April 26, 2023

Preparation Tips, Customization, and a Deep Dive into Face Cushion Technology

In this week's devlog update, we have tips on how to prepare before you receive your headset, as well as some photos of early customer mods for the Beyond.

Getting Ready for Bigscreen Beyond

To use your Bigscreen Beyond, you need a pair of SteamVR Controllers and some SteamVR Base Stations. Bigscreen Beyond is compatible with any SteamVR controllers, including the HTC Vive controllers and the Valve Index controllers (shown below). Bigscreen Beyond uses 6-degrees-of-freedom tracking and requires at least one SteamVR Base Station (it will not function without one). For the best experience, we strongly recommend 2 Base Stations. Beyond is compatible with SteamVR Base Station versions 1.0 and 2.0. If you don't already own Base Stations and Controllers, we recommend buying them from Valve. We encourage you to buy them while they are still in stock, as the supply chain has been unpredictable. Fortunately, the Valve Index controllers and the Valve Index Base Stations are in stock today:

Buy SteamVR Controllers and Base Stations from the Steam Store

Your Face Scan

Bigscreen Beyond is custom-made to the shape of your face. Using a 3D face scan from an iPhone, we build the headset to fit you perfectly. The face scan measures your eyes (interpupillary distance, or IPD) and the shape of your face. A few weeks before your custom headset is manufactured, we will email you a link to perform your 3D face scan. There is no action required at this time. The face scan works using our iPhone app, and it requires an iPhone XR or newer with a FaceID camera. Our technology uses the front-facing depth sensor to map your face with millimeter precision. This enables the custom cushion to fit your face perfectly, resulting in zero light leakage, perfect weight distribution, and perfect alignment between your eyes and the optics. Development remains on schedule, with US shipments in the first wave in Q3 2023, and global shipments beginning in Q4 2023.

Bigscreen Beyond – Mods!

Over the past year, we've shipped prototypes and pre-production units to hundreds of testers and early customers, and it's been awesome to see them already creating their own strap designs. Check out a few of the user-created straps below, including some that have modded the Vive Deluxe Audio Strap to work with Bigscreen Beyond! In the near future, we plan to share 3D printing and CAD files to enable you to create your own ideas and enhance Beyond. Make sure to use the link at the end of this email to join our Discord for these files and more sneak peeks.