Quest plus Virtual Desktop is amazingly good

[Okada]

I agree, it's absolutely fantastic and a total game changer.

I was having some issues with the DD-WRT firmware running on my router and wasn't a believer. Went back to stock and everything was fixed.

I have both the link cable and Virtual Desktop and the cable performance is no better than Virtual Desktop.

It kinda blows my mind how good it is.

 

[sirap]

Also worth noting that you don't need an AC router for virtual desktop. A wireless-N router at 5ghz is more than enough. If you have an older router not in use, plug that back in for virtual desktop. Having a router dedicated to virtual desktop > AC router that's used by multiple devices (even when you reserve the 5ghz channel for VD)

 

[MrKlaw]

Also worth noting that you don't need an AC router for virtual desktop. A wireless-N router at 5ghz is more than enough. If you have an older router not in use, plug that back in for virtual desktop. Having a router dedicated to virtual desktop > AC router that's used by multiple devices (even when you reserve the 5ghz channel for VD)

Click to shrink...

I have a spare- how to set it up? I think I only have one Ethernet port on my pc but have a small switch in the same room as my pc. Main router is in a separate room so a direct connection would be something I'd like to try

 

[iswasdoes]

Also worth noting that you don't need an AC router for virtual desktop. A wireless-N router at 5ghz is more than enough. If you have an older router not in use, plug that back in for virtual desktop. Having a router dedicated to virtual desktop > AC router that's used by multiple devices (even when you reserve the 5ghz channel for VD)

Click to shrink...

Pardon my ignorance

Does this mean Can I plug a second router into my PC that would act as a wireless transmitter for the quest? My actual router location is ok but less than ideal, but I wouldnt want to be swapping them out as I need my main one on

Im hoping that youre saying I can have a dedicated 'transmitter router' with no other traffic on it which will further improve the streaming...

 

[pagrab]

This is very tempting. A few days ago I almost pulled the trigger and bought the Quest, but in the end, I decided against it. I have Rift CV1 but cables definitely take me out of the experience.

 

[Deleted member 2840]

I love my Index but FUCK cables. They twist themselves super hard whenever I play Alyx. I really wish a solution is reached after the new wireless thingie gets out

 

[sirap]

I have a spare- how to set it up? I think I only have one Ethernet port on my pc but have a small switch in the same room as my pc. Main router is in a separate room so a direct connection would be something I'd like to try

Click to shrink...

Pardon my ignorance

Does this mean Can I plug a second router into my PC that would act as a wireless transmitter for the quest? My actual router location is ok but less than ideal, but I wouldnt want to be swapping them out as I need my main one on

Im hoping that youre saying I can have a dedicated 'transmitter router' with no other traffic on it which will further improve the streaming...

Click to shrink...

Yup, you would have to set the dedicated router as a secondary access point and have it connected to the main router (either directly or via a switch). Another option for those with two ethernet ports (or a USB to Ethernet dongle) is to have both routers connected. Remember to share the internet connection from the first router to the second one. Virtual Desktop requires an internet connection for license verification.

I'm using an old Airport Express and the experience has been flawless.

Check this thread for more information: https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/comments/ct6z6o/my_best_wifi_setup/

 

[iswasdoes]

Yup, you would have to set the dedicated router as a secondary access point and have it connected to the main router (either directly or via a switch). Another option for those with two ethernet ports (or a USB to Ethernet dongle) is to have both routers connected. Remember to share the internet connection from the first router to the second one. Virtual Desktop requires an internet connection for license verification.

I'm using an old Airport Express and the experience has been flawless.

Check this thread for more information: https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/comments/ct6z6o/my_best_wifi_setup/

Click to shrink...

What a revelation! this gives me potentially a much bigger play area....thanks!

 

[Jhey Cyphre]

Hm... That AP method is tempting. My router seems to do all right even when with my GF streaming netflix in the next room.

 

[Deleted member 48434]

How do I make my hosted network broadcast at 5ghz on Windows 10?
It's a TPLink 802.11ac card

 

[sirap]

How do I make my hosted network broadcast at 5ghz on Windows 10?
It's a TPLink 802.11ac card

Click to shrink...

You should be able to manually set the network band in the hotspot settings. See step 4 in this site : https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/turn-windows-pc-mobile-hotspot

ymmv though as I heard some cards can be stubborn about this.

 

[1-D_FE]

Guessing the best way to experience this is an onboard 5ghz chip rather than router? Last time i tried in December it was pretty okay

Click to shrink...

I have built in wifi on my mobo (X470) and even with that dedicated soley for VD streaming, it was awful. A consistent stutter every couple seconds. This seems to be fairly common for a lot of people. A dedicated AP, on the other hand, has been great for me.

 

[orava]

I don't have very good VR legs yet so the virtual desktop got me sick almost immediately. I can play 1-2 hours with the link cable and little longer that with native quest.

 

[iswasdoes]

I don't have very good VR legs yet so the virtual desktop got me sick almost immediately. I can play 1-2 hours with the link cable and little longer that with native quest.

Click to shrink...

Can I ask Is this a recent build? Liek I say I didnt have a great experience at launch but feel like the latest is a big improvement (tho cant of course do an easy comparison)

 

[orava]

Can I ask Is this a recent build? Liek I say I didnt have a great experience at launch but feel like the latest is a big improvement (tho cant of course do an easy comparison)

Click to shrink...

I haven't tried it in a while so that could be the case. Will test later, thanks.

 

[BlockABoots]

Pro tip: create a hot spot on your windows computer and connect directly to the laptop/ computer and avoid the router problems altogether.

Click to shrink...

Thats what i did this week, got a Linksys 1200-AC USB adapter and seems to work a treat!

 

[iswasdoes]

I haven't tried it in a while so that could be the case. Will test later, thanks.

Click to shrink...

Let us know how it goes cos id be interested to find out if there has been a improvement or if im just imagining it, or if its the higher quality software of Alyx perhaps

 

[SirBaron]

It has better picture quality than link anyway. Link seems to use older codec while virtual desktop you can use hevc which is vastly superior.

link has colour banding in dark scenes, etc while HEVC has none.

 

[SirBaron]

What's your latency while in VR mode?

 

[Jhey Cyphre]

Thats what i did this week, got a Linksys 1200-AC USB adapter and seems to work a treat!

Click to shrink...

What kind of latency are you getting with one of those?

I'm pretty happy with my setup... but now I can't stop thinking... It could be better.

 

[orava]

Let us know how it goes cos id be interested to find out if there has been a improvement or if im just imagining it, or if its the higher quality software of Alyx perhaps

Click to shrink...

It's definitely better now and the image quality is excellent. I still got a a bit dizzy from the start though . I can't really tell where it comes from. There's a little bit of lag on the link cable too, especially on the controllers, but with virtual desktop, it just feels different. It probably just needs to get used to. Compared to native quest, the difference was very noticeable though. 5GHz connection, stream bitrate maxing to about 50Mbps and latency was 20-30 ms.

 

[tarman76]

Thats what i did this week, got a Linksys 1200-AC USB adapter and seems to work a treat!

Click to shrink...

Yep. Before I was having to connect thru a Google wifi and had to lean real close to it to connect to 5ghz and then had choppy performance.

With the windows Hotspot I can choose 5ghz and there it is. Its wonderful.

 

[MrKlaw]

Just had a play with a couple of the sidelined hand tracking apps

- the 'hand one' is literally just a silly gimmick where you clap your hands and they change into different things - giant hands, tiny hands, hands with hands as fingers. Nicely done and surprisingly fun - especially for the rest of your family watching you wafting your hands around in the air and occasionally clapping :)

- VRtuo the piano app. Very promising but quite bare bones and all the songs are super difficult and two handed from the start. But with practice and some careful choice of easier songs imported it could really help you learn to play i think.

 

[TheSilentCircus]

Im helping a friend with his Quest do this because Alyx and the cable was pulling him out of the game....coming from a Vive Pro Wireless...it's really hard to go back to being wired. I'll take a little compression/degradation of image quality for full freedom!

 

[MrKlaw]

What are the best ways to measure performance - I'd like to compare streaming speed/quality/latency changing between my nighthawk router in the living room and a dedicated ASUS router I'll connect to a switch in the same room as my PC and where the quest is usually used

if they're close then I'd prefer not to need another device plugged in but I'd like to measure properly

 

[Jhey Cyphre]

What are the best ways to measure performance - I'd like to compare streaming speed/quality/latency changing between my nighthawk router in the living room and a dedicated ASUS router I'll connect to a switch in the same room as my PC and where the quest is usually used

if they're close then I'd prefer not to need another device plugged in but I'd like to measure properly

Click to shrink...

I've asked around the Discord for this and nobody has given me an answer.

This is the only way I have found to measure streaming performance... and I have no clue how accurate is it.

1. Move Streamer window to second monitor.
2. While in-game hold the options key to activate desktop view.
3. Use B button to switch to second monitor to view Streamer window.

My latency seems to be 20~30ms while playing Alyx.

Also I finally received my Link cable (3rd party).

First, setting it up was odd. It would not display anything at first. After reconnecting several times I finally got display.

Visual wise it looks identical to VD. I know some folks said VD looks better and that might be the case. But I can't tell.
Latency might be better. I'm not 100% sure but it did feel a tiny bit better.

I can't see myself using it however. I really like actually turning my body and I can't imagine relying on the thumbstick for that. I suppose it's a good backup if my internet goes out or something.

 

[Ashok]

Using ALVR since last year and it just works flawless. you need to make sure to use the fork, not the original ALVR since that isn't in active development anymore. I'm also in the same room than my Asus router and my pc is wired to it.

Everybody should at least try the ALVR fork out before dropping bucks on VD.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I've put hours and hours of testing into the latest JackD38 fork of ALVR and Virtual Desktop. ALVR is great for a free solution and major kudos to JackD83, but I'm getting even better performance with the latest release of Virtual Desktop and IMO it's WELL worth the $20 just for the interface alone. Possibly system specific but for me it's the best wireless solution.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

What type of latency are people getting that are playing Alyx with VD?

 

[Ashok]

What type of latency are people getting that are playing Alyx with VD?

Click to shrink...

I'm averaging around 27-35ms according to the streamer app.

 

[Jhey Cyphre]

What type of latency are people getting that are playing Alyx with VD?

Click to shrink...

20-35 like I mentioned above. There is no way to check though.

 

[BlockABoots]

What kind of latency are you getting with one of those?

I'm pretty happy with my setup... but now I can't stop thinking... It could be better.

Click to shrink...

In game about 28-34ms

 

[Jhey Cyphre]

In game about 28-34ms

Click to shrink...

Your pretty lucky. I was thinking about trying this but the folks are the discord are reporting very mixed results with this method... Still, I'm very tempted to try it with the adapter you mentioned. It's like $20 bucks.

 

[orava]

I noticed that when using VD, in HLAlyx, it felt like i was falling over when i was moving around. Especially noticeable when you use the shift teleporting movement. Like a very tiny part of your momentum is preserved somehow. Does not happen with the link cable or rift S.

 

[Zephy]

I will start using a VR headset the day we can have very high resolution on a wireless headset, if onoy to be able to play games or watch movies on a giant cinema screen.

I did that on my Oculus Dev Kit 2 and it was awesome, minus the wires and low quality making it a hassle and not worth it at the time. My Pimax 5K is gathering dust, I think it's the weight and wires that kill any desire I might have to use it.

 

[MrKlaw]

I will start using a VR headset the day we can have very high resolution on a wireless headset, if onoy to be able to play games or watch movies on a giant cinema screen.

I did that on my Oculus Dev Kit 2 and it was awesome, minus the wires and low quality making it a hassle and not worth it at the time. My Pimax 5K is gathering dust, I think it's the weight and wires that kill any desire I might have to use it.

Click to shrink...

'Vive was ok. Quest is a big step forward and I can watch netflix shows just fine but it is still noticeably low res. I think one more step up in resolution would be enough to make it absolutely fine for media watching. And for games you can always scale up or use vrs if the scree res is too high for the chip driving it.

 

[Kalentan]

So I decided to try VD to play Alyx and it was mixed... On one had I do honestly believe visually it looks better- BUT there was a lot more latency with tons of jitters which made it basically unplayable when it comes to moving and shooting together.

Debating if I want to refund it... (VD that is)

My Desktop is hardwired but even it's not directly to the router. Since the cable runs from upstairs to the basement to get to my room I needed to use a splitter so I could connect other devices also to hardwire. One of those cables then goes to a router, TP-Link AC1750, which does make wifi usable in my room (it's poor otherwise, the router also does claim it's getting 5GHz)... But I'm not sure with this setup even getting a better router would do anything.

Also how does the battery run? Cause with Link your technically plugged in so need to worry about running out of juice.

 

[Jhey Cyphre]

So I decided to try VD to play Alyx and it was mixed... On one had I do honestly believe visually it looks better- BUT there was a lot more latency with tons of jitters which made it basically unplayable when it comes to moving and shooting together.

Debating if I want to refund it... (VD that is)

My Desktop is hardwired but even it's not directly to the router. Since the cable runs from upstairs to the basement to get to my room I needed to use a splitter so I could connect other devices also to hardwire. One of those cables then goes to a router, TP-Link AC1750, which does make wifi usable in my room (it's poor otherwise, the router also does claim it's getting 5GHz)... But I'm not sure with this setup even getting a better router would do anything.

Also how does the battery run? Cause with Link your technically plugged in so need to worry about running out of juice.

Click to shrink...

Best way to give you better results is to use a dedicated router as an AP. If your computer has built in wifi you can try that but dedicated hardware works much better.

With a cheap $30 router I was able to get 40ms delay in HLA.

 

[Kalentan]

Best way to give you better results is to use a dedicated router as an AP. If your computer has built in wifi you can try that but dedicated hardware works much better.

With a cheap $30 router I was able to get 40ms delay in HLA.

Click to shrink...

Sadly it does not have built in wifi.

I was getting around 40ms using VD but things just like weren't responding, audio sounded distorted, very unpleasent experience.

 

[Galaxea]

Sadly it does not have built in wifi.

I was getting around 40ms using VD but things just like weren't responding, audio sounded distorted, very unpleasent experience.

Click to shrink...

I am using a pci wifi card I purchased as a hotspot. It seems to max out at 49ms in the virtual desktop window while in VR. I haven't noticed any latency issues while playing, so I guess it isn't bothering me at all.

 

[Jhey Cyphre]

Sadly it does not have built in wifi.

I was getting around 40ms using VD but things just like weren't responding, audio sounded distorted, very unpleasent experience.

Click to shrink...

Things to try would be making the 5ghz radio exclusive to the Quest and making sure you are using the 80mhz width and the channel you are using is clear.

I stopped using the AP myself since my router is giving me slightly better results. Getting 28-35ms delay with only some hitching right when starting a game. After that it's silky smooth.

If you are willing to spend a little cash another router as a dedicated AP would be the way to go.

 

[trioptimum24601]

The latency kills it for me. The video stream looks fine, and head translation is basically indistinguishable, but as soon as I can see my hands I notice how much they lag behind their real position when moving quickly. Which is a shame, because even with a well managed cable the difference the lack of a tether makes to how I move about is enormous.

Low latency wireless and foveated rendering with eye tracking can't come soon enough. VR has a long way to go, but you get those two things and I feel like we're past a tipping point for the experience.

 

[-COOLIO-]

i'm really encouraged by how many people find this to be a satisfactory solution for wireless pcvr. i hope the quest 2 can improve the latency further with wifi 6. i'm willing to splurge on a high end wireless card or motherboard if it would help with latency.