Oculus Link vs Virtual Desktop | The Best Way To Play Half-Life Alyx On The Oculus Quest
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- čas přidán 21. 07. 2024
- Today on BMF we have a battle on our hands, Oculus Link vs Virtual Desktop. Which one is the best way to play Half-Life Alyx and other PC VR games on the Oculus Quest?
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I called the better image on the right as soon as you showed them, very surprised it was VD. The developer has mad skilz...
same
This video is engouraging me not only to get a Quest, but also invest in a awesome router.
if your going to play Half Life Alyx, you still need a VR ready PC... stand alone Quest games just don't look as pretty. but that's not to say there isn't good games on the Quest.
@@skairkrow9800 I think he meant that he already really liked how the quest works and the fact that it is standalone, but the fact that you can play games like Half Life Alyx with it is also a major upside. The Link cable and VD have basically solved 1 of the 2 major drawbacks with the Quest (The games and limited processing power).
@@skairkrow9800 I have vr ready pc. But it 1060. All I need for decent vr expirience is a better gpu.
@@4life4win that is actually the recommended graphics card so ur good
@@4life4win I had a system up until mid Sept. that I used for Steam VR. it had a 1060 in it and it ran practically everything I threw at it. not at high resolution levels mind you, but good enough. I now have a system with a 2070 Super in it. but don't let that 1060 stop you. SteamVR is still great even at lower resolutions. (Lower meaning less than Ultra). a good SteamVR game to start with would be "Serious Sam 3 BFE". put it on your wish list and wait for it to go on sale.
Honestly makes me wonder why Oculus didn't just make an official wireless "Link" box for the Quest. Seems counter intuitive to have a wire if they could have just made and optimized a custom wireless receiver that plugs into the PC. Like the whole selling point of the Quest for a CV1 user like myself would be the wireless capability. xD
That would've been awesome and great idea
They want money durrr
My guess is that Sony already filed a patent.
My guess is that Facebook won't do anything unless they're sure that it will work
Probably because they want that to be a selling point for their next headset.
I spotted 8 Nic Cages in this video. Did I catch them all? *Edit nope WingGamer123 found another one. That makes 9.
0:21 over the questers unite! poster
0:50 bottom left hand of the screen
1:23 full frame replacement
1:54 full frame replacement ^ WingGamer123 - caught #9
2:17 peeks out from behind the Virtual desktop latency screen.
3:49 peeks out from the pillar on the right hand side of the screen.
4:23 full frame replacement
4:44 Face over the oculus quest poster on the right.
5:46 in the box for Oculus Link/Image quality
at 1:54 there is a full frame replacement
I did
I saw 8 as well lol
I only notice the one at the end
I saw that to
Nice! I was one of the people asking and I love that you respond to fan questions
2:14 it's not latency it's frame time(time it takes to render a frame), you get FPS when you divide 1000 by that number
Thank you for an excellent analysis. My experience is pretty similar. I adopted VD early on for pcvr but then switched to link in November. Recently I tried VD again for both NMS and Alyx and was stunned how good it is now. I noticed that even in Steam Home the colours are more vibrant when using VD. My setup is i7 16gb ram and a rtx2060. I have a big standard Vodafone 5ghost router.
Also just tried Automobalista 2 and that is equally playable using VD. Last year when using VD for racing sims I found that there was way to much lag. The improvement is remarkable.
Thank you so much! I am now playing alyx with no tether and it does seem to look better and play a little smoother than my partylink. Keep up the good work!
100% agree with you on this. My rig is almost identical as for network, ubiquity UniFi. I’ve been testing this too and have been thinking about selling the link cable. Being wireless is the only thing that has stopped me from upgrading to an index
Really, the only thing? "upgrade"?
There is no other redeeming aspect of the Quest? 😔
bazanime
Yeah, in my opinion, being wireless should be #1 priority with higher visual fidelity being a close second in VR headsets. I would buy a index if they came with a wireless option.
Loving VD for quest. It's a must have for quest owners with a gaming pc too. If you have lots of people streaming in the house it best to have your own router though.
I like using VD too but I get the latency sometimes. I dont get it as much with the link. That said my wifi is just ok not great.
I bought the link for Alyx and had a HORRIBLE time getting it to run without jitter. After the most recent update, VD was much cleaner with no glitching whatsoever. Hands down gets my vote. Note: using a powerful mesh WiFi system.
thx for sharing. which mesh system are you using? Thanks!
What specs are your PC
Using a alplifi hd mesh here thanks for the tip
Feel the same, having a better experience with VD in every game, and it doesn't make sense, especially since the link cable is expensive and most importantly it's connected.
I've had my quest since January and have been using both oculus link and virtual desktop. One of the later updates for VD definitely solidified it as the better solution, however I've found the latency varies from title to title. Some games it's not noticeable at all, other games it's noticeable but not that big of a deal. I'm also using a 1080 ti rather than a 2080 super so that may have something to do with it. If you're going the VD solution make sure you have a slightly beefier video card to deal with the wireless overhead and a GOOD 5Ghz router as said in the video. I repurposed an older AC router as a dedicated access point and it made a big difference.
All that said both virtual desktop and oculus link are constantly getting updates so one very well may come out on top of the other. In the time I've had my quest the software has gone from version 11 to 19 and virtual desktop has had numerous updates including a complete communications overhaul.
So many Cages! You had me cracking up by 2:15.
Only just stumbled onto your channel from a link on reddit where, mind-blown, this stuff was possible. There's some great content and I love the Quest. Earned yourself another subscriber :)
Thanks for posting these videos, I wouldn't have thought you could possibly play a game like this wireless. I have been playing almost exclusively with Link since it was live to get the content that I wanted. No more twisting and tripping over wires!
Ive had nothing but problems with my link cable. After I started using VD I haven't gone back.
I just upgraded from link to Virtual Desktop, and I fully agree. Virtual Desktop, while annoying to setup, is a game changer; the experience is infinitely more immersive without a wire. Carmack stated that FB could have gone straight to wireless with the link but that the company heads told him to go wired for "quality assurance" more like price assurance- they wanted that little extra sugar from cable sales in my opinion
Im having trouble going into vr woth VD, ive sideloaded and my vrchat stays in desktop mode
do you mind sharing what router you use and what you think is sufficient or optimal in terms of wifi hardware? THANKS!
Way better review than I expected. Great video.
This was really awesome and helpful. Thank you!!
0:20 Nicolas Cage on the left poster when he says “but”
Top 10 easter eggs!
or something...
Lenoxl there is another one at 1:23
Also try 4:24
Also try 5:47
Also 2:17 on the right image, a sneaky Nic Cage appear
Also on bottom right 50 seconds in and 1:24
Oculus Link is basically unusable for me unless I move almost all my other USB devices to powered external hubs. It just keeps connecting and disconnecting. I suspect that the Quest draws a lot of power but is relatively low on the system's "keep alive" list (if that exists). Visual quality in Oculus Link is also pretty bad, even compared to the cheapest headsets like Lenovo Explorer. So I'd say if you are going Quest, go for VD since wireless is the one advantage that can offset many other drawbacks.
You're the best bro, I watched two videos and I'm hooked to your content.
I'd like to thank you for all the Quest videos. Your first Alyx video was instrumental in convincing me to purchase a Quest. I'm not sure how powerful my WiFi is, so I may be upgrading soon. All of your videos have been so informative and helped me realize the full potential of the Quest. Wireless streaming of incredible PC games.
I had the same experience here. Unfortunately I bought many cables before trying to just change my router. Now I only play using Virtual Desktop.
I definitely use Virtual Desktop. Brutal image quality and great latency. And I forget about 3m cable pulls since the official cable is impossible to find. I'm from Barcelona and the Oculus website doesn't offer it yet. Playing Half Life Alyx untethered is great. Great video. Keep it up.
Manu Ansemil Same story here in the Netherlands. Plays great, got lots of room to move in the living room!
Finally been waiting for something like this for ages!
One thing to point out is that in VD you can literally tweak the color settings to be deeper and richer. I don’t know if that can be done with link but VD ha more control in that area.
Now I have to buy a new router. How much money is VR gonna take from me 😭
Only 4 grand
There is NO difference between the official cable and the Oculus link cable...I bought several of them just to test....now that VDD has gotten better, I think i will switch to that platform...
Thanks for this video comparison review - much appreciated! 💯🙌
I have Oculus Link and find the image quality when using StreamVR or even Oculus Rift a bit washout. Black is not pure black. Many people have complained about this for a long time. Will definitely try VD to see if the image quality improves
I guess you can call them.. QUESTions
😂 yup
Actual first time I seen this comment
MaurMello *silence*
*GROAN!!!!!!*
MaurMello why are you the way that you are
Happy to see a youtuber talking about the power of Virtual Desktop and Oculus Quest.
But wait ... THERE IS MORE !
Imagine if you'll be able to play Half life Alyx without wires and without an expensive pc at home. It's actually possible with a Shadow PC and Virtual Desktop !
I completed HL Alyx with that setup and it's just amazing. Not yet perfect but really promising.
This solution will be improve in a near futur because Shadow is working on a VR solution with the creator of VD.
This will solve the main issue of VR : THE SETUP's PRICE !
Off to get my router! The question "oculus link or Virtual Desktop" brought me here and I'm glad you answered the question so thoroughly! 💪👌
Thanks a lot for your videos. I just bought the same router you have and all I can say is wow, somehow I feel that the color is better in Half-life Alyx in VIrtual Desktop. I wouldn’t have done all the settings without your help. Congratulations for this great job!
Link is just full of problems. Frequent disconnects, Steam VR hangs some times. VD just works. Simple as that.
do you mind sharing what router you use and what you think is sufficient or optimal in terms of wifi hardware? THANKS!
I’m waiting on my cable and gave virtual desktop a whirl and it works perfectly. I played Subnautica and No Mans Sky and both worked great. I noticed no lag whatsoever and the visuals looked perfect. If they are being degraded I honestly do not notice it. Thanks for the video.
Spot on review! I've been screaming it in the FB forums forever. I ❤️ VD! 😳
How close were you to the router? Btw thanks video I might buy the router your using to make my expirences better! Thanks
Somehow for me, link looks all watery and jelloy if you move your head around too fast. Everything looks so much better on virtual desktop. It's wireless yet somehow looks better than link.
Lately im getting lots of issues with link...so perhaps its time to try VD. Thanks for the cool and useful comparison.
What issues?
How do you even connect VD
For when I get one
amazing breakdown, and you demystified it completely, now it's no brainer. Thanks 😊
Thank you very much for all your useful information
I kept commenting in reviews for Alyx on Quest that people don't need to wait or order the link cable. Go with Virtual Desktop... with your review people might believe now.
So you don't need a pc?
@@audreymai2773 still need a pc, or a shadowPC account to stream a good pc. But that requires subscription I believe
Is there a guide for getting vd to work properly? I haven't found one yet
czcams.com/video/n5fWoYi5100/video.html this is mine.
@@BMFVR thank you! Also that was a very quick response, I'm impressed
Also, if you’re having trouble with Steam not recognizing the Quest, you’ll need to completely uninstall and reinstall Steam. I kept thinking VD was the problem, but it was definitely Steam.
The problem I had was steam not recognising headset, no reviews I read mentioned it but when I installed the rift s oculus software onto pc then everything worked great.
I get no stutters or jitters and looks great.
Thanks for putting this together!
Hey man just a quick
Question would love it if you could answer what microphone do you use for the recoriding your voice when you play the quest?
I'm using a shotgun mic mounted above me. It's the Deity SMic2
3:48 - “names cage, Nicholas cage..”
No ones gonna mention the face on the oculus quest poster at 4:44?
LOL
Thanks BMF! Didn't realize VD was a better solution, and really appreciate this and all your other videos! What is your upload/download speed? For others of you having success with this, will you please post your wifi setup and actual upload / download speeds? Thanks!
I'd like to try the VD method, but I can't have my router right next to my PC at the moment. But I disagree with what you said about price. If you don't already have a top notch router, that's another expense.
It appears it's better to use ethernet to your pc and use a mobile hotspot on your pc to connect the quest. That way you do not need to be next to the router, but your pc needs to be able to create a wifi hotspot. Most laptops can do that by default.
Instead of another router, I can recommend a unifi AP, personally went with the NanoHD, works great.
Confirm! I got a mesh system with UniFi AP-AC PRO and it works GREAT!
For people using VD, just a little tip that made a huge difference for me. I am just using my ISP router but my quest is the only device on 5Ghz. I had issues b4 and I moved all other devices in my house to 2.4gz or wired them if I could and now my latency is between 19 and 25 ms and VD works perfectly. Also make sure your on the latest VD version as it has had major improvements in the last few updates. I was considering buying a new router b4 this but will spend my 200$, or so elsewhere. VD all the way for me, Wireless is so much better. I could never get used to the link cable...
Dude thanks for the tip. I've been looking around because my virtual desktop experience has been complete garbage, but then I see videos where people use it perfectly. I'll try this out
My latency is about 13ms. But everything is so laggy I can't play anything. Turn my head everything freezes for a second and it's all jumpy. With a link cable it runs smooth. Can't seem to fix it
Join the VD discord if you haven't already. Guy Godin (VD developer) is a great guy and will often post there and answer questions. Lots of other tips and tricks there to try if this is not enough for you. Another thing is I made sure that I didn't have any neighbors on the same channel (for my 5Gz). Also Some people have had luck with removing slice encoding, changing the codec to h.264 and lowering video quality
What is the speed of your ISP router displayed on VD menu?
@@madturtle84 up top where it says 5g? 866?
By the way the overlay show 13 or under but in VD it showed around 35 or 50. I turned off slice and I switch it to h264 I got to run and smooth for the most part but there's still some jittery parts
Wow, what a surprise. Awesome test man, thanks!
On Nividia control panel what are the best settings for VR? Just finished building my pc and grabbed Boneworks
Brooooo Nick in the back 😂😂
😂
BMF Happy April Fools day
It might just be my eyes but it looks like the oculus link has a little higher FPS than VD but it might just be me :P
It's just the video rendering they run identically.
Your a protogen. I just wanted to say that lol
Great content! Thanks. How about some more details on how to get good performance? How much does distance from the router matter? Is there anyway to add a closer router? How much does it help if the PC is wired?
I want to know how to use sidequest on a chromebook because I currently don't own a PC or pc powered laptop and I really want to try out Pavlov Shack because I saw your video on that so do you mind doing a video on that?
1:23 perfect timing for me and what is that
LOL ALOT OF NICK CAGE IN THIS VIDEO LOL
Haha yup
Spot on with this comparison. 😊👍
I use direct Wifi from my laptop to Quest instead of going via a router. Have you done this? Thoughts? Thank you.
What Mario isn't telling you.
You never know who might have it.
Virtual Desktop is awesome, I used this to experiment with Half Life Alyx on my below minimum specs PC.. Intel I5-4460 MSI Geforce GTX 960 2GB Limited ME G-Skill 16GB DDR3 3400. And it runs lovely.. 👍
yep, for me I54590 8 Go RAM and GTX970 it runs very well on Virtual Desktop ^^
Really? I should try than. What settings do your VD because in Paranormal Activity it stutters sometimes but J just tested it for one hours no fine tuning yet.
Does anybody else have the problem with poor controller tracking on virtual desktop streaming? just me?
@@JMsoo All I did was change the VD setting in streaming to high settings just to push it really, I am in the UK and just use my 5ghz Virgin router and it runs great! This is the only game I have tried though..
@@mrbonk9560 No, mine runs really good, are you using a 5ghz wireless router?
Thanks for the comment about requiring a restart sometimes with the Link cable. That's what I use and I'm fine with it. But I always wondered was I doing something wrong? Why didn't it just work? So great reminder to me that it's still in beta. But that I'm not the only one. Thanks for your video. Surprising results, I thought the cable would "win" here.
Hi, maybe you already said it in a previous video but
why do you prefer the link with the official Oculus cable rather than other brands?
April fools or not, I saw 8 wild Nicolas Cages. 😎
😂
What's with the scary dude at 1:24? April Fool's? Lol
Lol maybe 😉
@@BMFVR lol, whats with the ones he missed and whats with not knowing who the legened Nick Cage is :P
Ha! I came to comments to see if anyone else noticed it. Thought i was tripping!
@@snowtrix7896 you are trippin :P
nicolas cage?
I’m trying out the ax3000 router and im just wondering which bandwidth would work best 40, 80, or 160 or auto which one do you prefer?
This video convinced me to get VD, I have been using the link cable since it came out lol, how did you get the latency numbers shown at the bottom of the Steam VR box? I would like to check my Steam VR latency too.
As much as I'd like to get an oculus quest, I think the best choice would be for me just go with a rift s. Even though it has this great wireless feature I don't really see myself using it much. I'm interested more in pcvr games and couldn't care less about quest exclusives. I want my headset to be comfortable, reliable, not have to worry about battery or what cable to get whether that be a $80 cable or something else or relay on a good internet connection. This is why I choose the rift s because it offers many quality of life aspects and I already own a very good PC that can handle all the titles I want to play. I'm by all means not shitting on the quest I truthfully believe its the future of vr but not the solution for all people due to various situations such as refresh rate, res, comfortablity
If you have in mind to play It only as a PCVR exerience and you don't care about the wireless features of the Quest then it's better for you to take a rift s , for now it will be easier and more comfortable for you to use it. Using Quest as PcVR or Rift s is quite the same , the rift wins by a little for few factors, so if you are planning to get the quest with the link to play it only plugged it would be nonsense
They are all out of stock anyway 😄
@@ZephB Just look on ebay, there are a lot of Quests and rifts on there.
First of all:
I own a 5GHz 867MHz Fritz! Box, GTX1080, Ryzen9 etc, Hardware is good... Router is in my room. PC via Gbit-LAN...
This test is super biased I own both the Link cable and VD and what he says about the latency is pure BS, sorry. You can clearly see in any app that Link has no latency while VD has its ~20ms delay. (It's also shown in the VD app.)
He even said that he can't see a difference when shaking the hands so he must be pretty blind/ignorant or something.
He also says SteamVR shows less latency but it does not even take into account the delay over wifi which you can read via the VD app.
Also you will notice some artifacts in dark areas especially in Half Life Alyx when paying via VD. You won't ever see artifacts with Link.
So this review is fully biased and not balanced at all. This dude doesn't have any point against VD which is really BS when you have compared them at your own.
Can't recommend this video because it's one sided.
PS: I love the Quest. But I hate when people just tell other people wrong stuff just because they are overhyped. VD is great but not for every game. (It's great for HL:A, but not for BeatSaber/EchoArena for example or any other fast paced games .)
VD has benefits that link doesnt have, link has benefits that VD doesnt have, in my opinion its honestly just somewhat equal, although if you want better graphics and latency, link is the way to go, but VD is the way to go if you want a nice wireless experience, in my experience I've found VD better for me then link.
Is it possible to have VD working flawless as oculus link? I've done test with both, and the latency is great. But when I walk I still feel lots of stutter on VD. And I was wondering if it is possible to have it completely stutter free or if people who say VD is perfect are just "ok" with the amount of stutter they receive, as they are playing without cables.
Word! . I compared myself and Oculus Link has better Quality....
Thanks for the info. What are the top 3 reasonably priced WiFi 6 routers for this if anyone knows it will help a lot, thanks again
Great video! Thats is what I call useful, well made content. Thanks!
Thanks!
Wow, I only just noticed you're standing in front of a green screen...
IVE BEEN WATCHING HIM FOR MONTHS AND I NEVER NOTICED
what gave it away?
The flat headsets
10% (Video) Which one better?
90% (Video) R O U T E R
How did you test the latency with steam, I would like to compare the link and Virtual Desktop on my end
Do you have a video on setting up Virtual Desktop? From purchasing to setup
i cringe everytime you call Virtual Desktop ..."VD" lol.. great video nonetheless
🤣
Don't knock it. It's catchy. One might even say, viral.
@@MikeTrieu I think only a handful of us will know what's going on here... (Not that I've ever had it! (Thankfully!) lol.
Same. And anytime I hear someone say it, this old PSA pops into my head. czcams.com/video/1tMQWwmPL2w/video.html
Damn Ive been sleeping on VD.
Same, I figured it was a waste of time.i hate latency in Games
@@nofox777 I knew you could use virtual desktop to run games but I honestly did not expect it to work as well as it does
@@lomtiptak9519 same bro! I wish I would've seen this first before party link. I think link will continue to improve though.
@@nofox777 You still need link to play oculus store exclusives I believe. At least I can't get them to work on VD but the work through link.
That's a great point ! Thanks for the reminder !
The one question I have is can you watch DRM movies from service like Vudu using the Oculus link or using the Virtual Desktop cause I know that trying to use Big screen you just get a black screen and that's it 😞
could you make an updated video on playing steam vr games with virtual desktop? i’m still having some trouble setting it up. alvr works (just need 5ghz) and sideloaded games work perfectly.
Bruh what’s this 0:21 and 0:50 and 1:23 and 3:49 and 4:23 and 4:43 and 5:46
😉
@BMF. I’m still trying to find them all
@BMF I think I got them all, pls confirm lol
In the words of George St. Pierre , "I'm impressed by this performance". Actually he didn't say that but its my current thoughts regarding this.
Im not surprised mo*******
Thank you for a great video.
I love to play VR wireless and the cable is in the way. im now buying a new router :)
Is there preferred settings for Alyx and VD or did you run everything at max? You mention when the PC is set up properly (excluding HW as we know you need a beefy machine)
Am I crazy or was there a Nicholas cage....
Yup there are a few hidden haha
Nicholas cage approves this video
😂
Got me into vr thanks a lot 🙏🏾
Great vid. A while back I sold my rift s. Debating a quest now. My huge hate with my S was oculus home had to run with steam bogging my fairly decent laptop. Is this a thing with virtual desktop or does this get rid of all that?
No one:
Absolutely no one:
Linus tech tips: um wireless on quest to hard to setup and doesn't run well
Bmf: I disagree I think it runs absolutely flawless
Yup pretty much. It's a little annoying to set up but once it's done it's as simple as tapping a button and your playing PC VR games.
@bmf I concur it took me some. Finagling but I got it work and I love it so easy to use now just gotta update my wifi
@bmf do you recommend any specific setting within the app to set up within steam vr and vd
@@cptn.obvious I just leave the Steam settings alone but if you run into issues with VD the best way to make it stable I've found is to set the bitrate at medium, you aren't really going to notice much of a difference anyways, set the codec to h.264, and then turn off sliced encoding. For best quality you can set the codec to HEVC but if you experience any stuttering or latency switch it to h.264. That's pretty much all I've done.
@bmf thanks for the info appreciate it I just need to get a better router now
Great thing to know for the router! What's your PC build ? Thx
Hey I have a question about the oculus link, if you bought a game for example beat saber on the quest will you have it in the desktop app?
yo dude, (or anyone on here) trying to play Walking Dead through steam vr, on the main menu it says you have to reset you HMD and to do it by holding the left home button and pressin the right, but the images are for the Vive controllers so it just exits out when you doit with the Quest controllers, so i cant get past them screen, Well, i have somehow by absolute fluke twice but both times i have no idea what did it as i was trying everything! has any one else had this issue and if so how the heck do you sort it :(
Wait can virtual desktop also run as oculus link since most of my stuff is from the oculus store? and I basically have nothing on the steam store
Virtual Desktop can run games from both Steam and the Rift platform.
@@BMFVR I can not run very many apps from rift platform using a virtual desktop.
@BMF Hi I had two questions that I can't find any answers to. 1: Can I still make use of VD and sidequest if I am running Windows 7? 2: Where (as in on wich platform) do I need to buy VD, do I need to buy it on the Quest store and install VD on my Quest headset, or do I need to buy it on Steam and instal it on my pc? I'm confused about this as I found multiple versions of VD on both the VR aswel as Steam platform. Thanks for helping out :)
So are we getting virtual desktop on the steam side or getting the oculus version? When playing steam games doesn’t the oculus ecosystem have to open anyways? At least it does on the rift, never owned a quest before.
I didn't even know Virtual Desktop was a thing! I just bought a Quest with a Link cable to play some Rift games I had. The the space in my gaming room isn't enough to play comfortable so I was a bit disappointed but now I know that VD is an option. Thanks!!