Will the Quest 3S be able to play movies in pitch dark? + some additional questions

[john.815889]

I was considering buying an VR headset but since I don't like to bother other people with lights on at night in order for the cameras to detect the motion, or I don't like to depend on stands like the stuff you have to install to use the Valve Index, I decided finally to not buy an VR headset, because what I found was that headsets in pitch dark will drift the image to one side for some reason. The Oculus Go was able to play movies in pitch dark without drifting from what I have read, because the internal gyros were good, but apparently more modern ones, while they have a "3dof mode" that will track motion with the gyros, it's not good enough and will result in image drifting.

I saw some people mentioning how you could buy a lamp that emits IR light but that is yet another annoyance. I want to be able to for instance be on a long plane trip and be able to watch movies at night, so I don't want to depend on these external stuffs.

I was reading on the up and coming 3S and apparently it has installed IR emitters installed, whatever that means. Im just assuming it emits IR light so you don't need to buy an IR lamp to use it on the dark? But will it work in pitch dark? I just need that it could at least play movies. So I was wondering if this would finally be a way to use it without light.

It was surprising to find out that it's such a problem to run a 2D movie recorded with VR180, 190 or 200 degree fisheye cameras, where you only need 3dof movement, if the environment had no lights, because the gyros where not good enough. But then again, like I said before, the Oculus Go seemed to do well and not drifft the image to the side.

Since I have not been able to find a way for this use case, I have been just using Smartphone VR with some generic headset, which also drifts the image, but at least the app has a way to auto-recenter the image every 10 minutes or so before it becomes noticeable.

I know people that tried headsets in pitch dark in a pr0n subreddit and it was noticeable how the image was drifting to the side with basically all headsets when running in "3dof mode" with only gyros which was shocking to me since I would have expected technology to be better in 2024. So perhaps this headset can do this due improved gyros or the IR emitters?

Anyway, if anyone could test this for this use case please let me know, and then I may considering buying this product.

One thing I already hate of this product is that they only give you 3 presets for IPD. What if my eyes are set in between the 3 distances? It is nonsense that they wouldn't just allow you to gradually move the lenses until you find a sweet spot. Even my cheap generic headset for the Smartphone allows me to change IPD like that. For some reason they decided to remove this feature that the Quest 3 has. I also don't like that you only can use the bluetooth headphones. I don't like to use wireless stuff for many hours since I don't think that's healthy due the electromagnetic fields or radiation or whatever the devices emite when using wireless. So I prefer to use cables.

I also want to know if you could use the device plugged to a computer to read video files from, and if that is the case, will the headset charge as you play the movies, or you would need an additional cable that goes to the AC plug? Will it charge at a slower rate while you use it?

Would it be possible to use it with no charger, then wait for battery to be like 20%, then plug it and keep using it and once it reaches 100% just remove the cable and repeat?

If I could get these questions answered, I will really consider this device. Please let me know. Thanks.

[MetaQuestSupport]

Hi @john.815889 - We would absolutely love to welcome you in our VR community. We are biased, but we think you should hop on the Meta Quest train! 

To answer your questions, our headsets require some light in order to create a boundary to avoid drifting issues. If you would like to avoid wireless usage, you can also purchase the Meta Quest Link cable to use your headset as a PCVR device.  If you would like to compare the different Meta Quests you can always have a look at this page here. The Meta Quest 3S is more of an introduction to VR to our users, which explains the 3-position IAD adjust. However, the Meta Quest 3 and the Meta Quest Pro have continuous IAD. 

If you have any further questions, you can always DM us. To do so, please select our name to get to our profile page, or click here. Next, click "Send a Message" to privately message us! Please remember, you must be signed into the community first to send us a private message.

Speak soon! 

[kojack]

IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit, a combination of accelerometers and gyroscopes) tracking always has yaw drift (yaw is rotation around the upwards direction, like turning around while standing up). This is because the accelerometer part can only detect the direction of gravity and relative movement, not the facing direction (that would require an extremely accurate compass). The gyroscopes can pick up relative rotations, but they don't know the real direction, it's just lots of little adjustments that add together and build up mathematical errors over time.

The way Meta headsets work is sensor fusion. They take IMU data (very fast, like 500 updates per second, but drifts over time) and mix it with slow but stable tracking such as external cameras or onboard cameras.

The Go doesn't have a better IMU, it still drifts just like the rest (I've got a Go). Well, it drifts at all times, the others only drift in the dark.

I just watched 9min of a documentary on Egypt on my Quest 3 in the dark while lying on my bed. No noticeable drift. But if it did, holding the Meta button for 2 seconds resets the orientation anyway. (This was just a test, I never normally use my headsets in the dark)

I haven't seen the details of the 3s IR lights yet, but they are intended for hand tracking. On similar systems like the Leap Motion the IR lights are only bright enough to reach your hands, they definitely won't light up a room enough to do head tracking.

Also be aware that if you don't want to bother other people, you'll need headphones. The Quest headsets have a fair amount of sound leakage, even at low volumes everybody around you will hear what you are watching.

The only Meta/Oculus headsets that works well in total darkness with absolutely no drift are the 2014 DK2 and 2016 CV1, since they work with external IR cameras and IR tracking lights on the headset (in addition to the IMU). But then you need cables and camera stands and stuff which you didn't want. The worst ones for drift are the DK1 and the Go, since they will drift even in bright light (no cameras, just IMU).

The IPD thing would be annoying. But that's most likely the main reason the Quest 3s is cheaper. Almost everything else in it is from the Quest 3, but the lenses and IPD stuff is from the Quest 2.

Then again I spent a lot of time with a Rift-S, it has no IPD adjustment and didn't match my eyes, but it was fine. (It's locked to 64mm, I'm about 68-70)

[DaftnDirect]

Regarding reading video files that are stored on a PC... you can read them directly via Link (cable) or Airlink (wireless) by viewing the PC desktop within the Quest's link software. Then running whatever media player you have installed on your PC to play the files on the PC and view the whole thing in the headset. You're basically controlling your PC with your Quest. The Quest can't read PC drives as if they're plugged directly into the headset though.

However, the best way to view movies stored on a PC is to enable the PC's media server capabilities and use a proper VR media player installed on the Quest (like Skybox) that has DLNA and Airplay built-in, then stream the files to the headset wirelessly. I do this from my movie library on my NAS. This will give you access to stuff like virtual cinema environments, menus designed for VR and the ability to play 3D movie files properly... with per-movie settings, in case you have a mix of SBS and OU files for example.

Yes, you can plug-in to charge and unplug whenever you want during use, from a wall plug or from a battery pack.

Edit: you can of course copy the files to the headset pretty quickly via USB if you think you might want to take them on the move with you.

[john.815889]

So there's no way to auto-recenter every 10 minutes or so? I don't want to be pressing a button everytime I notice some drift. My Smartphone VR headphone can do that, and my generic chinese headset can also adjust IPD gradually so I find the fact that they removed this from the 3S to save on costs interesting to say the least.

So at this point im still not sure if I should buy it. Main use case would be using it on the dark and if it drifts and I have to be pressing a button and so on it's no worth it.

Perhaps the IR lamp is the way to go?