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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.