this post was submitted on 18 May 2025
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Augmented Reality (AR)

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I've been looking for it in reviews, official information, Lemmy and all. Nothing has come up. So let me ask the big obvious question here as an AR curious power user:

What is the FRAMEBUFFER SIZE (not the resolution of the physical display hardware) when using XReal One and One Pro as a USB-C monitor? Is it limited to 1920x1080 (which would me meh) or can one go higher?

When I first got the OG Quest, I setup a thing where a Raspberry Pi beamed a huge (in excess of 7000 x 3000 pixels) Herbstluftwm workspace over VNC on the Quest. The Quest VNC app was 3DOF only, so no peeking closer to see fine details, and of course the Quest didn't quite have the screen to make this usable, but the idea still tickles my fancy. Asking this to find if the time has come to try again :)

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[–] tal@lemmy.today 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I don't think that the right question is to ask about the XReal One or One Pro, any more than it would be to ask about a monitor, because they aren't storing an image and projecting it into 3D. There's an accessory, the Beam or Beam Pro, that does the 3D projections.

https://old.reddit.com/r/Xreal/comments/14vdrps/maximum_input_resolution_of_the_beam/

From Xreal's tech support:

Although Beam does not set a limit, the final display size is determined by the glasses. The resolution of the XREAL Air is 2*1920*1080p. The spatial screen changes in proportion.

I'm sure that there is some limit, if due to memory constraints, if nothing else. And USB-C bandwidth will limit what you can be pushing relative to the framerate. He might mean that it's not really a practical limitation, though.

This guy apparently ran 4k input:

https://old.reddit.com/r/Xreal/comments/15tke6a/display_4k_or1440p_with_xreal_air_beam/

The challenge is the physical limits of AR glasses' bird bath optics. Past a certain screen size or zoom, you will get the borders, and it will look like you're looking out a rectangle window.

But you can "explore" 4K video with your 1080p glasses with 3DoF. Just don't expect an IMAX experience with huge FoV. So, in one of my videos, I test this with my Mini PC that was connected to my 4K TV in 4K resolution and simply hot swapped over to my XREAL Beam setup. Windows was still in 4K and my Shadow PC session was still in 4K running Diablo 4.

I didn't turn up a straightforward specification with a couple searches, though. You're probably going to want to be looking for the input resolution to the Beam.

EDIT: It sounds like they also have some software package, Nebula, which can act like a Beam and have the PC do the projection.

https://old.reddit.com/r/Xreal/comments/16kvw4f/do_i_need_beam_if_i_want_to_use_the_airs_mainly/

I’m planning to buy AR glasses for remote work as a software developer. Do I need beam to pin the displays in place without them following my head?

Hi. If your computer is compatible then the Nebula app can allow you to do it without the Beam. I'd test that first. The Beam's image is a bit more stable though. Some care (I don't), others are very sensitive to it. So, YMMV

I could believe that with Nebula, there isn't a software-imposed limitation short of whatever your desktop can handle, but I don't see a hard statement on the matter.

Might contact Xreal directly.

[–] tasankovasara@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago

Thanks for the info! I haven't studied these Xreal gadgets deeply yet (stumbled upon the subject this morning :D) but I understood the new products would not need an extra box to just take USB-C video and put the image up. Curiousity shall guide me on...