WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.640 VR has been going through a period of explosive innovation, 00:00:04.640 --> 00:00:08.840 but if you're a PC gamer, I wouldn't blame you for having missed it 00:00:08.840 --> 00:00:13.520 because some of the biggest innovations have been so very small. 00:00:13.520 --> 00:00:16.760 And sure, the Silicon Valley vision, pro, 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:23.360 of an AR headset that's integrated into every aspect of my life sounds cool, 00:00:23.360 --> 00:00:27.720 but man, I just wanna be super immersed in my video games. 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:33.120 And the big screen beyond two may be the very best way to do that. 00:00:33.120 --> 00:00:36.240 Let me put it this way. I can't see for s***. 00:00:37.440 --> 00:00:41.440 The beyond one was so much better than my aging valve index 00:00:41.440 --> 00:00:45.040 that it literally reignited my personal excitement for VR. 00:00:45.040 --> 00:00:48.960 As for the sequel, somehow in one short year, 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:54.640 they've made it so much better that I now feel bad for anyone who jumped on the first one. 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:58.320 I'm talking dramatically improved optics, 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:01.680 multi-user friendly design, optional eye tracking. 00:01:01.680 --> 00:01:07.120 And somehow it does all of that while being even lighter than before. 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:10.240 On paper, only a few things have changed since the original, 00:01:10.240 --> 00:01:14.600 but those changes make this thing all killer, no filler. 00:01:14.600 --> 00:01:18.120 First up, the transparent plastic. Now, he might not be able to see it, 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:21.920 but he looks dramatically more stylish. It's all relative. 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:25.880 And what I can see is the improved optics. 00:01:25.880 --> 00:01:31.280 The pancake lenses in the original beyond, they were impressive for their small size and weight, 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:36.280 but they struggled with a number of issues that combined with some usability quibbles, 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:39.680 ultimately led to me abandoning my original beyond 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:43.840 in favor of my index in spite of its lower resolution. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:48.600 First, there was the sweet spot, which is the area of the lens where the image is the sharpest. 00:01:48.600 --> 00:01:52.680 It was so small. And outside of it, 00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:57.360 things got pretty blurry pretty quickly with some gnarly chromatic aberration 00:01:57.360 --> 00:02:00.680 sneaking in near the edges. The bigger issue though, 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:04.440 was that the multi-layered optics caused a pretty distracting lens flare 00:02:04.440 --> 00:02:08.480 in high contrast scenes or even moderate contrast scenes with high brightness. 00:02:08.480 --> 00:02:11.600 It's one of those things where it's absolutely a champagne problem, 00:02:11.600 --> 00:02:15.080 but damn it, this is expensive champagne. And at this price, 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:21.080 there should be nothing to break my immersion. And somehow, despite them keeping the form factor the same, 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:26.280 all of that is resolved on the beyond too. I can pick out the lens flare if I'm looking for it, 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:33.120 especially in a menu or something like that, but in game, it's almost too good, too immersive. 00:02:35.480 --> 00:02:39.360 Especially when like this. Which is impressive knowing 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:43.920 that they have the exact same 2560 by 2560 micro OLED panel 00:02:43.920 --> 00:02:48.680 that's found in the original beyond. This is all just improvements to the glass. 00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:52.440 We didn't even mention that they've improved the FOV at the same time 00:02:52.440 --> 00:02:55.640 going from 102 degrees to 116, 00:02:55.640 --> 00:03:00.840 putting it in line with competitors that are much bigger in size. 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:07.880 There are still lingering issues with pancake lenses in general, like reduced brightness. 00:03:07.880 --> 00:03:13.040 Apparently the panels that are in here are supposed to reach as high as 3000 nits. 00:03:13.940 --> 00:03:19.480 By the time that light reaches your eyes, it's more like 150, that's a yikes. 00:03:19.480 --> 00:03:22.720 But it matters less than you might think, thanks to the excellent light seal 00:03:22.720 --> 00:03:25.940 that you get from your custom face cushion that big screen manufacturers 00:03:25.940 --> 00:03:29.520 using a 3D scan of your face. They're super cool. 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:34.000 They're 3D printed out of a TPE like material that has magnets that click onto the headset 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:37.980 for a perfect seal. Improvements to manufacturing have the new cushions 00:03:37.980 --> 00:03:42.160 looking and feeling a little bit better, but we had new issues that we haven't seen before, 00:03:42.160 --> 00:03:45.500 like both of our new face gaskets had magnets fall out. 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:49.240 But that could be a problem with just a specific batch, but we thought it was important to note. 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:54.400 The Linus, however, had a different problem. Yeah, see, my eyelashes are so long 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:57.480 that they constantly brush up against the lenses 00:03:57.480 --> 00:04:01.840 on the inside, meaning that if I'm playing for more than about five minutes, 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:08.640 what started out as clear and freshly cleaned with a microfiber ends up a blurry, smeary mess. 00:04:08.640 --> 00:04:12.840 The good news, though, is that big screen actually offers the ability to create 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:16.320 a custom gasket for you that is ever so slightly thicker. 00:04:16.320 --> 00:04:20.040 They actually sent one over, which I haven't tried yet. Let's give it a shot. 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:24.400 Big screen does advise that it will cost you a little bit in terms of your field of view, 00:04:25.320 --> 00:04:30.480 but if you're particularly bothered by the blurry lenses, that could end up being worth it for you. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:34.840 For me personally, oh man, I think I'd be tempted 00:04:34.840 --> 00:04:37.880 to just stick with the improved immersion. And if you think that this is just 00:04:37.880 --> 00:04:41.920 some special YouTuber treatment, it's not. Big screen's actually very good about addressing problems 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:46.080 with their face cushions, and will print you a modified one if you have any issues with the one 00:04:46.080 --> 00:04:50.080 that you get out of the box. And we appreciate their make it right approach, 00:04:50.080 --> 00:04:53.520 even if there's something that they can't fix, and that's the major swamp eye you get 00:04:53.520 --> 00:04:57.560 when you're really into gaming. But you don't have to worry about getting too sweaty 00:04:57.560 --> 00:05:01.880 when you're in our sport button up, only available at lttstore.com. 00:05:01.880 --> 00:05:05.720 It's stretchy too. Is it my turn yet? No, not yet. 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:08.760 We did say that the Beyond 2 would be more shareable, 00:05:08.760 --> 00:05:12.920 and it is, but only some of those improvements are implemented today. 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:16.720 First up is adjustable IPD or inter-pupillary distance. 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:20.000 All you gotta do is take this little BB screwdriver 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:23.260 that you will definitely never lose, and turn this little screw. 00:05:23.260 --> 00:05:29.200 Okay, that is substantially less convenient than the wheel on the Quest 3, but at least it's there. 00:05:29.200 --> 00:05:33.660 And this is a huge deal, because a misadjusted IPD can lead to headaches 00:05:33.660 --> 00:05:38.920 and general discomfort for anyone who uses your headset who isn't exactly you. 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:43.440 The second big improvement to shareability isn't here yet. It's the universal face cushion, 00:05:43.440 --> 00:05:47.520 which attaches to their halo mount, which also isn't here yet. 00:05:47.520 --> 00:05:50.840 So yeah, it's maybe much more shareable, 00:05:50.840 --> 00:05:55.880 and maybe only a little more shareable. Let's turn our attention back to what is here then, 00:05:55.880 --> 00:05:59.520 and talk about the audio strap. It was developed with cost audio, 00:05:59.520 --> 00:06:04.680 and uses drivers that remind me of those found on the cost port of pros, which are stylish, 00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:10.120 but aren't famous for comfort or durability. And I found that these flimsy little pieces 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:15.300 would pop off pretty easily. They're designed to do that, but it's too easy. 00:06:15.300 --> 00:06:19.060 And the foam, again, just kind of comes off. 00:06:19.060 --> 00:06:23.980 It also just feels extremely cheap, especially compared to what I'm used to. 00:06:23.980 --> 00:06:29.140 And like, I get it, they're all about keeping the weight down. And I genuinely appreciate that. 00:06:29.140 --> 00:06:33.780 But unlike the Valve Index or Pimax Crystal, these drivers are meant to be pressed 00:06:33.780 --> 00:06:37.660 right up against your ears, using this little knob to adjust their distance. 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:43.060 So that cheap feel is something that I am constantly, keenly aware of. 00:06:43.060 --> 00:06:47.580 And that would be fine if it was cheap, but the audio strap is $130, 00:06:47.580 --> 00:06:50.580 which is $10 more than the price of an extra custom cushion, 00:06:50.580 --> 00:06:54.300 and offers up an experience that is more than sufficient for music games, 00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:57.460 but falls a little bit short in terms of immersiveness. 00:06:57.460 --> 00:07:00.460 With all that said about its cheapness and midness, 00:07:00.460 --> 00:07:03.660 the comfort it provides is so much better than the stock strap 00:07:03.660 --> 00:07:08.420 that I wouldn't recommend buying the beyond two without also springing for the audio mount. 00:07:08.460 --> 00:07:11.820 And maybe some third party replacement foam while you're at it. 00:07:11.820 --> 00:07:14.780 Adam, would you spring for the eye tracking though? 00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:21.420 Yeah, I kind of felt the same way, as cool as it is that for a $200 premium, 00:07:21.420 --> 00:07:26.380 the beyond two can be equipped with what Big Screen calls the smallest eye tracking on the market 00:07:26.380 --> 00:07:30.940 is the size of a single grain of sand. We didn't really get a chance to test it out, 00:07:30.940 --> 00:07:36.720 and we're not really sure if we care because the biggest reason to care about high quality, 00:07:36.760 --> 00:07:39.960 low latency eye tracking is foveated rendering, 00:07:39.960 --> 00:07:43.600 where your GPU works the hardest on the part of the scene 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:48.000 that you're actually focused on, and then it renders everything else at a lower resolution. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:51.120 But foveated rendering is not currently supported in Steam VR. 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:57.320 So the main use case for eye tracking continues to be social VR experiences. 00:07:57.320 --> 00:08:01.480 It's worth noting that if those are your bag, well, you might be disappointed 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:04.560 that there's no face tracking. So other users will be able to see your eyes 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:09.000 staring at the breasts of their anime avatars, but not your eyebrows going like eh, eh, eh, eh. 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:12.880 Wow, whoa, will they see me doing this? 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:18.440 Yeah, actually. Now let's talk about something that I didn't feel was a big deal, 00:08:18.440 --> 00:08:23.880 but for Adam is a big elephant in the room. The fact that the default refresh rate on the beyond two 00:08:23.880 --> 00:08:28.720 is 75 Hertz, while the maximum refresh rate is just 90, 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:32.760 with so many other headsets hitting 100 Hertz plus. 00:08:32.760 --> 00:08:37.640 Okay, what's your take on this? It wasn't really the biggest deal to me 00:08:37.640 --> 00:08:42.160 when I was coming from an HTC Vive, but after using the Pimax Crystal, 00:08:42.160 --> 00:08:48.680 which can get up to 120 FPS, even with the tiny, tiny sweet spot on that headset, 00:08:48.680 --> 00:08:52.980 it's just like so much more immersive. And if you're playing a game like Beat Saber, 00:08:52.980 --> 00:08:57.360 you kind of want the extra like feedback from having a high refresh rate. 00:08:57.360 --> 00:09:00.800 That's fair enough. And it's not the only disadvantage 00:09:00.800 --> 00:09:04.280 compared to something like a Pimax. This isn't really a knock against this, 00:09:04.280 --> 00:09:09.040 but one of the issues with it being so small is that it loses tracking a lot easier. 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:16.080 I only have two lighthouses at my place. And if I turn the wrong ways or go to the corner, 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:19.320 because it doesn't go above any part of my head, 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:24.160 it will just lose tracking entirely. And the complete lack of any sort of inside out camera 00:09:24.160 --> 00:09:27.840 is a real bummer. I mean, even the HTC Vive had a grainy camera 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:31.040 so that you could just see where a disconnected controller went, 00:09:31.040 --> 00:09:34.000 or if you needed to get like a sip of water or something. 00:09:34.040 --> 00:09:36.200 A sip of water or something. Over here, buddy. 00:09:38.040 --> 00:09:42.640 It's also a nightmare for any kind of productivity, because even if you're a touch typist, 00:09:42.640 --> 00:09:46.720 that's not gonna do you a ton of good if you can't find your keyboard at all. 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:51.280 Which brings us perfectly to the price. This thing is expensive. 00:09:51.280 --> 00:09:55.160 It's $1,019 and that is just for the headset. 00:09:55.160 --> 00:10:01.600 So once you grab the necessary accessories and some recommended accessories, it adds up pretty quick. 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:05.400 And with it's everything you need and nothing you don't approach to design 00:10:05.400 --> 00:10:09.920 in both the hardware and software, which by the way includes a great little optimization utility 00:10:09.920 --> 00:10:13.440 that actually explains what settings do. Valve. 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:19.240 It can be hard to recommend the beyond two over other premium or even over other non-premium options 00:10:19.240 --> 00:10:23.080 that might even come with a whole computer inside them. 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:28.440 With that said, it's hard to deny how perfectly big screen has executed on their vision 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:32.640 by eschewing inside out tracking and internal hardware for rendering. 00:10:32.640 --> 00:10:36.520 They've laser focused this product as the definitive upgrade for folks 00:10:36.520 --> 00:10:41.240 that are already immersed in the PC VR space and don't mind the tether. 00:10:41.240 --> 00:10:45.020 So if you're on an aging HTC Vive or even an index, 00:10:45.020 --> 00:10:52.600 it's hard not to recommend it. Just like it's hard for me to not tell you about our sponsor. 00:10:53.280 --> 00:10:59.360 If you guys enjoyed this video, maybe check out our review of the other best headset on the market, the MetaQuest 3.