CV1 screens grey not black?

[Scott185]

Hi all, i have a question to all those who have or have tried a CV1. The black level in my rift are not what I was expecting. Black screens look like a washed out grey colour with light red smearing at the top and bottom when on a blank screen, the sort of look black has on an LCD. I was expecting the screen to be true black, as in not light from them at all when displaying black screens. They are oled's after all and oled's are known for amazing black levels. is this normal?

Ps.
Despite that still loving it. 

[RiftFlyer]

The problem seems to me to be they don't want to turn off any pixels when rendering blacks.

Could be for any number of reasons:

-does it improves panel response time?
-maybe it's to avoid smearing?
-Perhaps to lower the contrast enough to reduce the effect of God rays?

I'm guessing here as support haven't told me why.

It's actually worse than the dk2 screen door for how noticeable and distracting it is. I'd prefer some smearing and proper blacks levels.

I'll give support another week to update me on the issue or I'll be requesting an RMA. The rift is unusable with so much software at present because of the issue. I've had dk1 and dk2. I don't think my expectations are too high for cv1 but this issue is a major flaw which I can't ignore.

[Raptoid]

I agree need to return mine also if this is the best they can do. It is definitely bothersome.

[GoldenRetroGames]

oOunknownuserOo said:

So has there been any resolution to the above that fixed these issues entirely?

As I've mentioned in some other threads, there isn't any fix at the moment.  If you contact support, they'll likely send you spudToggle.bat.  It stops the Oculus services, disables SPUD (through removal of a registry key) and restarts the service.  It doesn't fix all display issues, but you'll likely find that the red and gamma issues are gone.  

You'll then be told to run the batch file again to re-enable SPUD, as it will void your warranty to continue using it as it may damage the headset with long term use.  They will also tell you that their development team is working on a software fix to re-calibrate displays in the field.

That's where I've been sitting for about 1.5 weeks now.

As I mentioned, the batch file doesn't seem to solve all issues.  Even with SPUD disabled, my right screen is still noticeably brighter than my left screen.  This is especially noticeable in dark scenes, as the right screen never comes close to displaying black.

We're at the mercy of Oculus at the moment.  Let's hope the software update comes out soon.  I'm actually surprised they haven't provided a beta to those of us who've reported this issue,

[Raptoid]

So wait, if I contact them they send me SPUD but if I use it too long it will void my warranty? This is supposed to be a consumer ready product I claim BS get it fixed now or start looking in your return bin Oculus.

[GoldenRetroGames]

Just to clarify, SPUD is something already running on your system.  It's part of the runtime package.  The batch file support is sending disables it.  Someone on Reddit commented that support told them they could continue running with SPUD disabled until a proper fix is available.  Here's what I was told:

Using the Rift with spud usage disabled is not supported at this time, and as a result, we will be unable to troubleshoot any issues that arise from doing so. This is at your own risk, if the device breaks while using that tool then it will most likely not be covered under warranty.

Even if I was told that I could run with SPUD disabled, it doesn't help me.  The brightness difference between my displays continue to make the HMD extremely uncomfortable to use.

[geeteeee]

I have the SPUD tool, and one of the more noticeable places that it has an impact is in Epic's "Showdown" reel.  When you first launch it there's the Epic logo spinning in black space - that space is notably darker/inkier when "SPUD=N" and then returns to a slightly hazy look without it.  I found "SPUD=N" did reduce my mild red tinting, but it hasn't addressed fully black levels in Lost or Henry, where a dark grey haze appears across dark scenes such as the openers.  I live in hope!

[RiftFlyer]

Is there any update on the red veil issue and lack of proper black levels in cv1?

I've had two conversations with support. The first resulted in me being sent the spud batch file which failed to remedy the issue. It just turned blacks grey and added a green tint instead of red.

Second time I contacted them I asked about RMA and was told that this is a software issue and not related to my hardware yet I've seen others fix the issue with a new cable!

Where am I legally with this? How long must I wait for a fix or when is it too late to pursue a replacement unit?

If it's not hardware then why isn't everyone else seeing the issue?

Surely Oculus have had enough time to research the issue. Are they hoping I'll just accept it and move on? I'm getting very frustrated. I've had dk1 and dk2 so did not have unreasonable expectations for cv1 but this issue is not acceptable. @cybereality or other staff can you tell us if a fix is in the pipeline?

[decalpha]

Frusheen said:

Is there any update on the red veil issue and lack of proper black levels in cv1?



I've had two conversations with support. The first resulted in me being sent the spud batch file which failed to remedy the issue. It just turned blacks grey and added a green tint instead of red.



Second time I contacted them I asked about RMA and was told that this is a software issue and not related to my hardware yet I've seen others fix the issue with a new cable!



Where am I legally with this? How long must I wait for a fix or when is it too late to pursue a replacement unit?



If it's not hardware then why isn't everyone else seeing the issue?



Surely Oculus have had enough time to research the issue. Are they hoping I'll just accept it and move on? I'm getting very frustrated. I've had dk1 and dk2 so did not have unreasonable expectations for cv1 but this issue is not acceptable. @cybereality or other staff can you tell us if a fix is in the pipeline?

Can you point me to where I can read about the cable fix?

[RiftFlyer]

The cable fix was mentioned by one guy on Facebook who had the red veil issue. When I questioned him further it turns out he was using an adapter cable as his graphics card did not have full size HDMI ports. It was this cable he changed and not the rift cable. Sorry for any confusion. I only just clarified the position. So the rift cable may not be the cause of this issue.

[decalpha]

Ok, hmm I didn't even know there was other sizes of HDMI connectors.
I can see the reasoning when using DVI-Hdmi converters, going between RGB limited and Full, and how that might impact the image.

However the red 'mist' / 'veil' seems to originating from having the OLEDs pre-heated for next refresh, don't think they anticipated the artifacts to be as excessive as we are seeing, maybe one of the component suppliers slipped a bit on their specs. For fun I tried using both integrated and external USB ports to see if any minor voltage difference would result in a change, but looks like the Rift internal electronics handle it nicely.

All in all I'm still enjoying it very much, the last few Oculus Home / Nvidia updates have resolved some of my Gamma/RGB-range issues I was experiencing earlier. (So the apps I still have issues with will most likely fix themselves eventually via patches).