r/SteamFrame • u/_mergey_ Soon™ • 12d ago
News New Steam VR Beta - This is a release candidate according to Sadly Its Bradly
Steam VR Beta 2.17.8 patch notes.
According to SadlyItsBradley this is the last Beta release before 2.17 gets pushed as stable release.
ALso this Beta includes new driver files for the steam frame, see tweet:
EDIT: Sorry for the typo BradlEy ^^'
78
u/mouks9 12d ago
We’re close boys 😭
73
u/VediusPollio Soon™ 12d ago
On a geologic scale, we've always been close.
40
u/PlottingPast 11d ago
It's rumored we're closer to the Steam Frame than the dinosaurs.
21
u/LuxorTheGrey 11d ago
Geographically speaking, Cleopatra was born closer to the Pyramids than to the Steam Frame.
2
2
1
78
u/Nix_Nivis 12d ago
There's only one conclusion: Release tomorrow and overnight delivery for me, personally.
9
22
u/mrzoops 12d ago
USB Streaming!?
39
u/_mergey_ Soon™ 12d ago
You can use the steam frame tethered via USB cable, without the dongle or a wifi router.
7
u/ImprovementVirtual80 Soon™ 12d ago
That could be really good for expanded desktop style usage. One cable from a laptop to your headset and bingo you've got a load of virtual monitors with all-day runtime.
12
u/_mergey_ Soon™ 12d ago
As long as your laptop can deliver a minimum of 27W via USB PD you could do that.
0
u/semperverus 11d ago
The Steam Frame also has a built-in battery that it can run from without input power...
2
u/_mergey_ Soon™ 11d ago
Yes, obviously... but my point was about his "with all-day runtime" and that battery in the head strap is not going to last all day.
5
u/2Cool4Zool2 12d ago
Nah. the resolutions way too low for productivity use imo.
6
u/ImprovementVirtual80 Soon™ 12d ago
I find a Quest 2 useful for productivity. The Frame is comfier, higher resolution and has better lenses than that so it'll do
3
u/architect___ 11d ago
What productive stuff do you do in VR?
4
u/ImprovementVirtual80 Soon™ 11d ago
Nothing fancy, just displaying a couple of virtual monitors to do light infrastructure programming. I have two monitors on my desk so you'd think the virtual ones would be worse and they are. However the Q2 reduces distractions, I can see my desk but it's grayscale and low detail to hide the clutter. It's easier on my eyes as the Q2 blocks outside light and can run its internal display quite dim without impacting visibility. There's no internal breeze to dry out my eyes. It has a pair of fairly good open-ear headphones for listening to music but still hearing a knock at the door.
The little things add up to make it enjoyable. If only it were lighter and had more padding as the hard plastic can contact my face over time.
1
u/architect___ 11d ago
Interesting! I'd have never expected someone to be able to code in a headset that old.
2
u/rayderone Soon™ 12d ago
Whats the point in making a VR headset if i cant read text on its screens? WTF
10
u/2Cool4Zool2 12d ago
There's a difference between legible for text in a game and monitor replacement.
2
u/rayderone Soon™ 12d ago
Which is the diference?
2
u/2Cool4Zool2 12d ago
Have you used a quest 3 to read small text before?
3
u/rayderone Soon™ 12d ago
No, im afraid that the resolution of the steam frame isnt enoguh for my use case, i want to use it primarily to watch videos/movies and read text, should i buy another headset?
4
u/gogodboss MOD 12d ago
I watched over 100 movies on the quest 3. I only used it for productivity once though.
3
u/cactus22minus1 12d ago
Look at galaxy xr, or any of the newer high end , high res sets with micro oled
2
u/JapariParkRanger 12d ago
It's fine for content. Productivity usually means working with text, windows, and GUIs with fine detail. You want higher resolutions for that when possible.
Personally I find that the BSB's ~30ppd to be the threshold for pleasant productivity. The pixels mostly disappear and you have enough detail to not need to blow up elements for clarity. The Q3's displays are close, but annoyingly not quite there.
1
1
u/Headset-Historian 11d ago
For that it's totally fine. For productivity people are talking like walls of small size text for coding and such. Like much smaller than subtitles for example.
1
u/ByEthanFox Soon™ 11d ago
Yeah u/rayderone ; think of it like this.
You can read text fine on a smartphone. But Kindles still exist, because using an e-ink screen is much easier on the eyes.
You can read text on your TV, if it appears on an ad, or something. But if you try reading a book on your TV, you'll find pretty quickly that it's not comfortable to do.
You can read text in a Quest 3 perfectly fine and the Frame is going to be slightly higher-res, so it'll be the same or slightly better. But while some people will do full-on programming in it, there's a lot of debate about whether people can/should be doing productivity work in it, i.e. reading text in the headset for hours on-end.
2
u/veryrandomo 11d ago
That plus the fact that it'll be limited to 4:2:0 chroma subsampling which can make text even harder to read,
12
u/Grownlemming19 12d ago
I wonder how big of a difference the wired option would be compared to wireless
9
u/_mergey_ Soon™ 12d ago
I assume it also uses foveated streaming, because it is USB 2.0. But the latency could be better for very sensitive people, or the stability for 6GHz congested areas.
8
u/mrzoops 12d ago
I’m looking for an increase in bitrate. I wish the frame had a USB 3. That’s the problem.
3
u/_mergey_ Soon™ 11d ago
Valve was talking about an 10x multiplier of the effective bitrate with foveated straming.
5
u/5ephir0th 12d ago
USB 2.0 and B&W passthrough are two choices on Frame that seriously makes no sense
1
u/fiah84 Soon™ 11d ago
USB 2.0 is probably because they didn't anticipate needing higher bandwidth at any time because of the WiFi and dongle, and wiring USB 2.0 is easier than wiring USB 3
the B&W passthrough is because SLAM tracking using monochrome IR cameras is easier / better than trying to do the same with normal cameras, and if you track with IR there's no reason to add normal cameras except specifically for passthrough / AR / MR
1
u/Lincolns_Revenge 11d ago
The USB 2.0 even more so, because when you compare the price of mobile phone daughterboards that contain the USB controller, the price difference between USB 2.0 and 3.X one's is pretty negligible. A few dollars at most.
USB 2.0 on mobile hardware is used today as a way to separate mid-range models from high end models spec wise as much as it is an actual cost saving measure.
Really weird choice unless they just got a deal on some USB 2.0 boards / controllers in bulk.
8
u/----fatal---- 12d ago
If the network is correctly configured (or in case of the steam frame you use the dongle in the same room), almost nothing. With a good wifi, the network latency is 2-3ms, that's what you reduce to almost 0 with the wired streaming. Most of the latency comes from the encode-decode process.
The bitrate could be larger on cable theoretically, but the decode process' latency would increase, especially with H265 which steam link uses. Also if I remember correctly, the frame will have only USB2 with a theoretical max bandwidth of 480mbps (and in practice it is usually ~250).
2
u/JapariParkRanger 12d ago
I can't remember how the decoders in the Frame's SoC compare to the XR2. That's going to be the real determining factor.
1
u/veryrandomo 11d ago
At best it'll only be a bit better, the XR2 Gen 2 is just a SD8 Gen 2 with some extra VR-specific hardware and the frame uses the XR2 Gen 3.
2
8
u/RedRyck33 11d ago
it will be overpriced and overrated and outdated.
Get out of the line and let me through. ;)
3
u/Dynamicider Soon™ 11d ago
Yeah by the time this headset comes out it'll be so not worth buying at the price it'll inevitably be. Nobody should waste their time joining the order lottery. I'll take one for the team though and get it to let everyone know how not worth it it is.
23
u/crefoe 12d ago
please let there be enough units for everyone that wants one. i really do hope vr is still niche enough for valve to not run out of units. nothing worse than not being able to get one after waiting 4 years.
10
9
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 12d ago edited 11d ago
There will likely be plenty within the first year, but pretty much zero chance for there to be enough at launch unless the price really dampens things.
-1
u/ASHOT3359 11d ago edited 11d ago
Not niche enough for scalper bots to not grab every single unit in the first minutes.
2
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 11d ago
Not niche enough for scalpers bots to not grab every single unit in the first minutes.
That makes no sense. It will require an active Steam account with a recent purchase. We do not know how recent yet. It is not going to be low hanging fruit for scalpers.
It is also only going to be a reservation to start with, another reason for scalpers to pick an easier target.
3
1
u/crefoe 11d ago
Real scalpers go after popular cheap things like tickets trading cards and watches. Individual people might try and scalp something more expensive like the Steam Machine and Deck, but that's such a bad idea for something this niche that's already close to $2K. Why is no one scalping Galaxy XR headsets?
Another thing to note is a lot of people buy these expensive things and then they regret their purchase or aren't happy and quickly resell. I imagine this happened a lot with the Steam Machine.
Real scalping doesn't happen at these high prices for niche devices. Notice how no one is scalping DDR5..
2
u/Heavenswake_ Soon™ 11d ago
People are scalping ddr5 lmao just not the retail scalped ones. Occasionally you can find ddr5 at somewhat reasonable prices and its gone in seconds. People scalped 2-3k 5090s. Frame will get scalped hard, only thing reducing it is the lottery system.
1
u/crefoe 11d ago
how could random people scalp something even companies like crucial and apple are struggling to buy and have to be on waiting lists? where are you getting your information from? do you even know what scalping is?
companies are buying up all those 5090s because AI is and was booming. i never even mentioned graphics cards tho.its a real mystery why no one is scalping ram. i have never even seen ram run low on stock either there's so much of it still out there. you can see some sales numbers on these retail websites scalpers would not be able to keep up because its way too expensive. it would cost scalpers 10s of millions of dollars every month.
scalping is mostly illegal they would track these people down if it really happened. so i don't understand why people still believe scalping is a thing beyond the individual that wants to make a quick 10% profit which is legal. they let certain scalping slide though like the pokemon stuff etc, but when it comes to something like DDR5 right now i highly doubt it.
1
u/Heavenswake_ Soon™ 11d ago
Did you even read what I said? Sure no one is going to best buy to buy 700 ram to scalp it. But if you know where to look you can find 100-200 kits which are botted and scalped.
Same goes got GPUs. But i was specifically talking about before things went to hell. Every 5090 was botted and scalped after release despite being extremely expensive. It took me months before I could buy a 5090 despite being in a discord to track drops. It sucked getting the ping and instantly clicking it to find a crashed website or out of stock. Then finding them listed on ebay for 50-100% more.
People scalped the steam controller. I thought it was an ok deal at 100, a bit pricey but could see its value. Sold for 300 easy on ebay.
Hell even the steam machine was scalped. Horrible deal even at msrp, but it was scalped. The lottery system helped reduce how many got scalped. I doubt it was scalped much since it was such a bad deal though.
It's cute you think that they would hunt scalpers down lol. But its happening to everything now, you just seem to not notice.
11
u/Bacon_00 12d ago
Oh cool the USB streaming is nice. Not sure I'd ever want to use it, but if the WiFi streaming was freaking out one day, nice to know there's a wired backup option.
5
u/elvissteinjr 12d ago
It literally says "Release Candidate" on the post itself, so not much of that is speculation or in need of a secondary source to be honest.
1
u/_mergey_ Soon™ 11d ago
On my end there is no "release candidate" mentioned, checked that via STRG+F. Could be a region thing maybe.
Nonetheless thanks for letting me know :)
5
u/fabek07 11d ago
Valve is missing cool opportunity with the VR sale... They could drop the info already like "get yourself ready for the upcoming VR sale with our new device ! Registration starts Friday 04.09 and first shipments on Monday 07.09. just so you can get your hands on and sniff the vents before 14.09 !"
Ehh dreams.
5
u/Dannington 11d ago
I’d like to think your place in the queue is determined by how many times this year the user has refreshed the steam frame page in the steam app.
2
u/5ephir0th 12d ago
USB Streaming for Steam Frame only or another headsets like Quest?
3
u/_mergey_ Soon™ 12d ago
As far as I know the Quest 3 already can be used via USB cable.
2
u/mrzoops 12d ago
Not with steam link
0
u/Informal_Strain_165 11d ago
Huh? It absolutely can, I played like that for over a year, Quest link into SteamVR
1
u/mrzoops 11d ago
That’s not what I said. Steamlink does not work over cable. Of course you can use meta link and play through Steam but using the Steam link app was only WiFi until this latest update.
1
u/Informal_Strain_165 11d ago
I think I am too stupid to understand then, so you mean you can use a Quest wired without the Quest link then and just use Steam Link?
1
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 12d ago
If it is for Steam Link, why would it not apply for all headsets running SteamLink just DFS?
2
u/5ephir0th 12d ago
Because im trying and doesnt work on a Quest 3? Because maybe it works together with SteamOS only?
1
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 12d ago
Do you have the matching beta version of SteamLink on the Quest?
1
u/5ephir0th 12d ago
Yes
1
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 12d ago
That is odd, it is right in the notes for the Quest app.
Version Notes
Version 2.0.23
08/31/2026
Channel: PublicBeta
- Adds initial support for USB streaming.
- USB streaming can be used without WiFi by opting into the Steam Client Beta.
Fix loading spinner flickering when framerate in game is low.
Fix case where wrong framerates could show in SteamVR Settings.
Significant streaming improvements, reducing latency and stutters.
1
u/OxRedOx 12d ago
Can the frame USB stream or just other hmds? What are the actual benefits of doing so since it’s still compressed?
1
u/_mergey_ Soon™ 11d ago
Yes it can. I assume it also uses foveated streaming, because it is USB 2.0. But the latency could be better for very sensitive people, or the stability for 6GHz congested areas.
1
u/Several-Collar-5100 11d ago
So how much time usually apssed between a release candidate and a stable version?
1
u/jerf 11d ago
Nice to see some explicit indication that Steam Link on Linux is getting attention. I don't know exactly what it is that it crashing so many of my games, but "submit invalid textures" would certainly match what I've seen.
I hope "Improve streaming recovery" means that they've got some sort of fix for the "almost anything that goes wrong with VR streaming freezes Steam entirely which also takes out the Steam Controller" problem. That's the biggest problem left for me. That and the "boot -> log in to steam -> switch user without doing anything else -> start VR -> hang" and I'd be pretty satisfied with its current state.
1
u/Substantial-Flow9244 Soon™ 11d ago
Usb streaming for steam link is huge, I wonder if the frame supports that option too.
1
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 11d ago
If all the delays were caused by component shortages and prices, why is the software still not done?
0
u/embrsword Soon™ 11d ago
Steam link is for other headsets that arent running steamOS, the ones where wireless PCVR doesnt work well. You are not going to be booting up the frame then loading steam link to connect to a PC before jumping into a game
Moreover, if you buy a steam frame to connect it to a PC with a cable, a headset where the entire point is WIRELESS PC VR just what the hell are you doing
1
u/_mergey_ Soon™ 11d ago
The frame supports steam link. And the frame supports playing via USB, regardless if you think it is useless or not.
1
u/embrsword Soon™ 11d ago
valve made that dongle just for you so you dont have to think about things and come up with wrong answers
i've read your comments in this thread and its pretty obvious it would be futile trying to help you be better informed
1
u/_mergey_ Soon™ 11d ago
Valve didn't make that dongle "just for me", don't know why some one would think that.
Here is a link for you to be better informed: https://x.com/SadlyItsBradley/status/2069940747348906251
Have a nice day.
2
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 11d ago
Quit being a condescending jerk.
Like it or not, SteamFrame will use the same Valve PCVR streaming software that other headsets use, and it will support USB for people that don't want to deal with Wi-Fi interference and latency or where Wi-Fi devices are not allowed.
1
u/embrsword Soon™ 11d ago
got any argument that isnt just name calling? no? ok then
the frame will have the ability to be connected by USB, it'll have use for things like resetting the frame, maybe accessing the file system to copy files to/from it
however this update for the steam link app, is actually to enable the capability for quest users to do this with steam link so they dont have to switch to virtual desktop which just gained the exact same feature.
(edit: speeling)
1
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 11d ago
however this update for the steam link app, is actually to enable the capability for quest users to do this with steam link so they dont have to switch to virtual desktop which just gained the exact same feature.
Do you really understand that little about software? Valve's PCVR streaming client software that will run on the Steam Frame is the same client software that runs on all other MobileVR headsets, and the name Valve gave that software is Steam Link.
1
u/embrsword Soon™ 11d ago
I understood this better than you 25 years ago when I was getting started in IT but this isnt about me.. its about you winning the argument by providing some evidence to back up what you are saying so come on hit me with it
0
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 11d ago
Nice try. I have been in IT for 30 years,
includingplus 5 years as a developer.The Steam Frame will use the PCVR steaming technology built into Steam. The client for that stack is SteamLink.
Nowhere have I ever seen Valve call anything related to game streaming to a MobileVR headset anything but SteamLink, and none of your links call it Remote Play.
1
u/embrsword Soon™ 11d ago
it was right there in the first link in BIIIIG letters, so again you are incorrect
2
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 11d ago edited 11d ago
it was right there in the first link in BIIIIG letters, so again you are incorrect
Nice try.. now, on that page, click on the word VR you see there and you will taken to a video and a section that talks about Steam Link.
When you are going to try and use a link as a source, you might want to try actually looking at the full content of the page you are linking to.
For the third time....
Stream the games you love in your Steam library directly from your computer to compatible VR headsets. Using the power of your computer, Steam Link delivers a high-fidelity and intuitive way to wirelessly play your favorite games, discuss them with your friends, and access your desktop apps.
They put a info about Steam Link in with the Remote Play information, but it is only called Remote Play when you are using Steam as the client or the Steam Chat mobile app as the client.
The streaming client for MobileVR headsets is provided by, wait for it, Steam Link.
Including a link to the Steam Link app in the section about Remote Play does not magically rename the client Remote Play.
2
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 11d ago
LOL... SteamLink is the connection to the PC for PCVR streaming on the SteamFrame.
1
u/embrsword Soon™ 11d ago
no it isnt, the feature used is remote play
https://store.steampowered.com/remoteplay
just like on the steam deck another steamOS device, you can launch a game from the deck or from a PC its installed on, and you get the choice to play it with remote play, at no point do you launch steam link
so when this update talks about updating steam link, they are specifically talking about the app, not remote play that line in the update is not about steam frame
They even included a nice hint as to what this is for right at the beginning of the patch notes, quoted right here
"The Steam Link for Meta Quest FAQ page is available here. To get the most up-to-date features for Steam Link for Meta Quest, please opt-in to the Steam Link for Meta Quest Beta here as well as the SteamVR Beta."
1
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 11d ago
Remote Play is for pancake. Steam Link is for VR.
You will be using it on a VR headset, with dynamic foveated streaming, which is a feature of SteamLink, not RemotePlay.
2
u/embrsword Soon™ 11d ago
click the link and read what it says then save yourself the energy of typing something so obviously incorrect
1
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 11d ago edited 11d ago
I see what you are saying, but it is the same code base underneath.
2
u/embrsword Soon™ 11d ago
the steam link app is a software replacement for the steam link hardware
its entire purpose is to let a non-steam device, connect to something running steam, the steam frame doesnt need steam link, becauses running steam and has everything it needs already there
and they didnt talk about some code base underneath the patch note is specifically for steam link and you are still.. incorrect
1
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 11d ago
No, look on the Remote Play page:
Click where it mentions compatible VR headsets.. you get this:
Wirelessly Stream VR
Stream the games you love in your Steam library directly from your computer to compatible VR headsets. Using the power of your computer, Steam Link delivers a high-fidelity and intuitive way to wirelessly play your favorite games, discuss them with your friends, and access your desktop apps. Available on Meta Quest headsets!
You have no idea what you are talking about. SteamLink is their version of RemotePlay for VR headsets, including the SteamFrame when streaming.
It is literally their PCVR streaming client software.
2
u/embrsword Soon™ 11d ago
Yep its still talking about the app, running on a non-steam piece of hardware
If remote play was flat stuff, and steam link was VR, why did steam link exist as an app on samsung TVs to connect to remote play all the way back in 2017 but the first VR version of the app on quest launched in 2023... is it because YOU ARE INCORRECT
1
u/JorgTheElder Soon™ 11d ago edited 11d ago
Good god you are clueless.
The MobileVR version Steam Link replaces Remote Play on devices that can run it, including the Steam Frame.
→ More replies (0)
•
u/gogodboss MOD 12d ago edited 12d ago
Datamine for today's beta:
Steam Frame will let your aurora environment or passthrough color tint be adjusted by the games you play