AR glasses have just become a threat to home theatres

[andjar01]

I don't want to sound like I'm hyping or advertising this thing
but I've just purchased a Xreal One Pro and I'm stunned!

I've been waiting for a good and reasonably priced long throw laser dlp projector to upgrade my 7 year old 4k Viewsonic lamp projector....which still serves me very well.
Nothing attractive yet. I've also been looking at 98-100" TV's
as they have become quite affordable...will probably get one before any projector upgrade.

Travelling quite a bit every year and seeing some reviews of the recent Xreal One Pro which has a significantly improved FOV(57°) over all other AR glasses....i decided to bite.
After a few days of messing with them...all i can say is : WOW!

I wouldn't say they provide a better experience than my HDR TV or my projector but here are some relative pq impressions:

1. The sense of sharpness/perceived detail is GOOD. So they are equipped with 2 x 1080 micro Oled displays made by sony. It really feels like watching a huge 1080p oled or plasma tv.The perceived detail is similar to my local public movie theatre .The screen door effect is very subtle.
2. Contrast, black levels and colour saturation are excellent.
Better than my 4k dlp projector.
3. Brightess...700 nits. Very good but not as good as the better hdr tv 's out there or even some laser home projectors.
4. There is some mild tendency to crush the blacks on some movies so the shadow detail is ok.
5. They say the reflections are better managed than any other ar glasses out there but you still might notice the occasional and very faint white spot floating in some scenes. Nitpicking here.
6. Chromatic aberation is visible only on high contrast text.
7.The real horizontal fov you're getting from the video frame is more like 51° as some border pixels are used as stabilization buffer...my guess.
8. There is also a subjective analogue character to the experience...I guess it has to do with the refractive-optical elements. Hard to describe...it's like a dreamy / fish tank effect . I kind of like it...reminds me a bit of real film projection.
9. The sound is surprisingly great.

My conclusion is this is an amazing piece of kit, a fantastic pocket movie theatre . If AR glasses keep improving like they have...they pose a deadly threat to dedicated home
theatres ...not to the mobile phones as Zuck belives,not to the tv's or public theatres ...but those dedicated rooms and home projectors in general. Sure ...it is a solitary experience, the family movie time will still be a thing but it will be taken care of by a big tv in 99% of the cases.

[RevolverOcelScott]

They have not.

VR/AR are enthusiest only and will never be widely adapted in enough of a capacity to impact home theaters.

Perfect example.
https://nypost.com/2024/11/12/tech/a...er-complaints/

[andjar01]

VR and AR two very different things in my opinion.
VR is a disaster at the moment ....I fully agree.I have been an early VR adopter( from Oculus DevKit2 to PS VR2) and have been disappointed every single time. And AR as a concept is a gimmick.
What Xreal brings to the table right now is something else. AR glasses that are mainly meant to provide a big virtual screen for video content and gaming . They can be a very decent ultra wide/multiple monitor replacement on the go as well.

[bhampton]

My Hone Theater does not feel threatened.

I'm glad you like your gizmo tho. Congrats.

[Eidolon]

So, how do you plug a BD player into these?
Seems to biy USB only as far as I can tell. Ludicrously expensive.

[PenguinInfinity]

Originally Posted by Eidolon

So, how do you plug a BD player into these?
Seems to biy USB only as far as I can tell. Ludicrously expensive.

There are various adapters that can convert an HDMI input to a USB-C output.

[red_5ive]

I picked up a pair of the XREAL Air 1st gen (formerly NREAL) for use with handheld gaming (Asus ROG Ally). It's excellent for that particular use case, especially since I have a hard time seeing the tiny screen, even with corrective lenses.

But I tried them with a movie and lasted less than 10 mins. They'll never replace my HT. Either of them. Especially since I'm more of an "audio guy" than a video guy. I refuse to use the built-in speakers, and the perception of sound coming from my system in conjunction with a virtual screen is just... weird.

[andjar01]

I love this thing more and more. It's been quite a treat having my xreal one pro with me on holiday...and not only on the long haul flights but in the hotel too. My wife is very light and noise sensitive so once she wants to sleep i can't even use a small laptop. Watching my movies and tv shows in virtually total darkness on a huge screen is amazing. I had to use earbuds/IEMs for sound.

I started using it with my blu-ray player as well using a HDMI to USB-C adapter cable like this one:
https://amzn.eu/d/fb5B91r
[IMG][/IMG]

[cgpublic]

In those settings, car, plane, train, hotel, etc., my iPad Pro/AirPods Pro is my go to, not for films, but sports and episodic series.

It's a tandem OLED reaching 1600 peak brightness for HDR highlights, brigher than the latest large screen OLED TVs, DV, P3, ProMotion, the works, hand in hand with Spatial Audio.

But I do see a substantial market for glasses such as the XReal over the next decade, perhaps not for everyone, but early adopters first, more as prices drop.

Meta, Google, Open AI, yeah, they'll be all over that space.

The high-end upside of the Vision Pro is that it delivers a distinct, 180-degree, 3D 8K immersive experience that simply can't be matched today, and Apple will seek to keep the high-end of the market.

Once new versions hit the market and the price drops, matched by content which will only be available from Apple from companies such as Disney, e.g., Avatar, Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, etc., combined with sports, such as Apple's deals with MLB, MLS and FI, and ESPN/Disney's new NFL deal, and MLB, it may take a few years, but yeah, I'll be punching that ticket.

[andjar01]

While away from home,i used to watch my entertainment on a 15" OLed Asus Vivobook Laptop which i think has a great screen, technically much better than the One Pro's. I still had it with me but I really preferred using the glasses ...greater immersion, more cinematic experience.

The Apple Vision stuff is fantastic i hope its Samsung competitor will be at least as good and way more affordable.

But I'll tell you what. If these sunglasses style AR video focused headsets from Xreal and Viture will reach 60° fov,1440p and 1000nits in 2026 and.... 2160p with >1250 nits in 2028...also incrementally improving the optics...that's it. I'm not upgrading my TV's and 4k projector any time soon anymore.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by cgpublic

In those settings, car, plane, train, hotel, etc., my iPad Pro/AirPods Pro is my go to, not for films, but sports and episodic series.

It's a tandem OLED reaching 1600 peak brightness for HDR highlights, brigher than the latest large screen OLED TVs, DV, P3, ProMotion, the works, hand in hand with Spatial Audio.

But I do see a substantial market for glasses such as the XReal over the next decade, perhaps not for everyone, but early adopters first, more as prices drop.

Meta, Google, Open AI, yeah, they'll be all over that space.

The high-end upside of the Vision Pro is that it delivers a distinct, 180-degree, 3D 8K immersive experience that simply can't be matched today, and Apple will seek to keep the high-end of the market.

Once new versions hit the market and the price drops, matched by content which will only be available from Apple from companies such as Disney, e.g., Avatar, Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, etc., combined with sports, such as Apple's deals with MLB, MLS and FI, and ESPN/Disney's new NFL deal, and MLB, it may take a few years, but yeah, I'll be punching that ticket.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by red_5ive

I picked up a pair of the XREAL Air 1st gen (formerly NREAL) for use with handheld gaming (Asus ROG Ally). It's excellent for that particular use case, especially since I have a hard time seeing the tiny screen, even with corrective lenses.

But I tried them with a movie and lasted less than 10 mins. They'll never replace my HT. Either of them. Especially since I'm more of an "audio guy" than a video guy. I refuse to use the built-in speakers, and the perception of sound coming from my system in conjunction with a virtual screen is just... weird.

Yep,that’s the reality. Too much of a compromise.

[andjar01]

The 46 vs 57 degrees FOV difference between Air 1 and the One Pro is quite drastic. Basically 130'' vs 171'' screens from 4m(12ft) viewing distance....nearly double the screen area.

[Fiffy]

Interesting. Can it play 3D movies in frame-packing format as used on 3D Blu-rays (either using the HDMI adapter or from a ripped file)?

I think headsets/glasses will become a viable alternative once the comfort issues are solved. Nobody will want to wear something like an Apple Vision Pro for more than an hour or so (if that). But lightweight glasses could be viable alternative IMO.

[andjar01]

Originally Posted by Fiffy

Interesting. Can it play 3D movies in frame-packing format as used on 3D Blu-rays (either using the HDMI adapter or from a ripped file)?

.

Yes and No. It is capable of excellent 3d,probably the best 3d i've ever seen....but only from ripped 3d video files at the moment. All my blu ray players fail to recognise it as a 3d capable display and no image output is delivered appart ...from the 2d ''no 3d capable display detected'' message.

So the picture quality i am getting from my blu ray players varries(repost from reddit):

Hooked to a LG UBK90 and I have to say the blacks are milky...I didn't get great results adjusting the players basic settings for contrast and brightness meaning trying to lower the blacks led to great loss of shadow detail or loosing too much brightness. Overall the image is fine...watchable,like the average SDR pq from 2008, but not great by today's standards.

Hooked to the more versatile Panasonic UB420 player, I had greater success obtaining a nice contrasty image,very decent blacks but still not quite as good as from my Samsung S25 Ultra phone or my PC.The blacks still not as deep....the black bars in anamorphic movies still a touch lifted compared to the solid/total black ones out of the Samsung Dex or PC.

I wasn't able to get 3d and HDR out of any my blu ray players. I guess the one pro is only recognised as a random sdr hdtv by these 2 players.

Still....good quality blu/web/UHD rips loaded onto my phone's memory can look sensational on the One Pro's...real OLED contrast , color and motion performance.

Hopefully ,in the future,using an intermediary device like the Beam Pro,we will be able to get a better digital signal from the 4k blu ray players and consoles.

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by andjar01

Yes and No. It is capable of excellent 3d,probably the best 3d i've ever seen....but only from ripped 3d video files at the moment. All my blu ray players fail to recognise it as a 3d capable display and no image output is delivered appart ...from the 2d ''no 3d capable display detected'' message.

Sounds like the glasses don't support frame-packed format. Do they have technical specifications with supported formats? I couldn't find anything on their web page. If they support full SBS it would be OK with the right player software, but if it's only half SBS you'd lose too much resolution to be really acceptable IMO.

[andjar01]

My One Pro has 2 options in the 3d menu : ''Half SBS'' and ''Full SBS''.

[andjar01]

An update on the 3d aspect of my Xreal.

Personally i have not managed to get their Full-SBS mode to work correctly as it is forceing my pc into a ultra wide mode and i could not find a setting in any of my video players that would properlly fill the screen.

However...i have found a guide to rip my 3d blu rays into 3840x1080p full SBS .mkv video files. Using the Xreals in half sbs mode is efectively giving me full SBS 3d video with these files....and it looks glorious! If you think about ...this device is like it was made for 3d.
The first decent display glasses was the Sony HMZ-T1 in 2011...called ''the personal 3d viewer''.