sharpness. It's a pity that Q3 is streaming only. I would venture that it could easily be as good as G2 if we can directly plug Q3 into video card. What an atrocity.  

So even though Q3 has superior lenses, the G2 is still better? Have you seen this by any chance? Be curios to know your opinion.

 

 

 

[jmig 100]

On 2/11/2024 at 2:23 AM, ctdlg said:

As FS2020 runs pretty well today using Linux, with my RTX 4080
considering updating Linux is easy

Maybe time to keep my Linux and uninstall my Windows ?
Sadly no, because I also use some other software programs that only run under Windows

This is interesting. I never knew MSFS ran on Linux. Does DCS?

[turbomax 3,286]

17 minutes ago, jmig said:

I never knew MSFS ran on Linux.

what's the benefit to outweigh 10 fps frame drop?

[EGLD 439]

21 hours ago, FlyIce said:

G2 is still superior to Q3 in terms of image clarity and sharpness

nope 😁

[MauBen 82]

On 2/11/2024 at 1:19 PM, threexgreen said:

Google doesn't just gather usage data. They literally read your emails.

and listen to your voice too😁

[FlyIce 354]

9 hours ago, tamsini said:

So even though Q3 has superior lenses, the G2 is still better? Have you seen this by any chance? Be curios to know your opinion.

I have tried everything with Q3, desperately wanted it to replace G2. In the end, with oversampling the crispy sharpness of G2 at the center of view is unbeatable. Q3 wins by miles in terms of edge to edge clarity, but in terms of absolutely sharpness, it can't match G2. Plus, the overall image quality in Q3 suffer from streaming - those compression artifacts, however subtle, give the view in Q3 a video-like feeling that I simply cannot stomach. 

But, Q3 paired with VirtualDesktop for viewing YouTube videos is an absolute thrill. I'm using dark theatre setting and I'm genuinely in an IMAX theater looking at that gigantic screen. When the 4K video quality is good, the experiences is just addictive. I have a DIY home theater with JVC NX7 4K projector paired with 135' screen, but the experience with Q3 + VD is uniquely impressive in a way that a physical home theater can never match.  

So in the end I'm pretty happy to have both: G2 for MSFS and Q3 for VR video screening. Life is perfect for me, until ..... 

Edited February 13 by FlyIce

[turbomax 3,286]

35 minutes ago, FlyIce said:

VirtualDesktop for viewing YouTube videos is an absolute thrill

does it automatically upconvert 2D video into pseudo 3D?

[FlyIce 354]

22 minutes ago, turbomax said:

does it automatically upconvert 2D video into pseudo 3D?

No, but it makes any video an IMAX screen experience. Of course the lousy ones may look even worse, but those with decent quality simply breathtaking. I'm not a fan to random Youtube videos at all, but with Q3 + VD, I'm getting hooked.  

[threexgreen 3,142]

On 2/11/2024 at 9:43 PM, FlyIce said:

Facebook thing is not an issue using Q3. I have both G2 and Q3 and for the MSFS, G2 is still superior to Q3 in terms of image clarity and sharpness. It's a pity that Q3 is streaming only. I would venture that it could easily be as good as G2 if we can directly plug Q3 into video card. What an atrocity.  

Agreed. I tried the Pico 4 and it's a really good headest too but the streaming doesn't convince me as a solution for PCVR. I had a good connection but did see some downgrades from time to time, and given that visual fidelity in VR generally still has a way to go I can't accept visual downgrades due to streaming, even if it works fine most of the time. Plus the GPU has to do extra work to deliver the picture to the headset via streaming, which means a performance penalty too vs. a direct display port connection.

[MauBen 82]

23 hours ago, FlyIce said:

I have tried everything with Q3, desperately wanted it to replace G2. In the end, with oversampling the crispy sharpness of G2 at the center of view is unbeatable. Q3 wins by miles in terms of edge to edge clarity, but in terms of absolutely sharpness, it can't match G2.

 

 

Could not agree more. I also bought the Q3 to replace the G2, but I returned it. G2 is much sharper in the center and for me, I find that more important than edge to edge clarity.

[dogmanbird 269]

Provided i've got the link / VD resolution set accordingly, quest 3 is about 94% of the reverb g2's razor sharp centre (but it covers the full fov). Those few % being lost in compression 

For me, q3 native "in-headset" menu text/gfx sharpness is about 98% of the g2's centre sharpness. They're very close.

Edited February 14 by dogmanbird

[MarcG 3,013]

Can you run the Quest 3 through a USB wire? I've done zero research but that's currently the only HMD in my price bracket (hoping more come out in the next future fingers firmly crossed).

[JacquesBrel 639]

2 hours ago, MarcG said:

Can you run the Quest 3 through a USB wire? I've done zero research

Yes.

[threexgreen 3,142]

11 hours ago, dogmanbird said:

Provided i've got the link / VD resolution set accordingly, quest 3 is about 94% of the reverb g2's razor sharp centre (but it covers the full fov). Those few % being lost in compression

That's the issue. VR is amazing, but we're still talking about clarity and sharpness. It still needs to improve. So having the visual quality that's available now downgraded by streaming/compression is a step back imho.

6 hours ago, JacquesBrel said:

Yes.

Is the USB connection used to power the headset only or is it a wired solution to replace the streaming part completely?