It’s exceedingly uncommon to see a VR software program startup transition to creating {hardware}, not to mention respectable {hardware}. However that’s precisely what Bigscreen—creators of the long-running social VR theater app of the identical identify—has carried out with its upcoming Past headset.
Bigscreen has clearly focused PC VR lovers who’re keen to pay for the perfect {hardware} they will get their arms on. And with main gamers like Meta and HTC focusing closely on standalone headsets, Bigscreen Past may show to be the best choice they’ll discover any time quickly.
The corporate has got down to make a headset that’s not simply higher than what’s on the market, however one which’s a lot smaller too. And whereas it stays to be seen if the headset will hit all the proper notes, my preliminary hands-on reveals plainly the corporate is aware of what it’s doing in the case of constructing a VR headset.
| Bigscreen Past Specs | |
| Decision | 2,560 × 2,560 (6.5MP) per-eye microOLED (2x, RGB stripe) |
| Pixels Per-degree (claimed) | 28 |
| Refresh Fee | 75Hz, 90Hz |
| Lenses | Tri-element pancake |
| Subject-of-view (claimed) | 93°H × 90°V |
| Optical Changes | IPD (mounted, personalized per buyer) eye-relief (mounted, personalized per facepad) |
| IPD Adjustment Vary | 58–72mm (mounted, single IPD worth per system) |
| Connectors | DisplayPort 1.4, USB 3.0 (2x) |
| Accent Ports | USB-C (1x) |
| Cable Size | 5m |
| Monitoring | SteamVR Monitoring 1.0 or 2.0 (exterior beacons) |
| On-board Cameras | None |
| Enter | SteamVR Monitoring controllers |
| On-board Audio | None |
| Non-compulsory Audio | Audio Strap accent, USB-C audio output |
| Microphone | Sure (2x) |
| Go-through view | No |
| Weight | 170–185g |
| MSRP | $1,000 |
| MSRP (with monitoring & controllers) | $1,580 |
Customized-made
Bigscreen is constructing one thing distinctive, fairly actually—each Past headset comes with a custom-made facepad. And this isn’t a ‘select one among three choices’ scenario, Bigscreen has a smooth app that walks consumers by way of the method of capturing a 3D scan of their face so the corporate can create a unique facepad that conforms to every particular buyer.
And it actually makes a distinction. The very first thing that Bigscreen CEO Darshan Shankar confirmed me throughout a demo of the Past headset was the distinction between my private facepad (which the corporate created for me previous to our meetup) and another person’s facepad. The distinction was immediately apparent; the place mine match in opposition to my face virtually like two related puzzle-pieces, the opposite facepad awkwardly disagreed with my face in varied locations. Whereas I’ve acknowledged for a very long time that totally different facial topology from person-to-person is an actual consideration for VR headsets, this made me recognize much more how important the variations will be.
Shankar says the custom-fit facepad is an important a part of making such a small headset. It ensures not solely that the headset is as snug as it may be, but in addition the person’s eyes are precisely the place they’re alleged to be with regard to the lenses. For a headset like Past, which makes use of excessive magnification pancake optics with a small candy spot, that is particularly vital. And, as Shankar convincingly demonstrated by shining a flashlight throughout the headset whereas I used to be sporting it, the custom-fit facepad means completely no exterior mild will be seen from inside.
And the {custom} facepad isn’t the one manner every headset is dialed in for every particular buyer; as a substitute of losing weight and area with the mechanics for an IPD adjustment, the headset ships with one among 15 mounted IPD distances, starting from 58–72mm. The corporate selects the IPD primarily based on the identical face scan that enables them to make the {custom} facepad. And given the dimensions of the Past headset, there’s no manner that glasses will match inside; fortunately the corporate may even promote magnetically connected prescription inserts for individuals who want them, as much as −10 diopter.
Diving In
With my {custom} facepad simply snapped onto the headset with magnets, it was time to dive into VR.
The baseline model of the $1,000 Bigscreen Past headset has a easy gentle strap, which I threw over the again of my head and tightened to style. I felt I needed to put on the strap very excessive on the again of my head for a superb maintain; Shankar says an non-obligatory top-strap will probably be accessible, which ought to permit me to put on the rear strap in a decrease place.
As I placed on the headset I discovered myself sitting in a darkish Bigscreen theater surroundings, and the very very first thing I seen was the stellar darks and wealthy colours which might be due to the headset’s OLED shows. The second factor I seen was there was no sound! That’s as a result of the baseline model of the headset doesn’t have on-board audio, so I nonetheless needed to placed on a pair of headphones after the headset was donned.
Whereas the baseline headset lacks on-board audio, Bigscreen is providing a $100 ‘Audio Strap‘, which is a inflexible headstrap with built-in audio system. As somebody who actually values inflexible straps and on-board audio, I’m glad to see this as an choice—for me it will be the apparent alternative. Sadly the corporate wasn’t able to demo the Audio Strap.
Shankar toured me round a handful of VR environments that confirmed off the headset’s 2,560 × 2,560 (6.5MP) per-eye shows, which provided a degree of readability just like that of Varjo’s $2,000 Aero headset, however with a smaller notably field-of-view (Bigscreen claims 90°H × 93°V).
On many current-gen headsets like Quest 2 you possibly can’t fairly see the person strains of the screen-door impact, however it’s nonetheless clear that it’s there in mixture. Whereas the Past headset isn’t ‘retina decision’ there’s basically no proof of any screen-door impact. All the pieces appears to be like actually sharp. This was finest demonstrated after I ran round in Half-Life: Alyx and the sport felt prefer it had immediately upgraded graphics in comparison with a headset like Valve’s Index.
There may be, nonetheless, some persistence blurring and glare. Shankar overtly demonstrated how the brightness of the show immediately pertains to the extent of persistence. Whereas there’s some noticeable persistence on the default brightness, when overdriving the show’s brightness the persistence turns into totally insufferable. The reverse is true; turning the brightness down beneath the default cuts the persistence down noticeably. Whereas it will be good if the default brightness had much less persistence, at the very least customers will have the ability to commerce brightness for decrease persistence primarily based on their particular desire.