Optimize Virtual Desktop for Wireless VR Gaming

[@VirtualPandaVR]

Everyone asked for it, so here it is. My official Discord server! Join us for game meetups, memes, tech tips and more! I try my best to respond to comments here, but if you have specific tech questions it's easier to help in the discord server, so come join us! discord.gg/HgfQQUPN

[@robertweekes5783]

After setting up *Virtual Desktop* with SideQuest and downloading the desktop streamer, If you’re having trouble launching a game, put headset on & make sure you’re clicking the left Quest controller menu button to open the Virtual Desktop menu overlay - it should show the word *GAMES* in all caps. (If you try launching Pop 1 on the *oculus* client it won’t work, and you get this error message: “You have a pending hardware issue that is preventing you from entering VR. Please check that your headset and sensor are connected.” ) Also make sure you have *Oculus Link* option turned OFF in the headset settings, if that’s on it will be expecting a cable plug in. After you load a game if your microphone isn’t working you may need to enable the mic in Windows - Settings - Privacy - Microphone: turn them all ON

[@jacob187n9]

Thank you so much! I was playing boneworks and it looked like it was from the 80s LOL!

[@nguyen17335]

Dude, I spent 3 hours trying to figure out why my mic won't work in vrchat and I thought it was because I had to go by a $80 link cable. All I had to do was enable mic passthrough lol

[@bruhg3450]

Idiot

[@rhyssaunders1323]

@@bruhg3450 sheesh

[@ZeroZoneZZ]

Just turn on the mobile hotspot from your computer and have the Oculus connect to it. That's what I've done and it's super stable.

[@PinkSpder]

How do you do this?

[@ZeroZoneZZ]

@@PinkSpder Not all PCs can do this but there should be a button next to your Wifi toggle in Windows called "Mobile Hotspot." Or just go look for it in the settings. That will emit its own wifi where your Quest can connect to like any other wifi.

[@iammk11scorpion68]

I don’t have the extra brown options only the desktop options

[@Somanyissues64]

Ok, so why does games like blade and sorcery still lag when I have a 5 gh internet and a vr ready computer?

[@bonzo4548]

is your pc connected via ethernet? if not that could help a lot

[@Somanyissues64]

@@bonzo4548 I can try

[@Somanyissues64]

@@bonzo4548 yes I have

[@kittycry202]

Question: hi great video I play on my Oculus quest 2 and I play vrchat there but my frames be pixels everywhere and I don’t know why

[@The_Creative_Workshop]

Any changed updates from this video for 2023

[@dallelama8874]

This is a sensitive area because of SteamVR not working. I thought that it's was VD, but its not

[@Jayy63]

Awesome video! Thanks for sharing this info, really useful! :)

[@gxthxr]

does the intro thing track ur voice?? and when i gete my ethernet cable ill try dis

[@TheKimerson]

First of all thank you for the video, My question is how come I can play my pcvr games with just the meta quest app ?

[@lilderpy8658]

I have a RTX 2070 and Ryzen 5 2600x I use the Quest 2 with Virtual desktop and when I do that I have lagspikes on every game, from VRChat to Zero Caliber. I hope anyone has a fix I tried looking on YT but it's only latency, not actual lagspikes Also my MS is only 20 so I don't think that's the problem

[@georgelove5238]

quick question,why are the graphics on my quest 2 bad but good on the pc?

[@summon1381]

how did you manage to have the virtual desktop menu open with steam vr running?

[@brandonboschx]

hold the left oculus button

[@Zackylo_D_Mofo]

I need help i play Phasmophobia and when i use VD my game randomly has seizures mid game but when i look at my screen it looks perfectly fine is this a latency issue or what

[@davidcole2337]

Does this cover the New Quest 2 and Virtual Desktop update?

[@VirtualPandaVR]

I have a newer video on my channel for the quest 2, but the same principles from this video apply.

[@MingofangYT]

Brilliant video, thanks!

[@GitDatPC]

My setup: WiFi 6 router, H.264, High, 72 Mbps/72 fps = 27 ms constant. Zero stuttering and no perceiveable (at least by me) image quality loss 👍

[@GitDatPC]

Oh, and remove the Gateway address from your LAN connection/IP4 settings and you can still access the internet via WiFi 👍

[@lalolanda64]

Which router do you have?

[@lilmxme]

Does it work with intel graphics card?

[@crowswatching]

Is 5ghz and 25mbps hood for virtual desktop I might buy it but I don’t know?

[@gwapings90]

Have you tried playing quest 2 with alyx? The games runs smooth for me (2070super and 3600x) but the lips/animation always seems to be out of sync or lag behind audio in scripted scenes. VD is running through 5ghz wireless router. I been trying to play with the settings but no luck

[@VirtualPandaVR]

I'm currently testing things out with the quest 2 for another video. I've gotten HL to run smoothly for me, but I've only played the opening scene. Ill test it in a scene with people talking and keep you posted.

[@gwapings90]

@@VirtualPandaVR thank you!

[@VirtualPandaVR]

@@gwapings90 finally got around to testing this. This problem is unique to the quest 2. The quest 1 does not have the audio sync issue, but even my setup with quest 2 has that issue. I've also heard other people reporting the same audio sync issue on their quest 2s. I havent found a solution yet, but just know it probably has nothing to do with your setup. Virtual desktop will probably come out with an update that fixes it, or so I hope.

[@gwapings90]

@@VirtualPandaVR Thanks for looking into this! I hope this isn't an issue playing other PC games via VD. I'm new with VR and HL:Alyx is the only PC VR Game i have at the moment.

[@TheOfficialStal]

@@gwapings90 I'm also having the audio sync issues with HL:Alyx on the Quest 2, while it doesn't ruin the experience it is slightly distracting sometimes, still loving it!

[@Aidax12345]

How did you get minecraft win10 to work on VD?

[@VirtualPandaVR]

I play the Java version with vivecraft.

[@diamondly6250]

i just need to know about he mic

[@Zazuetaification]

1:24

[@bebop2413]

Can I run half life Alyx with a pentium 4

[@SupremeKaiZamasu]

I have a 1650 super what settings should I use

[@VirtualPandaVR]

Low or medium vr graphics quality with whatever bitrate the network can handle ( about 90 is what I like)

[@SupremeKaiZamasu]

Ok thanks

[@SupremeKaiZamasu]

I play a lot of rec room witch even tho it has relitivly bad graphics it runs bad should I lower the bitrate than the auto bitrate

[@VirtualPandaVR]

@@SupremeKaiZamasu yeah, that might help.

[@SupremeKaiZamasu]

Also do you know how to fix rift games

[@lifeneedsmorechill]

Would a WiFi 6 pcie card work the same as a dedicated router by making a hotspot for the quest 2 to connect to?

[@VirtualPandaVR]

It will work, but I doubt it will work the same. Generally PCIE cards aren't as fast or nearly as good as routers

[@lifeneedsmorechill]

Just an update, tried the pcie option and you're right. Connection of shiat. Connected to my WiFi 6 router and got a stable 20 msec connection.

[@offwhitelol1506]

hey i had a question so whenever i use VD and i try using the mic it echos is there anyway to use the quest 2 built in mic with no echo

[@noobeip2]

maybe cuz ur using the built in mic and ur external at the same time. turn off your built in and turn on your external mic

[@IndieVR]

Thanks for the second video, I have to say that your first one helped a lot. On quest 2, Alyx works well enough after a lot of tweaking, The Climb using VD I cant get stable unless the graphics are lowest, so low that you might as well play on the standalone quest version. Also on that game the graphics are set to 1.0 resolution in the options menu, and it’s so blurry you can hardly read the menu text. Slide it up to 2.0, it looks great but stutters like the Dudderman from new jack city. Does anyone have any suggestions to fix this please?

[@SasQ88]

Thank fuck for this video. You a re a star. I am having issues lining up audio inputs from my PC -> VD -> Steam VR-> quest to guarantee people can hear me in game. Also have you had any success using the microphone from the quest to work with Oculus Link -> VD -> Steam Vr when in game?

[@ziinx5899]

Im having this problem too. Have you fixed it?

[@bonafide7027]

how do i ensure it's really 90 fps i'm receiving from the computer? is there a kind of frame counter for vr i could install?

[@VirtualPandaVR]

I don't know of one off the top of my head, but after doing some research it seems you may need to use Sidequest to activate 90 fps for VD and also turn on 90 fps in the VD settings for it to actually work. I'm still doing some research, and I'll post a video if this turns out to be true.

[@sisiphian]

theres' a performance overlay in VD settings

[@greasycheese8095]

It doesnt let me go past the recommended bitrate, and I want to. It is really low resolution at the recommended bitrate, please help

[@VirtualPandaVR]

Yeah, I think you used to be able to but it doesn't let you anymore. Have you tried increasing the VR graphics quality to high? Which codec are you using? You probably just need a better connection to the PC, unfortunately.

[@greasycheese8095]

@@VirtualPandaVR idk what codec im using and by better connection to the pc you mean better router right

[@greasycheese8095]

@@VirtualPandaVR I just found out, in the VR desktop streamer change preferred codec to h.264 or something

[@VirtualPandaVR]

@@greasycheese8095 HVEC tends to look better, but may increase your latency, depending on your PC. Yeah, you might need a better router. What are you using?

[@greasycheese8095]

@@VirtualPandaVR actually found out, uncheck automatically adjust bitrate

[@suchdoggo_6426]

I have a gaming laptop, and my quest 2 link doesn’t work that good at all, it keeps crashing or disconnecting while trying to play steamvr games. But ever since bought virtual desktop and set up wireless steamvr. There is no crashing or random disconnects, but my low end gaming laptop isn’t vr ready, which means I have to turn down the res to the lowest for a good framerate. Is there anyway I can improve the quality while maintaining a high FPS?

[@VirtualPandaVR]

Get a VR ready laptop. Lol. That's honestly the only way to improve the quality if you've already messed with the settings.

[@ronnieandrews9]

Hey, I keep getting random black screens whilst playing VD, I don't exactly know why? They just flash up for a couple seconds and my guardian is visible but then sometimes it just stays and I have to exit VD, do you know why this could be happening? I have a 5ghz connection and a highish end PC?

[@VirtualPandaVR]

Are they full black screens or just black bars on the edge of the screen? Black bars could be because of a bad connection. I'm not sure what a full black screen could be, I've never run into that issue.

[@ronnieandrews9]

@@VirtualPandaVR they are completely black, my whole room goes black, I have an average of 30ms for latency, I really have no idea what could be the cause

[@VirtualPandaVR]

@@ronnieandrews9 does the PC monitor go black as well? Im wondering if youre PC is having a hard time with the game, or if it's an issue with sending it to the quest. Or maybe its the quest?

[@ronnieandrews9]

@@VirtualPandaVR im thinking its the quest, I have the quest 2 and the pc screen shows the game thats being played, not a black screen

[@austinknow]

When I’m playing my screen would freeze for a split sec occasionally, I’m pretty sure my pc is well enough to play VR, But i know that my internet connection is not the best, in this case i should lower my VR Bitrate?

[@VirtualPandaVR]

Yes, if you have a good PC it is definitely a problem with the connection. Try the lowest bitrate and see what happens. Might need to get a better router

[@austinknow]

@@VirtualPandaVR i see, thank you, would connecting to link be better? Or you still need good internet for wired link??

[@VirtualPandaVR]

@@austinknow kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJ3JoKeZgsp9m7c

[@VirtualPandaVR]

@Mister Problematic thats why I suggested he get a better router. If he doesn't have a good connection to the PC, it is most likely due to having a weak router, or being too far away from it. Obviously the actual internet connection doesn't matter all that much, but the strength of the router does.

[@austinknow]

@Mister Problematic yeah i know the difference in network and internet, I was just saying saying "good internet" in that last comment because we were already talking about "internet connection" on my first comment lol. i was just talking about if i needed good connection in general. but regardless i understand how virtual desktop works compared to link now lol.

[@TheGameGuruTv]

Question: Everytime I use VirtualDesktop to stream games, it looks and plays fine, after I start another game it will get blurrier the more different games I play, restarting the Software solves the problem, but still weird...

[@VirtualPandaVR]

That is extremely weird. Maybe your PC is getting hot? I'm not sure. That is weird!

[@ThatTempesTGuy]

Thanks for this man 👍

[@Guitarmon8]

Thank you!!

[@AceChoppedIt]

thx bro

[@Fekron]

I have a dedicated 5 ghz Router, after some tweeking I achieve 30-40 ms on 60 VR Bitrate. I do not think I can shave mucht MS off tough.. Do you think I am doing fine with this MS range? New to VR... Thanks for your great Vids. Edit: should've wait with the comment before watching the whole vid :P

[@VirtualPandaVR]

I get around 40 ms. You could get less, but you'd lose out on good visuals!

[@jeffmcguire2072]

@@VirtualPandaVR So you can have 40ms with no stuttering?

[@VirtualPandaVR]

@@jeffmcguire2072 I only get stutter in Half Life Alyx. All of my other games work fine, no stutter. Im currently researching why HL is so bad, and when I find a solution ill make a video.

[@rockoropo6611]

@@VirtualPandaVR Ditto this happens to me I get 40-50ms in lays and if I look around slowly I notice stutters on things that are close to me sometimes :/ but I play Pavlov vr and smooth as butter

[@VirtualPandaVR]

I've heard that ALVR fixes the stutters in HL:A. Im going to be testing it out and making a video soon

[@SH0CK3R]

I hope this will work with quest 2

[@VirtualPandaVR]

It will, currently making a new video talking about using it with the quest. Subscribe to see it within the next few days!

[@wondertwins2222]

Within steamvr do you set a custom resolution or do you leave on auto? Great video btw

[@VirtualPandaVR]

I have not messed with that, as all the games look good with auto for me. I do know some games, like Skyrim, require some custom settings to make it look decent.

[@stezo9770]

Hey. Thanks for the video. Nice content on your channel. I have a problem and I hope someone can help. Is it normal that I see a short 'hickup' every now an then? What I mean is, I can play Alyx perfectly fine, but when I open the Steam stats, I can see 'Reprojected Frames' counting up slowly. Whenever I see a short stutter, the counter for reprojected frames counts one up. I can see this in real time by enabling on-screen graph in Steam where such reprojected frames are marked in different color. This happens more often when I turn around in the game with the stick on the right controller, but is also happens when I just move forward or do anything else. When I connect the Quest 2 via cable, this doesn't happen at all. So my main question is whether this is normal or not. Here are some details which may help: PC with RTX 2070 Super, runs Alyx butterly smooth on the Quest2 when connected via cable. Archer C50 AC1200 router in the same room, dedicated for the Quest. PC is connected with cable, not other devices connected. Latency is below 30ms, usually around 23ms And of course I already played with the settings in Virtual Desktop and on the router. Any help is highly appreciated.

[@VirtualPandaVR]

Hi, so this stutter is fairly common but it is unique to half life: Alyx. Im still not sure what is causing it, but I am trying to figure out a way to fix it. If I do, I will definitely be posting a video on the channel about it.

[@stezo9770]

@@VirtualPandaVR Thanks. I guess I should try a different game and see if this issue is unique to Alyx. If I don't see any reprojected frames in other games, I know at least that my setup is not the problem. Nevertheless, I'm wondering why I don't read that much about this problem. At least for me, this is not a glitch which happens just every now and then. I wouldn't care if it was one frame in a minute. Depending on the movement in Alyx, I see this every few seconds. When I turn around with the left stick, it is very likely that it happens.

[@fc3sbob]

I was having lag and quality issues until I switched the codec from HEVC to H.264 Not sure if that's still a thing to change though, I originally did it many versions ago and just left it.

[@VirtualPandaVR]

The type of encoding will depend on your setup, which is why I leave it on auto. Glad you found a solution!

[@PumpkinSmasher85]

I forget where I heard it, possibly virtual reality oasis, but I think HEVC is higher quality but more latency. H.264 is the preferred setting for lower latency.

[@james3980]

How is the the latency in general? I mean is it very noticeable or is it well playable? Also I would like to know the video quality and latency as compared to using a Link cable. Is VD able to provide a good visual quality at an acceptable latency, or is Oculus Link still superior by a big margin?

[@VirtualPandaVR]

With a good setup, the latency is not noticeable in regular gameplay (unless youre playing something like beat saber where timing is super important for scores). Dont get me wrong, it's there and if youre looking for it you will notice it, but I played through half life alyx through virtual desktop and it looked and felt just as good as link. I was skeptical too, but it honestly is just as good visually, and the latency is barely there.

[@james3980]

@@VirtualPandaVR that's nice to hear. From what I've seen so far VD would be a really good experience. I preorder the Quest 2 and can't wait to play PCVR games untethered!

[@AlFungy]

My laptop gets really hot when using virtual desktop.

[@AlFungy]

@@r0y41ty How do I fix it tho?

[@AlFungy]

@@r0y41ty well shit

[@bobasbountytv1572]

@@AlFungy you can bye a laptop stand on amazon that has built in fans that would probably help

[@Goorm-tz1xo]

I went through so much effort to customize the settings, make sure that I had a 5GHz ethernet connection, and I even tried lowering things such as graphics, but Blade and Sorcery still lags so much. It lags so much that I can't even turn around without the game freezing for a second, and it's super blurry. Anyone got a solution for that?

[@VirtualPandaVR]

What are your PC specs?

[@Goorm-tz1xo]

@@VirtualPandaVR I'm not sure but Ik that I have a windows 10 PC at least.

[@VirtualPandaVR]

@@Goorm-tz1xo you need a VR ready pc or it won't work...

[@Goorm-tz1xo]

@@VirtualPandaVR Yes, I am aware. It's just, some games seem to work just fine while some don't.

[@YinYangMaster512]

First comment!!! Ha! I win!