How Lenses for Virtual Reality Headsets Work

Explainer video why and how lenses for VR headsets work. Oculus Rifts use hybrid fresnel lenses, HTC Vives have their own fresnel lenses too but the progress will not stop there.

[richard_wenner]

Great video - but the fly should have been upside down on the retina. (I'm going to regret this silly post but where would the Internet be without pedants?).

[ak]

Great video, eliminated my fear that VR forces you to stare at close objects for prolonged time. But just one thing, using a glowing yellow ball resembling the sun as an example for the eye to focus on gave me virtual retina cancer: VR cancer... I'll see myself out.

[calebchoi]

superb explanation. now i fully understand how it works.

[odiwalker]

Great vid guys. Could you make another one explaining how does some VR headset adjust the focus, so that you can see a sharp image even if you use glasses?

[LittleGreen_Dude]

You shouldn't stare at the Sun 0:08

[inceptional]

So, does using the lenses reduce the kind of eye strain that I assume would happen if you were actually having to focus on a screen a couple of inches in front of your eyes all the time?

[xomvoid_akaluchiru_]

It's a great video, sadly I was looking for an explanation of how pancake lenses work 😭

[uvuvwevwevweonyetenyevweug]

Me just being happy to be the 1000th person liking the video and thanks to the guy explaining very fundamental's of VR lenses so clear and short.

[DavisonIncorp]

Thats actually really interesting, I always wondered how this worked since I got my DK2, I'd assumed the lenses were just a FOV thing. Subbed! (also whats the music, was jammin')

[General_Tso]

This is a excellent description that helped me understand things much better. Thank you.

[KarelBata]

Anyone know what the virtual distance of a 2D screen viewed from inside a headset is?

[moonwhaler]

Which means, looking at the lenses of the eyes in your video when using HMDs, they're NOT focused towards infinty thus using HMDs will always keep your "eyes" hard at work? Using HMDs a few hours may actually be really bad for our eyes? Or do the HMD lenses are more like looking into infinity (real world) based on the images (varying content) shown on the HMD screens?

[jacobfeldman]

Thanks bro, great video. Really picked up a lot

If I wanted to work in the VR industry but in the side of things, are there specific things I should be researching ??

[Tera_GX]

Is this also how my glasses are kept thin despite the strong correction?

[Psythik]

This explains why I need to wear glasses with my Vive, but one thing I don't understand is why the pixels look so damn big (creating a screen door effect) if the fresnel lens makes the screens appear far away. Shouldn't it be the opposite? If I place my monitor far away from me I can't make out individual pixels at all, even though it runs at a lower native resolution than my Vive, so what gives?

[LordCreo]

You sound like you will know the answer to this question, So I went to the optician the other day and asked them to measure my IPD which they did, but they game me 2 different values, 1 is my near IPD (62mm) and one is my far/infinity IPD (65mm). I would assume the one I need is the far IPD, but I haven't been able to find confirmation of this anywhere, perhaps you know the definitive answer?

[hariharanramamurthy]

Thanks for this video, i understood 100%

[shabadooshabadoo]

So will there ever be VR headsets without lenses? Because thats really what's keeping me from buying them. I just don't find it practical trying to keep my eye centered on a lens while im moving around a bunch.

[arandomyoutuber]

this is how we gonna make real life halo helmets.

[-gbogbo-]

You should never look directly at the sun !