Meta’s Quest VR headset recently got the ability to accept and display video over USB-C, and it’s started some gears turning in folks’ heads. [Ian Hamilton] put together a quick concept machine consisting of a Raspberry Pi 400 that uses a VR headset as its monitor, which sure seems like the bones of a new breed of cyberdeck.
The computer-in-a-keyboard nature of the Pi 400 means that little more than a mouse and the VR headset are needed to get a functional computing environment. Well, that and some cables and adapters.
What’s compelling about this is that the VR headset is much more than just a glorified monitor. In the VR environment, the external video source (in this case, the Raspberry Pi) is displayed in a window just like any other application. Pass-through can also be turned on, so that the headset’s external cameras display one’s surroundings as background. This means there’s no loss of environmental awareness while using the rig.
[Note: the following has been updated for clarity and after some hands-on testing] Video over USB-C is technically DisplayPort altmode, and both the video source and the USB-C cable have to support it. In [Ian]’s case, the Raspberry Pi 400 outputs HDMI and he uses a Shadowcast 2 capture card to accept HDMI on one end and outputs video over USB-C on the other.
Here’s how it works: the Quest has a single USB-C port on the side, and an app (somewhat oddly named “Meta Quest HDMI link”) running on the headset takes care of accepting video over USB and displaying it in a window within the headset. The video signal expected is UVC (or USB Video Class), which is what most USB webcams and other video devices output. (There’s another way to do video over USB-C which is technically DisplayPort altmode, and both the video source and the USB-C cable have to support it. That is not what’s being used here; the Quest does not support this format. Neither is it accepting HDMI directly.) In [Ian]’s case, the Raspberry Pi 400 outputs HDMI and he uses a Shadowcast 2 capture card to accept HDMI on one end and output UVC video on the other, which is then fed into the Quest over a USB-C cable.
As a concept it’s an interesting one for sure. Perhaps we’ll see decks of this nature in our next cyberdeck contest?
This is not a “new” breed of cyberdeck. This is a NORMAL cyberdeck. One of the few cyberdecks featured here that is ACTUALLY a cyberdeck. (Or a component of…)
A cyberdeck is…
1. A portable general purpose computer.
2. Made from multiple discreet parts that must be assembled to be useful.
3. Is assembled at the site of use at a location not specifically designed for it.
4. Used at that location for a task.
5. Disassembled after use and moved.
A phone is not a cyberdeck.
A phone with an external monitor and keyboard, used to take notes in a classroom, is a cyberdeck.
A laptop is not a cyberdeck.
A slabtop (laptop with no screen) with a VR/AR headset, used in a coffee shop, is a cyberdeck.
A game console is not a cyberdeck. It is not a general purpose computer.
A tablet/slate is not a cyberdeck. It does not need more components to do it’s tasks.
A LAN party mini PC is not a cyberdeck. It is assembled at a location designed for it.
If you go back to the origins of the word cyberdeck, this is how they are portrayed.
Gibson’s works.
Johnny Neumonic.
Shadowrun.
Netrunner.
You left out Snow Crash, where the Metaverse is accessed by a device that is literally this article’s subject: It’s a terminal that projects a VR display onto the hacker’s eyes using special goggles.
you can already sideload termux (or some x server) to the device.
I don’t know anything about these headsets. Can they work without logging in to facebook, or other cloud dependencies? You know, the kind that can cease to exist at any time? I will never buy hardware if it will become a brick when the manufacturer drops support.
The original VR headset from Occulus released a full jailbreak at end of life
They support sideloading out of the box, just like an Android device. One of the first things I did was load up a Virtual Boy emulator. The FB/Meta integration is nice if you like that stuff but I never really use it.
Video over USB-C is technically DisplayPort altmode, and both the video source and the USB-C cable have to support it. In [Ian]’s case, the Raspberry Pi 400 outputs HDMI and he uses a Shadowcast 2 capture card to accept HDMI on one end and outputs video over USB-C on the other.
Specifically, it’s called UVC
USB video device class
Nope, that is a USB webcam i.e. video INPUT over USB (and it works over all varieties of USB connector, not just -C). DP-altmode is Video OUTPUT over a USB-C cable, a different beast entirely.
Yeah that’s exactly what I said.
The author says “he uses a Shadowcast 2 capture card to accept HDMI on one end and outputs video over USB-C on the other.”
My apologies. You are indeed correct.
I came to post this. The HaD article needs to be more specific. As I had never heard of DisplayPort Alt-Mode /inputs/ on a computing device, only a simple display such as Xreal Air glasses or a USB-C monitor.
Also the last article I read made it clear that the Quest was supporting USB video devices (arguably also useful for a color webcam passthrough on Quest 2?). It made no mention of the HDMI capture happening internal to the Quest.
Article needs to be clarified, as is it is very confusing, and probably inaccurate.
Found it in the article: Shadowcast 2 capture card
I can only think of one instance of displayport alt-mode inputs on a computing device, and it comes with a big “only sort of”, since you can’t use the computer at the same time – iMacs from 2009-2013 could be put in “target display mode” where they functioned as a dumb monitor that used their mini-displayport/thunderbolt ports as inputs.
and yeah, article needs to clarify that this works because Meta’s “HDMI Link” software for the quest 2/3/pro supports usb-c (UVC) capture cards, not alt mode, as you say.
You are all absolutely correct, and I’ve updated the post to make it very clear exactly what is going on (because it was definitely not clear.) It is as you say, the headset — with the help of running an app — accepts and displays UVC (and only UVC).
The “other” video-over-usb method (DisplayPort altmode) used by things like portable monitors is not supported by the Quest headset, and isn’t what’s being used here.
The quest is great for gaming but there are better options for a monitor replacement. Hammers are great for nails but suck for screws.
The optics that are best for a VR headset are the worst for desktop simulation.
Id much rather use an Epson Moverio for this application. 1920X1080X2 over a 34 degree FOV is waaaay crisper and more readable than 2064x2208x2 over a 110 degree FOV. See through waveguide AR will always give better environmental awareness than camera based MR.
£579 is a lot to ask when the meta quest 2 is regularly down at £200, though I agree it’d be more appropriate for this application. That’s volume and subsidies for you.
$440 on ebay isnt much to ask when you drop $1500 on a new phone every couple of years. My moverio was paid for by CL’ng my last phone.
Personal circumstances may make it affordable but in functionality for the money it’s poor.
Compare it to a portable monitor or a stick-on privacy screen. Compare it to a Meta Quest 2 which is a whole standalone device with batteries, an SoC, cameras etc.
Wearable monitors are cool and I’d love for them to become popular but I wouldn’t buy something so limited until it’s £200 or less.
Personal circumstances indeed. I just dropped $3k on a videocard. In my world, £200 or less is a goal point for dinner not tech. Swapping out an old phone for a moverio is a functionality upgrade with no real cost to me.
Xreal Air are cheaper, but still 2x 3x cost of a used Quest 2.
If you are a poor, the used Quest 2 market is down around $100. Add a $10 USB capture card and you have a compellingly cheap way to play with some high end concepts, albeit with low resolution. Still ‘usable’, and if it’s all you can afford it’s neat.
Haven’t seen an Xreal Air for less than 220 (and that’s my own I’m selling at a loss. I’ve seen no serious interest on my ad in 14 months).
I don’t think it was suggested as a replacement for a monitor or television.
However, things look great in VR, when used as a virtual desktop or even, the new hdmi link, which was a surprise gift for my old meta2. But if you have a meta2 or 3, it is definitely worth checking out / tinkering with.
How do current gen VR headsets fare with people who don’t have 6/6 vision? Last I checked my friend’s VR headset (I think it was meta?) back in 2018 the experience was poor for me, with my -1.5 in both eyes.
Everything was blurry since I had to take off my glasses and even after endless adjustments I couldn’t get it to be clear. It was uncomfortable, with a super bright screen blasting light in my eyes as my poor eyes tried to focus.
I tried a few walking simulator games, watching movies on it, and er…”certain” kind of internet videos. The most compelling case was watching movies in bed honestly, everything else was better on a proper screen.
Near-sighted person here, I bought some lenses from a seller on Ebay that clip onto the existing lenses to adapt them for my prescription. It’s a game changer. I get a much better field of view and wider sweet spot compared to wearing glasses with a VR headset over the top. I don’t think they were expensive, tens of dollars.
Same here, with a quest 2 (that is kinda gathering dust, but that’s another matter).
AND on top of having a good visual experience, since in the headset everything is focused to infinity or thereabout, you get to see stuff equally well both in the distance and up close. Not much of an issue for young people, I guess.
I have a complex prescription and bought a pair of ultra thin prescription lenses that attach magnetically for my Quest 3 and I’ve never seen a sharper screen on which to watch movies and the custom lense that can be removed in seconds cost less than a budget pair of reading eye glasses
I just wear my glasses under the headset. Quest 1, 2, 3 and Rift S all work that way for me.
Hunt around Aliexpress, they have very cheap clip in Quest lenses. $16 for custom prescriptions is the cheapest I have seen a sale go. (I have astigmatism). But they go cheaper for a diopter set like -1.5.
I should say I have a fairly large head, but I get generic plastic glasses from EG Eyebuydirect and use a heatgun to warm the earpieces so they can make a slight S curve and fit my big head. May be why they can fit inside a headset.
You might just want some 1080p video glasses ‘AR Glasses’ if you don’t like VR. But I found it very immersive to play Myst (the latest remaster, in PCVR, not Quest edition), and Obduction. I would say if you aren’t impressed you may not have been playing PCVR. The Quest is just a cellphone processor, so any content on there is basically “Nintendo Switch” levels of quality. (More so than AAA PC quality anyway)
This is pretty cool, but I’d not buy hardware that can be bricked by the manufacturer if they don’t like the way you use it
The original article linked was even worse than this one. It definitely did not say what HDMi capture card was used. And worse appears to have run the capture card through a superfluous retractable cable instead of a logical dongle adapter.
Neglect was also on the menu when they failed to notice the Quest is likely more powerful than a RaspberryPi and can sideload Android applications, making anything the Pi brought to the table a trifle dubious considering the hassle. As a proof of concept for use with a display-free laptop sure (or NUC, possibly a corporate 7″x7″ PC: Lenovo Tiny, Dell Micro, HP Mini, etc).
Then the source article mentions you could do this with a SteamDeck. But why would you when the SteamDeck is an x86 Linux PC and you could stream actual VR (not just a window) over a USB link or WiFi? And using something like the virtual desktop app you have practically infinite windows.
Ugh, hack around, but please document it properly. This ‘editorial’ from vr whatever was lacking all specifics, it was a fluff piece. Maybe someone has the particulars of this setup in a forum somewhere.
Found it in the article: Shadowcast 2 capture card.
So if these VR headsets are using the same video type as a webcam, can you plug a webcam directly into them and see through it? And are any portable screens doing the same thing?