Decided to give the XR Elite a try...

[thedrone]

I've been using my Focus 3 for years but was offered a good deal on a barely used XR Elite, so I decided to give it a try. I have the additional comfort options inbound, so I'll refrain from commenting on its stock ergonomics too much, but suffice it to say they are not great out of the box.

The image quality is impressive coming from fresnel lenses, even though the resolution is a bit lower than my Focus 3. The FOV I would consider at the bare minimum (and I can squeeze my eyeballs all the way up to the lenses). I have no eyestrain using this headset, which has been an occasional issue with fresnel headsets of the past, so that's a big win. The IPD adjustment is a bit flimsy (not the perfect granular adjustment of the Focus 3), but image quality doesn't immediately suffer when it's a little off, so that's not that big of a deal.

The biggest issue I have with this headset is that neither Vive Streaming Hub nor Vive Business Streaming work reliably. I experienced nothing but stutters, disconnects and jitter (I tested settings like (dynamic) bitrate, resolution and various AP settings). And this is while using the exact same setup as my Focus 3, which runs flawlessly with VBS. My first thought was that there's a smaller antenna in the XR Elite, or some other hardware difference between the two headsets that just make the experience worse overall, but then I tried Virtual Desktop and it runs flawlessly in Ultra mode with ~5ms latency and without running the fan at 100% constantly? I'm happy that I can use the headset now for its intended purpose, but how can it be that essentially identical hardware runs the same software so differently?

Considering the limited standalone library, I feel a little more effort should have been applied to making the default PCVR software work better.

Not sure anyone will read this since this forum seems to be barely alive, but if you're considering an XR Elite, it's not a bad option. Just factor in the $19 for Virtual Desktop. 🙂

 

[thedrone]

I can't edit my post so I'll just add this: I received my Deluxe Pack today and the increase in comfort is massive. I feel ensconced in velvet and the weight distribution is excellent. It feels like quite a bit of engineering went into making this as good as it can be and it shows. If the XRE had released like this, it would have been much better received. I consider this the hardware equivalent of No Man's Sky; disappointing launch but an excellent product now.

[Beta_Tester]

Hi - I had similar issues when moving from the Focus 3 to the XR Elite (with Vive Streaming). I moved an AP closer to the play area (so there was a line of sight to the headset), and this resolved the issues.

I think your initial thoughts are probably correct regarding the Wi-fi antenna. I assume Virtual Desktop simply encodes the stream more efficiently, or handles packet loss better?

Never had major issues with the comfort, but looking forward to getting my deluxe pack shortly based on your feedback!!!

[thedrone]

For testing purposes, I was basically kissing my access point (dedicated Netgear WAX630E). It worked okay for a bit but then the stuttering started and it wouldn't recover. I should point out that I had a similar issue with Virtual Desktop at first, but then I discovered it was caused by SSW (Synchronous Spacewarp). After disabling that, my PCVR streaming experience has been perfect -- basically as good as wired. I suspect VBS uses similar technology, but has no means of disabling it. The Deluxe Pack is a great addition, I hope yours arrives soon. 🙂 With Virtual Desktop and the Deluxe Pack, I like the overall package quite a bit better than my Focus 3.

[Beta_Tester]

Just for info - my Deluxe pack arrived and the difference is amazing! I didn't find the old face gasket too bad, but the new one is brilliant. Not sure I need the head strap but I'll heep it for now!