Play for Dream MR

[cdx47]

I have had this device for a few days now, setting it up, testing, configuring and upgrading it. I've also spent time, watching a number of different scenes with known problem areas for my previous device. First of all I recommend subscribing to the pfdmr Discord channel and downloading the "PFD MR Unofficial User Guide" . It's a pretty lively community with some semi-official pfdmr helpers that provide a useful conduit between users and the pfdmr dev team.

Hardware and Charging
================
The device is packaged well and looks great. The box is useful as a makeshift case because of how easy it is to remove and replace the device and controllers. It has a built in battery that lasts about 1 hour and is charged is by a usb-c cable. But many users attach a 3rd party battery instead which can provide up to 4 hours portable charging.

UI and Controllers
==============
The UI looks nice, is well organized and looks great in passthrough mode. I assume it's somewhat of an AVP clone in software as well as hardware. The controllers have plenty of buttons and I like the look and feel of them. They are usb-c charged and seem to last for a good amount of time before needing to be recharged. There's also two configurable buttons on the hmd. One by default is set to power and the other is for immersion/passthrough on the homepage. The controllers and button options are well integrated in the OS and become pretty intuitive after a short time using them, making it easy to quit, change a setting and restart an app. It obviously helps that the currently most powerful Snapdragon chip is being used, making everything that much quicker.

Display
======
The Quest 3 is said to have best in class lenses and some game players report minor glare issues with the pfdmr. But your eyes are very close to the screen and this does not seem to be an issue for movie watching. To me this display is the crown jewel of the device running at 72 and 80Hz up to 8K (4k per eye) and at 90Hz up to 3K per eye. There are options to use foveated and non-foveated rendering. Overall I love this display and it's making me strongly consider replacing my LED TV with OLED. The difference is that obvious. Please note that this device will expose encoding issues, especially low light/dark area bit starvation.

Passthrough and Cameras
==================
Again, maybe not best in class. But the color and sharpness is good enough to do what I need to do and I have no complaints. Unlike my old Quest, the pfdmr works very well in low light. The controllers always stay tracked and I've not seen any low light warnings so far.

Software
=======
There is a shop, but don't use it because you probably won't be able to buy anything. Use the mobile app instead. Virtual Desktop is probably the number one downloaded software for the device. It helps that the VD dev seems to have a good working relationship with the pfdmr devs. There is not an official 4XVR client, but there is a Quest port. Skybox (Quest port?) apparently has issues.


Problem with Face Interface
==================
The main problem that most Western users will have is it doesn't properly fit on their face and will at best become uncomfortable after a short while. An official face gasket for more Western faces is being developed, but there are also unofficial workarounds requiring additional purchase or 3D printing. If you wear glasses then there are official solutions but they are expensive. Some will argue that if you are paying a premium for the device then what's another 100 dollars. Personally I'm not so sure about that.


In conclusion, the device is still very much a work in progress but the Discord is helpful. Its overall features, presentation and great picture quality make up for the rough edges. The gorgeous picture quality alone makes this worth what I paid for it. But the face interface is a major concern and unless you are willing to experiment, 3D print or purchase 3rd party solutions, this might be a turn off for some.

[3dconvert]

I have it for one month and don't like it because it isn't as bright as the Meta Quest 3 when it comes to watching movies. I feel watching movies with 4XVR or Skybox on Meta Quest 3 yields a superior picture. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong with the Play For Dream VR?

On yours, you are stating it is brighter and better quality watching movies as compared to Meta Quest 3? Is that so?

[cdx47]

Originally Posted by 3dconvert

I have it for one month and don't like it because it isn't as bright as the Meta Quest 3 when it comes to watching movies. I feel watching movies with 4XVR or Skybox on Meta Quest 3 yields a superior picture. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong with the Play For Dream VR?

On yours, you are stating it is brighter and better quality watching movies as compared to Meta Quest 3? Is that so?

I had issues with 4XVR and Skybox and didn't like either of them. But I was using the old Oculus Quest 1 so I thought maybe that was the reason. But maybe not? I have been using Virtual Desktop with my PC for the past few years. With the pfdmr, the closer you are to the lenses the better. So maybe try and find a way to do that. It won't be too long now before they finally release the new face gaskets for western faces which should help a lot with comfort issues.

The Quest 3 has higher resolution than my Quest 1 and apparently the best lens tech of any VR hmd. But OLED panels are always superior to LED panels and even today, I would put it up against any LED hmd or projector. But the pfdmr is almost the best of everything I wanted and some things I didn't know I needed. An even better OLED panel with higher contrast ratio and brighter more accurate colors. 8K resolution is not essential, but it is so much higher than other hmd's that it does actually make a difference. I was wrong to say there isn't more detail available from 3D discs because there is and I am seeing it now, and without SDE.

Obviously the pfdmr is not perfect and is definitely a work in progress. But it is probably the best 3D movie watching VR device not called AVP. As I said before, the picture quality is so much better, that for the first time I am "seriously" considering upgrading my LED TV to OLED. If 4K 3D SDR movies can look this amazing, then I can't imagine how good 4K 3D HDR movies look with the AVP.

[evertec]

Originally Posted by 3dconvert

I have it for one month and don't like it because it isn't as bright as the Meta Quest 3 when it comes to watching movies. I feel watching movies with 4XVR or Skybox on Meta Quest 3 yields a superior picture. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong with the Play For Dream VR?

On yours, you are stating it is brighter and better quality watching movies as compared to Meta Quest 3? Is that so?

What player are you using on PFD? I have quest 3 and PFD and the quality of movie watching is much higher on PFD aside from the lenses not being as good so I have to physically move my head sometimes to get optimal clarity versus just moving my eyes.

[cdx47]

Originally Posted by evertec

What player are you using on PFD?

It's in the quote you are quoting ???

[evertec]

Originally Posted by cdx47

It's in the quote you are quoting ???

Maybe, they say 4XVR and Skybox on Quest 3 looks better than PFD, but doesn't say which players they've tried on PFD. Could be 4XVR and Skybox as well, but not sure till they reply.

[cdx47]

Originally Posted by evertec

Maybe, they say 4XVR and Skybox on Quest 3 looks better than PFD, but doesn't say which players they've tried on PFD. Could be 4XVR and Skybox as well, but not sure till they reply.

Whichever one it is probably doesn't matter because in the end you have less control over picture quality than when using VD with PC. For example, the shadow and low light resolution problems that compression causes can be mitigated and improved on PC, but apparently not on hmd based apps.

[evertec]

Originally Posted by cdx47

Whichever one it is probably doesn't matter because in the end you have less control over picture quality than when using VD with PC. For example, the shadow and low light resolution problems that compression causes can be mitigated and improved on PC, but apparently not on hmd based apps.

Many, if not most people, don't want to use Virtual Desktop for movies. It defeats the whole portable aspect of a standalone headset and introduces other issues such as visual quality degradation and latency. I don't know whether 3dconvert is needing the portability or not, but they're saying it's worse quality than quest 3, which doesn't make sense since I have both and it's definitely not depending on the player used.

[cdx47]

Originally Posted by evertec

Many, if not most people, don't want to use Virtual Desktop for movies. It defeats the whole portable aspect of a standalone headset and introduces other issues such as visual quality degradation and latency. I don't know whether 3dconvert is needing the portability or not, but they're saying it's worse quality than quest 3, which doesn't make sense since I have both and it's definitely not depending on the player used.

Extra latency is obviously an issue but it can be mitigated. What you said about picture quality can technically be true, but it doesn't have to be. It does require some work but I've always been able to get best out of my VR hmds using Virtual Desktop. I'm now sure of this because I was getting a very nice picture from my Quest. But after some "work" the pfdmr is so much better and I wasn't expecting that.

I just want to be able to watch 3D movies on the biggest screen with the best audio possible so I wouldn't care even if I had to be tethered to my PC. But if I do sometimes want a standalone device then with 1TB local storage and portable battery I can use it as such if I need to

[Cryogenator]

The Pimax Dream Air weighs under 200 grams and has better displays than the Play for Dream or Vision Pro.

[evertec]

Originally Posted by Cryogenator

The Pimax Dream Air weighs under 200 grams and has better displays than the Play for Dream or Vision Pro.

No it doesn't... because it doesn't exist yet. Maybe in a few months or years we can compare it to PFD or vision pro given Pimax's track record of delays.

[cdx47]

According to the specs for a device that doesn't exist yet? The Pimax will be using a panel that is slightly less bright but with slightly better colour coverage than the pfdmr.

OLED panesl copy.jpeg

[cdx47]

Just a quick update on the pfdmr since I've been using it for a while. The number one issue for most people is still comfort. But 3rd party options are now available including better fitting gaskets and top straps. With these options the device should be comfortable enough to wear without issue. Many people use the pfdmr for active gaming. But I think gaming simulators, movie watching and other seated media consumption is the sweet spot for the pfdmr.

Flying the Dune Ornithopter in the pfdmr

I've always said that contrast is king for picture quality because it is. But resolution can play a more important part for 3D quality than I understood. 4K full-SBS encodes can look better than full-OU encodes of the same content and the pfdmr OLED panel highlights the difference. The time spent experimenting on the older VR device has helped me to significantly improve the pfdmr picture from a baseline I previously described as "gorgeous". I am genuinely amazed at how good the picture quality is. But maybe I shouldn't be since this is a later generation panel than even the Sony panel in the AVP*.

As for HDR, no consumer VR hmd (including the AVP and pfdmr) is even close to bright enough for true HDR, despite how both devices are marketed. But the AVP has the obvious advantage of having actual HDR content and it must look absolutely stunning with these new generation OLED panels. Just like a projector with tone mapping, the pfdmr can make HDR content look pretty decent and compared to my TV, the pfdmr has much better color and contrast and the VR screen is much, much bigger. It's also cheaper than upgrading my TV, so I "may" end up watching 4K HDR movies as well as my current 4K up-scaled 3D movies on the pfdmr.

_________________
* Sony has a new panel which may end up in the next AVP

[cdx47]

Originally Posted by trialobite

Last Wish has been one of my top wishlist titles since it came out, and it really held up on the rewatch. It’s not a masterpiece but
It’s fun, well told, and the animation and colors are really beautiful. The opening number is super fun in 3D. It was clear they took inspiration from Spider-Verse and I’m totally okay if we get beautiful results like this.

Now that I’ve been spoiled by the amazing quality of the 4K/HDR movies on the Vision Pro, I’ve started using the HDR conversion in Resolve to convert all my 3D titles to watch in HDR. It’s not totally perfect, but it’s often very good. It works similar to AI 4K upscaling, using a machine learning model to color and tone-map a standard Rec709 movie to a larger gamut of your choosing for color and brightness. I’ll tell you what… using 4XVR or Skybox to play a movie like this in 3D HDR is freaking awesome. The colors and brightness really pop and the expanded range really adds a natural feeling of depth on top of the stereopsis… I know it’s often Blasphemy but I also use the phenomenal SpeedWarp function in Resolve to convert to 60fps HFR… the 3D feels so natural and real I have trouble going back!

I do have a similar panel and you might be underselling the colors which are absolutely gorgeous and that's just with standard 8bit SDR. I hope one day to be able to watch 10bit WCG colours on an AVP or similar device. The AVP easily has the best SOC which I'm guessing does a great job with tone mapping because although our panels are HDR, no consumer VR technology can actually replicate true HDR brightness.

I already use SVP with Rife AI software interpolation to watch all my 3D movies at 60Hz. But I'm also interested in your HDR conversion with Resolve because I can do something similar with mpv player. But I found that as great as it looks, I lose a little too much high frequency detail so I stopped using it.

Finally, I'm thankful for guys who used AI upscaling to make lower quality 3D stream rips more watchable, although most are no longer needed because of Turbine But AI upscaling is terrible for facial features, turning them into a rubber mess and God forbid a black person comes on screen with AI upscaling. Woof! What's sad is that the worst amateur AI upscales are still not as bad as Aliens and True Lies which were both upscaled by a professional studio.