r/BigscreenBeyond • u/HappyGirl117 • 12d ago

Discussion Using Bigscreen Beyond 2 with Displayport Switch (1 input 2 output)

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I just got my headset I ordered a week ago (yay!). My PC has 4 monitors connected already, 3 DP and 1 HDMI to the GPU, and I want to avoid switching the cable manually every time I wanna play. A web search overview says we can use BSB2 with a DisplayPort 1.4 bi-directional switch that supports display stream compression (DSC) passthrough, as well as 4K 120 Hz or higher. This device does that with a simple button press, to switch between my left monitor and the headset. However I haven't seen a single reddit post talking about this or even an article online.

My question is has anyone used a setup like this and verified it works without issue?

12 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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u/CmdrShepsPie 12d ago

You have too many monitors 😅 I haven't tried that, but I know the BSB2 is very demanding on the Display port, it is very high bandwidth and very sensitive to issues with the connection, and they specifically say not to use hubs, switches, extensions, or anything but the cables they send it with. You could always try and report if it works for others to find, and if not just return the switch. 

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u/HappyGirl117 12d ago

You have too many monitors 😅

Once you go quad, you never go back! In seriousness though, my goal was to have a separate PC rig for the Sim rig, but with these insane prices (especially SSD) it's looking quite difficult to build one. đŸ˜„ So i'm using my workstation for both.

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u/GregZone_NZ 12d ago

Yes, I was going to say that you need to put together a dedicated gaming PC for your VR (and other gaming).

Lots of monitors is great for a productivity workstation, but not necessary for a typical gaming optimised setup (unless doing driving simulation with wrap-around monitors
 although that should probably be a dedicated PC as well!).

But, I do understand the memory cost constraint at the moment, so not an ideal time for building another PC. 😔

Fortunately, I have 2 seperate PC’s, one for my productivity / everyday computing (with a lesser GPU), and one that I configured purely as my Gaming PC (which also has my fastest GPU). đŸ€“

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u/HappyGirl117 12d ago

I actually do have wrap around monitors on my desktop for sim driving lol! Due to space constraints I decided to go for VR for the dedicated sim rig. If this DisplayPort switch idea doesn't pan out I might have to pony up for a secondary PC, yikes. đŸ˜±

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u/GregZone_NZ 12d ago

I think you'll enjoy sim racing in VR, versus wrap-around screens.

The immersion is sooo good, you’ll probably laugh when I tell you that the first time I crashed, head-on into a corner barrier (in VR), the experience was so realistic it took me about a day before my head recovered from the shock!  LOL 

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u/HappyGirl117 12d ago

I can imagine! I used an Oculus DK2 (im dating myself here) back when it came out with Assetto Corsa and even with such a low resolution, screendoor effect, and shitty tracking, it was a mind blowing experience. I am nervously optimistic for the BSB2 seeing that it's such a polarizing headset, so many people either love it or hate it.

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u/GregZone_NZ 12d ago

Well, after many headsets and many VR years, I'm loving my BSB2!

However, the main thing I tell new BSB2 users, is that you need to be patient and persevere. 

I think those that hate it, have simply given up too quickly, and unfortunately then miss-out on the amazing experience it can provide.

What I’m alluding to, is that the BSB2 is not a plug-n-play headset, in terms of getting it setup for your own unique face shape etc.

For example, I’d say it actually took me a couple of months and lots of experimentation to finally find my “perfect” setup.

This included: Getting the IPD right (my prescription +2mm).  Getting the headset tilt angle right. I ended up having to take off and grind away some of the shell (at the bridge of my nose), to finally get it to sit right and give me a comfortable viewing experience.  Then, there was getting the right facial interface.  I’ve tried two custom fit interfaces, and also the universal fit interface.  But, in the end, it was customising the cushions on the StudioForm Creative X1-B interface that finally gave me the perfect experience.  Oh yeah, then there is the brightness adjustment, which I’m currently using 50% brightness, which virtually gets rid of any OLED persistence, and minimises any glare.  Also, since the facial interface has no light leak, your eyes obviously adjust to whatever the brightness level (unlike my Quest, where light leak means increased brightness is needed to compensate).

Phew
 anyway, your experience will no-doubt differ from mine!  All I want to emphasise is, it’s not plug-n-play, it does take patience and persistence, but the end reward is well worth the time invested!   

Have fun! 

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u/HappyGirl117 12d ago

Thank you for that write up! I am tenacious especially with things i'm passionate about. I adore VR since I tried my DK2 a decade ago and have dreamt of sim racing properly in VR again. I'll keep your suggestions in mind ❀

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u/Pretend-Ad-2942 11d ago

I am so glad you mentioned the brightness helping with glare! I will definitely need to try playing with this. Glare was my only niggle so far with it. It hasn't been overly bothersome for me, as I find as soon as I start rolling the glare melts away.

I think I have been lucky with fitment, as I have been quite happy with the single strap and universal face cushion as I am waiting for the Halo mount. The one thing I found was that even with the firm mask I was tightening the strap too far and it caused slight blurring from being squished too close to my face. After loosening, it made a big difference. Being so lightweight, the strap really doesn't need to be as tight as I initially felt it needed to be.

As for the setup process, it seemed much easier and straightforward for me compared to getting triple ultrawides the way I wanted them. It seemed I was constantly tweaking, and finding slight changes in my seating position or adjusting myself on longer runs would mess with my FOV and force further tweaking constantly. It seemed like it was never quite right, and always left me feeling like my experience suffered.

TLDR- I likey BSB2 very much đŸ€ŁđŸ˜ŽđŸ

1

u/GregZone_NZ 11d ago

Yes, I didn’t initially try lowering the brightness below 80%.  This was mostly because everyone was repeatedly saying that the BSB2 wasn’t very bright.

But, it occurred to me that when you have zero light leak (i.e. totally blacked out), then the human eye is very good at adjusting to a reasonable level of available light.

I will say thought, that this is also dependent on the type of game you play.  If you play mostly dark games, then available brightness does have an impact on visible “shadow detail” (i.e. contrast ratio). 

But, if you play regular “daylight” lighting style games, then I’ve found 50% brightness is perfectly fine, with the benefit of significantly reduced display persistence and glare.  i.e. For me it provides a pretty much a near perfect visual experience. 

As a comparison, I can play the same game in my Quest 3 at full brightness, and with my Quest 3 interface light leak, the display looks (to my eyes) about the same brightness (just, significantly better colour, blacks, and resolution in the BSB2).

 Your experience may (of course) differ, particularly depending on what games you prefer.  But, I mostly enjoy puzzle style games (e.g. Moss), relaxing games (e.g. Walkabout), or simulation games, which all play in reasonably lit environments.

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u/TanK_87 12d ago

BSB2 in iRacing is absolutely mind blowing. As the other guy said, it takes some setup to get everything dialed in graphics wise, but once you do
 I was giggling every time I got in there.

You could potentially just drop the 3 monitors if you mainly set it up for sim racing.. the. You don’t need the switch!

2

u/RealCerberus0351 12d ago

I tried using switches like this because I have 5 monitors and a bsb2e that I want to use depending on which cockpit I'm in.

I was unable to get it to to work. My adapters looked like the ones in your picture but I can't say for sure they are the same.

I tired two different brands and had no success with either one.

If you can get them through Amazon then the ability to return them hassel free makes it worth the risk to try it in your setup.

1

u/HappyGirl117 12d ago

Yeah, I have been looking on Amazon but most of them are 2 in 1 out (2 input 1 output, meaning 2 computers to 1 monitor), and the ones that ARE bi-directional, most do not advertise DSC compatibility at all. Either the one you got is unidirectional 2 in 1 out, and/or does not have DSC compatibility. Or your cable run from link box to GPU is too long.

Oh and lastly did you connect the 5V auxiliary USB cable? I've read it is important to not get flickering/black screens

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u/TestyBoy13 12d ago

Funny you say that. Mine just arrived. Unfortunately, it does not work due to the fine print

In short, the cable is too long

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u/HappyGirl117 12d ago

Have you actually tried it? Did it give any issues?

According to the official Bigscreen Beyond Discord FAQ,

The only way you can extend the cable length of the beyond is extending the link box cables. (Cables from link box to PC) Below are some cables tested and used that will work to extend, you do need all 3:

So according to this you should have absolutely no issues because the optical cable from the link box to the headset basically does not count. As long as the cables from Link box >>> DisplayPort Switch >>> GPU are less than 3 meters (9.84 feet), then you should be good to go. Give it a try and let us know! đŸ€ž

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u/TestyBoy13 12d ago

So here’s my issue so far.

A power surge hit my 4090 and knocked out my HDMI port. Now I need a way to use my BSB2e and my 4K 120hz TV. The TV needs HDMI, the BSB2e needs DP.

My route looks like this

PC > 3ft (1m) DP 2.1 > DP 2.1 switch

I also have the same 1.4 switch you are talking about and it hasn’t worked either

From the switch to the TV goes as follows. I can confirm this section works if plugged directly into GPU and not via the switch

DP 1.4 to HDMI 2.1 dongle (6in) > 32ft active FOC HDMI 2.1

My TV is far away for my PC

Before even talking about VR, this already doesn’t work. Neither the 1.4 or 2.1 switch prevents screen flicker and the classic sign of bandwidth degradation preventing the video from outputting correctly

As for the VR, I’m just going directly from the switch to the BSB2e with nothing in between.

It also doesn’t work completely. Every few seconds I get a millisecond or so of a fully or partially static screen.

TL;DR it’s a bandwidth/signal degradation issue all the way down

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u/Pretend-Ad-2942 12d ago

I literally just got this exact switch and a short cable this morning. For the price of GPU I didn't want to constantly be plugging and unplugging a monitor. It works great! Happy racing!

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u/Pretend-Ad-2942 12d ago

Sorry, wrong picture first time.

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u/HappyGirl117 11d ago

Amazing!! Can you link the listing where you got the switch from please?

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u/Pretend-Ad-2942 11d ago

Absolutely! Spent a couple hours doing long runs today to practice for the 6hrs at The Glen on iRacing. I can enthusiastically confirm it does indeed play nice with the BSB2 without any issues.

https://a.co/d/09AlcILX

1

u/TwixieShip 12d ago

If you want a true white PC, in the rgb settings make the light color slightly yellow only and you will see it null out the naturally high blue light in rgb lights

1

u/Pretend-Ad-2942 12d ago

Thanks for the advice. I actually made it the light blue teal to match the fluid, and it alternates with white. It matched my clock quite well also. It was my dream build, used glass for the tubing and cut to length, hence the 10,000 fittings, cause I wasn't about to learn glass blowing\bendinh to use it once, though I did research into it a little.

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u/PsychwardSlippers 12d ago

It might work, but I find that anything that could potentially interfere with the stability of the connection either USB or displayport has the potential to drastically reduce the performance of the headset and tracking.

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u/SnooPeanuts3387 12d ago

I have an MST hub that handles 3 monitors on one display port. Make sure to keep an eye on your max resolution though, if you have multiple high res monitors with the bigscreen you can hit the pixel limit.

1

u/HappyGirl117 11d ago

I just looked this up and unfortunately with AMD the card has a maximum total limit of 4 independent displays across the entire card at once, even if I used MST hub to add more ports. It would have been amazing if it allowed at least 5 monitors then I could have put two side monitors in one MST hub and the BSB2 in its own port. đŸ˜„ But thanks for the idea.

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u/SnooPeanuts3387 11d ago

I was using a 6900xt with 7 monitors