4 issues with HTC VIVE (or SteamVR?)

[ntsarb]

Hi,

Yesterday was my first day with the HTC VIVE and I'm really pleased VR technology is here, but I'm disappointed with some issues that I can't resolve on my own:

1. While in VR, objects close to me that should be standing still appear to be slightly moving as I move my head left, right, up and down. They slightly move the moment my head moves. This causes a slight feeling of disorientation/nausea.

After a bit of experimentation, I found that this effect becomes more obvious when I increase the distance of my eyes from the lenses of the VIVE (eye relief), by adjusting the VIVE accordingly.

That probably means that the virtual cameras used to render the scene in stereoscopic 3D may not take into consideration the eye relief setting, and/or the geometric abberation of the freznel lenses.

Is this right or wrong? Is eye relief configurable in software?

2. Near the edges of the VIVE's lenses, things get blurred. So much that I cannot read any text in SteamVR. Once I slightly turn my head, to bring the point of interest into the centre of view, it all becomes crystal clear. Is this a lens issue or is it something that can be fixed by means of software configuration?

3. Near the edges of the VIVE's lenses, color abberation is obvious. I thought this was an issue of the past. Again, is this a hardware issue, or a configuration issue, and how can I resolve it?

4. Finally, I clearly see the circles of the fresnel lenses and I have confirmed that my friend clearly sees them, too.

I've got a pretty sharp eyesight but when I tried another HTC VIVE (demo), I didn't notice any of the aforementioned visual defects.

I have set up the VIVE with my own IPD. The lighthouses rest on flat, steady surfaces and I've reset the system 3 times.

Do you also notice these visual defects, to any extent? Have I received a faulty piece of hardware that needs to be replaced? Or, am I missing something in relation to the setup process? Or, is it a software/driver issue that could be fixed by HTC and/or Valve?

Thanks.

[shponglefan]

Re: #2, check out this reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/4e925m/ive_been_wearing_the_headset_wrong_and_i_think_a/

Re: #3, chromatic aberration is just a reality of the lenses in all HMDs. You can see it in examples here: http://doc-ok.org/?p=1414 Getting rid of chromatic aberration would likely require much more expensive optics.

[Cyrix]

4. Finally, I clearly see the circles of the fresnel lenses and I have confirmed that my friend clearly sees them, too.

This happens in dark environments, such as the default Vive screen you get when no game is open. It will not happen in a bright environment

[Cyrix]

After a bit of experimentation, I found that this effect becomes more obvious when I increase the distance of my eyes from the lenses of the VIVE (eye relief), by adjusting the VIVE accordingly.

How do you adjust the relief? I know you can adjust the distance between the lenses with the knob on the right side, but see no way to adjust the distance between the lenses and your eyes.

[ntsarb]

Originally posted by Cyrix:

After a bit of experimentation, I found that this effect becomes more obvious when I increase the distance of my eyes from the lenses of the VIVE (eye relief), by adjusting the VIVE accordingly.

How do you adjust the relief? I know you can adjust the distance between the lenses with the knob on the right side, but see no way to adjust the distance between the lenses and your eyes.

Where the left and the right straps attach to the headset, there are two round rings. Softly pull them outwards and then you can rotate them in steps. You'll also notice the scale printed on the front part of the headset. Make sure both sides are set at the same eye relief distance. Then, push the rings back into place. The further away the lenses get from your eyes, your field of view gets narrower.

[ntsarb]

Originally posted by Cyrix:

4. Finally, I clearly see the circles of the fresnel lenses and I have confirmed that my friend clearly sees them, too.

This happens in dark environments, such as the default Vive screen you get when no game is open. It will not happen in a bright environment

Very true, just noticed. It also appears in bright environment with dark forground, i.e. in all high contrast scenes. As VR designers will take this into account, this shouldn't be an issue, then.

[ntsarb]

Originally posted by shponglefan:

Re: #2, check out this reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/4e925m/ive_been_wearing_the_headset_wrong_and_i_think_a/

Re: #3, chromatic aberration is just a reality of the lenses in all HMDs. You can see it in examples here: http://doc-ok.org/?p=1414 Getting rid of chromatic aberration would likely require much more expensive optics.

Thanks for the links; very useful articles.

I think I'm already wearing the headset correctly because I can see how much worse it can get when wearing it the other way...

There's nothing I can do about the quality of the lenses, though, and it looks like issues 2-4 relate to that. I guess I just wish the lenses were of better quality or at least replaceable. The original lenses appear to be made of plastic. It would be nice to have the option of upgrading to higher-quality optics.

[davidmierzwa]

Originally posted by ntsarb:

Originally posted by shponglefan:

Re: #2, check out this reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/4e925m/ive_been_wearing_the_headset_wrong_and_i_think_a/

Re: #3, chromatic aberration is just a reality of the lenses in all HMDs. You can see it in examples here: http://doc-ok.org/?p=1414 Getting rid of chromatic aberration would likely require much more expensive optics.

Thanks for the links; very useful articles.

I think I'm already wearing the headset correctly because I can see how much worse it can get when wearing it the other way...

There's nothing I can do about the quality of the lenses, though, and it looks like issues 2-4 relate to that. I guess I just wish the lenses were of better quality or at least replaceable. The original lenses appear to be made of plastic. It would be nice to have the option of upgrading to higher-quality optics.

I know I haven't been able to cure the blurriness with a position change as noted in the provided link. While I love the headset, the blur factor outside of the center spot (small) is very distracting. This doesn't seem to be right and I most likely will raise a support ticket to see what can be done.

[Bloddwyn]

Yes, actually it is very distracting. Please keep us updated, if you raise a ticket and get an answer.

[I AM ODG]

you sir have listed every issue i've been searching since i purchased the Vive, please update if you've resolved any of these issues please!

[Glitchy]

I'm considering getting the vive. With this issue, could it be a brightness, color, contrasting issue? change the settings like with a tv for sharper image and less glare? Also, how's the distance between the eyes and lenses feel? i haven't had the chance to try out any HMD's yet and i'm curious how natural the experience feels.

[ntsarb]

Originally posted by J-Walker:

I'm considering getting the vive. With this issue, could it be a brightness, color, contrasting issue? change the settings like with a tv for sharper image and less glare? Also, how's the distance between the eyes and lenses feel? i haven't had the chance to try out any HMD's yet and i'm curious how natural the experience feels.

Following up from my initial post, after a bit or research, I have found the following:

1. I think the translation of the location of the HMD to the actual position of the eyes (Point of View) can be further improved by adding a configuration setting in SteamVR to represent the eye relief distance, if there's no sensor to automatically measure it.

This can only be implemented by Valve Software.

2. I still haven't identified the cause of the bluriness on the left and right hand side of the peripheral vision. The upper and lower sides look much clearer (except from the color aberation, mentioned below).

3. The color aberations on the sides of the lenses can be compensated in software, in SteamVR. Besides the profile of the lenses, color aberations may likely also be affected by the eye relief, which means that the eye relief configuration setting in SteamVR (mentioned earlier) could be taken into account.

This can only be implemented by Valve Software.

4. The glare of the freznel lenses can be reduced in software, in SteamVR, by reducing the intensity (luminance) of pixels in the region of our peripheral vision.

This can only be implemented by Valve Software.

Our peripheral vision is significantly more sensitive to light in dark background than our font vision. Amateur astronomers are well aware of this fact and use their peripheral vision to find faint stars in the night sky more easily.

Hence, it can't be completely removed, as it's due to the freznel lenses, but it can be improved.

People who own both HMDs, i.e. the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, have reported that the HTC Vive has less glare than the Oculus, if that helps.

I hope this post reaches one way or another the SteamVR development team, who are probably the most appropriate people to help resolve or minimize the impact of these issues.

[I AM ODG]

awesome feedback ntsarb, thank you for sharing!

[granolaboi]

A problem with my vive is that even with glasses, the left eye is fine, but the right is a complete blur, same without glasses, and even on other headsets, like the rift. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG!?!?!