Anyone here with HTC Vive try the Real VR lens mod upgrade yet?

[Ferenczy36]

I see there is a popular mod floating around right now which you take the lenses out of a Samsung Real VR headset, and snap them into some 3D printed mounting rings to swap out the stock Vive crappy fresnel lenses (see link below). Just wondering if anyone here has tried it?

Apparently it eliminates the god rays and widens the sweet spot significantly so more of the visible view is in focus to the point you can actually look around the FOV with your eyes instead of leaving your eyes in the same spot and moving your head to keep things in focus. There is also talk that this mod warps the image slightly but there is another guy out there with a algorithm you can mod the image on the Vive's screens to compensate for the warping.

Thinking of diving into it as my local library has a 3D printing lab that operates off of a grant right now so having the mounting rings printed is $0, and found a used Gear VR on Craigslist for $15.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2837804

 

[Jeremy Ford]

There's a great video here showing the installation and demonstration of the difference. It really does appear to improve the visuals.

 

[Ferenczy36]

Yup, saw that video as well. It's what has me seriously thinking of trying it out. Looks to be a vast improvement over the stock lenses.

 

[Terry Rock]

I've always wondered if this type of mod was possible..
I have eight really nice lenses from the JVC 2200 projector lamps and have been looking for a good use for them.

 

[Ferenczy36]

Alright. Got my lens adapters yesterday and only took me 30-minutes tops to do this mod, including uploading the barrel distortion mod file. Kudos to the mad geniuses that figured this out. Vastly improved clarity. I don't feel like I'm looking through a couple of lenses smeared in vaseline anymore. There is still a very small ray/arc of light but nothing like the god rays the plagued the fresnel lenses.

Pro tip for those doing this to avoid dust getting in there or on the lenses. Get a can of air duster. Blow off the areas around the lenses of the Vive really good before even starting to remove the lenses. Have your Gear VR lenses in the adapters, cleaned off and air dusted, then set aside covered with a microfiber cloth. Hold the Vive so lens area is facing slightly downward, and start to pry the lens off. Once lens it is loose, turn totally upside down so once lens comes out, no dust falling downward enters the open cavity to the screens. Uncover Gear VR lenses, blow them off with duster one more time, then blast some air up inside the cavity towards the screens while still holding upside down...then grab that new lens and pop it in there quick. Did this on both sides and came out with zero visible dust particles.

I did notice the barrel distortion. At first I had to look for it, but once I knew it was there and moved my head around I could feel how it could mess with your head a little. So I applied the Version 3 file mod using the instructions online which were easy to follow and noticed a pretty good improvement. The other key to getting the least amount of distortion is making sure you are looking through the sweet spot on these lenses. Because the FOV is clearer further out to the edges, it's a little harder to find the sweet spot. With the mod file applied though I don't notice any barrel distortion any longer.

Turned some laps in RF2, AC, and PC2 last night. All looked great and now instead of always having to move my head to keep my eyes looking straight through the old lenses sweet spot to keep things in focus, I can move my eyes instead more to look through corners.

This is awesome! Will report back if I notice any negative effects but for now it's perfect.

 

[Jeremy Ford]

Fantastic, you've got me seriously considering this mod now.

 

[Gaudin]

If it's that simple, why don't they fit this nice lenses in the first place...

I like the mod, having read the following, I tend to wait to the end of my warranty to maybe have a go a this:

Judging from reports, it's important to note that there appears to be some significant variance between lens batches (both vive and gearvr). That unfortunately means the pre-lens distortion file does not work as well for some users and in some cases could be uncomfortable and even cause eyestrain. If that happens you will have to revert to stock or else modify the distortion file yourself (which is no easy task).

 

[Mascot]

Alright. Got my lens adapters yesterday and only took me 30-minutes tops to do this mod, including uploading the barrel distortion mod file. Kudos to the mad geniuses that figured this out. Vastly improved clarity. I don't feel like I'm looking through a couple of lenses smeared in vaseline anymore. There is still a very small ray/arc of light but nothing like the god rays the plagued the fresnel lenses.

Pro tip for those doing this to avoid dust getting in there or on the lenses. Get a can of air duster. Blow off the areas around the lenses of the Vive really good before even starting to remove the lenses. Have your Gear VR lenses in the adapters, cleaned off and air dusted, then set aside covered with a microfiber cloth. Hold the Vive so lens area is facing slightly downward, and start to pry the lens off. Once lens it is loose, turn totally upside down so once lens comes out, no dust falling downward enters the open cavity to the screens. Uncover Gear VR lenses, blow them off with duster one more time, then blast some air up inside the cavity towards the screens while still holding upside down...then grab that new lens and pop it in there quick. Did this on both sides and came out with zero visible dust particles.

I did notice the barrel distortion. At first I had to look for it, but once I knew it was there and moved my head around I could feel how it could mess with your head a little. So I applied the Version 3 file mod using the instructions online which were easy to follow and noticed a pretty good improvement. The other key to getting the least amount of distortion is making sure you are looking through the sweet spot on these lenses. Because the FOV is clearer further out to the edges, it's a little harder to find the sweet spot. With the mod file applied though I don't notice any barrel distortion any longer.

Turned some laps in RF2, AC, and PC2 last night. All looked great and now instead of always having to move my head to keep my eyes looking straight through the old lenses sweet spot to keep things in focus, I can move my eyes instead more to look through corners.

This is awesome! Will report back if I notice any negative effects but for now it's perfect.

Whoah. That sounds amazing.
Is there a similar mod for the Rift?

 

[Deleted member 197115]

If it's that simple, why don't they fit this nice lenses in the first place...

Exactly, all these hours of R&D and they couldn't figure $50 mod out to gain competitive advantage. And this is for $800 headset? I don't think they are that dumb.

 

[Ferenczy36]

Been playing on my modded headset for about a week now. No issues to report. Barrel distortion is non-existent. Worked for me...and I'll never go back to those blurry mess fresnel lenses again.

 

[Sweet Cobra]

Just picked up a complete lens/adapter kit to replace the awful Fresnel lenses in my Vive. I am not sure if it's the latest adapter revision or what but I was blown away (way better than my brothers mod from a few months ago). The mod kit that I bought even makes the Vive Pro look like crap! - these also fit in the Pro version so no excuses. Seriously, ZERO Godrays, smearing, ZERO distortion, barrel effect, glare, etc. I think this is the best mod kit out there right now. The people (DCU) that make these kits are freaking geniuses!! Side Note: They basically almost drop in without forcing them in. A buddy bought some other crappy adapters and ended up cracking his lens sockets on his Vive.

Here are the ones I got:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/323285586590?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

 

[Gaudin]

Jesus, this looks tempting - not shipping to my country sadly - for this price, and with such minimum effort to replace them, wuargh - want some

 

[Gaudin]

10 months later: I found a seller on ebay who ships to my country, costs where about 80 € for the two lenses and shipping, and about 25 € for customs and taxes - best money I spent this year - BY A LONG WAY!

I just popped the old ones out, tried to dustfree mount the new ones (after watching two or three tutorials) - fired up the lighthouses, started the HMD, fired up AC in Practice mode (highest graphics I trust my pc to handle) and I was just blown away - it's an absolute disgrace from HTC to sell the Vive (pro) with the fresnels, if you can have such an improved vision with hardly 20 mins of work - I did not even had to fiddle around with distortion file etc - it just worked - right of the bat, its bloody incredible!

What's left to do for me, get rid of the last two dust particles (have to buy some canned air first) and then, wait for ACC to be more optimized (one hopes) - oh, and DirtRally, get your **** goin Codemasters, I'm ready!

If you sit on the fence of doing it - go for it (if your vive has some mileage and isn't brand new out of the box, cause you probably wont get any warranty after moding it)

edit: dustfree, 99.9% (nothing I notice that should not be there, so - very happy!)

 

[Mascot]

Is something similar available for the Rift?

 

[Gaudin]

I don't know honestly, looking at a quick google search, I can't see an "easy" plug+play solution for the Rift - the construction of the HMD is rather different, and it seems a bit more complicated to get to the lenses and remove them - never had or used a Rift - so, not really in the position to comment about it

Nevertheless, good luck - maybe there is a solution out there - somewhere!

 

[RCHeliguy]

Is something similar available for the Rift?

The Rift lenses already have a larger sweet spot than the Vive, however the Vive is supposed to have better color. The Oculus Go is supposed to have better optics that almost eliminate God rays and those lenses will be in the Rift S. So for $400 you too can have Go lenses, a bit more resolution, and less screen door effect. I haven't seen any links for people who have installed Go lenses on the Rift.

 

[Roscoe__]

I removed them in like 20min went back to the factory glasses, i hate them, the FOV is shocking and it distorts the image on the edges.

 

[Mark Oates]

You NEED to do this but don't make my mistakes.

Ok, I installed but it looked horrible with BAD barrel distortion. So I put the old lenses back. Rewatched the video and I realized I made a mistake and installed the lens upside down. This fixed the barrel distortion almost completely, but it was not focused. Wierd. Rewatched the video and realized the lens adapted was installed upside down. Flipped the adapter, and WOW. NOT GOiNG BACK. Yes there is a very very small (ignorable) amount of distortion but it's clear and the whole lens is practically a sweet spot. The vive fresnel Lena DO NOT have a large sweet spot. It's small thus we always adjust the headset till it looks right, and we move our heads in order to read small writing rather than move our eyes. This mod fix's that.

Fov is smaller but functionally bigger. Let me explain. The vive fresnel lens sweet spots like the size of a penny. It forces you to move your head to get the penny on what you want to see....but....while driving you don't do it. Instead you kinda live with the blur introduced as you move your eyes outside the penny from apex to apex. So while the fov of the vive fresnel lens is wider, the focused area is WAY smaller. This mod make virtually the whole view focused and sharp, you can move your eyes and actually read gauges without moving your head.

Because I made my mistakes, and had the same skepticism thoughts as everyone who doesn't like it, I'm have to wonder how many had the lens or adapter flipped. Double check your lens direction and your adapter direction. If you flip either it will look horrible. And YES the adapter will fit both ways and TO ME the proper way to install the adapter looked upside down and wrong. I'd recommend doing it, it's that remarkable of a difference.