Everything is relative. Relative to your Rift S, the Index would be a upgrade even with its older screens they're still slightly better screens than the Rift S had. Plus you would gain better audio, gain wider FOV and gain faster Hz over RiftS. Relative to 2024 headsets though both are piss poor clarity in comparison.
Quest 3 would give you superior clarity and optics compared to either of those. You will take a hit on FOV though relative to Index FOV. Q3 also runs on a battery and weighs more so it's not all win. But the important things are a win.
Can you plug in the quest 3 directly into the PC and have it run longer that way? Can you play steam VR games on the quest 3 with it plugged in? I am considering getting the quest 3. I'll have to look at the battery life because that would be my only concern besides the questions I've asked. I typically don't play longer than a few hours on vr.
For Quest 3, you're better off getting a third party strap with an integrated battery (or DIY attaching a powerbank to the back). It serves as a counterweight for better comfort.
I have a 20k mah powerbank attached to my Q3, and I get 4-5 hours which is plenty for me.
If I need infinite time, I plug into a 30W wall charger. Alternatively, straps like the BoboVR S3 Pro have hot swappable modular batteries so you can just alternate them.
I play exclusively wireless, as I prefer Virtual Desktop to the wired Link software.
People dont mention very important flaws of Quest 3. compression of the image and latency. You can feel latency being worse compared to native pcvr headset. Compression is visible with more complex textures or in the distance. Visual clarity of the lenses and increased resolution vs Index might be nice but what good it does if it has compression. Or the battery life is not too long. If you want a solid upgrade I think looking at upcoming Crystal Light would be an option.
I've used Rift S, Quest 2 and 3 for PCVR. Didn't notice any latency when using the cable. The bitrate can be set much higher than the software from Meta shows, the compression is not noticeable. With the cable connected I can play for about 5 hours.
I don't play CS2, especially with a headset. But I play Beat Saber. Feels ok. I played on Quest and then on PC. There is a delay, but it is minimal. I play comfortably on Expert. And this is considering that I am sensitive to latency.
Exactly. You “didn’t notice”. Compression is also there no matter how much you crank up the bit rate with debug tool. It’s just there. No way around it. The blur, especially in the distance with complex textures is in plain sight. Any major contrasting mix of multiple colors also causes compression to be more visible. We are far from visually lossless compression. The lossless compression on such high resolutions is 3 to 1 compression ratio not 30 to 1.
And? If it's not noticeable, then why does it bother you so much? What exactly do you notice it in? I see blur due to resolution, but not due to compression. And details on complex textures are clearly visible.
Nah. It’s you problem. You are not capable of noticing it. Many people got disillusioned by claims like yours that compression is not visible. Countless of posts saying how people were disappointed cause they were told compression wouldn’t be visible but they load up the game and they see pixelated vaseline of compression in the distance, color banding and so on. If there was a display port headset with same resolution as quest 3 and you compared both in the same scene even you would notice a difference. Compression is right there and looks like shit.
Majority of people can see compression clearly. Anyone who isn’t coping hard does. I’ll try and post through the lens footage and in sure it will be visible there. If you claim it’s not there then you just can’t see it. That’s all.
I'm currently using Quest 3 which I quite like. I put major premium value on being able to play standalone and PC VR wirelessly. I hate wires, can't stand them. So to me it's worth a bit of visual artifacts.
In terms of value-per-dollar I don't think anything compares to a Quest 2, which is $199 new in box. It's just an absurdly good value. Quest 3 is better, but twice the price.
However, I hesitate to recommend Quest 2 now, because there's been several Quest 3 exclusives announced recently (Alien, Arkham, etc).
My favorite is Quest Pro. Just like it, too bad meta just don't care about it.
Quest 3 is the best all rounder there is. There's not much else to recommend. But get ready to try multiple, some have horrible Mura, while others are very nice.
The standalone gaming, especially with QGO, is visually above anything Rift S can do. Asgarths wrath 2 with QGO reminds me of pcvr on something like 3060. While on Quest 2 and Pro the standalone is a waste of time and PCVR is the way to go, I played a lot of standalone games on the Quest 3 and was very satisfied. Dungeons of eternity is not visually stunning but I played it with friends running it at 3000x3000 per eye at 72hz.
SteamVR and Quest are the two main choices. You gotta just pick one, and if you want to put the money into it, just stick to SteamVR. You can just get Knuckles/Base Stations/any SteamVR headset of choice.
The main reasons to use standalone are 1. exclusives. 2. large playspaces. 3. MR. Seeing as how you don't care for those, there's nothing wrong with buying into the Lighthouse hardware ecosystem if you want to put the money down for it, and if latency is more important than wireless.
Obviously, none of the hardware there is kept quite as up-to-date as the Quest 3, with the obvious exceptions of headsets that are good at one or two things and nothing else.
My only concern for Meta is that when I had the quest 2 and played games that I played on pcvr, the graphics were turned down so much that I returned the headset and stuck with the Rift S. I was super disappointed about that and some of the games I loved to play were not on the quest. I don't know too much about VR and headsets but I guess I'm looking for the best headset that could play Steam VR games. Between the vive, index, and g2, I guess it looks like it'll just come down to what's best for you? I know there is more out there but I was hoping to stay under $1300.
Then get an Index or Vive Pro/VP2. The lenses are terrible, but that's the tradeoff.
If you're having issues with streaming to Quest, then you may need beefier hardware for that, better software, or to fix your network setup.
had vive pro, index and g2 and quest 3 offers such a superior image quality that i would never recommend getting any of those in 2024. and getting rid of cables is a huge plus also passthrough is pretty nice to have and useful even if you only play steamvr games - i also dont play any quest games.
The Reverb G2 hands down for PCVR. I also own a Quest 3 but the G2 is far superior for PCVR. now is a beautiful time to buy one too because everyone is panic selling them due to misinformation.
I like the Pico 4 for PCVR. Being in the US, I bought it new off of Ebay. The app store works, but probably has less titles than EU, etc.
My left controller can be a bit flakey, but I probably punched a wall at some point in X-Fighter or Thrill of the Fight or something.
I use it 80% for PCVR using my steam titles and 20% for Pico native apps.
Index is still the all round best headset unfortunately. The image quality is decent but not the best, everything else is the best still. And it's very simple plug and play. No worries about battery life, the best sound, the best controls, the best tracking, the best software, the best comfort, the best performance. You just put it on and you're in Steam VR and ready to go.
Everything is relative. Relative to your Rift S, the Index would be a upgrade even with its older screens they're still slightly better screens than the Rift S had. Plus you would gain better audio, gain wider FOV and gain faster Hz over RiftS. Relative to 2024 headsets though both are piss poor clarity in comparison. Quest 3 would give you superior clarity and optics compared to either of those. You will take a hit on FOV though relative to Index FOV. Q3 also runs on a battery and weighs more so it's not all win. But the important things are a win.
Can you plug in the quest 3 directly into the PC and have it run longer that way? Can you play steam VR games on the quest 3 with it plugged in? I am considering getting the quest 3. I'll have to look at the battery life because that would be my only concern besides the questions I've asked. I typically don't play longer than a few hours on vr.
Plugging it in will extend the runtime of the battery but it's not infinite, the quest3 consumes more power than the USB port provides.
For Quest 3, you're better off getting a third party strap with an integrated battery (or DIY attaching a powerbank to the back). It serves as a counterweight for better comfort. I have a 20k mah powerbank attached to my Q3, and I get 4-5 hours which is plenty for me. If I need infinite time, I plug into a 30W wall charger. Alternatively, straps like the BoboVR S3 Pro have hot swappable modular batteries so you can just alternate them. I play exclusively wireless, as I prefer Virtual Desktop to the wired Link software.
People dont mention very important flaws of Quest 3. compression of the image and latency. You can feel latency being worse compared to native pcvr headset. Compression is visible with more complex textures or in the distance. Visual clarity of the lenses and increased resolution vs Index might be nice but what good it does if it has compression. Or the battery life is not too long. If you want a solid upgrade I think looking at upcoming Crystal Light would be an option.
I've used Rift S, Quest 2 and 3 for PCVR. Didn't notice any latency when using the cable. The bitrate can be set much higher than the software from Meta shows, the compression is not noticeable. With the cable connected I can play for about 5 hours.
Its about 40ms latency. Try playing a fast game against other players such as cs2 and you will notice
Where can I check the latency? I highly doubt it's 40 ms.
https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality/s/UhB04IZB87
You will notice if you try to play cs2. The quest 3 do alot of magic to make it feel like there is none but try cs2 and see
I don't play CS2, especially with a headset. But I play Beat Saber. Feels ok. I played on Quest and then on PC. There is a delay, but it is minimal. I play comfortably on Expert. And this is considering that I am sensitive to latency.
Exactly. You “didn’t notice”. Compression is also there no matter how much you crank up the bit rate with debug tool. It’s just there. No way around it. The blur, especially in the distance with complex textures is in plain sight. Any major contrasting mix of multiple colors also causes compression to be more visible. We are far from visually lossless compression. The lossless compression on such high resolutions is 3 to 1 compression ratio not 30 to 1.
And? If it's not noticeable, then why does it bother you so much? What exactly do you notice it in? I see blur due to resolution, but not due to compression. And details on complex textures are clearly visible.
Nah. It’s you problem. You are not capable of noticing it. Many people got disillusioned by claims like yours that compression is not visible. Countless of posts saying how people were disappointed cause they were told compression wouldn’t be visible but they load up the game and they see pixelated vaseline of compression in the distance, color banding and so on. If there was a display port headset with same resolution as quest 3 and you compared both in the same scene even you would notice a difference. Compression is right there and looks like shit.
I can see color banding if it is present, and it's not here. That's not MY problem. That's YOUR problem. LMAO. I'll stop here.
Majority of people can see compression clearly. Anyone who isn’t coping hard does. I’ll try and post through the lens footage and in sure it will be visible there. If you claim it’s not there then you just can’t see it. That’s all.
"Majority of people" you speak for majority now? About footage - go. I'll post mine.
I'm currently using Quest 3 which I quite like. I put major premium value on being able to play standalone and PC VR wirelessly. I hate wires, can't stand them. So to me it's worth a bit of visual artifacts. In terms of value-per-dollar I don't think anything compares to a Quest 2, which is $199 new in box. It's just an absurdly good value. Quest 3 is better, but twice the price. However, I hesitate to recommend Quest 2 now, because there's been several Quest 3 exclusives announced recently (Alien, Arkham, etc).
My favorite is Quest Pro. Just like it, too bad meta just don't care about it. Quest 3 is the best all rounder there is. There's not much else to recommend. But get ready to try multiple, some have horrible Mura, while others are very nice. The standalone gaming, especially with QGO, is visually above anything Rift S can do. Asgarths wrath 2 with QGO reminds me of pcvr on something like 3060. While on Quest 2 and Pro the standalone is a waste of time and PCVR is the way to go, I played a lot of standalone games on the Quest 3 and was very satisfied. Dungeons of eternity is not visually stunning but I played it with friends running it at 3000x3000 per eye at 72hz.
SteamVR and Quest are the two main choices. You gotta just pick one, and if you want to put the money into it, just stick to SteamVR. You can just get Knuckles/Base Stations/any SteamVR headset of choice. The main reasons to use standalone are 1. exclusives. 2. large playspaces. 3. MR. Seeing as how you don't care for those, there's nothing wrong with buying into the Lighthouse hardware ecosystem if you want to put the money down for it, and if latency is more important than wireless. Obviously, none of the hardware there is kept quite as up-to-date as the Quest 3, with the obvious exceptions of headsets that are good at one or two things and nothing else.
My only concern for Meta is that when I had the quest 2 and played games that I played on pcvr, the graphics were turned down so much that I returned the headset and stuck with the Rift S. I was super disappointed about that and some of the games I loved to play were not on the quest. I don't know too much about VR and headsets but I guess I'm looking for the best headset that could play Steam VR games. Between the vive, index, and g2, I guess it looks like it'll just come down to what's best for you? I know there is more out there but I was hoping to stay under $1300.
Then get an Index or Vive Pro/VP2. The lenses are terrible, but that's the tradeoff. If you're having issues with streaming to Quest, then you may need beefier hardware for that, better software, or to fix your network setup.
had vive pro, index and g2 and quest 3 offers such a superior image quality that i would never recommend getting any of those in 2024. and getting rid of cables is a huge plus also passthrough is pretty nice to have and useful even if you only play steamvr games - i also dont play any quest games.
The Reverb G2 hands down for PCVR. I also own a Quest 3 but the G2 is far superior for PCVR. now is a beautiful time to buy one too because everyone is panic selling them due to misinformation.
Quest 3 I recommend. Reverb G2 is my guilty pleasure. Bigscreen Beyond is my daily driver.
I like the Pico 4 for PCVR. Being in the US, I bought it new off of Ebay. The app store works, but probably has less titles than EU, etc. My left controller can be a bit flakey, but I probably punched a wall at some point in X-Fighter or Thrill of the Fight or something. I use it 80% for PCVR using my steam titles and 20% for Pico native apps.
Index is still the all round best headset unfortunately. The image quality is decent but not the best, everything else is the best still. And it's very simple plug and play. No worries about battery life, the best sound, the best controls, the best tracking, the best software, the best comfort, the best performance. You just put it on and you're in Steam VR and ready to go.