Steam Link VR on Meta Quest... Better Than Virtual Desktop For Wireless VR Gaming?

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[@KroryykDB]

The clarity in PCVR with the quest 3 is insane. I played Half Life Alyx and gawd damn...

[@RetroBacon1]

It’s incredible fr

[@adrianmeyer2157]

Yeah same, I upgraded from the OG Vive and I'm amazed at how it looks now, the lenses are a game changer aren't they

[@robarmstrong5404]

Even coming from PSVR2 its a jump. That surprised me.

[@robertpetrie2536]

Quest pro has been doing the same thing since release but nobody talks good about THAT headset.

[@smittyvanjagermanjenson182]

​@@robertpetrie2536$1500 prosumer headset, that i only ever saw at a best buy once. How can one talk good about it, when not many wanted to buy one or even find one. Meanwhile Quest 2 and 3 can be found next to the game consoles at Walmart for $299 or $499 respectively.

[@djtomoy]

All games should be vr compatible, it’s the ultimate experience

[@bou2220]

Enjoying VR coverage! Thanks for all the hard work your team does.

[@vr4ever645]

Extremely grateful that you cover more VR/XR❤

[@D1360VR]

4th wireless pcvr method is ALVR opensource VD alternative

[@RetroBacon1]

More attention to VR please. I love my quest 3

[@cactus22minus1]

Thank you for covering VR! Quest 3 and the quality and ease of going wireless for PCVR is pulling me into a renaissance of vr gaming

[@FatNorthernBigot]

There's been some great content on this channel, recently. 👍

[@paulooliveiracastro]

My quest 3 is arriving on the next few days, and I'll be testing soon. Hope they fix the stutter soon!

[@HeyItzJD]

Yeah I'm having the same issues with Steam Link that John talked about here. Image quality is great, but I'm getting microstutters in it that I don't get using the same bitrate settings in Virtual Desktop. Not sure what codec Steam Link is running on but I wish it gave us more settings to play with. Still, it works.

[@robertpetrie2536]

This is a known issue that Valve fixed with a software update. Now buttery smooth.

[@QuestNation3221]

VD is rubbish for me. Terrible compression, and jaggies with poor performance.

[@dirkdex]

I agree with everything John says - pretty spot on. I’ve seen the same stuttering with SteamLink, and no issues with questlink and VD, even after adjusting the settings to be identical, but as he said it will probably get better

[@MKwadratPodcast]

Props for VR coverage!

[@kennyswany7578]

Love seeing the vr content

[@QuestNation3221]

Steam link works fantastically well for me. I can play all games on ultra settings at 90hz. Games look great and latency is very good. VD no matter what options I use looks jaggy and so compressed.

[@Ninjai1971]

Nice for covering VR! I'm testing Steam Link vs Virtual Desktop. I now think steam link is a bit better for steamvr games. It runs butter smooth with my quest 2 and RTX 2080 and produces a more cleaner image with less color banding and codec artefacts at identical data rates. I also think that it has a bit less input lag. I'm very impressed of valves good work! I learned further that valve can do small steam updates without bothering the user. So maybe they are optimizing steam link since release of the quest app.

[@_Huffy]

John, you may have some network issues (even with your dedicated setup). Virtual desktop offers Asynchronous Spacewarp / ASW if your machine is struggling to hit the frame rate OR if your network stutters. So you get local "movement" even if the next frame hasn't been sent to you over the network

[@yumitsup]

I know this is not the place for it, but do you have any idea how I could troubleshoot that? I have the same thing as John which makes Beat Saber unplayable, despite me having a 1gbps/1gbps connection

[@_Huffy]

@@yumitsup I think you can get steam VR to overlay the frame rate monitor. That will tell you how your pc is performing. Virtual Desktop has a much more in-depth overlay if you're using that. It will show you the latency of the game, the video encoding, the network transfer and finally the video decoding on your headset.

[@tatsumaru12345]

Virtual desktops async warp adds input lag though. Some might not notice, unplayable for me on a 3090.

[@_Huffy]

@@tatsumaru12345 do you mean because the frame rate is halved or because some other processing is happening on the image before you see it? I believe the frame rate is only halved on your headset video, with synthetic frames bringing you back to full frame rate. So it's my understanding that the game still plays at full FR and your input shouldn't lag. I am very possibly wrong on that though 🤷‍♀️

[@retrowrath9374]

@@tatsumaru12345 it's enabled on the quest link by default anyway and of course it adds latency because it has to add frames to make 45 seem like 90 or whatever your refresh is. Similar to v-sync, triple buffer, rather than drop to 30fps from 60 an extra buffer is added but adds latency.

[@Joric78]

With Steam Link on all default settings I found it OK. Better than Airlink and comparable to similar settings on Virtual Desktop. When I turn up the per eye rendering to 100% though it doesn't look as clear as VD and performs worse even with the bitrate turned up. I can't turn the encoded video resolution up to 1344 (max) either, as regardless of what I set it just jumps back to 1024. There's also a weird issue where if I don't move my head I start to see light and dark squared spirals forming outside of a clear central rectangle. This was in titles ranging from Compound through to VRchat, Enter the Radius, Vertigo 2 and Pavlov. This is with a Quest 2 on a dedicated wifi 6E access point (TPLink RE815XE in access point mode) on a PC running an R7 5800X3D and a 6600 XT (definitely the weakpoint).

[@theeventsatunityfarm1750]

Thank you for your coverage of VR! Steam Link is a great app that helps reduce the barrier for entry to PCVR.

[@luisbarragan6495]

thank you for the VR content

[@FhargaZ]

Naming it the same as the discontinued device really screws the searchs about where to download it, videos about it and so on.

[@jerrysmart5010]

I know the PlayStation VR2 isn't even a year old, but I hope they're working on a newer model because there's tech it'd grately benefit from. I think Pancake Lenses are fantastic and would also make the headset even smaller because they're way thinner. I really dislike the ring placement of the PSVR2 controllers. I don't like having to put my hand through, but obviously if they were willing too, love to just see that ring go just like Quest 3 got rid of it. And I really like what John was talking about at the end. Be neat if Sony could work on a way to make it wireless, create like a high end wireless box that can give the headset that wireless play, but will cable to have flawless image quality. I got be honest if I had to pick, I would always choose the Quest 3, but Sony being the strong gaming company they are can easily sway me to their's more, it's whether Sony wants too.

[@marcusmunoz2779]

While plugged in to a 40W usb c base charger (steam deck charger) and using steam link I can play without losing any battery life. While using the same method but using virtual desktop my battery life does drain id estimate a good 2 and a half hours of play which is fine, but then you have to charge your headset for about an hour to hour and half not ideal. I’d rather use the steam link and cable so I can play my pc vr at max settings while keeping my battery life so when I’m done I put away quest and if I want to play RE4 or assassins creed or doom vr I’m ready to go at 100 to 97%

[@retrowrath9374]

It's basically just a few less clicks to Steam VR. I tried it and I don't get any sound when using it. I'll stick with QuestLink, better in Quest3 as they worked out some issues with it from Quest2, I prefer cable with my cable suspension system and better battery life

[@bullit199]

Steam Link audio is jacked up for me so Virtual Desktop and Oculus Air Link for me.

[@mithrillis]

I think in terms of Steam Link vs Virtual Desktop, each of them have one missing feature that I believe would be important going forward. Steam Link currently does not appear to have any reprojection, or at least from what I can read in the performance graphs. This could make some very heavy games much less playable. On the other hand, Steam Link's "automatic" bitrate actually tries to adapt your transmission rate based on network conditions continuously, whereas Virtual Desktop currently only pick a fixed bitrate when first boot up and never changes it, leading to VD believing my network having only half the throughput a lot of the times.

[@BenderBendingRodriguezOFFICIAL]

Virtual desktop does automatic bitrate, you have to set it on the streamer on desktop. It's not located in the VD app itself which it should be if you ask me.

[@VanGohman]

Preydog has fantastic VR mods for REmakes 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8...

[@Leebrick732]

Vertigo 2 is my all time favorite VR game. It's a half life style game with really good VR mechanics. Check it out

[@HellLordBR]

i love my quest3, but as i dont have a good router i still play pcvr with cable im looking for a wifi6e router but damn its very expensive, maybe i'll go with a good wifi6

[@christopherfrost7041]

I have a tp link 6e and virtual desktop is still my main biznatch.

[@Saturntime33]

Steam link I think is more geared towards an easy open and play experience. Also for maybe better for older hardware. VD is stable and I think looks better. It’s for the enthusiasts.

[@jordanmackay6746]

I own virtual desktop but i haven't even bothered to install it on my new quest because how good air link and steam link work. I honestly wish i never wasted money on virtual desktop.

[@QuestNation3221]

No matter what I do with VD it just doesn’t look good on my ryzen 7 7700x and 4070 super. No wireless pcvr setup will be perfect due to latency. As long as the image looks good and the game plays well with very few stutters is absolutely fine.

[@syntheticpulse5857]

He mentions his favorite way to play from his PC to the quest 3 is with “virtual desktop” what does he mean by that? Is it an app on the quest? How would I set this up?

[@smittyvanjagermanjenson182]

$20 on the quest store

[@xhappymasksalesmenx4092]

when modders get psvr2 to work on pc i may try it but wont keep it because my quest 3 is just too good

[@DatMarkan]

Steam link forces foviated rendering that is really strong and totally kills the reason of having pancake lenses

[@Ghaleon42]

It is foveated encoding

[@JavontaThomas]

quest pro has pancake lenses and eye tracking. foveated encoding works super well on it because you can't see the areas outside of the eye tracking. i could imagine it sucking on something without it though.

[@steveybiggunzgaming8118]

Virtual desktop is great, but I noticed for beat saber not so much. Half life alyx is perfect with it and everything else I tried also, except beat saber. I wonder if it’s just because of how fast paced it can get.

[@FatNorthernBigot]

PSVR2 has Fresnel lenses. Why? It's very last gen.

[@attackxxx]

Wireless PC VR is possible, but it's inevitable to get at least some latency. I feel like wearing the whole pc on the head is unfortunately or fortunately the future. I think having the ability to connect your steam vr headset to the PC steam vr, almost like we have now but more streamlined is the perfect solution as some games better on headset some better to render on a more powerful pc and latency is not as important.

[@LeeLee-fi7mx]

Depends on your setup. I have an access point/ wireless router dedicated just for my VR headset sitting right in front of the play space and have been running wirelessly with virtual desktop for years and can't tell the difference in terms of latency or image quality between wired and wireless when playing. Would never want to go back to a wired only VR headset.

[@retrowrath9374]

@@LeeLee-fi7mx Can't tell the difference but it's there, people are willing to have higher latency because they can't set their cable up proper on ceiling suspension, the cable isn't Oculuis rift anymore level of weight and two wires getting twisted.

[@dylandavid3703]

Steam link is not even close to VD. AV1 codec is a really improvement on VD and AMD upscaling is really good. And you can’t play oculus game with steam link.

[@Camilo316]

I wish they would stop showing previews of game with high graphics like RE4 Remake and when you put the headset on it doesn't look no where near trailer. It looks ok at best.

[@mrnicktoyou]

I played HL2 in VR and yeah, everything is too simple and primitive. But, HL2 Episode 2 looks quite good.

[@smittyvanjagermanjenson182]

And now xbox gamepass cloud is on quest 3 as well.

[@Brian.M]

Man, I forgot Resident Evil 7, Village, and RE4 Remake are all locked down to PSVR. That's a real shame :(

[@ThirithCH]

There's a supposedly great VR mod for the new Resident Evil games. Like all mods, there's a bit of friction getting it to work, but from the videos I've seen it's pretty cool. Not sure if it already works with RE4R, but the rest of them should work.

[@idaiyar]

Portal is probably the result of trying to make the PSVR 2 wireless

[@Camilo316]

VD is still better and image quality between steam link and VD for me was night and day. VD head of its time.

[@dan_kitty_vr5107]

I find steam link is better than air link, but Virtual Desktop is still king

[@mikevgw]

Where’s that TGA video ? I wanna know what yall think of that amazing hellblade 2 trailer

[@BenderBendingRodriguezOFFICIAL]

Virtual desktop is still king.

[@jayr3053]

Link Cable is still better than Steam link & Virtual desktop. Hoping wireless will get better soon.

[@maegnificant]

Not by longshot. VD looks WAY better. The Software for cable connection is too old, very outdated. You might need better wifi.

[@tailsfan465]

Depends on your setup!

[@christopherfrost7041]

buffering my dude

[@user-sl6yv7if1f]

Half life 2 looks so much better on the rift the sde makes it almost nostalgic

[@cutcorners6005]

virtual desktop with av1 is so much better.

[@MrKinein]

VR is great yay! Wireless PCVR doesn't work for me properly, even with a good router. May be the problem is too much electric noise and neighbours wifi... I dunno. Anyway every VR is great! Currently I have PSVR 2 and Quest 3. Can't ditch any of them because there are exclusives and strong points for each. Quest 3 is definitely more newbie-friendly device and more versatile. But as we speak about PCVR on quest 3 vs PSVR 2, my voice goes to playstation solution. It is much stable and simpler. And when you connect the wires, playstation just feels better compared to Q3 Anyway, guys just try any VR, it is the thing that any gamer should try once in my opinion!

[@SpottingTails]

Steam Link has a serious issue that makes it look absolutely TERRIBLE. To start, its an very easy setup, pretty much instant connection, but they have implemented a blurry filter at the bottom of field of view. Its incredibly irritating blurry filter makes VR impossible to enjoy, and increasing per eye resolution, doesn't fix it either. I get no such issues with either AirLink or Virtual Desktop. Funny that you don't even address this in your video.

[@ReEnaCtCky]

Spoiler: It's not

[@maegnificant]

No its not better

[@Koozwad]

That kind of tech is what'll eventually get you brain tumours at worst. If you're going to use such wireless tech at least severely limit the usage.

[@GorilieVR]

What y'all smoking? Everyone on reddit agrees Steam Link is objectively and quantitatively worse than Virtual Desktop. Bitrate is objectively significantly lower in Steam Link and performance is horrible regardless of hardware vs VD, with ghosting and other lag.

[@AlgorithmicApostasy]

They're paid actors...

[@lpnp9477]

They said several times VD is the best option of any