How is upscaling on the Index?

[N0REGARD4LIFE]

I have a Reverb G2 which looks amazing. The clarity on that HMD is crazy. The controllers leave something to be desired though so I just bought an Index full kit. My PC can push the full resolution of the Reverb G2 fine with no issues at a locked 90fps even on Alyx. If I were to increase the resolution scale on the Index would it help to alleviate the massive 50 resolution hit I’d be taking with the Index?

[Bob Loblaw]

Originally posted by N0REGARD4LIFE:

If I were to increase the resolution scale on the Index would it help to alleviate the massive 50 resolution hit I’d be taking with the Index?

Yes, if you've been running your G2 at 100% resolution and not higher. No, if you have been running your G2 at 150% or higher resolution.

I upgraded my GPU before my HMD, so I was able to drive my OG Vive to very high supersampling after using it at 100% resolution for years on a slow GPU. The bump to 150% resolution is a very noticeable improvement, as measured by the legibility of fine text in a VR test room. The gains slowed after that and between 150% to 200% resolution there's a very marginal increase in legibility. After 200% I saw no increased legibility, which is not to say there's no difference at all... fine long white lines on black background continue to anti-alias better up to 500% resolution, but that's a special case.

The OG Vive is a pentile display with 2 sub pixels per pixel, and the Index and G2 have 3. I don't know how much that factors in. Index can also run a higher refresh rate which is like anti-aliasing in the time domain instead of the space domain, so there's that, too. Running an Index at 144Hz at 150% SS will look sharper than 90Hz at 100%, and should approach your G2 at 100%. Godrays will be worse. Your G2 at 150% would be the best for resolution. But if you use the index you won't have games interrupted to recalibrate the HMD.

[N0REGARD4LIFE]

Originally posted by Bob Loblaw:

Originally posted by N0REGARD4LIFE:

If I were to increase the resolution scale on the Index would it help to alleviate the massive 50 resolution hit I’d be taking with the Index?

Yes, if you've been running your G2 at 100% resolution and not higher. No, if you have been running your G2 at 150% or higher resolution.

I upgraded my GPU before my HMD, so I was able to drive my OG Vive to very high supersampling after using it at 100% resolution for years on a slow GPU. The bump to 150% resolution is a very noticeable improvement, as measured by the legibility of fine text in a VR test room. The gains slowed after that and between 150% to 200% resolution there's a very marginal increase in legibility. After 200% I saw no increased legibility, which is not to say there's no difference at all... fine long white lines on black background continue to anti-alias better up to 500% resolution, but that's a special case.

The OG Vive is a pentile display with 2 sub pixels per pixel, and the Index and G2 have 3. I don't know how much that factors in. Index can also run a higher refresh rate which is like anti-aliasing in the time domain instead of the space domain, so there's that, too. Running an Index at 144Hz at 150% SS will look sharper than 90Hz at 100%, and should approach your G2 at 100%. Godrays will be worse. Your G2 at 150% would be the best for resolution. But if you use the index you won't have games interrupted to recalibrate the HMD.

Thanks for the information. I can definitely run the Index at 150% at 90hz and I’d honestly rather sacrifice refresh rate for clarity especially in DCS World where seeing those small details off in the distance make all of the difference. I’m gonna explore the possibility of using the knuckles with my G2 but I’ll need to buy a few extra things for that and IDK how that’ll cost.

[N0REGARD4LIFE]

Bleh. Even with supersampling at 200% the Index display still looks horrible compared to my G2 and it’s not even close. The screen door effect is also super noticeable compared to the G2. I get used to all of that after an hour of play but going back and forth between HMDs is jarring.

[GuRu Asaki]

Upscaling is hilariously funny as a Concept...
-- You actually believe Upscaling makes everything look better?

It's just sheer laughable, oO

Downscaling from 4:3 to 1080P is the way
the Market should be heading, that way
you see the bigger Picture for the Resolution
that your getting... This is why I hate 720P,
cause it doesn't really provide me with an
advantage in the Market to use it... 720P is
what you get when you Upscale your Picture
Quality, instead of Downscaling it like 1080P, oO

4K & 8K are really supposed to just do
what 1080P did, but clean up, & fix the
messy picture quality, but at a much
larger picture Sized Resolution, & that's
all it's supposed to be doing...

Lastly, any Resolution above 8K Resolution
will never benefit anyone who isn't an Artist,
even at Super Cheap Pricing you won't ever
find any use for your Higher Resolution output,
not unless you want really Cartoony looking
results, that is, oO