John Carmack reviews Bigscreen Beyond

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John Carmack has a brief review of Bigscreen Beyond. Bey...

Beyond is an ultra-small, ultra-lightweight SteamVR headset designed to enable truly comfortable long-term PC VR experiences. A key factor in its tiny size and lightweight design is the use of an OLED microdisplay, and the fact that each unit is customized to fit the buyer's face and eyes, instead of adjustable, iPhone-based 3D facial scanning technology. The product was announced in February, and two weeks ago, Bigscreen announced the start of production.

in this week'sTwitter post, legendary programmer John Carmack, former Oculus CTO, shared his impressions of the Beyond headset he personally ordered. Here's what he said:

Comfort and fit

Thanks to an iPhone-based facial scan before ordering, the Beyond headset fit perfectly without any light leakage. The custom facial interface is comfortable but does not provide adequate ventilation, making it unsuitable for fitness activities.

Lenses and resolution

Prescription lenses equipped with magnets are easy to insert and work well.

Picture quality is compromised compared to the Quest Pro. The resolution is significantly higher, but there are more internal reflections in a planar optical system, and the quality drops off at the edges. The screen looks great at certain viewing angles, good enough for practical production work, but not across the entire field of view.

lack of audio

I miss integrated audio so much. Having to use a headset seriously detracts from the minimalist feel of the headset. I know some people have strong opinions, but I still think Quest made the right decision when it comes to audio.

Cables and Tracking

The cables to connect to the PC and the tracking base station are the biggest drawbacks.

The magic of standalone VR is real, and while some are willing to give it up in exchange for the power and flexibility of a PC, I wouldn't recommend a PC VR setup as an entry-level VR setup.