Bigscreen Virtual Reality is out to change the way people work, play, hang out, and collaborate! Play all your PC games, watch movies with friends, or just use your PC in VR on a Cinema sized virtual display, all for free.
Virtual Reality is one of many technologies that has revolutionized our social experience; with its all-immersive VR headset, VR screens and even VR binoculars.
Bigscreen, known for its virtual social platform, has introduced a new VR headset called Beyond that aims to stand out in a market crowded with heavy and powerful competitors. The company claims the Beyond is the world’s smallest VR headset, weighing in at just under 6oz with a strap. It features two 2,560 x 2,560 90Hz OLED displays, six-degrees-of-freedom tracking, and three-element pancake optics that reportedly eliminate the screen door effect.
However, Bigscreen achieves the small size by making a few strategic sacrifices. The company uses an iPhone app to scan your face to produce a custom-fitted Beyond design instead of using knobs and other controls for fit. The six-degree tracking relies on external SteamVR Base Stations, and built-in headphones are only available with an optional “Audio Strap.” The Beyond supports the SteamVR platform and works with any compatible controllers and full-body trackers, but controllers are not included in the box.
The Beyond is available to pre-order for $999, and shipping to the US will begin in the third quarter of the year. However, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan will receive their units in the fourth quarter or later.
The company says that the longer manufacturing times needed for customized headsets are causing the lengthy rollout. While the Beyond is less expensive than some of its lower-resolution alternatives like the $1,500 Meta Quest Pro and $1,099 HTC Vive XR Elite, it’s important to note that those are standalone headsets that include controllers and can be shared with other users. Furthermore, the Beyond requires a reasonably powerful computer with at least a quad-core processor and GeForce RTX 2070- or Radeon RX 5700 XT-class graphics.