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Steam Frame starts at $1059

store.steampowered.com

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Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#561

Post by account42 »

Grombobulous wrote: post #443
nvarsj wrote: post #313

Kind of bizarre tbh, given the software market for VR seems absolutely dead. Announcing it with a 7 year old game is like, what? What's Valve's plan here?

I think Valve’s plan is that some of their engineers wanted to make the device. That was the plan. I also think they just couldn’t justify selling the valve index anymore because of the current state of technology, but didn’t want to discontinue offering VR entirely. A large percentage of Steam sales are back catalog games. A game being 7, 10, 20, 30 years old doesn’t mean it’s bad or that someone won’t buy it. Anoth…

> I think Valve’s plan is that some of their engineers wanted to make the device. That was the plan.

I don't buy that Valve is actually that much of an adult daycare center as you imply. Their past projects haven't just been whatever the employees want to do but part of a larger strategy, e.g. their Linux efforts are a hedge against being fucked over by Microsoft. Employees are still evaluated based on their performance towards company goals.

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#562

Post by account42 »

ZeroCool2u wrote: post #142
zokier wrote: post #130

Isn't it bit odd that there is no basic wired connectivity option? Or am I just old-fashioned? As far as I can tell you only options are 6GHz streaming or stand-alone mode

You can pick up a Valve Index if you want to do this, which is a fantastic device, but I think the reality is that the market for the wired to a desktop head set just isn't there to support the product.

The Index was an OK device back when it came out. It's far from fantastic technology now.

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#563

Post by account42 »

MindSpunk wrote: post #541
aidenn0 wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taxes aren't included in the US prices; I'd have to pay 1138USD for the 256GB model, which is 1593AUD, so it's only a 16AUD premium over where I live.

Australian sticker price includes 10% GST so the correct way to compare is to take the tax free US price, convert that to AUD and add 10%. Applying that process yields $1633 AUD so the sticker price we get is actually better than the US price.

What makes that way more correct than comparing the actual final total someone pays in the US vs what someone pays in AU?

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#564

Post by bryanlarsen »

justinclift wrote: post #533
tapoxi wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This machine runs Linux, it comes with KDE. This is the open Apple Vision Pro alternative that you can use as a real computer. It comes with a black and white passthrough camera but you can add on a 5K color one. There's ongoing work for a full Plasma XR mode, so you aren't restricted to a "virtual desktop" experience: https://invent.kde.org/plasma/kwin/-/merge_requests/8671

Looking at the vendor page for that 5K colour camera, the page directly says they only support Windows and macOS. :( :( :( > The Arcturus Vision apps include Arcturus Vision Camera for recording and playing 5K HDR spatial video, Arcturus Vision Gaussian XR for exploring 3D Gaussian splats, and Sync for transferring recordings to Windows or Mac (with conversion for other players on Mac). https://arcturus.vision I've e…

It's an open Linux box, using standard interfaces. You can use ffmpeg and scp to transcode and transfer, or whatever else you're comfortable with. Even if Arcturus provided an app, most Linux users probably wouldn't use it.

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#565

Post by WithinReason »

gamblor956 wrote: post #461
Apes wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding - but I thought there's already "dumb" headsets doing foveated eye tracking, like the Pimax headsets. If that's the case, then you don't need $300 of ram and a $200 CPU to perform this locally.

You're misunderstanding. The Pimax headsets with foveated eye tracking start at $1599.

You don't need $300 of ram and a $200 CPU to perform eye tracking, otherwise the Steam Frame would be able to do nothing else

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#566

Post by WithinReason »

stuxnet79 wrote: post #44
LarsDu88 wrote: post #7

At basically quest 3 levels of on device performance, this thing better have amazing software. This price is way too high. Our expectations have been warped by Meta's decade long subsidization of VR hardware

Quest 3 is cheap for the same reason that 80 inch TVs are sold at or below cost. If you value your privacy at zero and want to strap a surveilling, billboard on your face for pennies on the dollar be my guest. This is for people who want control over their devices. Despite the poor timing and somewhat high price tag I am glad there's competition in this space. Meta's stance on software and hardware openness is not gr…

Just don't connect it to the internet.

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#567

Post by vanchor3 »

lowbloodsugar wrote: post #379
anonymars wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're asking why they couldn't completely change the product from a full-fledged VR machine into a headset in roughly a year, especially when they already sell a regular VR headset for $1,000?

They do not, in fact sell such a headset, in that it is permanently out of stock. You can risk buying it used for $1800… It was released in 2019 and by comparison, sucks. A new index with new displays of the frame but without the things that make the frame expensive (ram) would be welcome.

It still shows the headset in stock in the US. The bundles, controllers, and lighthouses seem to be out of stock though, which is likely because they're a much more popular product (the controllers/lighthouses break quite often, and they're often used with other headsets as well).

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#568

Post by koolala »

swiftcoder wrote: post #501

I don't really actually understand how Valve can answer "no" to the data collection questions. If they have an inside-out tracking system, then they implicitly obtain biometric and environment data (user height, room layout). If they have a microphone, then they implicitly obtain data about humans talking inside your house. If they have an App Store, then they implicitly obtain data about apps installed on your devic…

Your computer using data and their servers collecting it over the internet is different.

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#569

Post by JeremyNT »

bonestamp2 wrote: post #253
jayGlow wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd agree even if the resolution is closer to a real monitor I'd really rather not have a headset strapped to my face to play the same games I could play on a tv or monitor.

For sure. I think this is more for someone who wants something portable though.

Agreed, I think that's the big selling point: a private screen you can take with you.

But the Steam Frame specifically is not well suited for this. Something more minimal like the Big Screen Beyond 2 would be better, and XR-type glasses (like those from Viture) which present as standard monitors would be better still.

Re: Steam Frame starts at $1059

#570

Post by cyber_kinetist »

willis936 wrote: post #390
iririririr wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

valve whole business model is invasive drm tho. far from claiming they are as low as meta, but that is their business model which never gets mentioned in this comparison, leaving readers to confuse gabe newel with RMS as some freedom authority

DRM isn't really the story with Valve. Their business model is offer good service. Part of that is not being hostile to users. Users don't want to be spied on and have their data sold, so Valve doesn't do that. People want autonomy over their hardware, so they give them that. It's even in their marketing material for the steam machine. The frame is a computer running arch. If you want to 100% opt out of Steam and wri…

There is a real danger if Valve ever gets sold in bad hands - the only hope is Gabe Newell living long enough or find a good successor who can continue having a majority stake in the company.
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