Quest Pro oculus link versus virtual desktop

[Qcumber]

I am looking to get a QP. What would people recommend as the best option for quality? Oculus link (cable), air link or virtual desktop? I currently use Pico 4 through VDXR and use QVFR so have a lot of experience with this. The limiting factor for me with VD is the shimmering when using SSW which I presume is a VD thing and not just Pico 4. I don’t see this with my rift s and oculus ASW, so I was hoping that this would be better with QP and oculus link. How does the quality compare between VD godlike and quest link max resolution?  

[Phantom711]

Some people seem to be amazed with VD, but me personally find the MFDs in the Hornet unreadable.

So cabled link it is for me.

I do get some occasional shimmer on water mostly when ASW kicks in.

Quest link max resolution goes far beyond what you can choose with VD (if you use Oculus tray tool or oculus debug tool).

[Mr_sukebe]

USB cable

[Qcumber]

1 hour ago, Mr_sukebe said:

USB cable

Are there any you would recommend? I have seen some which have combined charging and pc-usb. E.g. this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BRQHN5MY/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&th=1

 

1 hour ago, Phantom711 said:

Some people seem to be amazed with VD, but me personally find the MFDs in the Hornet unreadable.

I have to push the resolution with PD 1.3-1.5 and VD godlike to get really sharp cockpit details with my Pico 4. I wonder if it looks better in oculus link because you can set the resolution to this level without needing to play with PD. 

[diamond26]

I’m more fan of Link cable as it seems to provide better clarity for the same or better FPS. But it also depends on your rig. With my laptop I have cases (Mirage F1) where VD rules due to better VRAM management. QPro can work fine with a good quality USB-C cable 

 

[Tomcat388th]

@Qcumber   I have been using Virtual Desktop for about a month now for me I believe its on par compared to using  usb link with my system. The only quirk I found when I first started using it was my MFD's text was blurry/fuzzy but everything else was nice and clear. I found out that using any of the upscaling options  in the DCS settings was messing up the txt. I'm running god like at 72hz with my system. It is running really smooth at this point in time

J

[Digger_1]

I have the Qpro - and onle use Virtual Desktop also found mfd's blurry - solution increase the PD in dcs - I have mine at 1.8 - problem solved Cheers

[nikoel]

Virtual Desktop - all the way

I do specialise in dog fighting and not having a cable is revolutionary. I can now use cold war era fighters and quickly flick between the Airspeed indicator and the bandit. Where before I had to be careful as the cable could whip and upset the balance of the headset. I find it also uses less VRAM, but with my graphics cards IDGAF either way. Quadviews track faster and settings are all there, on one screen. No more going between the debug tool, the other third party taskbar tool etc...

Different resolution is an interesting thing to talk about, about as you can increase it to whatever it is that you want it to be via the PD settings or OXRTK. With QuadViews and a 4090 it's actually my CPU that can struggle in complex missions with lots of things going on

The best thing about Virtual Desktop is that now I just pick up the headset, double click DCS, in VR using built in hand tracking and I am set. No more of this Link BS on every update and trying to figure out why feature X is no longer working 

Once the settings are tweaked, the quality of the render for me is on par and in some way better than link

[Qcumber]

7 hours ago, Digger_1 said:

I have the Qpro - and onle use Virtual Desktop also found mfd's blurry - solution increase the PD in dcs - I have mine at 1.8 - problem solved Cheers

Thanks. This is what I found with the Pico 4 too. It also helps reduce DLSS artifacts. I will give it a go when I get the QP. 

3 hours ago, nikoel said:

Different resolution is an interesting thing to talk about, about as you can increase it to whatever it is that you want it to be via the PD settings or OXRTK

You can also use QVFR to increase the central resolution only. I have tried this at 1.7 and it gives similar effects to increasing PD. The issue with FFR in the Pico 4 is that you have to be careful with peripheral resolution. I imagine this is less of an issue with the QP and DFR. 

[nikoel]

1 hour ago, Qcumber said:

Thanks. This is what I found with the Pico 4 too. It also helps reduce DLSS artifacts. I will give it a go when I get the QP. 

You can also use QVFR to increase the central resolution only. I have tried this at 1.7 and it gives similar effects to increasing PD. The issue with FFR in the Pico 4 is that you have to be careful with peripheral resolution. I imagine this is less of an issue with the QP and DFR. 

Yes! Somehow I haven't tweaked settings and forgot I did this weeks ago. This tool is the bomb https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3332882/ for that exact thing

[Qcumber]

1 hour ago, nikoel said:

Yes! Somehow I haven't tweaked settings and forgot I did this weeks ago. This tool is the bomb https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3332882/ for that exact thing

Thanks. I didn't know about that. I have been editting the config file. I'll give it a go. 

[slughead]

7 hours ago, nikoel said:

Virtual Desktop - all the way

I do specialise in dog fighting and not having a cable is revolutionary. I can now use cold war era fighters and quickly flick between the Airspeed indicator and the bandit. Where before I had to be careful as the cable could whip and upset the balance of the headset. I find it also uses less VRAM, but with my graphics cards IDGAF either way. Quadviews track faster and settings are all there, on one screen. No more going between the debug tool, the other third party taskbar tool etc...

Different resolution is an interesting thing to talk about, about as you can increase it to whatever it is that you want it to be via the PD settings or OXRTK. With QuadViews and a 4090 it's actually my CPU that can struggle in complex missions with lots of things going on

The best thing about Virtual Desktop is that now I just pick up the headset, double click DCS, in VR using built in hand tracking and I am set. No more of this Link BS on every update and trying to figure out why feature X is no longer working 

Once the settings are tweaked, the quality of the render for me is on par and in some way better than link

No cable is certainly a good thing. How do you manage battery life without a cable? Are you using an external battery pack? I found when I tried out VD that as it used wifi it drained the battery much faster even with a cable attached for power. I should try it again for kicks to see if it has improved since the last time I used it although the recent v60 update from Oculus has fixed the audio glitches so at the moment I have no real need to switch.

[Qcumber]

I have been using VD with a usb-ethernet adaptor instead of WiFi for P4. Has anyone tried this with the QP? 

[slughead]

10 minutes ago, Qcumber said:

I have been using VD with a usb-ethernet adaptor instead of WiFi for P4. Has anyone tried this with the QP? 

I don’t know if that is possible. You’d be back to using a cable so I don’t see the benefit of it over Oculus Link.

[Qcumber]

37 minutes ago, slughead said:

I don’t know if that is possible. You’d be back to using a cable so I don’t see the benefit of it over Oculus Link.

The benefits are for only for using VD as a more stable option than WiFi. It then comes down to which is the better option for me, oculus link or VD. I now just need to do some testing once I have the QP. 

[slughead]

I'd be very interested to hear your observations. 

[freehand]

When I owned the pico I used VD with wifi enabled but then applied the hack & disabled and just using the usb but the pico still thinks its is wifi if you kind get my drift lol.

When I owned the quest pro I just used the usb as wifi was junk but did not try with VD.

[nikoel]

1 hour ago, slughead said:

No cable is certainly a good thing. How do you manage battery life without a cable? Are you using an external battery pack? I found when I tried out VD that as it used wifi it drained the battery much faster even with a cable attached for power. I should try it again for kicks to see if it has improved since the last time I used it although the recent v60 update from Oculus has fixed the audio glitches so at the moment I have no real need to switch.

Hybrid. I use a cable with magnetic attachment when I am chillin' - then when it hits the fan pull the cable. (Then fondle for it later if I feel like it/still alive to do so)

It's not perfect, but a solid compromise 

[Flyingfish]

2 hours ago, Qcumber said:

The benefits are for only for using VD as a more stable option than WiFi. It then comes down to which is the better option for me, oculus link or VD. I now just need to do some testing once I have the QP. 

That sounds very interesting. I didn't know it was possible 

[slughead]

1 hour ago, nikoel said:

Hybrid. I use a cable with magnetic attachment when I am chillin' - then when it hits the fan pull the cable. (Then fondle for it later if I feel like it/still alive to do so)

It's not perfect, but a solid compromise 

Have you considered battery packs? They would be hot swappable and the cable would remain attached to you rather than a PC.

[cordite]

7 hours ago, nikoel said:

Hybrid. I use a cable with magnetic attachment when I am chillin' - then when it hits the fan pull the cable. (Then fondle for it later if I feel like it/still alive to do so)

It's not perfect, but a solid compromise 

Which cable, and which ac adapter?

[nikoel]

10 hours ago, slughead said:

Have you considered battery packs? They would be hot swappable and the cable would remain attached to you rather than a PC.

I haven't no, I did think about it but it would be of limited benefit for me. I run a small extension cable, and have a socket on my desk. Plug the original Quest Pro AC Plug into it. Drape the cable over top of my WinWing setup which is already at neck height and I am good to go. Difficult to explain, and I don't have a photo of it at the moment but, just imagine the cable inside the little groove, between the left MFD and the UFC. When I unplug, the cable falls perfectly between them and is easy to find. Hope that makes sense. It's more of a pragmatic solution with tradeoffs that works for me, rather than win-win-win

4 hours ago, cordite said:

Which cable, and which ac adapter?

Quest Pro AC Adapter but anything will do, it doesn't matter as there is no data being put through it. Just google USB-C Magnetic Cable and take your pick. There are a few out there that light up and have RGB effects if that floats your boat

Edited December 29, 2023 by nikoel

[sze5003]

I came from a G2 and I use primarily link cable. The official one because I tried a Kuject one and followed the instructions for connecting it but the oculus app kept saying the connection was USB 2.0 no matter how many ports I tried on the back of my computer. This cable is supposed to charge the headset too but I never ordered a second one to try again after I returned it.

My motherboard has a USB C port that keeps the pro partially charged too which is nice.

I also tried virtual desktop on a 6e network. It worked but I prefer the visuals of link cable. Performance was similar and I think the use of the oculus app in the background and USB for data transfer creates some performance issues at times.

[Qcumber]

My first impressions with the QP. Three hours of use.

• Excellent quality but a bit uncomfortable. I am working on this.
• My rift s prescription lenses are roughly the same shape and fit well with blue tack. Saves me £60
• FOV is very good, especially if you tilt the headset down slightly. It then feels like you are wearing glasses, but pinches my nose. I have a pupil distance of 63 but if I set this to 70 I don't notice any focus issues and have a slightly wider horizontal FOV. This pinches my nose less so maybe just a bit of extra padding on the prescription lenses (more blue tack) will solve the comfort issues. 
• VD is easy to set up. A few minutes and I was bulls-eying mosquitos in a 109 with no issues. And making fireballs out of zeros with 6x50-cals. 
• Eye tracking is great with QVFR although there is a very slight lag, especially when looking near to far. I presume this is because of re-rendering landscape at higher res. It is most noticeable with change of shadows. I'm not sure is it is better with SSS on or off yet. More testing. 
• XRNS works better than it did with the P4 (do far at least). With the P4 I kept getting a lateral displacement. 
• Pixel density is lower than a P4 but I can't see the difference. In fact, I notice the pixels more on the P4 (new toy placebo effect!?). 
• Contrast and colours are better then the Pico 4. A lot better. Everything jumps out!
• VD SSW still causes shimmering when rolling, but not as bad as the P4. This is the main reason I want to use link as oculus ASW is much better. 
• Slightly better FPS than P4 (need more testing). I am getting 40 FPS low over Cairo (most settings maxed out) and 80 FPS at medium altitude (f16 and K4). However there is some ground stuttering which might be a frame rate issue as the frame times are stable. Overall, I'm very happy with the performance considering my pc specs. 
• Airlink is a pain to set up and so far looks crap compared to VD and I can't get QVFR to work. I've not given up on this yet. Any advise would be appreciated. 
• I have a usb 3.1 cable, 10gbps, but it does not want to work with oculus link so I need to wait for a new cable, which is arriving tomorrow.
• Overall I am very happy so far!  

 

 

[slughead]

Get the Globular Cluster Comfort Kit. It solved all the comfort issues for me. I just use the replacement pads and haven’t used the strap.