Could HTC offer a custom printed facial interface from face scan data?

[Tausendberg]

From what I've seen in reviews, the Bigscreen Beyond is universally lauded as the most comfortable headset because of the custom printed interface from face scan data.

I look at my XR Elite and have to figure there's no real reason that the same couldn't exist for the XR Elite, Bigscreen doesn't really own any patents or anything on the process, right?

The facial interface for the XR Elite is the one thing I don't really like about it, if I could order a custom made interface that would fit my face like a glove, that would make the experience so much better. 

Would HTC consider doing something like this?

[thedrone]

I can't answer your question, but perhaps you'd be willing to share some of your thoughts on the Elite XR? You're one of the few Focus 3 users to switch and I'd be interested to find out how much of an improvement it is (if at all).

[Tausendberg]

The visual quality and lenses are a huge upgrade from the Focus 3, I'm shocked by how clear the image looks, it's almost like Displayport. Into the Radius looks way better than it ever did in the Focus 3.

The FOV is quite a step down, the Focus 3 has really good horizontal FOV even if its edge to edge clarity is weak. But again I still feel like everything 'feels bigger' in the xr elite because the FOV you do have in the XR Elite is very clear (though not perfect, there is still a little bit of glare, apparently from lights bouncing around inside of the pancake lenses, I thought pancake lenses would be as clear as aspherical but they're not, it's a limit of the technology, still really good).

Something I can do very easily in the XR Elite that I couldn't do with the Focus 3 is look down the sights of a gun regardless of where it was in the screens, so you can aim more naturally. With the Focus 3, you always needed to put the sights right in the middle of the screen to see them well. So, big improvement of the overall VR experience there.

Another thing, if you move your head very quickly with the Focus 3 on, it's still big and heavy enough that it wants to sort of pull away from your face. The XR Elite, it's like it's one piece with your head, it's very light and the weight is very well balanced that it doesn't 'drift' when you make fast head movements.

The one thing the Focus 3 is much better, so far, is comfort. I have spent hundreds of hours with the Focus 3 on, it's the most comfortable headset I ever put on, I still remember the first time I put it on it was like sitting down inside of a german sports car. The Focus 3 is really comfortable.

The XR Elite, I'm still trying to figure it out, I'm still adjusting the optional top strap, trying to change the positions as best as I can but either the stock facial interface is just not a good fit for my head or I'm wearing it incorrectly cause the XR Elite gets really painful on my forehead after about a half hour of use. I basically never had problems like that with the Focus 3. Something like what Bigscreen does would be a perfect solution for the XR Elite, I think. 

[Tausendberg]

One more thing, I would say the sound quality is about even, though I suppose the XR Elite doesn't have that fancy sound canceling features, which was convenient when I was living with family but now I live on my own and so it's not as important a feature. 

[thedrone]

Thanks for your thoughts! If comfort is the biggest issue, maybe you can look into some aftermarket top strap solution. I don't think there's one specifically for the XR Elite yet, but maybe there's one from these guys that could work (perhaps the one for PSVR2 or Q-Pro). Regarding the custom face shield, maybe you can approach this guy to see if he'd be willing to help you out.

Good to hear that you're enjoying the optics, because I was a little put off by this video. Some early reports commented about wireless performance being bad, but I would assume that's mostly user error / poor network performance and your experience between the Focus 3 and XR Elite is identical? Any noticeable quality of life improvements in the software compared to the Focus 3? Can you disable the controller prompt, for example?

I'm still somewhat considering an XR Elite myself, but I don't like having to purchase an extra set of controllers. I'd probably buy one if they offered just the HMD in a separate SKU.

[Beta_Tester]

Hi - just wanted to follow up on comments from @Tausendberg as someone else who has come from the Focus 3. Agree completely with everything said. Visuals are so much better in the XR Elite. The only aspects that the Focus beats the XR Elite on are the FOV and comfort level (an optional headstrap is included in the box BTW).

The WiFi performance is not as good in the Elite XR. I had to relocate my APs so that there is a good LoS between the headset and AP. I assume the WiFi antenna is not as good - given the XR Elites's smaller form factor.

The software is obviously more focused towards consumers so integrates into Viveport for headset and PC titles. You don't have to launch a streaming app to play a PC game - the titles are all listed in the Library option.

The headset still does have the annoying controller pop-up - you can't currently disable it.

Edited May 12, 2023 by Beta_Tester

[Tausendberg]

"aftermarket top strap solution."

The stock top strap seems fine, who knows maybe one of those gigantic top straps would be better, but it's the facial interface that could use some work, imo.

" optics,"

It does have glare like what you see in that video but honestly I don't notice it that much after I've gotten used to it. What's important to realize though is that all pancake optic devices have imperfect transmission, don't buy something else just because you expect it to be perfect. I've read a lot about it and they're all imperfect in different ways.

"and your experience between the Focus 3 and XR Elite is identical?"

Far as I can tell, Vive Streaming Hub appears to be a copy/paste of VBS. The image quality subjectively, is a lot better in the xr elite I believe because it's the same algorithms with the same bitrate funneled into a much narrower fov and lower screen resolution, as well as clearer optics. Also, I think the colors are better in the XR Elite. The Focus 3 always looks a little washed out with grey but the colors in the xr elite seem a bit nicer, as well as better dynamic range. The blacks obviously aren't OLED or MicroLED but they do look a lot better, walking around at sunset or night in Into The Radius, the blacks are surpisingly nice.

"Can you disable the controller prompt, for example?"

Not to my knowledge, a lot of things about the inner workings of the xr elite are copy pasted from the focus 3 it appears. The AR is nice though.

[Tausendberg]

A few more thoughts after a session last night where I played Pavlov and Risk of Rain 2 (+vr mod) on my xr elite until the battery died, but was playing with friends so I switched to my Focus 3 and played more Pavlov and Risk of Rain 2, thus getting as much of a back to back A:B comparison as I good.

In a lot of ways the XR Elite can feel like a 'sidegrade' rather than an upgrade in terms of overall experience and visual quality. The XR Elite basically has a smaller FOV but a much better picture in that FOV while the Focus 3 feels more immersive in a different way for how much larger the FOV is and how well the device wraps around your head. So, it's a matter of priority but one of the things that really makes me prefer the XR Elite is just how, compared to the Focus 3 or HP Reverb G2, the XR Elite is the first headset I ever used where I feel like I aim a gun like I naturally would in real life, in the sense that my right eye is turned quite a bit left, and I aim the gun to the left relative to my torso's orientation. That's not something I can really do comfortably in a fresnel lens headset because the image just becomes too blurry at that point but with the XR Elite it comes very naturally. I really feel like I would miss that if I returned the XR Elite and went back to only using the Focus 3.

Also, the XR Elite being smaller and lighter and having its center of mass closer to the face, if I turn my head quickly, and I've managed to wear the XR Elite correctly (still figuring this out), it stays with my face while the Focus 3 being a heavier and larger headset, it does want to get 'thrown' when I turn my head quickly. Tightening the headset more lessens but doesn't eliminate the problem, I can feel the headset wobbling around, very slightly, while the XR Elite, if I get oriented correctly and tightened enough, it goes nowhere. I imagine, after a while that I would get really used to that feeling of solidness. 

One thing I don't like about the XR Elite vs the Focus 3, the battery isn't replaceable in the XR Elite, you have to replace the entire battery cradle while on the Focus 3, battery swapping can be done relatively easily. So even though the XR Elite can do battery hot swapping, I would like to see how many people actually end up buying additional battery cradles other than the one included with the headset.

An XR Elite battery cradle costs 200 dollars vs a Focus 3 battery costs half that at 100.