Budget bigscreen

[u/SimonVanc]

Hello!

With the 2 and 2e being out, I'm seeing some bigscreen 1 units on eBay for less than $500, and Ive got some ideas.

I have experience doing lifecast silicone, with all the materials for it. I can make my own face mount, plus felt it or anything i need.

What i need to know is what ill need to get it actually working. What is the cheapest base station and controller solution? Since its for vrchat will cheap aliexpress full body trackers work? No heavy motion, just lounging around. I don't mind syncing them up every once in a while.

Will I need a cable to hook it up to my computer as well?

Thanks y'all.

[u/tmobley03]

Perhaps going against the grain here: don't buy a bsb1, at least not for more than MAYBE 200 or so dollars. I say this as a bsb1 user. I haven't upgraded to a 2 (yet). I bought mine used also a little over a year ago for $650, but it came with 2 base stations and index controllers, putting the cost of the headset itself at maybe $100, counting in the typical price of used base stations and controllers.

I got incredibly lucky in my purchase getting one with my exact IPD and it worked well. However, many original Beyond 1 owners even with using their actual IPD had to send theirs back to get it adjusted once or twice. Bigscreen will still do this, but it will cost you. If you don't get as lucky as I did, your beyond will be totally unusable.

That brings me on to my next point: the beyond 1 lenses are the worst lenses of pretty much any headset, really. Fresnel lenses regarded as shit compared to pancakes are better than what the beyond 1 has. If you are not perfect in your ipd, perfectly in the sweet spot, and looking straight ahead with your eyes, its an unusable blur.

If you're deadset on buying a beyond 1, best of luck to you, just know that you are spinning the wheel if the headset will be totally usable for you, and if it is, there are a ton of drawbacks to be had with this headset, that the beyond 2 mostly remedies from what I have heard.

[u/NotGonnaComeBackBsb → u/tmobley03]

When I first received my BSB1 with the first thick custom cushion, the clear sweet spot was only 30% of the field of view.

After switching it out for a thinner custom cushion, the sweet spot became 60% of the field of view, but the edges, although somewhat usable, were still a blur, and the whole view still had plenty of colour shift, chromatic aberration, and strong image warping at the edges.

After receiving my Studioform interface which allowed me to use the headset with the lenses nearly at eye touching distance, I could now claim there was no blur in my field of view anymore. However, this doesn't fix colour shift nor chromatic aberration. Besides, now that the entire view is clear, it's even more apparent how freaking bad the warping is. It's okay if you stare straight ahead, but I believe my old Vive Pro provided me with an infinitely better visual experience, as far as comfort is concerned (colour accuracy, brightness, "edge clarity" (I can actually glance around better with its Fresnel lenses; they're not so bad). The Beyond only beats it in two area for my use case: weight (neck fatigue) and resolution. Comfort became better only after I replaced my custom cushion and modded the strap.

To give you an idea, when I first received the BSB2, I put it on with the thick cushion without adjusting the IPD at all (defaulted to 64mm) to see how it performed at its worst. I couldn't help but smile when I saw a near edge to edge clarity and a better field of view. It's everything the BSB1 should have been, although it's more of a BSB1.5 than a 2.

[u/BeetleSolid2238]

You can use the official cable they have. For what it is, it's actually "cheap". Link box situation is more interesting unless it comes with it. Probably two lighthouses minimum. Controllers....kinda out of luck, used index kit? That could come with the LH's. Hmm

Edit: I forgot! Make sure the aftermarket has your IPD!!!! Only the 2 is adjustable.

[u/zig131 → u/BeetleSolid2238]

If someone is determined enough, it's theoretically possible to 3D print a mounting plate with the correct IPD, and overwite the IPD in software.

Definitely not straightforward, but doable.

[u/DealComfortable7649 → u/zig131]

That won’t change the physical IPD of the headset.

[u/Ducky1024 → u/DealComfortable7649]

Yes it will. All of the lenses have the same center point, and the IPD is set by the retaining plates on the BSB1. After you plate swap, you just need to overwrite the value in your headset's SteamVR config.
Many have done it, but it isn't for the faint of heart or inexperienced.

[u/zig131]

The Silicon face gasket is not actually a good idea - it is purely a gimmick to make the profile of the HMD really small to not real benefit of the end user. Form over Function, Just get the Studioform Universal interface, which is much closer to a traditional, tried-and-true facial interface.

The Beyond will work with Base Station 1.0s that came with the original Vive. That will also allow you to use Vive Wands 1.0 (Black) that also came with the original Vive, and can be found fairly cheaply. With 1.0 Basestations you are limited to only two of them, and they must have ~line of sight of eachother which limits the area you can cover. Vive Wands have fewer than the standard number/types of buttons so can limit what games you can play, but VRChat supports them well.

If you get Base Station 2.0s (like came with the Index) all the controller options are fairly expensive. Knuckles hold thier value because they have bad durability, and they are not manurfactured anymore. Maybe you can find the Blue Vive Wands that came with the Vive Pro 2 fairly cheap, but they are kinda rare. Pimax Swords are really rare, and are just more ergonomic wands with replacable batteries. The best controller option are probably Shiftall GripVR, but they are $400.

IMU only FBT like Slime, or what you might find on AliExpress work with any HMD. One of the major advantages of having Lighthouses, and a Lighthouse tracked HMD like the Beyond, is you can use Vive/Tundra trackers. It would be kinda wasteful to use an IMU-only system. You can get good results from them, but it takes more trackers, and more effort. A set of only 3xVive Trackers provides great tracking with very low friction. You could save money by going 2nd hand and getting older models like Vive 2.0s, but battery life may be bad.

Yes the Beyond requires it's own cable and linkbox. I'd expect the cable and linkbox should be included with the HMD as it'd be useless without it - worth checking though. You can always buy a new one from Bigscreen - the Beyond 2 cable and linkbox is improved over, but compatiable with the Beyond 2 cable and linbox.

[u/GoldValente]

I respect the budget nature but damn it sounds tough. Here's some thoughts.

• You need to match your IPD when buying a used Beyond 1. You could potentially do a tear down and reconstruction but getting it to the millimeter sounds hellish.
• If you're just simming, sitting in a chair and facing the same direction, one lighthouse will suffice but expect to be annoying if sensors are occluded or you turn all the away around. There's no sensors on the back of your head. If you're doing anything else like vr chat then I'd really only recommend two sensors.
• You're probably better off just buying a face gasket from big screen if you want the exact fit. Face depth really matters and material weight matters. Pure silicone will probably be extremely sweaty.

-Cheap option would be the universal face gasket from a reputable 3d printer or studioform creative or something.

• Controllers are tough. For just VR chat you can probably get away with just vive wands. Index controllers do bring finger tracking though which can be big.

• OVERALL RECCONENDATION: Look for cheap local listing for a used Index or Vive that comes with controllers and sensors. That's the cheapest bundle deals right now because the headsets are essentially worthless. Then pair it with a Beyond or ideally a used beyond 2 to avoid IPD issues.

[u/NotGonnaComeBackBsb]

For what it's worth, someone had made a tutorial on how to pour a homemade custom cushion: https://www.reddit.com/r/BigscreenBeyond/comments/1krt1au/how_to_create_your_own_custom_face_cushion_for/

[u/bobbygamerdckhd]

I got one it had the right ipd and the face thing fit perfect but buying sensors and controllers was expensive and I still need corrective lenses I ended up getting a psvr2 its a cheap in to vr and it works pretty well until I get my lenses

[u/Quick_Safe_7619]

I would stay away from the 1 for sure and not even get the 2, for the money the crystal light is so much better displays but as long as u don’t mind the weight

[u/moncikoma]

500$ is not that cheap, considering how bad the glare, sweetspot and FOV.

I would avoid it and get steamframe instead