Why does SteamVR's resolution...suck...so...bad...?

[pipe.surgeon]

So I came across another project called OpenXR and any VR game I've tried with it looks crisp as ♥♥♥♥. Why can't this be achieved in SteamVR? I've tried increasing the per-eye resolution settings up to 200% and the visual still look blurry. I don't think I need stronger prescription lenses ( Yes, I wear glasses).

For reference, I have both an "RTX 3060 12GB" AND an "RX 6700 XT", and my headset is an "HP Reverb G2 V2". It doesn't matter what card I use, the resolution is super blurry under SteamVR. However with OpenXR/Opencomposite, the G2 is clear as ♥♥♥♥. What gives? (The only reason I'm not using OpenXR/Opencomposite is there's a headset drifting issue and theres no way to calibrate WMR controllers like you can in steamVR to fix the drifting).

SteamVR - no headset/controller drift, but ♥♥♥♥♥♥ visuals.
OpenXR/Opencomposite - has headset/controller drift, but superior visuals.

WTF?...

[Gracey Face]

What do you say when you mean blurry? I am on an index rather than a G2 but have never encountered blurryness. The opposite is actually the problem in that because the res of the headset isn't high enough you can still very clearly see individual pixels/rows of pixels.

Is it specific to a single game or is it a general thing?

[pipe.surgeon]

Originally posted by Gracey Face:

What do you say when you mean blurry? I am on an index rather than a G2 but have never encountered blurryness. The opposite is actually the problem in that because the res of the headset isn't high enough you can still very clearly see individual pixels/rows of pixels.

Is it specific to a single game or is it a general thing?

When I say blurry, I mean images, words and scenery aren't sharp, crisp, they appear rough in the display. It's sort of like i'm gaming in 800x600 vs FHD resolution. Not sure if resolution is the right word to use. I know it's not the physical headset display that's the issue though.

It's not specific to a single game, just generally speaking. Even the dome in SteamVR looks low res. I've gotten a lot of free VR games here on steam to run under OpenXR/Opencomposite and the image looks a lot better than running them in SteamVR.

[--ranXerox--]

The better the headset, the better the resolution., the better SteamVR shows you how nice things will look.

[TheMicroMechanic]

keep in mind,if you change the resolution of the steam overlay, you are only changing the resolution outside of games! to change resolution ingame, select video config for each game, there you can select the resolution!

Other thing is(if you have a nvidia, i do not know the process for AMD)
open nvidia control panel and change the setting for the vr game you want(for example, Supersampling, V Sync, mess around with those options!

Vr is still a market so terrible and disorganized

[Ghanth]

Yes, I do agree with OP, there is something off with SteamVR sharpness. Now I can't read a text at mid-distance that I used to be able to some time ago. It has become an awful bunch of flickering pixels. This got went worse with updates some time ago... I guess when they changed their core code for OpenXR...

[--ranXerox--]

try turning off the antilasing in steamVR. it makes everythig sharper. its in the video section and it's called advanced supersampling filtering. This removes jadged edges but it also puts back the sharpness when it's turned off.

[pipe.surgeon]

Originally posted by Estevacio:

keep in mind,if you change the resolution of the steam overlay, you are only changing the resolution outside of games! to change resolution ingame, select video config for each game, there you can select the resolution!

Other thing is(if you have a nvidia, i do not know the process for AMD)
open nvidia control panel and change the setting for the vr game you want(for example, Supersampling, V Sync, mess around with those options!

Vr is still a market so terrible and disorganized

Currently I have my AMD card installed. None of SteamVR's settings do anything image-wise, neither do changing settings via AMD Adrenalin.

Originally posted by Ghanth:

Yes, I do agree with OP, there is something off with SteamVR sharpness. Now I can't read a text at mid-distance that I used to be able to some time ago. It has become an awful bunch of flickering pixels. This got went worse with updates some time ago... I guess when they changed their core code for OpenXR...

Yes, I noticed that. I also own a "Dell Visor" and the resolution of the "HP Reverb G2" when running is via SteamVR is pretty much the same. The Reverb is leap and bounds better. I haven't tried the "Dell Visor" with OpenXR/OpenComposite yet, but I suspect it will look way better if I can get it to work. I'll have to try that.

According to this page[mbucchia.github.io], the G2 supports OpenXR natively, and this page said SteamVR has full OpenXR support. I think the real problem is SteamVR's "vrcompositor.exe" is simply inferior and does some bullshiting with render resolutions.

P.S: Valve Index doesn't support OpenXR.

[Ghanth]

Originally posted by --ranXerox--:

try turning off the antilasing in steamVR. it makes everythig sharper. its in the video section and it's called advanced supersampling filtering. This removes jadged edges but it also puts back the sharpness when it's turned off.

I know about that. It's off. Renderings through SteamVR used to be crisp and sharp but now it is not anymore. I've witnessed a significant downgrade in sharpness in comparison to older SteamVR releases from a while ago.

[Ghanth]

Originally posted by pipe.surgeon:

According to this page[mbucchia.github.io], the G2 supports OpenXR natively, and this page said SteamVR has full OpenXR support. I think the real problem is SteamVR's "vrcompositor.exe" is simply inferior and does some bullshiting with render resolutions.

I agree and this is my guess too. I hope Valve's engineers will have a serious look at this so they will address a fix soon!

[pipe.surgeon]

This post is to answer my own original question as to why the image resolution sucked so hard under SteamVR.

After loads of testing though trial and error and wasting tons of hours, it turns out the real source of the problem was a WMR setting and not a SteamVR issue. This setting is under Windows Settings -> Mixed Reality -> Headset display -> Experience options -> Change. You want that option to be "Best visual quality" and you will no longer see swiggly/jagged lines while in the SteamVR menu or in games, and word fonts are much clearer. Why the hell this affects SteamVR is beyong me, because I think anyone could think it was a problem with a SteamVR setting or SteamVR just being ♥♥♥♥. I still believe the SteamVR's compositor is inferior to something like Opencomposite.

Bonus: For anyone with a WMR headset experiencing frames being locked at 45fps, you want to open the SteamVR menu and go to "Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR" - > Graphics -> "Default SteamVR app motion reprojection mode". Set that to disabled. And again, why they have a totally separate instance of that setting, which basically is the same as the motion reprojection under SteamVR itself, is beyong me. Poor design and poor communication.

This video explains it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbWb7HfAmBc

[temps]

So if it's a WMR thing it must not be affecting most of the other headsets, I take it. Just the Reverb G2.

[pipe.surgeon]

Originally posted by temps:

So if it's a WMR thing it must not be affecting most of the other headsets, I take it. Just the Reverb G2.

Yes, it affects only and all WMR headsets. I was looking in the wrong place (SteamVR settings) to fix the problem. That's all.

[rhylos]

While the OP may have adjusted the quality of some of their visual settings, I still agree that the visual quality is crisper and most importantly, the graphics are brighter and metallic graphics more reflective. One can compare this to games that have a native desktop view, such as Elite Dangerous. OpenXR method has better visuals. It is as if a thin gray film is over the lens.

I'm not clear if this is due to SteamVR or the WMR for Steam component but do know that OpenXR with Opencomposit using the native Windows Mixed Reality Port for Windows 11 is better visually whether this is due to gamut, colorspace, HDR, or other layer that is affecting WMR based HMD's.

Feedback would be appreciated from users or Devs that have actually used OpenXR with WMR based HMD's and not just from users recommending SteamVR settings.