I just went out to buy a new camera lens!
I’m saying this because I got this for today’s video.
I try to reinvest what we earn on this channel back into the channel as much as possible.
So you helped with this, and I just can’t say it enough, thank you for your support
by watching.
Now, I hope to provide some value back with this lens as with this; I’m able to take
photos of the display that looks as representable as possible to what I see with my naked eye.
With my other lens, it is very hard to near impossible to do this.
So today, I welcome you to a DIVE INTO VR episode, where we dive into the Oculus Quest
2 display.
I will answer some of your frequently asked questions, like screen door effect, LCD vs
OLED, and field of view.
I’ll explain all this with some actual proof, as I’ll show you through the lens footage.
In the future, I hope to make good use of this lens with other VR headsets too.
So, make sure to subscribe to see more of these kinds of videos.
And we’re almost at 60K for that Elite upgrade in our Oculus Quest 2 giveaway so don’t
forget to join!
And hey again, everyone!
I’m Cas, and now, join me beyond reality.
So let’s start with a little refresh of the Quest 2 display specs:
Quest 2 has an RGB stripe - Fast-Switch LCD (Single Panel)
And this is its resolution It has 72 out-of-the-box, 90Hz support is
coming later Quest 1 has Pentile OLED (Dual panels)
And this is its resolution 2880 x 1600 total
And it only has 72Hz refresh rate
As a reminder, since the Quest 2 does not have 90Hz mode activated yet.
Most things are also upscaled for now in resolution so we need to take that into account as this
means in some areas, like in most games, the difference may not be big yet but will look
better after updates.
More testing should be done though after that to get the final say on that.
So the first question you all ask a lot is whether LCD is worse or better than the OLED
screen.
There are pros and cons.
So here’s the first through the lenses shot.
By the way, Tyriel Wood is an absolute pro at these shots.
He’s a good friend and also an inspiration for these through the lens shots.
So I’m going to put a link to his video below as well.
Do check him out if you haven’t already!
Anyways, I hope you like having more videos on the subject to compare with.
Definitely let me know in the comments below.
So, the first picture is that of the Oculus Quest 1, which has OLED screens.
The second photo is that of the Oculus Quest 2, which has the LCD.
It’s important to know that I’m shooting this using a macro lens, so the image is a
lot more magnified.
Plus, the display and lenses are made to look at with your eye and not through a camera
lens.
So I did my best to make it as representable as possible, but it won’t be exactly 1 on
1.
Most of the time it’s a little bit sharper in the headset and the colors could be slightly
off, but I do think the pictures turned out okay enough for a comparison video.
And I will explain what I see with my eye in the headset too while showing you these
images to give you a clearer understanding.
Anyways, let’s start with the biggest difference between the LCD and OLED—the black levels.
You can see the difference between the blacks the most when you start up the headset or
a game, where everythings black and all that’s displayed is the logo.
So the Quest 1 OLED screen has deeper blacks, while the Quest 2 LCDs are blacks that look
greyer.
So in the headset, you can see the difference better than on these pictures right now.
But the difference isn’t big.
I guess the reason for this is that the Quest 1 OLED screens do not have pure blacks; they
can, in theory, but as Oculus does some corrections to get rid of inconsistency on the displays,
it winds up not getting pure blacks.
John Carmack’s latest keynote explains this during Facebook Connect.
So I won’t go into too much detail here, but I’ll link his talk below in the description.
So the black levels difference is not that big, but still, I can conclude that Quest
1 has better black levels than Quest 2.
Another important difference is that the screens use different subpixel layouts.
The LCD uses a full RGB stripe arrangement, while the Quest 1 OLED screens uses a pentile
arrangement.
What this means for us consumers is that Quest 2 has more sub-pixels, so a better fill factor,
and that significantly reduces screen-door effect.
The screen door effect is the black space between pixels, which you can sometimes see
if you look at a display very closely, which is what happens when you wear a VR headset.
This effect bothers some people more than others, but it was mostly obvious in older
headsets like the original Oculus Rift or the HTC VIVE.
This was already improved on the Quest 1, but it was still noticeable.
However, on the Quest 2, it’s almost not visible for the naked eye anymore, so basically
gone.
But now you may be like, but Cas, why do I still see it in these pictures?
Well, you’re asking some good questions :P
You can see the screen door effect still in these ‘through the lens’ photos because
my macro lens does some magical magnifications.
However, I can assure you, with a normal human eye, it will be hard to see.
So no worries about those ugly lines, which is especially lovely when watching movies.
So let’s talk about the color differences for a bit.
So far, the difference here is that I find the LCD better in color contrasts.
It looks a little more realistic, while the colors in the Quest 1 look a bit oversaturated
and more yellow-ish.
You can see that from theses picture in the Space Station Home environment, the Quest
1 has a slight yellow tint on the white.
So even though the black levels are deeper on Quest 1, I still prefer the colors on the
Quest 2.
I do think this is a matter of preference, though, but keep in mind that the Quest 2
also just looks better because of the higher resolution, which is something the Quest 1
can’t beat.
There is another difference, which is the display latency.
The latency is actually a little bit worse on the Quest 2’s LCD screen.
But we’re only talking about a few milliseconds here, so it’s not that noticeable, maybe
only when you start looking for it, but it does seem to have some noticeable effect.
Like, look at these ‘through the lens’ videos…
When I move the headset around in front of the lens, you can see some glare around text,
right?
That also happens when I’m inside the headset myself and just looking around with my head.
So on the Quest 1, this doesn’t happen.
I’m not sure if this is because of the latency or maybe chromatic aberration or maybe it’s
the new IPD adjustment, but it’s a little distracting.
However, John Carmack did say in his talks that once 90Hz support is here, this latency
will not matter anymore.
So, maybe that’s good news.
Let’s hope that it comes fast though, because I think some people might not like it.
By the way, this glare happens mostly in high contrast scenes, like reading white text on
a black background.
But it’s not that glare that happens because of the lenses.
When playing games, however, it’s not really noticeable and doesn’t bother me at all,
but I just wanted to mention it for those that may see it when they get the headset.
Okay, last but not least before we move on to my conclusion.
I wanted to touch base on the field of view too as many of you are curious about that.
I’ve tested the field of view using a VR headset tester tool from INFINITE, where you
see two lines left and right, and by moving them until they are almost out of the screen,
you can measure your FOV.
So I tested both headsets with the tool.
I tried Quest 1 with the original strap and face foam, and I tested the Quest 2 with the
Elite strap and original face foam.
And these are the results.
So I can keep my previous conclusions here.
The Oculus Quest 2 has a bit lower FOV than the Quest 1.
I’m using the IPD setting of 1, so that’s the setting where the lenses are the closest
to each other.
If you move the lenses to setting 2 or 3, your FOV will actually be smaller, so that’s
a little unfortunate.
Then, another drawback.
For those on IPD setting 3, so that’s 68mm and above, you’ll also see the black edges
of the display at the sides, since it’s a single panel now.
So the panel doesn’t move with the IPD setting anymore.
So my conclusions.
Some compromises, but overall the new Quest 2 display is still impressive to me.
Some things are strange, like the glaring problem, but those could be fixed when 90hz
mode is out.
And in games like Red Matter, high resolution assets has already been added, so the difference
there is night and day.
The black levels are a matter of preference.
Still, for me, the LCD greyer blacks, combined with the more realistic colors and high resolution,
it just makes for a beautiful, crisp display—one where you can immediately tell that it’s
improved over Quest 1.
Especially having near to no screen door effect is very nice for watching movies and just
gaming in general.
But, the biggest drawback is the field of view and this IPD adjustment; the field of
view is smaller for people with IPD values over the second setting, so if you’re over
64 to 66.
And if you’re in-between values, you might see even more of that glaring issue.
I think that’s the most significant compromise in this display of this headset.
But let me know what you think of the display now that you’ve seen this video and if you
got any more questions.
Put them in the comments, and I’ll try to answer as many of them in upcoming videos.
And I hope you enjoyed my mini review of the display.
I also need your feedback, let me know if there is anything you would like to see improved
from these ‘through the lenses’ photos as it is my first time so there is probably
a lot to improve and and I’ll do my best next time.
Also, some of you think I sound like a grandma, thanks for that.
I guess I’m exposed, but I still love you all.
If you want to support us further.
Check out more videos on our channel as well.
And see you in the next.
Stay safe and a special thanks go to all our Champions, especially those down below right
now.
As always, VR on!