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Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

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Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#1

Post by penetrarthur »

I am working full remote right now(programming/gamedev) and I travel several times a year for periods of up to two months. Because of specifics of my job I need to have a powerful workstation(I mostly need a powerful CPU) and I am comfortable with at least two 27" monitors. Traveling with that much stuff is only possible with a car, and even then the whole setup takes too much space.

Laptops are getting there with the compute power, but the 27" monitors aren't getting any smaller. Meta Quest Pro(which seems to be the top of the line now) has been just released and even tho it is somewhat pricey($1500), it still costs as much as three good 27" monitors.

Does anyone have any useful experience to share on working in a VR headset? Is it comfortable for longer periods of time? How is it on the eyes?

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#2

Post by mellosouls »

Some previous discussions:

"I Spent Hundreds of Hours Working in VR"

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29978036

and

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28678041

The latter discussing this classic "Working from Orbit" article (below) has been linked before, but it's from a clear fan, which is not necessarily representative. But it demonstrates it works for some - and that's with the Quest 2.

https://medium.com/immersedteam/working-from-orbit-39bf95a6d...

I haven't tried it myself extensively, but personally I think the tech and software is not quite there yet for full comfort and practicality (eg text legibility) - at least on a plug-and-play level - for the average interested user.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#4

Post by yrgulation »

My main issue is using a keyboard while in vr. Feels like a keyboard that senses when fingers are near would be useful, so you know what key you are about to press. Most of the time i can tell particularly if i am used to that keyboard but sometimes its trial and error. That or accessible hand gloves. I suppose brain impulse reading is still far off as that would solve most input issues with vr.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#7

Post by mdp2021 »

I use the Epson Moverio (1280x720 stereo):

comfortable reading is around the dozen lines of text.

Surely this tells you that you would go in the opposite direction of the desired one. They are excellent for other applications - as a memex-while-moving, for example. They do not replace a station.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#8

Post by malux85 »

Physically it doesn’t work:

The headset is too clunky and heavy still, after a few hours you get a sore neck and I have trouble with lack of airflow on my skin (where it contacts my face gets sweaty and irritated after long periods)

More importantly: the resolution is too small. Using an IDE to edit text inside VR technically works, but the font size has to be so huge because the resolution inside is so poor, coding becomes an exercise in scrolling and navigation rather than an exercise in problem solving.

I’m the same as you, I like being portable, and when I was a travelling tech nomad for 2 years it meant hauling two monitors in the car everywhere.

One other option that actually worked well was getting a good quality 1080p projector and mounting it on a camera stand, I used this for a bit instead of monitors at the hotels/Airbnbs and it worked well, although that’s just a single 1080p monitor

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#9

Post by PretzelPirate »

stuckinhell wrote: post #6

It's not good enough yet. The strain on the eyes is apparently really bad in VR. My husband needs glasses again due to doing VR 1-2hr a day.

From working in VR or playing games in VR? I spend just as much time in VR as your husband and it hasn't hurt my eyesight at all, but I'm not spending that time reading.

I'm interested in how you were able to determine that VR was the cause vs age or just eye strain from using a regular screen in suboptimal conditions.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#10

Post by majani »

stuckinhell wrote: post #6

It's not good enough yet. The strain on the eyes is apparently really bad in VR. My husband needs glasses again due to doing VR 1-2hr a day.

There's just so many insurmountable physical limitations to VR. I wonder what Facebook are thinking will mitigate for that
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