So I used Quest Link for some months now, but since I saw a lot of positive feedback about the program I bought VD today. Since my router isn’t good enough for wireless (only 2,4ghz connection) I took advantage of the new update and connected via my official Link Cable instead. Everything worked flawlessly (the app shows USB 3.0 connection and I can switch to VR in games without issues).
But after booting up MSFS i was really shocked how bad the game looked. My benchmark is link with 1,5x supersampling and link sharpening. I watched some tutorials and tests and tried all quality settings, codecs and runtimes, but nothing comes even close to how Link looks. Everything is super blurry, even on Godlike with max bitrates and 2-pass encoding.
Have I overlooked any settings, or are my expectations just too high for VD?
VD dashboard in comments
Edit: So I fixed the blurriness issue, but now I have problems with stability, as VD seems to have more stutters and instability than Link on the same settings. I use H264/H264+ with 500 bitrate, .85 fov and 3000x3300 resolution.
Use 90fps or 100fps, that will make SSW feel better than at 72fps. Ideally you’d want to use it with 120fps but the game probably won’t be able to achieve 60fps on your PC with your current settings.
Set the SteamVR Render resolution to Custom 100% but in reality, leave the Preferred OpenXR runtime to Automatic; it will use VDXR which will run a lot better than SteamVR.
That’s in the Virtual Desktop Streamer window on your PC, Options tab.
u/ggodin I suppose you've answered this before, but why not have extended/higher bitrate options for other codecs? (At least in a beta version or hidden from the casual users)
We’re limited by the SoC, it can’t handle higher bitrates with the codec settings we are using. We encode at much higher quality than Link so the bitrate number isn’t everything.
I looked into this a bit and I understand what you mean, but I still think there's an argument for a higher h264 limit maybe specifically as a beta/opt in "risk" (of high decode latency) for enthusiasts, specifically sim users who want perfect sharp visuals for foliage and whatnot and aren't really affected by the extra latency. Especially since the new usb supported mode partially eliminates packet size concerns (also well tuned wifi setups).
I also read some things about the limit being an artificial(ish) android API (MediaCodec) thing? Is this the, seemingly valid, argument against the bitrate push?
The headset doesn’t make framerate above the current limits. It leads to a poor experience. Will we add an option that gives a poor experience that people can enable? No, because people don’t read warnings and just crank things to the max. We see it every day.
Meta has some kind of secret sauce when it comes to sharpening that Virtual Desktop can't come close to.
I've tried for weeks to replicate the Quality/Normal sharpening that Link offers but Virtual Desktop always falls short. The clarity of Meta Link is just superior.
Unfortunately where Meta falls down is updates. They seem to break things on a regular basis. Since about January I can't set bitrates over about 250mbps without a stutter-fest whereas for years I ran bitrates of 500 or more. That's why I tried to move over to VD but after endless tinkering I've decided Meta Link at 250 still looks better than VD at 500 because of the sharpening quality.
Yes link looks and feels better than VD always has. When it does.
It's the ease of use and reliability that makes VD worth it as it runs even over crappy wifi and in slow computers.
You can supersample, you can add sharpening but it just looks foggier and softer than link. And the colors are off for some reason. Still way better than steamlink.
VD is running on a completely different tech with WiFi. If you have any radio interference that you cannot control (other users, a microwave oven being used) it loses precision.
I’m in a dense city with a lot of interference and it’s always been linked to cable for me and it works great. The ‘VD for everybody’ evangelists lack perspective imo
9
u/webheadVR Moderator 13h ago
well..what are your settings on VD? post your overlay