In my discussion about new VR headset I have asked if Quest 3 is a downgrade from HP Reverb G2 in some aspect. Got this answer

❗ JA — i vissa saker(Yes - in some aspects)

• cockpittext

• distant detail

• “crispness”

 What Do you think ?

Not completely. The answer is not so simple.

The Reverb G2 uses Fresnel lenses, which have a tiny "sweet spot." If you move your eyes just a little bit off-center, the image gets blurry.

The Quest 3 uses Pancake lenses. These provide edge-to-edge clarity. You can glance down at your instruments with your eyes rather than moving your entire head. For many, this makes the Quest 3 feel much clearer overall, even if the raw signal is compressed.

I came from the Reverb G2 to the Quest 3 about a year ago now. The Reverb G2 was a great headset in many respects and had excellent sound. While it does have slightly better clarity in the sweet spot than the Quest 3, you have to have the headset positioned just right and look straight on to get that clarity. This means moving your entire head more than just your eyes. The sweet spot really is very small. IMO the Quest 3 gives a better overall sense of clarity. If I were choosing between them today, I would choose the Quest 3 without hesitation. It is important to set-up the Quest 3 properly, which usually involves a dedicated router and Virtual Desktop for the best results.

I still use Open XR toolkit to reduce the FOV to 85%. It is a "silver bullet" for me, as it greatly improves the clarity, by compressing the image into the smaller viewport. When you don't use that tweak, most of the image is outside of the mask anyway so, in practice you hardly see any difference in FOV.  Important: Reducing the FOV in the Virtual Desktop app does not result in this improvement to clarity as it works differently.

I tried both headsets before. if your budget  and hardware allows, I would recommend the Pimax Crystal instead. much higher resolution, requires no additional Virtual Desktop nor separate router, which both add to the complexity of VR.

The quest 3 has fantastic color passthrough vision, which is very low resolution and b/w in the Pimax. but I don't use that feature for flight simulation anyway.

3 hours ago, turbomax said:

I tried both headsets before. if your budget  and hardware allows, I would recommend the Pimax Crystal instead. much higher resolution, requires no additional Virtual Desktop nor separate router, which both add to the complexity of VR.

The quest 3 has fantastic color passthrough vision, which is very low resolution and b/w in the Pimax. but I don't use that feature for flight simulation anyway.

Are you referring to the less expensive Pimax Crystal Light ? Even that is far more expensive than the quest and although it clearly has better display it seem also come with a list of disadvantages

8 hours ago, turnandbank said:

Not completely. The answer is not so simple.

The Reverb G2 uses Fresnel lenses, which have a tiny "sweet spot." If you move your eyes just a little bit off-center, the image gets blurry.

The Quest 3 uses Pancake lenses. These provide edge-to-edge clarity. You can glance down at your instruments with your eyes rather than moving your entire head. For many, this makes the Quest 3 feel much clearer overall, even if the raw signal is compressed.

I came from the Reverb G2 to the Quest 3 about a year ago now. The Reverb G2 was a great headset in many respects and had excellent sound. While it does have slightly better clarity in the sweet spot than the Quest 3, you have to have the headset positioned just right and look straight on to get that clarity. This means moving your entire head more than just your eyes. The sweet spot really is very small. IMO the Quest 3 gives a better overall sense of clarity. If I were choosing between them today, I would choose the Quest 3 without hesitation. It is important to set-up the Quest 3 properly, which usually involves a dedicated router and Virtual Desktop for the best results.

I still use Open XR toolkit to reduce the FOV to 85%. It is a "silver bullet" for me, as it greatly improves the clarity, by compressing the image into the smaller viewport. When you don't use that tweak, most of the image is outside of the mask anyway so, in practice you hardly see any difference in FOV.  Important: Reducing the FOV in the Virtual Desktop app does not result in this improvement to clarity as it works differently.

The AI has pointed out that the G2 is better when it comes to reading text in a cockpit and the Quest has softer edges slight blur and require more focus. Is that something you think you recognise. I actually find it difficult to read text in DCS in jet on the lower side panels to left and right.

3 minutes ago, jfri said:

I actually find it difficult to read text in DCS in jet on the lower side panels to left and right.

that's exactly why I switched to a more expensive Pimax Crystal Light.

Quest 3 requires a more complex setup with Meta, Virtual desktop, WiFi, additional router etc.

2 hours ago, turbomax said:

that's exactly why I switched to a more expensive Pimax Crystal Light.

Quest 3 requires a more complex setup with Meta, Virtual desktop, WiFi, additional router etc.

What do you mean by additional router ? Could I not use the one I already use ?

23 minutes ago, jfri said:

What do you mean by additional router ? Could I not use the one I already use ?

You can run the Quest 3 many different ways including the link cable, the built in Air Link, or from your existing router. However, for best results a 2nd dedicated router connected to your PC by ethernet and located close to your quest 3 is key. The Virtual Desktop app makes the setup easy and most users find this setup even better than using the link cable. Clarity will be somewhat determined by your GPU. I have an Rtx 3080 ti and I can easily read any text on the panel in MSFS. I have no experience with DCS or with the Pimax, but I do like the almost edge to edge clarity of the Quest 3 

 

 

16 minutes ago, turnandbank said:

most users find this setup even better than using the link cable.

that may be true for the Quest 3 with its very expensive link cable and low USB bandwidth. the Pimax Crystal and other wired headsets connect directly to the DisplayPort of the GPU, the easiest, lowest cost and highest quality connection there is.

1 hour ago, turnandbank said:

You can run the Quest 3 many different ways including the link cable, the built in Air Link, or from your existing router. However, for best results a 2nd dedicated router connected to your PC by ethernet and located close to your quest 3 is key. The Virtual Desktop app makes the setup easy and most users find this setup even better than using the link cable. Clarity will be somewhat determined by your GPU. I have an Rtx 3080 ti and I can easily read any text on the panel in MSFS. I have no experience with DCS or with the Pimax, but I do like the almost edge to edge clarity of the Quest 3 

I switched from Reverb G2 to Quest 3 two years ago already and I couldn’t be happier with this solution. For me the overall image quality is significantly better and the Virtual Desktop makes it easy to set it up (the cable version didn’t work properly for me). I can run it at 200Mb/s and “Godlike” quality in spite of my somewhat outdated RTX3090. I don’t need a separate router; my Wifi 6 capable router is plenty enough.

I had some CTDs recently and found out that they were caused by the Open XR Toolkit in combination with Virtual Desktop. Instead I use the simulator option “foveated rendering” which works very well. In addition, AutoFPS optimizes my OLOD and TLOD dynamically, which results in stable 36fps (limited in the sim, 72fps in Virtual Desktop).

I switched from a Quest 3 to the Pimax Cristal Light, and I am very happy, it is way better than the Quest in image quality and configuration simplicity, now that the Pimax Play app reached its maturity and doesnt need any external app. Perhaps the only drawbacks are its low quality passthrough and sound, and that it needs better hardware.-

2 hours ago, Flyfox said:

I switched from Reverb G2 to Quest 3 two years ago already and I couldn’t be happier with this solution. For me the overall image quality is significantly better and the Virtual Desktop makes it easy to set it up (the cable version didn’t work properly for me). I can run it at 200Mb/s and “Godlike” quality in spite of my somewhat outdated RTX3090. I don’t need a separate router; my Wifi 6 capable router is plenty enough.

I had some CTDs recently and found out that they were caused by the Open XR Toolkit in combination with Virtual Desktop. Instead I use the simulator option “foveated rendering” which works very well. In addition, AutoFPS optimizes my OLOD and TLOD dynamically, which results in stable 36fps (limited in the sim, 72fps in Virtual Desktop).

So you don't experience any increased difficulty in reading text and seeing small details or ?
And you have not connected the network to your computer through cable but are fully wireless ?

1 hour ago, solito said:

I switched from a Quest 3 to the Pimax Cristal Light, and I am very happy, it is way better than the Quest in image quality and configuration simplicity, now that the Pimax Play app reached its maturity and doesnt need any external app. Perhaps the only drawbacks are its low quality passthrough and sound, and that it needs better hardware.-

You don't feel the PCL being more uncomfortable ?

14 hours ago, jfri said:

So you don't experience any increased difficulty in reading text and seeing small details or ?
And you have not connected the network to your computer through cable but are fully wireless ?

correct

14 hours ago, jfri said:

You don't feel the PCL being more uncomfortable ?

The Quest 3 is as comfortable as the Reverb. However, the sound isn’t really great. That’s why I use a bluetooth headset, which also has a better microphone. The latter is important for me as I use many voice commands (with VoiceAttack).

I must add that I purchased the KIWI Design K4 Boost Comfort Battery Head Strap. This product not only makes the Quest more comfortable but also increases the battery autonomy significantly. And for very long sessions it can be charged while using it.

Edited March 22Mar 22 by Flyfox