The Index thread (please keep to subject)

RuneSR2 said:

Today's Index News  o:) 

1. Before Index there was Vader - but Vader would cost $5000 and therefore was terminated:
......

It is fascinating to consider all the prototypes and design investigations variations that take place before a product can be productized, configured for fabrication and then a release candidate version developed. The process of "design to fabrication" for a complicated electrical item like a VR headset sees countless iterations. This can be best understood with how far the Oculus CV2 release candidate was developed back in 2018, before it was abandoned for the Lenovo WinMR design compromise.

We have already seen a hint at the different concept design studies that Valve undertook from the VR Room to the Index Mk1, [image]. As the VR Room system, it was a custom design that was still shipped in limited quantities back in 2012, you could claim that that was over $100,000 a unit, and it was actually shipped and supported. I wonder if Vader was more a design study to gain HTC information, than a serious release candidate, (good story for promoting the book though)?

I just got this app:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361700/HalfLife_Alyx__Final_Hours/

It's like a book as is quite comprehensive - fully worth the price. I grabbed some Index shots from the "book":

The "book" does put Index and Alyx into perspective - the amount of work going into both Index and Alyx is simply incredible. 

Great images - thanks for sharing, though I think I pulled most of mine from the SteamVR expo event.  One of the highpoints was being able to use VR Room originally - especially how sweet that recreation of it was on the Valve VR demo on ViVE (The LAB). 

Just saw this in a Danish shop - it's about $1100 including VAT just for the controllers and 2 base stations - you don't get the hmd  :D 

Today's math - just got the following directly from Steam VR:

Index 100% in SteamVR Home = 2016 x 2240 pixels per eye = 9,031,680 pixels in total.
Index 200% in SteamVR Home = 2848 x 3168 pixels per eye = 18,171,648 in total.

Index physical res is 1440 x 1600 pixels per eye = 4,608,000 pixels in total. 

But 9,031,680/4,608,000 = 1.96 - meaning that Index SteamVR res 100% is nearly double the physical res - which is quite massive. 

Now, 2016/1440 and 2240/1600 are both equal to 1.4. And 1.4 x 1.4 = 1.96. Thus SteamVR res 100% multiplies each dimension (height and width) of the physical res by 1.4. 

Not sure why 200% isn't 2880 x 3200, but it's very close as 2848/1440 and 3168/1600 are 1.98. 

Thus Steam res 100% is about the double of the physical res - while res 200% is about four times the physical res. I know I once measured my CV1 to be ss 1.4 (OTT) when using SteamVR res 100%, and ss 2.0 for SteamVR 200%. I guess nothing has changed there. But it has been changed for the Reverb:

Interesting that Index res 100% in SteamVR really is double the physical res. If the same logic applies to Reverb (G2), then Reverb (G2) SteamVR res 100% corresponds to Index SteamVR res 200%. Note that Reverb physical res is 2160 x 2160 per eye = 9,331,200 pixels in total - and 1.96 that res is 18,289,152 pixels, more or less totally similar to using Index res 200%. I can run many games in Index res 200%, but there're tons of games where that res is way too demanding.  
According to some Reddit users, Reverb has been set much lower in SteamVR to maintain acceptable performance, thus SteamVR res 100% seems to be 2208 x 2160 pixels and very close to the physical res. 

Compared to the Index, then Reverb SteamVR res 100% is only pushing 5% more pixels than Index res 100%. This would indicate that SteamVR res 200% is causing a similar gpu burden no matter if you use Reverb or Index. And that Index gets much more super sampling the Reverb - but Reverb may not need it...

The conclusion could be that Index and Reverb has similar system requirements - if you want to use SteamVR res 100% - 150% or 200% - etc. 

Some sources:
https://www.reddit.com/r/HPReverb/comments/gv7uio/native_render_resolution_for_hp_reverb/
https://www.reddit.com/r/ValveIndex/comments/c7b680/per_eye_resolution_in_steamvr/

Maybe it's time to share some of the good stuff too - also when I can personally support the post (the last 9 months I've had no controller issues - including completing Alyx and much more):


Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/ValveIndex/comments/hrdeli/1000_hours_of_service_and_they_still_lookwork_new/

I really love the Knuckles - and of course I still love good old Touch - kinda like having two kids, who are different, and of course you can love more than one, lol ;)

During the summer holidays we've been somewhat grounded due to Covid-19, but we've visited like fun parks, museums, restaurants, botanical gardens - even saw a T-Rex on display yesterday (but it wasn't as cool as the one I saw in the Royal Tyrrell Museum) - and we've had many fun and interesting experiences. 

But somehow it all fades when I stand in City 17 with my Dark Energy/pulse-powered sub machine gun, lol. And it totally looks and feels real. 

In short, real-life experiences of course contain the greatest and most important moments, but VR offers experiences far beyond everyday life. I consider myself fortunate to be able to experience these worlds. Valve isn't lying:




Btw, after visiting some art museums, I really don't think the difference between the real world and VR is that big - at least when it comes to paintings. Especially when the VR paintings are reproduced with ultra-high resolution, where you even can see the smallest cracks in the paint, I don't think the VR experience is significantly worse than experiencing paintings in the real world. This is also due to the hmd res allowing you to experience an extreme amount of details when looking at objects less than 3 or 4 feet away (or better less than 1 foot away) - VR hmds have their weaknesses when looking at far way objects, but truly shine when you're close to objects. So don't feel bad about going to art museums without leaving your home ;) 

Nice video:


 - like Matteo311 I've never experienced any heat from the Index, nor needed any counterweight - and I don't have problems with the cable (but I don't spin around much, lol). I'd be careful with the ChillDex, in case it could blow dust inside the lenses. Maybe Index will be more hot using 120 or 144 Hz, but I using 90 Hz I never felt more heat from Index than CV1. That said I never measured temps and Index has not once fogged up - while CV1 often fogged up - maybe Index is designed to be slightly hotter here'n there to avoid fogging of the lenses. 

Also a warning - do not use the breakaway cable to detach the Index from your rig. That cable is only for emergency situations and is not for everyday use. I think the cable is rated at being able to do about 50 "breakaways" - persons often unplugging the breakaway cable could end up experiencing this  :# 

https://www.reddit.com/r/ValveIndex/comments/gg1toc/received_my_index_after_a_long_6_week_wait_to/

RuneSR2 said:

...That said I never measured temps and Index has not once fogged up - while CV1 often fogged up - maybe Index is designed to be slightly hotter here'n there to avoid fogging of the lenses. 

. Mine fogs up, but only when I first plug it in. If I leave it plugged in (which I often do; I mostly unplug it when I know I'll have visitors and want to move the HMD somewhere where it wouldn't be in the way), the fogging never occurs. I guess leaving it plugged in keeps the headset just a smidge warmer

Comrade_Ivan said:

RuneSR2 said:

...That said I never measured temps and Index has not once fogged up - while CV1 often fogged up - maybe Index is designed to be slightly hotter here'n there to avoid fogging of the lenses. 

. Mine fogs up, but only when I first plug it in. If I leave it plugged in (which I often do; I mostly unplug it when I know I'll have visitors and want to move the HMD somewhere where it wouldn't be in the way), the fogging never occurs. I guess leaving it plugged in keeps the headset just a smidge warmer

Makes sense - and I forgot to mention that my Index is always plugged in (blue light standby mode).