I’m a HP Reverb G2 user and bought a Meta Quest 3 here’s what I think, please don’t hate me.

[DeckerSolo]

Simply because I can, and have been very curious about the Q3 I decided to buy one and see how it compared to my G2 (in ED only, no other games have been tested and I’m not taking into consideration the Q3’s standalone capabilities, which by the way are really fun).

I’ve worked on the principal that if I really don’t like the Q3, I can sell it and get most of my money back.

So after 2/3 days of messing around with settings and configurations, together with finding space for two headsets, I won’t be selling the Q3 or G2, and I won’t be exclusively using either with ED, I’ll use both when I fancy a different experience. (but now see my post 20/11 below)

Now to the burning question is the G2 better than the Q3 or the Q3 better that the G2 in ED. No, neither triumph, although we all knew that already didn’t we. Both have advantages and disadvantages, it just depends of what type experience you want. My experience much to my surprise is swaying me slightly towards the Q3 most of the time.

I only set two criteria for my tests:

• I wasn’t prepared to plug and unplug each headset to my PC. I wanted both plugged in permanently and to simply power a headset when I wanted to use it. This I achieved.
• Also, I wasn’t prepared to change game settings for each headset. My PC is high spec with a RTX 4090 and I wanted to run the game at its highest settings for both headsets. This I achieved.

So where does the Q3 have the edge over the G2. Well, quite simply for playing ED there is only one area. The lenses, which are superior to the G2’s by some margin. The overall image clarity and edge to edge clarity are much better than the G2’s. The Q3’s FOV is slightly higher but with much less edge distortion which makes the FOV look much higher than it actually is. Finally, the sweet spot is much bigger and easier to find. Put the Q3’s lenses on a G2 and the G2 would be a clear winner.

I didn’t test microphones, I don’t use this feature. I did test the Q3’s WiFi (Airlink), it wouldn’t work for me in ED, too much stuttering (probably because of my high game settings). I did play some of the Q3’s other games, great fun but that’s not the point of my test.

Does this mean the Q3 would be my only choice if buying a new VR headset for ED. No, it doesn’t in my opinion. Of course, it does depend on how much you’ve got to spend but a new Q3 and G2 are about the same price if you factor in the need for a Q3 cable and a decent head strap.

The Q3’s image quality is extremely good, but the actual image and performance of that image lets the Q3 down.

The G2’s use of a DP input directly from the GPU rather than the Q3 compressed image over USB are the Q3’s Achilles heel. The Q3 suffers from more aliasing, flashing and pulsing imagery / shadows. lowering the Q3’s headset (not game) graphics settings helps, but because its lenses are better it highlights the lower setting more. (but now using Virtual Desktop it is the same, see my 16/11 post below)

The G2 also has other advantages over the Q3. Its sound is much better with its over ear speakers, although the Q3’s sound is pretty good. The Q3’s facial interface is very rough and not as comfortable as the G2’s. The Q3’s standard head strap is really not good at all, I had to purchase an elite strap, which did improved things significantly. You will need to purchase a cable for the Q3. And there is no seal around the nose of the Q3 unlike the G2.

Having said all of that, I really like the Q3 hence my decision to keep it, and swap play between the two headsets. (I'm now using the Q3 all the time)

Thanks for reading my completely unscientific analysis, I know I am privileged to have the spare cash to buy a second headset just to test my curiosity, but I hope this helps anyone with their decision.

 

[The Lawful]

You really should invest 20 bucks into Virtual Desktop, it's much better than AirLink with improved quality and lets you get rid of the cable. Or, use a very light USB cable just for providing energy (I use the one from my MX keyboard) in case of multi-hour sessions. Native PCVR is still better, but I would choose my Quest 2 over my Rift any day, and not because of the resolution

O7,

 

[rootsrat]

Simply because I can, and have been very curious about the Q3 I decided to buy one and see how it compared to my G2 (in ED only, no other games have been tested and I’m not taking into consideration the Q3’s standalone capabilities, which by the way are really fun).

I’ve worked on the principal that if I really don’t like the Q3, I can sell it and get most of my money back.

So after 2/3 days of messing around with settings and configurations, together with finding space for two headsets, I won’t be selling the Q3 or G2, and I won’t be exclusively using either with ED. I’ll use both when I fancy a different experience.

Now to the burning question is the G2 better than the Q3 or the Q3 better that the G2 in ED. No, neither triumph, although we all knew that already didn’t we. Both have advantages and disadvantages, it just depends of what type experience you want. My experience much to my surprise is swaying me slightly towards the Q3 most of the time.

I only set two criteria for my tests:

• I wasn’t prepared to plug and unplug each headset to my PC. I wanted both plugged in permanently and to simply power a headset when I wanted to use it. This I achieved.
• Also, I wasn’t prepared to change game settings for each headset. My PC is high spec with a RTX 4090 and I wanted to run the game at its highest settings for both headsets. This I achieved.

So where does the Q3 have the edge over the G2. Well, quite simply for playing ED there is only one area. The lenses, which are superior to the G2’s by some margin. The overall image clarity and edge to edge clarity are much better than the G2’s. The Q3’s FOV is slightly higher but with much less edge distortion which makes the FOV look much higher than it actually is. Finally, the sweet spot is much bigger and easier to find. Put the Q3’s lenses on a G2 and the G2 would be a clear winner.

I didn’t test microphones, I don’t use this feature. I did test the Q3’s WiFi (Airlink), it wouldn’t work for me in ED, too much stuttering (probably because of my high game settings). I did play some of the Q3’s other games, great fun but that’s not the point of my test.

Does this mean the Q3 would be my only choice if buying a new VR headset for ED. No, it doesn’t in my opinion. Of course, it does depend on how much you’ve got to spend but a new Q3 and G2 are about the same price if you factor in the need for a Q3 cable and a decent head strap.

The Q3’s image quality is extremely good, but the actual image and performance of that image lets the Q3 down.

The G2’s use of a DP input directly from the GPU rather than the Q3 compressed image over USB are the Q3’s Achilles heel. The Q3 suffers from more aliasing, flashing and pulsing imagery / shadows. lowering the Q3’s headset (not game) graphics settings helps, but because its lenses are better it highlights the lower setting more.

The G2 also has other advantages over the Q3. Its sound is much better with its over ear speakers, although the Q3’s sound is pretty good. The Q3’s facial interface is very rough and not as comfortable as the G2’s. The Q3’s standard head strap is really not good at all, I had to purchase an elite strap, which did improved things significantly. You will need to purchase a cable for the Q3. And there is no seal around the nose of the Q3 unlike the G2.

Having said all of that, I really like the Q3 hence my decision to keep it, and swap play between the two headsets.

What I’ve really learnt from this is I want a new VR headset with the visual clarity of the Q3, comfort and performance of the G2 and for Frontier to fix all those annoying VR bugs. Plus, I would like to know the next winning lottery numbers.

Thanks for reading my completely unscientific analysis, I know I am privileged to have the spare cash to buy a second headset just to test my curiosity, but I hope this helps anyone with their decision.

Thanks for the review!

I have Reverb G2 (v2) and I was considering selling it and getting the Q3 for various reasons. I have jumped to G2v2 from the original very first Steam Vive, so the improvement was very big, but reading your review I don't think I'll be swapping my current one for Q3, as it sounds I won't get any improvement and the cons you describe for G2 for me don't really matter that much.

 

[Darth Ender]

the only question that matters is how well does each work in Linux steamvr when playing elite.

since the review doesn't address this (the only info worth talking about), there is no option but to hate the OP despite the plea. they brought this on themselves

 

[DeckerSolo]

I don't use Steam VR, just OpenXR & OpenComposite

 

[DeckerSolo]

Thank you @The Lawful for recommending Virtual Desktop, it really has made a big difference for me in the image performance of the Q3. I now have much less aliasing, flashing and pulsing imagery / shadows, a real improvement without lowering game settings. Plus accessing games is simpler.

 

[pFVD]

Virtual Desktop also now uses its own version of OpenComposite, VDXR.

 

[VR andysonofbob]

Simply because I can, and have been very curious about the Q3 I decided to buy one and see how it compared to my G2 (in ED only, no other games have been tested and I’m not taking into consideration the Q3’s standalone capabilities, which by the way are really fun).

I’ve worked on the principal that if I really don’t like the Q3, I can sell it and get most of my money back.

So after 2/3 days of messing around with settings and configurations, together with finding space for two headsets, I won’t be selling the Q3 or G2, and I won’t be exclusively using either with ED. I’ll use both when I fancy a different experience.

Now to the burning question is the G2 better than the Q3 or the Q3 better that the G2 in ED. No, neither triumph, although we all knew that already didn’t we. Both have advantages and disadvantages, it just depends of what type experience you want. My experience much to my surprise is swaying me slightly towards the Q3 most of the time.

I only set two criteria for my tests:

• I wasn’t prepared to plug and unplug each headset to my PC. I wanted both plugged in permanently and to simply power a headset when I wanted to use it. This I achieved.
• Also, I wasn’t prepared to change game settings for each headset. My PC is high spec with a RTX 4090 and I wanted to run the game at its highest settings for both headsets. This I achieved.

So where does the Q3 have the edge over the G2. Well, quite simply for playing ED there is only one area. The lenses, which are superior to the G2’s by some margin. The overall image clarity and edge to edge clarity are much better than the G2’s. The Q3’s FOV is slightly higher but with much less edge distortion which makes the FOV look much higher than it actually is. Finally, the sweet spot is much bigger and easier to find. Put the Q3’s lenses on a G2 and the G2 would be a clear winner.

I didn’t test microphones, I don’t use this feature. I did test the Q3’s WiFi (Airlink), it wouldn’t work for me in ED, too much stuttering (probably because of my high game settings). I did play some of the Q3’s other games, great fun but that’s not the point of my test.

Does this mean the Q3 would be my only choice if buying a new VR headset for ED. No, it doesn’t in my opinion. Of course, it does depend on how much you’ve got to spend but a new Q3 and G2 are about the same price if you factor in the need for a Q3 cable and a decent head strap.

The Q3’s image quality is extremely good, but the actual image and performance of that image lets the Q3 down.

The G2’s use of a DP input directly from the GPU rather than the Q3 compressed image over USB are the Q3’s Achilles heel. The Q3 suffers from more aliasing, flashing and pulsing imagery / shadows. lowering the Q3’s headset (not game) graphics settings helps, but because its lenses are better it highlights the lower setting more.

The G2 also has other advantages over the Q3. Its sound is much better with its over ear speakers, although the Q3’s sound is pretty good. The Q3’s facial interface is very rough and not as comfortable as the G2’s. The Q3’s standard head strap is really not good at all, I had to purchase an elite strap, which did improved things significantly. You will need to purchase a cable for the Q3. And there is no seal around the nose of the Q3 unlike the G2.

Having said all of that, I really like the Q3 hence my decision to keep it, and swap play between the two headsets.

What I’ve really learnt from this is I want a new VR headset with the visual clarity of the Q3, comfort and performance of the G2 and for Frontier to fix all those annoying VR bugs. Plus, I would like to know the next winning lottery numbers.

Thanks for reading my completely unscientific analysis, I know I am privileged to have the spare cash to buy a second headset just to test my curiosity, but I hope this helps anyone with their decision.

Hi DS

Regarding FoV

If you get a spare moment and have access to and AspX, will you run the following FoV test for me please?

Sit in the cockpit, reset HMD view etc. Whilst looking straight ahead. How much of the two struts do you see at the side. The ones with the lights?

Thanks!

ps I have my Q2 bitrate set to 800, you need to copy and paste that value in. I find 500 doesn't cut it at 90Hz. It still won't be as good as G2 of course but it might help a little?

 

[DeckerSolo]

Hi DS

Regarding FoV

If you get a spare moment and have access to and AspX, will you run the following FoV test for me please?

Sit in the cockpit, reset HMD view etc. Whilst looking straight ahead. How much of the two struts do you see at the side. The ones with the lights?

Thanks!

ps I have my Q2 bitrate set to 800, you need to copy and paste that value in. I find 500 doesn't cut it at 90Hz. It still won't be as good as G2 of course but it might help a little?

Hi
Sitting in the AspX I can just see the lights and grab handles in the struts, when I look (only moving my eyes) left & right.

 

[Arioch]

If you get a spare moment and have access to and AspX, will you run the following FoV test for me please?

Sit in the cockpit, reset HMD view etc. Whilst looking straight ahead. How much of the two struts do you see at the side. The ones with the lights?

It's a strange thing with the Quest 3 lenses - I can see the lights in my peripheral vision when looking ahead but if I move my eyes to look at them I can only see just past the outer HUD elements. In the image, blue line is what I can see when looking ahead, red line is what I can see up to if I actually try to look at it:

(Possibly a touch further out on the blue line, but every time I try to look and check it’s back at the red line )

 

[jojon]

That's the usual state of affairs with the majority of VR headsets; When one swivel one's eyeball to look at something to the side, one's pupil moves to that side, leading to one's view through the little keyhole one is peering though becoming occluded by the lockplate. :7

 

[Rat Catcher]

I picked up a Q3 last week.
I have to admit being surprised over the difference between it and the Q2 (and even my recently deceased Index) and just how much more clarity there is in the HMD view.
Quite amazing with EDO and has given HL: Alyx a new lease of life - Jeff is really gross now!

 

[DeckerSolo]

I've actually put my G2 back in its box now having found the visual performance I was looking for from the Q3.
Virtual Desktop on the headset and its Windows Streamer App together with its OpenXR implementation was the game changer for me, far superior performance than running with the standard Meta Oculus and Link Apps.

 

[ShadowWanderer]

I also got my Q3 last week (even that had been delayed as I ordered in by the end of October). It was a replacement for my old Oculus Rift S which had a faulty cable and the entire headset was literally worn out. I really used it a LOT
The visual upgrade from Rift S is very noticable for me. MUCH clearer visuals, brighter colours, slightly bigger FOV and only veeeery fine screen door effect. SDE was very prominent in Rift S in Elite, as you look a lot of time out of the cockpit and looking at the distant stars, you just cannot -not- see the pixels. Waaay much better now. My brain completly filters it out during gameplay.
I agree that the headstrap is absolute PITA. While I could have my old Rift S on my head for 6 hours without any problem, my max time is now 2 hours after which my head starts to hurt. It is a real physical pain. I already ordered a new head mount from BoboVR - seems similar to the halo design from Rift S which was very comfortable.

But I am curious about Virtual Desktop. Is it really that better than AirLink ? I noticed in some games that when the scene (picture) changes a lot (for example in Roller Coaster type games), that the graphics noticably starts to kinda... blur. Like a compressed movie with a low bitrate or something. If it really is better with Virtual Desktop, I will definitely buy it.

 

[DeckerSolo]

I am using a powered USB cable to my Q3 (INIU Link Cable, 5m VR Cable for Meta Oculus Quest).
I get no bluring and around 50 fps within stations.

 

[The Lawful]

FWIW, I'm only having a Quest 2, but I play over WIFI as I started to hate the weighty cable I had bought (not the original one they charge 100 bucks for). I only use a much lighter cable for powering the thing during long sessions, going to my IKEA desktop lamp which has a built-in USB port. In my experience, Virtual Desktop provides significantly superior quality due to their wider set of codecs and other optimizations, including their own OpenXR runtime. The crucial thing is a stable 5G connection with at least 80 MHz channel bandwidth, otherwise, at least for me, it's about as good as the cable. AFAIK, AirLink uses H.256 only, and that yielded all kinds of artifacts and such for me.

NB. For Quest devices, make sure you get it from the Meta store, not Steam. And the makers have a Discord channel you may want to look into first, it's rather actively maintained (including support for Pico devices btw.), plus - unlike the forums these days -, has a vibrant community and ...cough, dev support

O7,

 

[DeckerSolo]

Virtual Desktop Gets Higher VR Quality And Local Dimming

Massive new Virtual Desktop update adds support for much higher bitrate or 10-bit color, Quest Pro local dimming, and a passthrough environment. Full details here:

www.uploadvr.com

Virtual Desktop Can Now Bypass SteamVR To Boost Performance

Virtual Desktop's optional new OpenXR runtime bypasses SteamVR to boost performance. The update also adds 500 Mbps H.264+ bitrate support on Quest 3.

www.uploadvr.com

 

[Stirlitz]

I don't use Steam VR, just OpenXR & OpenComposite

O7!

I just thinking to make a move from SteamVR to OpenXR & OpenComposite. Just one thing is "road block" for me - overlay feature, which I'm use to have additional tools in VR mode. So my question - do you know any overlay tool for using "OpenXR & OpenComposite" combination?

 

[DeckerSolo]

O7!

I just thinking to make a move from SteamVR to OpenXR & OpenComposite. Just one thing is "road block" for me - overlay feature, which I'm use to have additional tools in VR mode. So my question - do you know any overlay tool for using "OpenXR & OpenComposite" combination?

FYI, I've now 100% switched to using the Q3, as by using Virtual Desktop I am getting the visual performance of the G2 with the better visual clarity of the Q3 because of its lenses. Virtual Desktop has its own implementation of OpenXR or you can use SteamVR if necessary. I use Virtual Desktop's OpenXR implementation as it has better performance for me.

For the G2, I'm not sure what "overlay features" you are referring to. But when I was using the G2 I could switch between OpenXR/Composite and SteamVR with a one button click, see below, so you are not comitted either way if you do try OpenXR/Composite and don't like it.

 

[Stirlitz]

I'm not sure what "overlay features" you are referring to

This mean, when I run game via SteamVR, I'm using Desktop+ application to insert additional tool's windows in VR scene. Like in this picture - Observatory & EdCoPilot wiindows near panel 4.

So, my question - is it posiible to make like this with OpenXR/Composite?