Steam Frame

[BullseyeBob]

Ain’t no way I’m owning a Meta device.

 

[Ripskin]

I am on the reserved list for the 256 version. I am not expecting a jump visually from my Reverb G2, but being able to run it off my main computer will allow me to play at higher or highest settings so I'll be happy. Tracking is my main point. Not expecting perfect but my current one is horrible at tracking lol. And not needing the cables will be a nice benefit. I have a lot I would like to play in VR and just haven't as a result of all that. I wanted the 1tb but at the higher cost for my primary use off my main computer, not worth it. Curious why the original price point would have been.

I will pay the reasonable premium for a "free" device not spending its entire time selling everything about me. Isn't Meta still taking a loss on the Quest's?

 

[sharknice]

I am on the reserved list for the 256 version. I am not expecting a jump visually from my Reverb G2, but being able to run it off my main computer will allow me to play at higher or highest settings so I'll be happy. Tracking is my main point. Not expecting perfect but my current one is horrible at tracking lol. And not needing the cables will be a nice benefit. I have a lot I would like to play in VR and just haven't as a result of all that. I wanted the 1tb but at the higher cost for my primary use off my main computer, not worth it. Curious why the original price point would have been.

I will pay the reasonable premium for a "free" device not spending its entire time selling everything about me. Isn't Meta still taking a loss on the Quest's?

They used to but I think they at least break even now, or maybe even make a little money. As long as you don't count their R&D cost which is billions per year, but you can't really separate that out from Quest and their other stuff.

By getting the Frame instead of a Meta device you miss out on the free gaussian splat of your pp you can claim through an EU formal Data Subject Access Request (DSAR). But if you buy the color passthrough addon for your Frame you can DIY.

 

[Ripskin]

They used to but I think they at least break even now, or maybe even make a little money. As long as you don't count their R&D cost which is billions per year, but you can't really separate that out from Quest and their other stuff.

Nice, thought they were still taking a hit but even then curious what that hit would be with the offset of other data resale. R&D yeah, all wrapped up in their entire ecosystem. Makes me curious what real pricing will be for future devices in the market and if they will push for the hit to get them out there or expect users to pay a la Apple.

By getting the Frame instead of a Meta device you miss out on the free gaussian splat of your pp you can claim through an EU formal Data Subject Access Request (DSAR). But if you buy the color passthrough addon for your Frame you can DIY.

Hmm, they would probably still blur it being silicone and pretty colors so color pass through I guess is the way lol.

 

[Accursed]

Got mine. Doing firmware update currently.

 

[RanceJustice]

Got mine. Doing firmware update currently.

View attachment 827910

Congrats! Did you get the Ergonomic Upgrade pack as well? Is that what is sitting to the left or are those part of the default in-box items? Pretty wild that the Ergonomic kit apparently sold out of them by day 3 or 4, but I imagine more will be available soon; glad I didn't wait.

Got my tracking number so I expect it to show up in the coming week.

 

[Accursed]

Congrats! Did you get the Ergonomic Upgrade pack as well? Is that what is sitting to the left or are those part of the default in-box items? Pretty wild that the Ergonomic kit apparently sold out of them by day 3 or 4, but I imagine more will be available soon; glad I didn't wait.

Got my tracking number so I expect it to show up in the coming week.

Congrats also! Yeah that was the rubber bits on the left. Glad I got them, they're nice on the controllers and nose cover, but the strap on the head should be a requirement. I have a friend who's accessory pack shipped separately and he had to wait two days till it arrived. Mine was shipped together. Hope yours did also.

 

[Morphes]

Stoked for you guys! If anyone is sick of theirs or doesnt like it, hit me up haha. My boss got to order his, no one in my friend group has been able to buy one yet.

 

[BullseyeBob]

Got dewaitlisted and queued up. Now that it’s a bit more real I guess I should look into everything else to transition over. Lenses, batteries, audio solutions, future fbt devices etc etc. Gonna keep the Index setup as a backup.

 

[RanceJustice]

Mine just arrived this morning - Frame and Ergo Accessories pack in same box. Haven't unpacked it yet, will probably get into it tonight. Already have my Arcturus Vision. Still need to order Zenni lenses but they're out of stock it seems; I also wonder if you can configure them with additional upgrades or just the ones shown.

 

[JustinCorrigible]

Got mine and tried it out. Annoyed I couldn't get the ergonomic kit when I completed the purchase because the top strap would have been great to have. I can live without it for now. Streaming works well, haven't had the opportunity to try a game on the device itself yet.

 

[RanceJustice]

Okay, taking a look at the box this evening. As Accursed pictured, its a well designed little box, similar in style to the Steam Controller one that I have sitting on my desk currently. I do wish that Valve would offer some official cases for the Frame and Controller though - I know there are 3rd party offerings but if Valve makes a well designed offering it could help. The Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED's cases are very well made and (at least mine, which was part of the OLED Limited Edition translucent smoke + valve red issue) included from the start. I do wish it had a little more space for extras and let you charge from a closed case, but aside from that its excellent. I can remember the Steam Controller 1.0 had a post-launch case you could purchase, and if they made one for the modern Controller I'd easily do so now (provided it could charge inside the case similar to how the Xbox Elite S2 and DualSense Edge cases allow for charging when closed thanks to passthrough spacers). Offering a Steam Frame case which could support the HMD, controllers, and a few accessories would be nice - perhaps doubling as a pop-up display stand when in 'open" mode? Lets hope Valve has something in the works.

Has anyone use their Frame with glasses? Or for that matter, those who need distance-vision glasses using the HMD after taking them off? While I'm guessing that the passthrough will of course be a blurry mess, I'm unsure how the display/lenses themselves are calibrated - they're very close to your eyes after all, so perhaps you can see decently even without glasses? In any event, I'm rather concerned about scratching or harming the lenses, especially as some suggest that compared to the Index the lenses are more delicate, but if its possible to do safely, I'd prefer to be able to get some use of the Frame in the days and weeks before order/delivery of prescription lenses made for the Frame itself. Looking at some of the install/setup videos (the "getting started" section from th Frame page) it seems that they suggest that anyone with glasses use the included Eye Spacer? Is this accurate? It would seem logical. For those with the Ergonomic Accessories kit, have you used the upgraded light blocker nose piece alongside the eye spacer too, with glasses? Just checking the safe "fit" of all these things .

Finally, for those considering or ordering lenses (either Rx for sight, or without any simply to protect the Frame's lenses/displays from scratches), are you going to go with Zenni ( https://www.zennioptical.com/p/steamframe-vr-prescription-insert/VR80004/VR8000401 ) , which seem to be the ones that are officially endorsed by Valve given their presence on the Steam Frame store page or some alternative vendor like VROptician ( https://vroptician.com/prescription-lens-inserts/valve-steam-frame )?

 

[reaper12]

have you never used a VR headset before? In VR headsets the focal distance is usually around 2 to 3 meters, so if you can see clearly at those distance then you don't need to wear glasses or get prescription lenses.

 

[RanceJustice]

have you never used a VR headset before? In VR headsets the focal distance is usually around 2 to 3 meters, so if you can see clearly at those distance then you don't need to wear glasses or get prescription lenses.

My experience varies depending on the HMD and its features; generally my vision isn't clear as far out as 3 meters anyway and most of my past has been wearing glasses with HMDs in general , though I was able to get my Index to seem relatively clear even without them in the past with a bit of tweaking. I expect some sort of prescription lenses will be optimal.

 

[BullseyeBob]

RanceJustice I’m going to go with Zenni. I looked last night and it’s a pretty big price difference between them and my previous supplier, VROptician.

Having used glasses and inserts I will 100% recommend getting inserts. Many years ago I ruined my first Index drunkenly using it with glasses on. Big and deep scratches right in the center of the Index lenses. Non repairable so I bought a new HMD. After that I taped my glasses to my face to prevent them from moving at all. It was a pain in the fucking ass. Then a year ago I got the inserts. Proceeded to kick own ass for not doing it sooner.

 

[MavericK]

1 TB reservation list day one, still no order email...

 

[4saken]

1 TB reservation list day one, still no order email...

Same. 256gb here.

 

[RanceJustice]

Any suggestions for accessories, like a storage case, lens protector etc? I really wish Valve would offer official cases for their Steam hardware, notably the Controller (2.0 - the original controller did get an official case. I hope a case for the current version is built to allow charging with the Puck while inside the case) and the complete Frame kit. I've seen a handful of cases on Amazon that now mention the Frame, but they seem made originally for Meta Quest 3 / 3S and similar, so I'm unsure if they're going to fit properly especially with Ergonomic Accessories upgrades installed.

One thing I noticed when applying the Ergonomic Accessories is that the Index Knuckles style controller grips make it impossible to store the controllers in the Frame's shipping box while attached. I found a workaround in basically sliding off the ergonomic battery doors with the grips attached and laying them between the controllers and the HMD itself. Adding the (included) spacer and ergonomic head strap makes positioning the HMD a little more difficult when it comes to closing the box properly. Those who applied the upgraded light blocker, did everyone find it a benefit? The video discusses nose size or facial shape as being reasons that the original one may be insufficient, but I am just curious if there are some cases where the standard one is a better fit, or if the more comprehensive enhanced ergonomic model is (outside of rather niche outliers) probably a better experience. With it properly attached, should you not be able to see any light/a gap down beneath the nose? Or will there always be some and the idea is that it just isn't letting large amounts of light in?

RanceJustice I’m going to go with Zenni. I looked last night and it’s a pretty big price difference between them and my previous supplier, VROptician.

Having used glasses and inserts I will 100% recommend getting inserts. Many years ago I ruined my first Index drunkenly using it with glasses on. Big and deep scratches right in the center of the Index lenses. Non repairable so I bought a new HMD. After that I taped my glasses to my face to prevent them from moving at all. It was a pain in the fucking ass. Then a year ago I got the inserts. Proceeded to kick own ass for not doing it sooner.

Thanks for your input, sounds like the right thing to do. I'm really n concerned about them scratching, but unlike the Index at least the Frame comes with the Eye Spacer module. I'd be interested to know if other glasses wearing frame users (with reasonably strong prescriptions) feel comfortable thanks to the Eye Spacer. Have you (or anyone else using inserts) utilized any of the extra coatings, like VR Optician has both "ZEISS DuraVision Blue Protect" which blocks certain blue light wavelengths and "Contrast Enhancing Gaming Tint" which is a subtle yellow tint that's supposed to well..enhance contrast, presumably similar to those "gunner optics" gaming glasses from a few years back? I'm not sure I want to distort the color specifically to enhance contrast, but if the blue light blocking tint can do so without altering brightness/color visibly then it sounds like potentially beneficial. Of course, as you mention VR Optician is a bit more expensive but I'm going to write them and ask what sort of high index lenses they can offer. Zenni lists their default as 1.67, but I'll be curious if they can go thinner and/or if VROptician can do so. Unfortunately att the moment it seems Zenni is sold out and I can't even put in my Rx to test and see what options are available and what the final prices will be with all the upgrades.

 

[Accursed]

Any suggestions for accessories, like a storage case, lens protector etc? I really wish Valve would offer official cases for their Steam hardware, notably the Controller (2.0 - the original controller did get an official case. I hope a case for the current version is built to allow charging with the Puck while inside the case) and the complete Frame kit. I've seen a handful of cases on Amazon that now mention the Frame, but they seem made originally for Meta Quest 3 / 3S and similar, so I'm unsure if they're going to fit properly especially with Ergonomic Accessories upgrades installed.

I ordered the cheapest case I could from amazon as I figured it would be temporary till more option came out. It's fine so far and came with a lens protector as well.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGT4SQQ7

 

[reaper12]

My experience varies depending on the HMD and its features; generally my vision isn't clear as far out as 3 meters anyway and most of my past has been wearing glasses with HMDs in general , though I was able to get my Index to seem relatively clear even without them in the past with a bit of tweaking. I expect some sort of prescription lenses will be optimal.

The focal distance is a fixed distance dictated by whatever lenses the manufacturer used. There is no tweaking or configuring that changes that. The Valve Index Focal distance is 2m. The Quest 3 is 1.5 or something like that. I don't think there is any measurement for the Steam Frame yet.

The only 'tweaking' that had to be done on the Valve Index to make it clearer was to adjust the straps until you got the lenses in the sweet spot. That was an issue for all Fresnel lenses. It still can be an issue for pancake lenses but they have a far larger sweet spot.

I would suggest you wait and try the Frame first.

 

[Nobu]

The focal distance is a fixed distance dictated by whatever lenses the manufacturer used. There is no tweaking or configuring that changes that. The Valve Index Focal distance is 2m. The Quest 3 is 1.5 or something like that. I don't think there is any measurement for the Steam Frame yet.

The only 'tweaking' that had to be done on the Valve Index to make it clearer was to adjust the straps until you got the lenses in the sweet spot. That was an issue for all Fresnel lenses. It still can be an issue for pancake lenses but they have a far larger sweet spot.

I would suggest you wait and try the Frame first.

If it uses multiple lenses, you might be able to adjust their proximity to change the focal length, but you would also be changing the focus and how much of the display you can actually see. It would be a very involved process, to say the least.

 

[reaper12]

If it uses multiple lenses, you might be able to adjust their proximity to change the focal length, but you would also be changing the focus and how much of the display you can actually see. It would be a very involved process, to say the least.

Well, the Valve Index had two lenses. And don't all pancake lenses use multiple lenses? Of course you can't adjust the lenses in either case.

 

[Nobu]

Well, the Valve Index had two lenses. And don't all pancake lenses use multiple lenses? Of course you can't adjust the lenses in either case.

Well I wasn't aware of the exact technology they use. Was just saying, generally, if it used two lenses (in line, not one per eye), you could probably adjust the focal length (with the downsides I listed).

From what I read just now about it, it doesn't seem like it would be simple to do with a normal pancake lens (unless it was designed for it), nevermind the polarized shit they use in these.

 

[RanceJustice]

I ordered the cheapest case I could from amazon as I figured it would be temporary till more option came out. It's fine so far and came with a lens protector as well.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGT4SQQ7
View attachment 829523

Thanks, I was worried about one of these actually being able to fit the Frame + Ergo Accessories (particularly the Index style controller grips) as many seem to be made for for a Meta Quest 3 / 3 and just recently added Frame to their list. Having the controllers strapped to a board and sitting the middle I wasn't sure was going to work, but it seems like it will be fine.

The focal distance is a fixed distance dictated by whatever lenses the manufacturer used. There is no tweaking or configuring that changes that. The Valve Index Focal distance is 2m. The Quest 3 is 1.5 or something like that. I don't think there is any measurement for the Steam Frame yet.

The only 'tweaking' that had to be done on the Valve Index to make it clearer was to adjust the straps until you got the lenses in the sweet spot. That was an issue for all Fresnel lenses. It still can be an issue for pancake lenses but they have a far larger sweet spot.

I would suggest you wait and try the Frame first.

That's what I did with my Index, basically try to move it in close, dial in PD again, find the sweet spot which could be a little easier without worrying about glasses scratching the lenses, and see if I found myself squinting too much for it to work or not. It was one of those things that was often doable, especially for games without a massive ton of detail but still generally ended up keeping my glasses on and playing very cautiously. I hear the pancake lenses are a little easier, but I still will either need glasses on (thankfully with spacer maybe this makes it easier or just get prescription inserts, but i'll see.