Dear Meta Developers,
The bug with fixed bitrate and vsync/judder/latency issues introduced in v85 continues in v201 (both quest 3 and pc updated to PTC)
Please advise - cant effectively use link at any settings due to judder. Cannot force fixed bitrate.
Thank you.
Is this issue with the default cable that came with the headset .. because i had it too with the original cable but when i switched to this third party 5 Gbps USB-C cable.. i can push the bitrate much higher wired without issues (and it seems to stick when using wireless too).
This is with a Q2 though, cable is from Fritzplay (5 meter/ 5Gbps):
PC Specs:
i5 11400 KF (2.6 Ghz)
RTX 3060 12 GB
48 GB DDR4 3200Mhz Ram.
Hello. I’ve kind of fixed the issue. I was working on an exhibition so I created a new Windows user, then found out there’s no bitrate issue on the new user, although bitrate seems to be fixed still, it’s way more acceptable than it was on the old account.
During testing, I’ve tested if you leave both dynamic bitrate max to around 0-150, then enable dynamic bitrate on ODT, bitrate will be set automatically but acceptable, but with old numbers (500-1000) bitrate will return to being extremely low.
Super confusing behavior. Please let me know if anyone can fix their streaming using this method
Hmm that's an interesting lead, the new account was set as standard rather than admin?
Will investigate and see what I can find, points to possible permissions issues somewhere.
V85 Breaks Fixed Bitrate, ODT issues, sync issues | Meta Community Forums - 1368068
Found another user reported that setting bitrate to 0 removes the lowest bitrate limit.
I thought it may be useful to show what troubleshooting steps I would take if I was having issues with the latest non-beta v201 meta update using Link with both my QPro and Q3 headsets. Everyone’s systems are different so some of my settings recommendations may need to be modified for some users.
First thing to note is that I do see (and have filed a bug report) a current bug, that for me, limits Fixed Bitrate to 600-650mbps. This doesn’t affect me since starting with ~v74 I have been using Dynamic Bitrate set to 750mbps Max. While I can increase this Max value up to 960mbps, I’ve found that anything above 750mbps starts adding latency, and doesn’t improve clarity.
While I have a very high end win11 PC (9800x3d/rtx5090/64Gb 6000ram), I’ll base all these on specs that OzMoose888 sent me = 5600x/rtx4070/32Gb ram, running win11. Overall, I think that these are very good specs and it should easily handle most PCVR games/sims. He also uses an usb3 Link cable that reports 2.4Gbps from the meta link pc app device/usb speed test, and that is also very good.
The initial things I do is start off checking my win11 setup. First thing is to make sure my win11 (non-beta) is up to date, including the latest defender security updates. I also check my win11 graphics settings to make sure that I disable hardware acceleration graphics (HAGS) and turn Off Game Mode. I use windows defender as my virus checker (and run a scan once in a while) since it seems to work well and I’ve found that other 3rd party virus checkers can cause issues. I also call up the windows Terminal (admin), sometimes called Command Prompt (admin), and check my system files by typing in sfc /scannow which checks/verifies my current system files and attempts to fix any issues. If it does find any issues, and fixes these, I restart my PC and try running this again. In the past, I have very occasionally needed to use the restore health command (DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth). This can take a long time (+30 minutes) to run btw.
The next area I look into is my Nvidia GPU driver (apologies to AMD GPU’s, but maybe there are similar things you can do?) and nvidia control panel settings. The driver I currently think is most stable for most Nvidia GPU’s is 591.74 Game Ready driver, downloaded from the Nvidia website. Before I install this driver I fully uninstall previous drivers using DDU in Safe Mode (google how to do this. Many find that doing this is unnecessary unless you are having graphic related issues. So, up to you if you want to use it or not. After downloading this driver I select to do a custom installation that includes everything except the nvidia app, and I check the Clean Install box. I still find that the nvidia app is a little buggy and I prefer to use the nvidia control panel to select 3D Global settings. I use all defaults except Power = prefer max performance (helps reduce power throttling related stutters) and change the texture quality, Quality default, to High Performance. I’ve found using High Performance gives me a few extra fps without any noticeable difference in PCVR clarity.
The next thing I check are my meta link pc app device/graphics settings. With my rtx5090 I use 80Hz refresh rate with the res slider full right (1.40x). With a rtx4070 I’d probably back off the res slider a notch or two (~1.2-1.3x). I’m not very refresh rate sensitive so going higher than 80Hz doesn’t seem to help me and gives me a little more headroom. However, if I drop this down to 72Hz I can notice a little blurring with fast racing sims.
The next thing I do is call up and check my Oculus Debug Tool (ODT) settings. I leave most of these all at defaults/zeros except some of the link related ones; Distortion = Low, Encode Dynamic Bitrate = Enabled, and Dynamic Bitrate Max = 750mbps. The beauty of this is that I can use the same ODT for both Link and Air Link. I’ll copy/paste my ODT settings later.
There is no need to select codec or slices since these will automatically use h264/sliced enabled with Link, and h265/sliced disabled with Air Link. Likewise there is no need to change Encoding Resolution Width. This will automatically be selected properly. If you have extra headroom you can increase Pixel Density for improved clarity. With my rtx5090 I normally can increase this to 1.2-1.4x.
ASW modes always seem to revert back to Auto after PC restarts. If you want different ASW modes you can either just edit ODT or use keyboard commands (which can be done on the fly). Ctrl+num1 (numeric keyboard 1, not top row 1) = ASW Off. Ctrl+num2 = forced 45fps (actually = ½ your refresh rate. 40fps for me since I use 80Hz refresh rate), ASW Off. Ctrl+num3 = forced 45fps, ASW On. Ctrl+num4 = ASW Auto (default). Because you can make these changes on the fly it’s easy to experiment and find out what works best for the game/sim you’re playing.
If I select the ODT hud/perfomance/link details, I normally see ~730-750mbps with Link, and ~200-220mbps with Air Link. The graphs look a little noisy, but seem to settle down after a while. I think a lot of this noise is just a limitation on what can actually be measured. The main thing to check is that you get smooth, stutter-free performance, without excessive latency. If you do, you may need to drop the res slider down another notch or two, and/or lower your in-game settings.
After all that, I just test out Link (or Air Link) to see if Link is starting up and working ok. If not, I’ve found that downloading the meta-link pc app from the meta support website, then running a Repair often fixes this. I shy away from all Beta’s (headset, meta-link, and SteamVR).
Anyway, I hope that some find my troubleshooting methodology useful. Good luck mates and best cheers.
Thanks Tom for the detailed post. I've been through all the steps you mentioned with the exception of the SFC and restore health commands.
Gave those a crack without success unfortunately.
I'll keep plugging away but at this stage I'm more holding out for the next Meta update in the hope there'll be a fix incoming.
Until then, it appears I'm just limited to 200mbps bitrate with Link or Virtual Desktop at 500mbps. I do miss Link @ 500 though with the better sharpening. VD unfortunately isn't quite there and has some issues with their CAS sharpening that introduces some strange artifacts that aren't present with Link.
Wait and hope I guess.
OzMoose888 Sorry to hear that mate. What nvidia driver are you using? Some have reported that rolling back to the 591.74 (one I mentioned already) or 591.86 seem to help fix things. The nvidia 595.xx series drivers are still a buggy mess imho.
I also think that running DDU in safe mode (google how to do this) to fully uninstall pervious drivers beforehand) may be a good idea and this can help fix a lot of things.
At least you, like me, have Virtual Desktop to fall back to. With my Q3, av1/200mbps works and looks pretty well. I've never liked the h264+ option. I also see more artifacts and a bit of shimmering using it, without much difference in distance clarity compared to av1/200mbps. While they say it can do 500mbps, I've never seen it do any better than ~380mbps. Does yours actually report 500mbps when you are playing a game/sim as reported in the VD Performance Display?
Anyway, hopefully you'll be back in business with Meta Link in the near future. Cheers mate.
maxstep While Fixed bitrate still seems to be limited to ~600-650mbps with Link, Dynamic Bitrates work fine with the latest non-ptc v201, and I can use up to 960mbps Max with Link, with both my QPro and Q3 headsets (rtx5090 gpu). I've found with Link, anything above 750mbps Max Dynamic Bitrate starts adding latency, without any significant improvement in clarity.
I've actually used Dynamic Bitrates since ~v74 since even back then I found these worked better than Fixed. I use the following ODT with 750mbps Max. the beauty of doing this is that the same ODT can be used for both Link and Air Link. When I check these with the ODT/HUD/Performance/Link details graphs I see ~730-750mbps with Link, and ~200-220mbps with Air Link (with a good wifi6 setup). I get smooth, stutter-free performance with very good clarity.
With the meta link pc app I set graphics to 80Hz with the res slider full right.
Depending on the game/sim I sometimes add 1.2-1.4x pixel density and select whatever ASW mode works best (eg. forced 45fps, asw = off with msfs2020/2024). I still use the Oculus Tray Tool game profiles to do this but it's easy to just edit ODT. These can be changed on the fly. Maybe give my ODT settings a go and see how you go.
Again Tom? You just copy paste the same thing.
While Fixed bitrate still seems to be limited to ~600-650mbps with Link....
You're not affected by this problem. We're talking about massive problems with anything over 200mbps. Fixed or dynamic doesn't make any difference.
I’m just trying to explain what works, and doesn’t work for me, in the hope it may help some. Sorry if this doesn’t address your issues mate. Happy to hear that Virtual Desktop is working ok. VD has also always been a good workaround for me as well.
Can comfirm that this is the case. Bumping this but I doubt that Meta will provide any effective support
The problems started a couple of updates ago. Anything above 200mbps bitrate (whether fixed or dynamic) causes huge performance problems.
My setup hasn't changed at all. I used to enjoy flawless performance with wired link at 500mbps fixed bitrate (H264). This all turned horrible with V83 and has continued.
I tried Air Link and had the same problems, so this isn't a USB problem. I even tried a factory reset of headset - no difference.
Judging from ODT performance overlay (Oculus Link), it seems to be some issue with encoding/decoding.
I've switched over to Virtual Desktop where I enjoy perfect performance with H264+ codec at 500mbps.
I'd like to go back to wired link if it ever gets fixed as I find the sharpening better. It seems Meta doesn't really care so I'm losing hope this will ever happen.
