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Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

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Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#121

Post by sneak »

jedberg wrote: post #13

You can comfortably work in VR, but the trick is that you can't use any of the headsets as is. There are upgrades that you really need: A better head strap, ideally one with an adjustment knob at the back to easily loosen and tighten the headset. Also one with an extra battery that both gives you longer unplugged time but more importantly balances the headset front to back. And a better headset/face interface. You ca…

Can you recommend one of these great products that won’t transmit my activity and usage off my device? Fortunately monitor manufacturers haven’t figured out that trick yet and I don’t want a privacy regression from my non-virtual monitor setup.

Everything I have found in VR land assumes internet connectivity, demands a login/PII, and transmits data back to the mothership against my will.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#122

Post by lovehashbrowns »

isoprophlex wrote: post #100
abeyer wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

May not be for you, but personal experience and hearing stories from others makes it clear this is far from universally true. I used a Quest 2 once at a conference exhibit booth demo -- so maybe 10 mins max in the headset, probably less -- and it left me dizzy, disoriented, and unable to focus my eyes correctly for at least as long after taking it off. Had to sit on the floor in the exhibit hall to clear my head.

A friend showed me his VR setup. For me, 30 seconds of wearing that headset in a flight sim meant 30 minutes of fighting against nausea. It was quite hilarious how badly my body reacted to it.

That's how it felt for me as well the first time I got a VR headset. Felt super sick within like a minute or two of trying it. I actually felt stupid for going with the hype. I gave it another go anyway and my body started to adjust to it, though. After a few days of playing Blade & Sorcery I was no longer getting sick at all. My eyes would still feel weird after a gaming session, though. B&S is such a fun game, btw. It's one of the weirdest stress reliever games I've ever played.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#123

Post by usrbinbash »

VR Headset? Hard nope for me.

Lightweight AR headset? I would definitely give this a try.

To specify what I am talking about: If the device is much bigger|bulkier|heavier than thick eyeglasses, I won't use it. If the device relies on controllers (aka. something I have to hold), I won't use it (gloves would be okay as long as they don't prevent me from typing or using a pen and paper).

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#124

Post by modeless »

jedberg wrote: post #30
clolege wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It looks like they put extra effort into making the Meta Quest Pro comfortable. Do you think those straps would need replacing? If so, do such straps already exist?

From the pictures is does look like they integrated some of the most common upgrades, but I haven't seen one in person yet, so I can't say for sure. But I can see they sell an upgraded facial interface that is billed as "full light blocking", which usually means thicker and softer, so they probably at least have that accessory. I doubt any other accessories exist yet, since it's too new and not a big enough market.

By default the Quest Pro has no facial interface at all. It doesn't touch your face below the forehead.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#125

Post by sacrosancty »

usrbinbash wrote: post #123

VR Headset? Hard nope for me. Lightweight AR headset? I would definitely give this a try. To specify what I am talking about: If the device is much bigger|bulkier|heavier than thick eyeglasses, I won't use it. If the device relies on controllers (aka. something I have to hold), I won't use it (gloves would be okay as long as they don't prevent me from typing or using a pen and paper).

No post body was provided.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#126

Post by marshmellman »

georgewsinger wrote: post #107
TexanFeller wrote: post #102

I get upset when my workplaces don't provide me with a high DPI monitor. I feel every screen should be a "retina display" by now and we should accept no less. Needless to say I feel that working in VR is currently a sad joke. VR headsets simply don't have adequate PPI and optics yet. Text is barely legible unless it's blown up to ridiculous sizes.

VR pixel density is arguably on an exponential curve. Most headsets are within one tripling of "human eye resolution".[1] A few are within one doubling. [1] https://i.imgur.com/Ml1dv3w.png

“Arguably” seems right. It’s definitely not obvious from the data points in that chart…

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#127

Post by yummypaint »

I have an index. Doing text editing in vr just can't compete with my 34" 4k monitor under any circumstances. However, virtual chalkboards can activate a different part of the brain and can be quite nice if you like working that way normally. VR is also excelent for viewing cad models but the tooling still needs tons of work. Once there is proper vr support in autodesk products i will likely use it maybe 30% of the time.

One thing i didn't anticipate is how hard it is to do the equivalent of alt+tabbing to a reference document or similar and then jumping back to the main program in use in VR. Context switching is important for productivity and probably can't really be done right without remaking the whole desktop environment for vr. I would wait at least 5 years before expecting anything to be viable as a full monitor replacement.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#128

Post by janoc »

abeyer wrote: post #88
gpm wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This just isn't true, optics really do work, the focal point is not close to your face and it doesn't feel or effect you like the screen is close to your face in anyway.

May not be for you, but personal experience and hearing stories from others makes it clear this is far from universally true. I used a Quest 2 once at a conference exhibit booth demo -- so maybe 10 mins max in the headset, probably less -- and it left me dizzy, disoriented, and unable to focus my eyes correctly for at least as long after taking it off. Had to sit on the floor in the exhibit hall to clear my head.

If you were unable to focus your eyes properly afterwards it means the headset you have tried has been likely poorly adjusted and/or damaged. Typically the interocular distance was likely set incorrectly for you (there is a slider on the headset physically moving the displays & lenses), forcing your eyes to strain in order to see clearly.

Another aspect causing discomfort is for the headset lenses to be sweaty/greasy/fogged up slightly - again very common when doing mass demos on exhibit floors ...

The dizziness and disorientation depend very much on the content you are working with. This is not universal! So the fact that some demo you have tried made you very dizzy and feeling uncomfortable only means that that demo was poorly made and not that all VR content will feel like that.

In addition, the feeling of dizziness and motion sickness will diminish over time for most people. So don't judge the entire concept on your poor 10 minutes experience that you had in less than ideal conditions.

(I have worked over 20 years on VR/AR, both as a researcher and commercially)

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#129

Post by thunky »

gotrythis wrote: post #18

I like it. I setup a login just for working in VR. I get MUCH more done as I'm totally distraction-free, and it's much better for my neck, as I'm looking at the screens in front of me, instead of down at my laptop. Looking down at my laptop for years has become a source of chronic pain, and working in VR removes it. Setup is a Macbook Air M1, Quest 2, elite strap, and over-the ear headphones. I use Immersed, which is…

> Looking down at my laptop for years has become a source of chronic pain

Why not use an external monitor at eye level?

Or elevate the laptop and use an external keyboard.

Re: Ask HN: Working in a VR Headset?

#130

Post by jayd16 »

fariszr wrote: post #41
jayd16 wrote: post #38

With the Quest Pro I could actually see the feasibility. Just good enough to code in comfortably. The color passthrough means you can actually have coffee at your desk among a million small things it adds.

According to Linus, the Text is still not clear enough https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT1sps72_sE

I'm sure it varies from person to person but its only going to get better.
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