Vive can cause snow blindness if you don't do this

[Fragger]

After using the Vive for a few days I discovered that it is way too bright by default and that it will cause snow blindness because it is way too bright. The settings below will also make everything look better in addition to making the picture not be so bright it actually blinds you like looking into the sun would, so it's a win win. To fix the problem please follow the steps below.

After you hook up the Vive start the Steam VR app. Click on the down arrow in the top right corner on the Steam VR app next to where it says SteamVR. Go to Devices > Direct Mode and make sure it is not checked. If Direct Mode is checked click it to uncheck it so it will be deactivated. It will want to restart the SteamVR app. Next for Nvidia cards in Windows 10 right click on the desktop and select control panel while SteamVR is still on. Click on Adjust Desktop Color Settings. Now click on the monitor with HTC Corporation below it. Click Use Nvidia settings. Now change the Contrast to 0. Yes that is right. Contrast to zero and the Brightness to 25 or until a perfect black just becomes perfectly black in your Vive. Congrats now you won't go blind.

If using the Vitual Desktop app when making the changes to contrast and brightness you should see the changes instantly in the Vive. If you don't, than it's probably because Direct Mode is still on.

I can't believe they shipped it with the settings they did and didn't put any settings in the SteamVR app to change the Contrast and Brightness. They are looking at a lawsuit if they don't fix this quick.

Edit: Upon thinking about it further I have come to the following conclusions.

The vive is 391 lux.
https://twitter.com/KevinVFX/status/708339114026803200

Not so bad for an office where your eyes are adjusted to that light coming in from all sides, but with the Vive it is coming in from only 110 degrees. Your eyes are not adjusted right when it only comes in from 110 degrees. There are also games that have bright parts next to perfect blackness making your eyes not adjust right. This is not to mention how every pixel has blackness in between the pixel. When the iris is closed you can handle thousands of lumens. With it wide open you can't.

The screen door on peoples retinas from people who were using the oculus might be because even the 140 lux of the oculus might be too bright.

The way HTC or Oculus should have fixed this is by having the inside part that was not the lens white or having a light in there that was the same brightness as the screen.

[DAS-Problem]

first, i dont believe that VALVE/HTC or Oculus are that dumb and dont let medicians do some studies...

BUT i also wish to have a app for the VIVE where i can adjust the Color,Contrast and Brightness.
I like to change these things to my personal likings, as i always do with my Monitor or Tv...

because games are different and the point of view from the developer is mostly not my taste!

and like the threadstarter later on guess, some games look better for example when they have more contrast and less brightness...

[Super Bambaspis]

Sorry, I forgot to ask:

Could you provide your arguement as to why the non-light emmiting portion of the LCD wafer and the 110 degree FOV causes your pupils to not dilate? I understand your theory, but I'm having trouble believing/understanding it.

I understand that the edges of your retina are not receiving direct light, so cant sample it to send dilation signals. I imagine thats what your basing your theory on?

A pupil may fail to dilate in response to extremely focused light energy on a small portion of the retena. That is because each light receptor cell on your retina can only report a up to maximum value per cell. However, spread that light out just a little to touch more cells and you get more of the light accurately measured by the eye.

A 110 degree view angle seems like a more than adequate area for your eyes to control dilation. Especially when you consider the low levels of light we are dealing with.

[Fragger]

Originally posted by Walrusaurus:

Originally posted by Fragger:

You are right. It's called snow blindness. I changed the name. Thanks.

Snow blindess is caused my overexposure to UV caused by snow reflecting it back in to the eyes, rather than absorbing it like most types of ground. Yo ucan also get it from being around water and other relective surfaces. It's like eye sunburn. In fact, it's exactly eye sunburn.

The vive doesn't emit UV radiation. It can't give you snow blindness.

Are you refering it being dark after taking off the headset while your pupils re-adjust? Thats normal, its not an affliction.

Also, yes, your pupils will adjust to the vives headset to limit the amount of light. All the same, its such a small amount of light, and contains no UV radiation, that even if your eyes were fully dilated theres no means for it to harm your eye.

The only thing you may come across is temporary pattern imprinting, as you get in every real world situation when you look at something too bright for your current pupil dilation. This happens when the scene is dark and the pupils are dilated, and there is a small bright source of light.

This will happen in VR - only, when it happens the MAX source of (non UV) light is so small, that there is litterally no chance of damage. Its far FAR more damaging to be outside and be exposed to reflections of cars, windows, etc etc, because those reflections are muuuuch brighter and addionally contain UV.

VR - low max light potential, far below damage threshhold.
Real World - Extreme max light potential.

edit: fixed a typo

I agree snow blindness is caused by UV light and Vive probably does not have a lot of UV light. It was the closest term I could find. I guess I could say VR blindness? If you have a suggestion of a better term let me know.

[Fragger]

Originally posted by Walrusaurus:

I understand that the edges of your retina are not receiving direct light, so cant sample it to send dilation signals. I imagine thats what your basing your theory on?

Exactly. The whole retina is not reciving light and that seems to make the Iris more dialated than it should be. This is easy to test yourself. Just put your hands in a circle around your eye like you are looking through goggles. Your eye will dialate more than when your hands are not there. This is why all VR headsets should have white on that part and or a light to match the brightness of the screen. This way your whole eye will get the same illumination and you won't go slightly blind if you use it 8 hours a day.

[Tucu]

Originally posted by Fragger:

Originally posted by Walrusaurus:

I understand that the edges of your retina are not receiving direct light, so cant sample it to send dilation signals. I imagine thats what your basing your theory on?

Exactly. The whole retina is not reciving light and that seems to make the Iris more dialated than it should be. This is easy to test yourself. Just put your hands in a circle around your eye like you are looking through goggles. Your eye will dialate less than when your hands are not there. This is why all VR headsets should have white on that part and or a light to match the brightness of the screen. This way your whole eye will get the same illumination and you won't go slightly blind if you use it 8 hours a day.

They are using low brightness displays combined with Fresnel lenses that do not concentrate all light but have significant leakeage. The light sources also cover around 100 by 100 degrees of your vision. You are running out of ways to justify your fear.
If your pupils have problems adjusting to changes in light conditions please do yourself a favour and get an appointment with an specialist.Otherwise the condition you are really need to understand is called technophobia.

[Morten]

How could you possibly think 400 LUX is any danger at all, when light treatment uses a minimum of 2500 LUX, and 10,000 LUX is recommended for prolonged and demanding visual tasks?

[Badacid.Velox]

Originally posted by Fragger:

I agree snow blindness is caused by UV light and Vive probably does not have a lot of UV light. It was the closest term I could find. I guess I could say VR blindness? If you have a suggestion of a better term let me know.

I have an idea on the term. How about "utter bullcr@p". Seems to fit your description perfectly!

[WarMachine]

You enter a whole new level of stupid alongside those that think cellphones cook your brain and the earth is flat, if you think your going to get permanent damage like a burned in SDE from a Vive.

OP, wanna know why where is no name for it, because is doesn't exist.

Your eyes do not work that way nor does the Vive have the power. The Vive does not get to brake the laws of physics, and the OP has yet to show any type of evidence that even something like this is possible.

[Natteravn]

Originally posted by Fragger:

edit: fixed a typo

I agree snow blindness is caused by UV light and Vive probably does not have a lot of UV light. It was the closest term I could find. I guess I could say VR blindness? If you have a suggestion of a better term let me know. [/quote]

At least remove snow blindness from your description. There is no reason for the Vive to emit ANY UV light at all, since UV light is not visible and would serve no purpose in a monitor.
Snow blindness is just sunburn in the eyes. I have no idea what you are talking about, so I don't have any suggestion as to what you should call "it", but snow blindness it is not.

[Badacid.Velox]

Great, necroing a 1 year old post that was pointless in the first place. Well done...