Quest 2: Anyone tried AirLink yet

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

I know it is still in beta and does not support 120Hz (shame), I give it a go today.

 

1. The frame rate counter tells me it is as good as Oculus Link;

2. However (this is big), the mouse, kb and HOTAS inputs are all lagging badly, which do not happen in either VD nor Oculus Link.

 

Anyone trield this already?

[Lensman]

Just tried the AirLink. Not much testing yet but initial impression is that it's at least as good as Link and Virtual desktop. Didn't have the HOTAS, mouse etc input problems that you described tho'.

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

I watch some VR UTube videos that the lag is really a bug and changing a setting helps.

 

[whitav8]

Several forum threads are saying to eliminate lag, set the bitrate with ODT to "0"  - default

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

To be a bit more precise, it would be the Encode Bitrate

[mx22]

I've just tried AirLink at 90Mhz and Virtual Desktop at 120Mhz in a quick Free Flight mission in F16. I don't see myself going back to wired Link, though I would really like to test how long battery lasts in a longer missions with either of these options.

 

Strangely enough, I had no keyboard problems in AirLink, but ran into some issue in Virtual Desktop - keyboard presses did not register at all at first, but started working a few minutes into the flight. Go figure...

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

I was told that AMD users were hit by this issue, but I am using RTX-2600. I yet have the VD @ 120Hz so I cannot comment, but I think Oculus will make it happen soon (TM). AFAIAC, it works as good as Link without sound issue and stuttering issue of VD. Since my framerate tops at 45fps, I really want to see if 120Hz would make a difference.

[AlpineGTA]

I got the update yesterday and tried AirLink for the first time last night. I was really impressed. Apart from an occasional momentary loss of sound, for a split second, sometimes when I turned my head, I didn't notice any performance difference to using the Link cable, no lag or fps drop. It was really refreshing to not feel the cable rubbing on the side of my ear or catching on the back of the chair, it felt very liberating and added to the immersion even more. I'm guessing the sound issue will be something to do with my connection or slightly creaky system not quite keeping up at times, but apart from that it's really impressive stuff and I'll actually be slightly sad to go back to cable when I get my G2 back! I might even have to get the bigger battery pack to extend my flight time! 

[Wolf359]

I got pretty bad lag at first. Then I adjusted my bit rate to default and it lessened, but still some there. The biggest issue I have is that when I connect to desktop, it flickers terribly when I point my controller at the window. I am getting that with Air Link and Link, both. I'm running "pretty good" on Virtual Desktop for the time being.

 

One of my problems may be that I am running completely wireless. Meaning, I am not connected to my router via ethernet. I am going to try hooking up via a cat 8 cable tonight and see how it goes.

[Supmua]

I still can't get the Airlink option to come up on our Quest 2 headset.  I have it enabled on my PC app.  Both are updated to v28.  I'd rather not do a factory reset as it's my daughter's main headset.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Supmua

[Wolf359]

48 minutes ago, Supmua said:

I still can't get the Airlink option to come up on our Quest 2 headset.  I have it enabled on my PC app.  Both are updated to v28.  I'd rather not do a factory reset as it's my daughter's main headset.

 

Several of the new features weren't coming up for me, too. I did the factory reset and it was all there. Is there a way to backup the data so that you can simply reinstall her games and pop the data back down?

[Supmua]

I'd rather not mess with the headset right now as my kids would be mad if their saved games get erased.  Just going to stick with my Index until the option becomes available on our Oculus.

 

Edit:  I got it now, after a bunch of restarts.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Supmua

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

First you need to enable beta in Settings on the Oculus App.  If the setting is not enabled on the headset, try to reset only the experimental features.

 

I do not connect my dedicated AC router wired neither but it works okay.

 

If there is stuttering, find the Oculus debug tool and set the encode bit rate to 0.

 

Hope these help.

[AlpineGTA]

14 hours ago, Supmua said:

I'd rather not mess with the headset right now as my kids would be mad if their saved games get erased.  Just going to stick with my Index until the option becomes available on our Oculus.

 

Edit:  I got it now, after a bunch of restarts.

 

 

Yes, I was going to say, I think I saw on a review somewhere, you just have to try a few restarts until it shows.

 

 

16 hours ago, Wolf359 said:

I got pretty bad lag at first. Then I adjusted my bit rate to default and it lessened, but still some there. The biggest issue I have is that when I connect to desktop, it flickers terribly when I point my controller at the window. I am getting that with Air Link and Link, both. I'm running "pretty good" on Virtual Desktop for the time being.

 

One of my problems may be that I am running completely wireless. Meaning, I am not connected to my router via ethernet. I am going to try hooking up via a cat 8 cable tonight and see how it goes.

 

I wonder if that might be your issue. I just watched a video my Virtual Reality Oasis and according to him it's recommended that your PC is connected to your router via an ethernet cable, which is just coincidently how I have mine set up. Just by a fluke I switched to an ethernet cable just a day before getting the AirLink update because my PC wireless wasn't reliable. 

[Supmua]

I'm still trying to figure out the optimal bitrate for DCS or general gaming.  There seems to be a noticeable lag in controller button press in Airlink mode at default setting.

[VirusAM]

I have an issue that it is independently there if I am using link cable (kiwi design usb cable for quest 2) or airlink.

Basically, I always have good frames (40 with asw, or around 60/65 with asw disabled), but in some situations (for example in Syria map over the cities, like in the F-14 take off from turkey instant action) I have heavy stuttering, ghosting and double images, but the frame counter stay fixed on 40fps (i use 80hz setting).

As with the Index, in the same exact situation, I have not any issue i think it is something related to the oculus software and not with my PC. Also in the mirror on the desktop everything is very smooth.

I have tried many different settings (lowering encoding bitrate, lowering resolution in oculus software, lowering refresh rate to 72hz or raising it to 90hz, messed with the nvidia control panel options, downgraded drivers, changing usb ports and many others) but nothing seems to have an effect on this.

My last resort is to order the official link cable on Amazon to see if that could be the issue.

Has someone experienced and solved similar issues?

I

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

8 hours ago, Supmua said:

I'm still trying to figure out the optimal bitrate for DCS or general gaming.  There seems to be a noticeable lag in controller button press in Airlink mode at default setting.

Shame, the only way to access the bit rate setting using Air Link is when you quit Air Link and it always stay in “dynamic” mode even if I set it to “fixed” before. 

[FupDuck]

I have noticed issues where it runs perfectly fine for a few minutes (i.e. as good as link cable), then there will be a few seconds of stuttering and what Netflix looks like when you have a poor connection, then it goes back to normal. Wash rinse repeat. This doesn't happen using VD so I don't think it's my setup/networking. The headset is the only thing on the 5 GHz band and about a metre away from the router. For now, I'm sticking with the cable.

Edited April 29, 2021 by Sandmonkee

[dburne]

One thing I think you Quest 2 owners can count on, Oculus will eventually get Air Link right.

[Nealius]

I just tried AirLink, and the main Link menu (gray room) was a slideshow. 

[ShaunOfTheFuzz]

12 hours ago, Nealius said:

I just tried AirLink, and the main Link menu (gray room) was a slideshow. 

 

Do you have a custom bitrate or encode width set from before? Airlink requires very tight bitrate, it should be automatically managed now. 500 mbps will destroy airlink.

[Nealius]

6 hours ago, ShaunOfTheFuzz said:

 

Do you have a custom bitrate or encode width set from before? Airlink requires very tight bitrate, it should be automatically managed now. 500 mbps will destroy airlink.

 

Encode resolution 2352 bitrate 150. My Quest 2 is borderline unplayable between Airlink being junk, Link being junk with a white translucent bar artifact in the bottom third, and Virtual Desktop streaming will have sudden framerate drops that are temporarily resolved by unfocusing/refocusing the DCS window, only to come back five minutes later. Native games like Beat Saber work 100% fine.

Edited April 30, 2021 by Nealius

[ShaunOfTheFuzz]

 

 

16 hours ago, Nealius said:

 

Encode resolution 2352 bitrate 150. My Quest 2 is borderline unplayable between Airlink being junk, Link being junk with a white translucent bar artifact in the bottom third, and Virtual Desktop streaming will have sudden framerate drops that are temporarily resolved by unfocusing/refocusing the DCS window, only to come back five minutes later. Native games like Beat Saber work 100% fine.

 

 

First off, DCS is running poorly on a lot of configurations at the moment, I can't even use SRS at the moment because I get non stop stutters as soon as I install it.

On the oculus specific issues: 

I only get that white translucent bar effect when I run out of VRAM. If you check your oculus log you might see something like "encoder backed up" or something like that. I can replicate this kind of hard performance drop if I do the Syria, A-10C II free flight mission with quest 2 resolution at about 4864x2448 and high textures on a 3070 with 8GB of VRAM. if I keep task manager open I can see VRAM climb to 8.5+ GB (windows dipping into RAM as shared memory) in this scenario. I don't always get the transparent bar, but it's always in this kind of circumstance. Turning the textures down to medium frees up a ton of VRAM in this game at the moment (terrain textures on low all the time obvs). 
 

On the encode resolution and bitrate, you have to let oculus manage it automatically over air link, the vast majority of people with airlink issues had set a bitrate and encode res themselves. Besides that, there's obviously the local network factors, line of sight to router, 5GHz, low interference, not too many devices connection to a wifi 5 router, etc.

As for link, it's working completely fine for most people at the moment, after the V28 update the measured bandwidths are all back to normal.

Edited May 1, 2021 by ShaunOfTheFuzz

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

Just like Virtual Desktop, to get the best result, your DCS PC (strange name, I know) must connect wired to a dedicated router (AC or AX standard) and the Quest2 must wirelessly connect this particular router in 5GHz frequency. Also, try not to share this router with other devices.  Mine is an old AC router and I can get 866Mbs which is so-so, but apart from Air Link crashes from time-to-time, it is a-okay.

[Nealius]

8 hours ago, ShaunOfTheFuzz said:

 

 

 

First off, DCS is running poorly on a lot of configurations at the moment, I can't even use SRS at the moment because I get non stop stutters as soon as I install it.

On the oculus specific issues: 

I only get that white translucent bar effect when I run out of VRAM. If you check your oculus log you might see something like "encoder backed up" or something like that. I can replicate this kind of hard performance drop if I do the Syria, A-10C II free flight mission with quest 2 resolution at about 4864x2448 and high textures on a 3070 with 8GB of VRAM. if I keep task manager open I can see VRAM climb to 8.5+ GB (windows dipping into RAM as shared memory) in this scenario. I don't always get the transparent bar, but it's always in this kind of circumstance. Turning the textures down to medium frees up a ton of VRAM in this game at the moment (terrain textures on low all the time obvs). 
 

On the encode resolution and bitrate, you have to let oculus manage it automatically over air link, the vast majority of people with airlink issues had set a bitrate and encode res themselves. Besides that, there's obviously the local network factors, line of sight to router, 5GHz, low interference, not too many devices connection to a wifi 5 router, etc.

As for link, it's working completely fine for most people at the moment, after the V28 update the measured bandwidths are all back to normal.

 

 

My logs do show dropped frames due to encoder backup, but my VRAM is not maxed or exceeded when I look at my resource usage. VRAM is only 97% at most, and nothing else is getting maxed out either. It's also inconsistent. I fly the same missions most of the time and I can do 6 flights with no issues, then the next 6 will all have the white bar. Then I'll have two flights that are fine. Then the white bar will come back on the third flight. On the same missions.

 

I've tried the terrain textures low and textures medium tricks, but terrain textures low doesn't do anything except make it impossible fly proper bombing patterns with visual references, and textures medium makes cockpit labels unreadable. 

Edited May 1, 2021 by Nealius