The 3D printed lens adapters were made by www.solidifi3ddesigns.com (in Sweden) via Thingiverse. You can also get them from www.solidifi3ddesigns.com/store/c2/vive with 10% off adding "SWEVIVER" coupon code! Or buy them via Thingiverse from Solidifi3ddesigns: www.thingiverse.com/thing:2837804 This video took me more than 40 hours to make :) So please give me some love if you appreciate my work! You can support me through Patreon with 2 bucks a month and make a huge difference: www.patreon.com/sweviver But remember, 99% of my content will ALWAYS be free for you here on UA-cam :) Join my Discord server and let's chat and discuss the lens MOD: discord.gg/asUNmMk Also, big thanks to ACkellySlater, grodenglaive and slikk66 + others who have contributed with all information on Reddit! Need a Gear VR to make this lens replacement mod? Check out best price here: goo.gl/fKuZA6
Thank you very very much SweViver ! YOu may have read previous comments that I was to say the least let down by VR (quality of games) but this tutorial video you made is just in time for my Skyrim VR gaming. I happen to work in a clean room, for once it'll be useful :) The glare did bother me in horror games it's supposed to be black but you have a light reflect on the lens, immersion killer.
Oh man, this is an AMAZING video! How much you go into detail is stunning. This is the DEFINITE video about this topic! Thanks for pushing out these kind of videos that provide so much value for the community!
Thanks man :) Hehe yeah, this video was a real project... its probably hard to tell by just by watching it... but all the work behind, oh man. More than 40 hours in total - but I gotta say I love that challenge! Well quality content is unfortunately not valued by UA-cam anymore, but I prefer to make videos that challenges me and makes me and my channel improve overall :) Same for you man, you have loads of quality content, and you know what Im talking about! Thanks for you kind words again, and talk to you later tonight - Im off to work now! :)
Oh, in case you missed it, here is a video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:45 Taking apart the Gear VR and remove lenses 02:12 Insert lenses into the custom lens adapters 02:54 Remove original lenses from HTC Vive 03:43 Insert the first Gear VR lens into HTC Vive 04:00 First lens tests & comparisons in VR 04:31 Testing & lens comparisons in Steam VR environment 07:19 Testing & lens comparisons in various Test charts 16:42 Replace the second Vive lens with Gear VR lens 18:07 Software tutorial: Distortion correction step-by-step 22:37 First lens tests in VR game Skyrim VR 24:02 In-depth discussion talk about HTC Vive lens replacement issues, flaws, fixes and stuff you need to know before trying to replace the HTC Vive lenses on your own. 38:57 Final conclusion
Great job man! It works great! Did this a few months ago, went back to put Pro v14 correction in, really nice! I have the warp effect a lot, even with your fix on Fallout, it still is really bad due to my weak 1070ti barely handling it with the frequency and resoures, so its not you or your tutorial, its your cpu needing upgrading. Hey, have an awesome day! Keep making videos, i love it, VR fan here! Also, i love your accent, im from AZ so it sounds really cool, especially when you say "butter knife" of "butter smooth" hehe when you said that in this video after the Fallout video and this, it made me even more excited and into it! Youre awesome! Have a good one!
I've done this mod myself and overall I'm very happy my vive feels like a higher res DK2 now, btw on the dust issue I got zero dust in the HMD by filling my bathroom with steam for 15 mins by running your shower/bath, then let the steam clear and do the lens transfer in the bathroom (I used a metal spudger and a suction cup and they popped right out) now you will have maybe a 5 min window when there's virtually no dust in the air oh and print the adaptors with ABS not PLA as PLA flakes. I see the same FOV with a 6mm pad and the tip by going -2 on your IPD removes any eye strain
Awesome, thanks a lot for sharing your impressions man! :) Wow thats a VERY good advice man, I will do my future lens swaps in the bathroom and follow your tips! Anyway, really helpful tips - I appreciate it a lot! :)
We also did this mod. Just a note on removing the lenses from the GearVR. You only need to remove the faceplate. The tabs can be popped without the disassembly. We both really love the way it turned out and have been using it now for 10 days with no eye strain. We did a caution video as well. Loving this mod. Also we found that using a suction cup helps a great deal when removing the lenses from the HTC Vive. We have several live videos on this mod.
Oh really? thats awesome news - thank you so much for sharing guys! :) Sounds awesome to know that you are happy with using the lenses - Im also quite amazed about the quality improvements! Quite remarkable that a cheap mobile VR headset has such good lenses. Oh suction cups sounds like a reallyl great idea. Great job guys, and thanks for sharing your thoughs and tips - much appreciated! I will check out your videos later tonight! :)
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this as the reddit community has a bunch of folks on the fence. We shared our thoughts and they were exactly like yours. Hopefully folks will now see that is was not just a bunch of reddit hype but actually a worthy mod. Great job showing the details. Our camera could not get that close. You did a fantastic job showing what we were describing. Many thanks.
Yeah exactly! I really wonder why people started to reverse to Vive lenses again and call this a "fake hype". Im really thankful to you and the Reddit community that made this possible. I should have said more about it in the video, but this is all thanks to the VR community on Reddit :) Thanks man, I just used my 1080p Sony camcorder. I wish I had a better camera though, as the recordings got VERY flickery. I had to use some expensive Premiere Pro filters to get rid of 90% of the flickers (due to 90->60 fps). Cheers
Thank you so much mate, Im so happy to hear that and your feedback means a lot to me! :) I will really try to improve all my reviews and similar videos from now on!
@@bjerrebjurner Do you live near a large city? Perhaps a maker space or local person in the maker community would print you some? If you were in the states I would mail you some for a small fee.
Wow, it's such A BIG difference. I never would of guessed that such cheap lenses could be so much better. Thanks for the massive effort making this video, so thorough. The views in one day reflect all the work you've done.
Yep, same here. I was expecting less godrays but I never expected such a difference in terms of sharpness, sweet spot and even the FOV is the same! Amazing mod - Im so happy those guys on Reddit made this possible! :) It was a very interesting video to make, and even if it took more than 40 hours totally, I really enjoyed every bit of it - and most important Im happy that so many guys find this helpful :) This is why I love doing this! Cheers Brendon, and as always, BIG thanks for your support!!
I finally 3d printed my adapters for the lenses and updated the lighthouse' and it is unbelievable how well it has improved the Vive. Thank you so much!!!
I can't believe they would just put those crap lens on the pro when better lens exist on inferior products, it is very disappointing; are we ever going to get a legit HMD upgrade!!!!
I think it's obvious they were trying their best to eliminate SDE. In the color disc you can see clearly the underlying pixels on the gear vr lens, while on the vive side things are smooth. I'm not saying vive's are better, I just think they prioritized more SDE reduciton over sharpness.
for those that do not know, the lenses do have adheasive in there holding them, so there will be no snap, and you want to remove them slowly to peel them off of the adheasive so it stays intact.
Thanks a lot, Mr. SweViver! I saw a "GearVR Modded" HTC Vive on sale at eBay when looking for a Vive Pro. I had no idea what that was and on my search I finally ended up here. I have a normal HTC Vive. And after watching your video I immediately ordered a GearVR and adapters, because I really couldn't believe what I was seeing here. The "godrays", bad sweetspot and bluriness of the Vive was bugging me all the time already. All the stuff arrived over the last two days and I just finished modding my HTC Vive. And it is amazing. I'm stunned, seriously. The difference is incredible. And with the Barrel Distortion fix (the /r/Vive thread already had V4) it is perfect, literally. So I really can't say thank you enough! 💗 Some thoughts / recommendations: - The GearVR comes with a protection film over the lenses. I recommend leaving them on until the end and only remove it if you really have to. - You can remove that lid from the GearVR without breaking it by removing the circuit board first. After you removed the circuit board, the lid will come off without violence. Not to save the GearVR, but to avoid accidentially scratching over the lenses. Because thats the last thing you want. - That being said, be very careful removing the lenses. I saw that the GearVR lenses are very sensitive to (micro-)scratches. You don't want to touch them with the screwdiver when removing them. So put some protective cloth on the lenses when pressing into the opening to remove them. Even rubbing over the lenses with a microfiber cloth can leave tiny micro-scratches. - Wear rubber gloves. Don't touch the lenses with your bare hands. It will leave fatty finger prints. - The biggest issue I had was no dust particles, but tiny hairs getting stuck on the lenses. So I used a vacuum cleaner with a bare tube and held the lenses in front of the nozzle. Hold the lenses tight and make sure to not drop it though! 😄 - Removing the lenses from the HTC Vive was really the easiest part. Again I used the vacuum cleaner to suck out any potential dust from the chambers before inserting the adapters and new lenses. - I'm wearing glasses, even though for playing in VR I always put in contact lenses. But even with the front panel moved fully back to my face my glasses didn't touch the new lenses. Other than that, as I already said above: This mod is simply amazing! Thanks again! I have no idea why HTC is using these crappy Fresnel lenses! Even for the Vive Pro. What a waste ...
This is a great mod, I just finished completing it myself and I can confirm that it makes a noticeable difference. One thing I can say though is that these lenses seem to be able to pick up / are more noticeable to dust and smudging probably because of how much sharper and because of there not being any rings around the original vive ones. Really good mod and tutorial Thanks!
Thank you so much man! :) Awesome, Im happy to hear your thoughts and Im glad you tried it as well! Yep, I agree that the lenses gets smudge easier, but thats probably because they are so more clear. And also, they are a bit closer to our eyes now than the original Vive lenses... Cheers and enjoy!
Just did this upgrade yesterday. Thank you for posting this how-to! I picked up a 15$ used Gear VR (2016) and used my own 3D printer and it went flawlessly. It boggles my mind that HTC couldn't do this in the first place, surely these lenses cant cost much more than the included ones!
Thanks man, Im really trying to do my best to add as much useful content with value, as possible :) I hope that you will soon jump on the VR train, its getting better and better now! Cheers
I always enjoy seeing your videos dude. You're always so excited and put a lot of effort into all of your videos! It shows. They're very fun and easy to follow.
Thank you so much man :) Hehe yeah.... this video was probably the most time-consuming so far - but I really enjoy challenging myself and try to improve the content! Im very happy you enjoy my content - it means a lot to me! Cheers
SweViver Modifications, software or hardware, are fun. You do a great job at explaining the process and compare them in a really thorough (yet not long or boring) way. Keep up the good work, man. Have you considered starting a website (if not you definitely should, maybe shoot me a DM and I can give you some advice on where to start looking)? You're like The Gamers Nexus for virtual reality. Keep up the good work.
Even though I don't have a Vive I'm impressed with this video. I think its cool to see an effort to not just focus on the games and turn some attention to the actual headsets themselves. As ever, thanks for your efforts!
Hehe thats nice to hear, thanks a lot man! :) Yeah I love being "geeky" and be able to improve the quality and immersion - those videos are much more challenging for me and makes me improve over time :) Cheers and thanks for watching as always Todd!
As a Vive Pro user I was considering doing this mod thanks to your excellent video! Hats off for making this a thorough and complete vid! I already printed my lens holders and got hold of a GearVR. Ultimately however, I decided NOT to do it... That has nothing to do with the quality of your tutorial or its results. It was just due to the fact I got that same much bigger sharp sweetspot by using a home made thin face pad instead of the thick default one. So for everybody (still) considering this lens mod for their Vive Pro don't jump on it too blindly i'd say... By getting the HMD as close as possible to my eyes the difference in sweet spot became massive! Almost the whole view is now sharp, except for the outer most edges. On top of that, it gains a bit more field of view (+ 10 degrees) which is very welcome too! Put the Vive Pro on your face without a face mask and you can quickly see the difference. Compared to the GearVR lens mod, I get very similar results . The only issue that's still there of course is the godrays/glares that can sometimes popup. In the end it was a bit of a toss-up between two roads: Either create a face mask and accept the godrays/glare or change lenses and accept the fiddling around with custom distortion corrections hacks. For me the first option was just the easiest and safest, but maybe I try the lens mod in the future one time (when my vive is out of warranty anyway). p,s I did read some reports elsewhere that the GearVR lens mod on the Vive does decrease the FoV slightly.
Awesome video, man. I just ordered a cheap gear 2016 model and paid an online company to print the lenses. For about $40, I will be in the clear. Amazing video, my man!
Thank you :) Im happy you will give it a go - looking forward to hear your opinion about it soon - Im sure you will like it!! :) Cheers and enjoy your weekend!
Hey man! I got my adapters and GearVR. It took me roughly 15 minutes to swap the lenses (thanks to your clear instructions) and it's mind blowing clear. I can't even believe it could ever be that clear in VR. I will say this though, I feel really short now. I don't know what it is but I feel like the scale is slightly off somehow, even with updating the SteamVR stuff. I'll do more research on it of course because I'm not going to put the old lenses back in. Ultimately, the clarity is a night and day difference. Anyone reading this, you owe yourself this level of clarity in VR.
You know what I figured out, the placement HMD on your face is slightly different with the new lenses. Where on the stock lenses the HMD sits a bit high on my head, the new lenses require me to sit it a little lower and the distortion isn't really noticeable. The only game I see a noticeable difference on the scale is actually Skyrim VR. All in all, I play with it and keep an eye on the reddit page to see if someone posts some better settings. But with the games I have been playing a lot of lately, the scale is not an issue in any way, where the visual clarity makes a staggeringly improved play experience.
Dude this is an excellent EXCELLENT video. No shit I'm glued to it from the start. Even covering things like dust that people would never consider prior to popping it open. Nice work mate, keep em coming!!
What a great tutorial, I've ordered the gear VR lenses, and I have just printed the adapters to make the mod. Best Vive mod to date. HTC Vive are crazy for not giving you any support , for all the free advertising you give them, and also I love your enthusiasm for VR. ( Very refreshing) Thanks for for all the hard work in making these videos.
I had exactly the same impression after buying Homido V2. Focus on the whole field of view. Opportunity to look around with eyes instead of head movements :) When I heard about these light flares ... the lack of focus ... on Vive or Cv1 ... I always wondered: why, HTC or Oculus did not apply proper lenses there? In the future I want to change the screen from 1080x1920 (5.10 ") 441ppi S.AMOLED to 1440 x 2560 px (5.70") 515 ppi S.AMOLED. This will increase fov to 105-110 and will significantly improve the pretty good SDE quality. I can not wait for it to happen :) Thanks for the interesting Video! :) congratulations for a successful DIY :) Cheers!
Yep, those Homido V2 seems to be awesome, I might check them out soon! :)* Indeed, the sweet spot is a HUGE difference. Quite mind-blowing! The future for VR is bright, Im sure everything will improve a lot soon... Thanks man, Im glad you enjoyed :) Cheers
No need to undo all the Gear screws since you can already access the black tabs to pops out the lenses with a flat screwdriver. Thanks for the tutorial and review. This made a world of difference!
I have just finished the mod, and its great, what a difference, so much clearer its amazing. I wonder why HTC as produced such an expensive product, and failed on the lenses, the difference is chalk and cheese, I will never go back to the original lenses. From start to finish the mod took about 15min . There is no need to dismantle the Samsung gear VR head set, just pop the lens retaining clips from the front, with a small screwdriver, which took me about 30 seconds to do, I printed the lens adapters a few days ago, before I had my Gear VR delivered. So far I havn't noticed any barrel distortion at all, after 3 hours of playing all different games. So I didn't use the lens distortion correction mod. The only problem I had, was a few dust particles which I will clean out later. Thanks to Sweviver for the tutorial, keep up the good work.
Just done the mod today, the difference is NIGHT AND DAY! Thanks so much for the tutorial. A couple of things I would like to point out about my experience: 1) I didn't find it necessary to remove the cover from the Gear VR, I was able to just pop out the lens, saved me some fiddling with the tiny screws. 2) I had to adjust the distance of the lenses to my eyes with the side knobs because my forehead was touching the adapters. This also helped me to achieve the correct position for clarity as well. I didn't notice a loss of FOV either. 3) The lenses are more curved than the Vive's, so the distortion is present to various degrees depending on the position of the HMD on the face. Overall, this is a great upgrade. It takes more work to get the dust removal and HMD fitting position to a satisfactory place than it does to do the actual lens swap. But it now feels like there is some peripheral vision and you can definitely look around using your eyes. This is how it should have been from the start. Thanks again.
Thanks man, it means a lot to me :) I love doing those videos. They are time consuming but its always a cool challenge for me, and the best thing is that I can share such cool info that some people still dont know about :) And comparison videos are so cool to see afterwards! Im gonna start doing much more through the lens videos soon - especially with Pimax 8K! :)
Hi Martin! Long-time viewer, first-time commenter. After seeing this video and all of the details you provided, I became convinced that this was something I needed to try. I've been running the new lenses for a day or so now and I've gotta say, the improvement is REALLY impressive! I can't believe I was missing out on so much sharpness and clarity this whole time! I probably wouldn't have attempted this if not for your video, but now I'm so glad I did. Keep up the great work, man. Your content is excellent!
According to online sites, removing the Fresnel lenses in favor of regular ones (like that on the Samsung) will increase the Screen Door Effect and is the reason why they are there. I guess if the SDE doesn't bother you then it's a trade off for clarity/brightness.
Yep, SDE is more apparent now, as I mentioned. The overall improvements though are still a HUGE achievement with the Gear VR lenses, especially the sweet spot, so I can live with that SDE for now :) Cheers man!
We can tell you that these Gear lenses just make the SDE more visible. It does not increase it. SDE is being able to see the pixels on the screens. They are there on the original lens but not as visible because the lens is only clear in the center. You can see the SDE in the center using the original lens and it will start blurring out. Because the Gear lens has a much wider sweet spot you see more of the screen clearer therefor more SDE. So its not increased just more visible. We did two of these and been using it for over a week and trust us after you stop focusing on it they are not even noticeable.
I never really understood people freaking out about SDE. When I first used Vive and didn't know about SDE being a thing, I didn't pay it any attention.
usually I do not watch videos of more than 10 minutes but I must say that video is complete, very well presented and pleasant to watch, I do not speak much English but your voice is clear and pleasant and allowed me to understand the video, thank you very much! +1 sub
Im not sure, most people say that there is no difference. At least not in terms of the lenses. But people have reported mixed results with 2016, so maybe the 2017 lenses are better?
We got the same exact results using the 2016 model. Just dont use the 2015 model (White Version) we compared in our video and they are slightly smaller.
No the will not fit unless the Thingiverse file is modified. Even then your FOV would decrease and the JSON file would have to be modified for the lens distortion fix.
HTC should hire Samsung how to make vr lenses. HTC brought unfinished Vive product in 2016(very uncomfortalble to wear compare to Oculus) and in 2018, they brought a Pro with blurry lenses. NO MORE HTC PRODUCT FOR ME ANYMORE. i rather support Oculus since they are spending money with game developers like Respawn game company(Titanfall series developers)
@Andy sky, i onlt went with vive for the full body trackers. Until i see another brand make insanely good ones so i don't have a rig up a kinect to use full body for certain games or development. I'm stuck with vive. At least this /hack/ has no downsides.
Did this today, thank you so much for the guide SweViver!!!! Got the Gear VR 2016 for $26 from amazon and a friend from work had his son 3D print the adapters for me. Just have a few specs of dust to get out. At first things seemed a bit off, but after 5 mins I was fine and everything is so much sharper, especially text!
Hey there is a trick to stop dust! You turn your shower on hot (steam) let the room steam for a couple minutes until you see water in the air. This weights the dust by adding water in the air. Then you do this mod in there. Note there will be small water molecules in the air so after you replace lens there may be some water that gets on electronics inside the headset. Dont worry its so small that it will evaporate quickly so wait a day to play with your new lenses
Awesome tip mate, Cmdr Paine-VR also mentioned that. BIG thanks for this, I really appreciate it! I will follow your tips next time I swap lenses! Cheers
Wish I had thought of that. I put the last lens on while it was on , and displaying a white screen. Is supoer obvious, a few shots of compressed at with the vive upside down cleaned it perfectly
I have a Homido Prime, and using an LG G6 qhd phone with it and Riftcat. I love it's image quality. Was thinking on a Vive, so I can play motion controller games too, but I was afraid of the bad picture quality... now you have confirmed me, thank you.
This is really interesting. Thanks for making and showing this mod. I wonder how the same tests compare to the Oculus Rift. A comparison between the Vibe and the Rift with default lenses would be cool too.
Just installed a set I bought off of Etsy. The lenses were already pre-packed in the 3D printed adapter, so that was nice. Big improvement to overall clarity. The only drawback I would say is I notice a slight, and I mean barely noticeable, fish eye effect. I’m already getting used to it so it’s not really a big deal. Pros outweigh the cons in my opinion. Beats forking out cash for a new HMD.
Just completed this mod and I have to say it’s amazing. Suddenly everything is revealed and makes it playing games in VR so much better , it’s like I’ve upgraded to a much better headset . Thanks again SweViver :)
If I had the Vive Pro, I would definitely to it :) But unfortunately, I cant afford it... :( But as far as I know, the improvements are huge using these lenses with the Pro as well!
SweViver: I always love watching your videos. You are consistently genuinely excited with VR. It comes through and it's contagious. Thanks for taking the time to do these!
I hate godrays so much and always loved the lenses on Gear VR and PSVR. Why did HTC choose lenses with rings? I hope Pimax doesn't make the same mistake. We won't be able to replace those.
Yep I fully understand you Leon :) I was never THAT bothered about the god rays, but the small sweet spot has been a huge problem for me. Now its finally fixed :) Its a very good question... HTC really cheaped out on the lenses - even on the Pro lol...
I follow the guidelines you provide and all runs easily because of the perfect guide from you. and the results are as appropriate as you say. greetings from Indonesia. kevin
Thanks Alan :) I can only imagine how much better the Vive Pro gets by doing this mod - but Im not sure if much people will dare doing this on a 800 usd unit hehe...
True, SDE is even more apparent now. With this MOD, the original Vive really shows now the poor resolution. Maybe they made the lenses blurry on purpose to smudge out the SDE a bit? ;)
We have done this mod twice. That is the only part of his video we sort of disagree with. Yes the SDE is more visible but definitely not worse. Once you stop focusing in issues they become less of a issue. If you focus on the very center of the original vive lens you can see it as well. The problem is that the original Vive lens is so blurry and full of god rays that the SDE is masked. So worse no...clearer yes.
Yeah sorry for the wrong words I used, you are totally right that the SDE is a bit more VISIBLE now and not worse :) Thanks for the clarification guys!
they do because u obviusly dont know why the rings in the VR lens are there for and why its a stupid idea to change the fresnel lens to a normal clear lens.
I just installed it. Works perfectly. Initially i tried upside down. It caused significant distortions when lenses were set bulgy side towards eyes. Be sure flat side of lens is set toward your eyes and broader side of adapter is facing the screen.
I have an old gear vr 2016 i can't use with my new note 8 plus i have a 3d printer so I'll give this a try. I've always been bothered be the lenses on the htc Vive
sadly i found out the gear vr i have is a 2015 model and i don't think will work with this method since the lenses are a different shape than the 2016-2017 model.
you could find a 2016-2017 model used for like 20$. Mine was used 20€ and lenses in perfect condition. I will surely not revert my modification anymore. It's the best thing you can do with the old Vive. SuperSampling for example has a much weaker effect than this mod has.
Considering the cost of this HTC Vive I would have expected HTC to put maximum development into the lenses. Glad I saw this before I decided which system to go with. Thanks
OMG! I am in total shock! How is this even possible? I tried the GearVR briefly once and was struck by the clarity and larger sweet spot. But my mind dismissed this as not possible for the VIVE - or they would have done it right? WRONG! And the same lenses as the VIVE now in the "PRO". OMG! I can only hope PIMAX have learned from this! Thank you SweViver for showing the world what is possible if only there is the will! Someone please put SweViver in charge of future VR tech development!! Cheers from QLD Australia!
For me i will never take this risk xD plus i only have 1 HTC Vive & old version of 2016 Gear VR white, maybe wait for a better headset then, 1year+ Vive with me still good for now but still at least i learn something from SweViver, hope Pimax will learn something from you & listen to the community too, because this is very important to everyone who want have a great experience, vision of the lenses must be clear like you said everything in the video, 2nd is HTC Vive Pro standard is dropping & they still want sell bundle for 1.4k x.x i hope they will get kicked by Pimax xD because of the Ring thingy Lenses really make me irritating + its budget, wish when Pimax out will have something like Samsung lenses this will make the Experience different level, comfort also important like the headset when your head look down it will secure with your head. Sorry type too long xD but i suggest everyone who first jump into VR Metaverse should watch sweviver every single video first! I hope the day will come when you hit 100k subscriber so you can quit your jobs and work as VR UA-camr! Cheers bro ~
Yeah its a big risk making this mod, and you also probably lose the warranty by doing this. Also you will need the later dark Gear VR to make this to work (model SM-R323 or higher). Indeed, I think this is one of the main reasons for the Pimax 8K delays. They really want to improve the lens as much as they can. Lenses are much more important than people may think. Even a low-resolution Vive looks so much better just by changing the lenses - its quite incredible! :) Haha dont say sorry mate, I love reading your comments - always a pleasure! :) Thanks you so much man, your support is really appreciated and I love having you here man! I will do my best, maybe one day, who knows ;) Cheers and enjoy your evening!
Forget about the risk. He only had to mention that in order to avoid any risk of being prosecuted for damages. I think it's actually more risky to break your new monitor while unpacking it and leveraging it onto your desk!
I just finished this mod and the first thing i want to say is that it is VERY clear. I was amazed at how clear it was! It isn't without its problems though. Im sure everyone who does this mod has to tweek it in different ways. I found the mod to be blurry at first so i tried to adjust the knobs to move the screens further from the lenses. this made a more narrow field of view and you could see more of the black around your eyes. So i adjusted the screens back to a closer position but it was still blurry. I found that pulling my vive away from my face would make it clear and i was able to keep the field of view so im going to get a thicker foam padding. Also, I found that putting it aside for a day helped because i wasn't comparing the before and after and i could just enjoy the clarity. Lastly, NO MORE GOD RAYS, no glare, or bounce lighting. I can go into dark skyrim caves again. Night time in skyrim didn't look like a drug trip of glare anymore. Im going to keep the mod for now
Sounds interesting. But i think these little problems are worth the huge benefits of these lenses. Cant wait to try them out in a few days. Im tired of these f*ckung rings any more :)
I'm having the same issue, for me It seems like anything close up is much more blury but everything mid to long range is crystal clear. I tried putting thicker pad on my headset and moving eyes back but it doesn't make a difference for me.
Very very thorough review, thanks again. Wish someone was selling stand alone replacement lenses instead of sacrificing an entire vr headset. Going to print out the adapters and see if i can work up the courage to do this mod.
Thank you RodanChi :) Yeah they should start selling the Gear VR lenses as a replacement! you should try the mod, it really makes a huge difference! Cheers and thanks for watching!
Just did this mod, it looks amazing and works great for me (IPD 66.4). One thing i need to disagree with you on your video is the disassembly of the Gear VR. I didn't have to take out a single screw to get the lenses out. There is plenty of room to get in there. Other than that, this video is really great. I've watched it more than once from start to end, great work.
Wow, seems like a whole lot of trouble to go through; can't those pieces from the Gear VR be purchased, without the hassle of buying the Gear VR itself? Gear VR is $100+ with tax.
Actually its a very easy procedure :) Order lens adapters, rip apart the Gear VR, pop out the lenses and put the Gear VR lenses in. And then some minor software adjustments. Not sure about pieces from the Gear VR. But you can actually find gear VR 2016 for less than 40 bucks on many places. Or why not buy a used one? :) Cheers and tanks for watching!
yes there are places that sell just the lenses and adapters so all you have to do is remove your old lenses and install the new ones, the the file updates of course.
Did the Mod - perfect vision now! I would say 60% vision improvement with really no cons. FOV is the same and no in game problems. I used the 2017 gear VR lenses. An absolute must. Thanks for the video and it helped me decide whether or not to do it. I had a couple of specks of dust on the screens but used a microfibre cloth to carefully wipe the surface before replacing the lenses. :)
Hahaha yeah... but seriously, the Odyssey lenses are not really bad. I think the sweet spot and sharpness is really good on the Odyssey so Im not sure its worth the hassle.
Unfortunately I dont know. Probably not, or not yet at least. As the lens mounting on the Rift seems more difficult to open up. But I will investigate :)
Please do, the teardown of the Oculus seems way more difficult. Lenses are glued to the plastic but I assume they can be removed with hot air. If you try you will be my hero!
Thanks for the reply man. If you'll do it at some point (probably with broken oculus first), it would be cool. I do understand that rift is more complex to disassemble, so not forcing or anything
The lens are a specific shape so these wouldn't fit you would need a custom made adapter...look around I'm sure somebody will make one for that as well.
On mine exacto and plastic tools bent. I used an extremely sharp and rigid flat head and whole lot of working. I believe they added more glue in newer versions
i'd imagine one of those suction cup tools used in mobile phone repairs will also do the trick - however the butter knife was my favourite part of this video.
Finally got the courage to try this out last night. Jeezus, I should have done it a long time ago. The difference is amazing. Still need to open it back up and get some dust out, though.
This begs the question: Why the hell are VR companies still making those TERRIBLE lenses?! I bought an oculus rift and returned it right away because of the insanely poor lenses.
Yep they really are bad, i bought it for 9000 SEK and i expected more for that price. There is something wrong with the audio as well, some people on reddit have reported the same. The DAS sounds wayyyyyy better, for now. Another thing is that it doesn't fit nearly as snug as the original vive with the DAS, but i might have adjusted the Vive pro poorly.
Yeah its a shame, and as you say, the price here in Sweden is ridiculous :( I cant afford it! Yep, so many issues... Its sad to hear all complains about it. Did you back the Pimax 8K btw?
SweViver pimax seems like it will be amazing. I know you have many fans, but you may recall me saying I have an odyssey and how much I enjoy it. I'm not looking forward to having to use sensors again. But if pimax comes through with the field of view and resolution well, I'll be thrilled.
Came here for some additional comfort before wedging out the lenses, then learned about the lighthouse mod! Thanks for that! I didn't experience any of the weird swim issues but dust is DEFINITELY a royal menace. I used a microfibre cloth which just put more dust onto the panels!! Then I used cotton buds to remove specs, thought I had it all done, but nope there's still dust there somewhere!!
For the dust , gobinto the bathroom and turn the shower on and let the room Steam up a bit to make the dust heavy and fall to the ground and do the lens fitment in the bathroom.
Yes, go in the most dusty places in a house, due to toilet paper use, and change your lenses there. Some how the magic of the small amount of humidity will weigh down all that tp dust (it wont). Possible water behind the lenses is all you will get and tp dust. Maybe some poo dust as well.
Update** so with the courage your video gave me I went ahead and did the mod. Took a good few minutes to get adjusted to being able to look around with my eyes and had a little eye strain but holy cow. It's like seeing with prescription for the first time. The ipd adjustment and placement of the headset on my face is critical to getting the image right but once it's dialed in it's perfect. Barrel distortion fix v3 I can't see any distortion.
whats sad is, with the premium that they charge for the vive pro you'd think that they would want to pair that improved screen with improved lenses, but it was a pointless cash grab so they couldnt be bothered sourcing new lenses that might have cost them $2 per eye as it would cut into their profits.
Thank you for this video. Just did this entire process on my own Vive and followed your video all the way through. I appreciate your detailed breakdown, helpful information, and your style! You have a great energy that made this process fun. Thank you!
Have seen your Video a few days ago and I felt soo lucky. In my Vive both lenses were scratced by the glasses of one of my friends. So the image always seems to be foggy. Vive Support tell me the change will cost round about 370€. Bought a gear vr with new lenses and the adapter for round about 40€. Parts were delivered today and the result is fucking awesome. Thank you great job man.
WTF It took me 30 min to take the gear VR apart and you don't tell us that all of that could be avoided???You don't need to undo any screw just unto those clips!
Wow m8 can't thank you enough for this tutorial. I've got a vive pro and took the plunge and couldn't be more happy. Has made the world of difference for me :)
Not only that but it seems like it would be fairly easy to undo, even if you were unhappy with the result. You might end up with some extra dust in there but it can probably be removed somehow, so it's probably safe to say it's worth giving it a shot anyways. I can definitely see why you wouldn't want to do such a procedure due to the risk, but I'm considering doing it if my Vive's lenses get scratched.
Holy crap this is great! I'm fucking terrified of doing anything to my Vive, but this is a huge jump in quality that I wish would've been default for all Vives. Great vid, my man!
Thanks man :) I dont think you should worry as its quite an easy task to switch the lenses, but its good that you understand the risks and you are also voiding the warranty, so if you are really afraid to break anything, maybe you should skip this mod, as you say :) Im glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching!
I did this mod following this video. Few minor things to note which have already been mentioned. You do not need to remove the second part of the gear gr. Just lift it up slightly and reach in to pop out the lenses. The second thing is that the vive lenses are glued in and it doesn't damage them removing them the way he does, However; be very careful cause once the glue gives it pops out super fast. The third thing is that dust will get in there and it wont ruin your headset, just takes a few tires with some air to get it out. The clarity is drastically improved more than I thought it would. Depending on your face shape it will vary the amount of 3d "depth" in the game. Mine looks the same but my friend tried it on and noticed a little less 3d effect. Last thing is you need to drop your PD by at least 3 since the sweet spot is slightly inward. Also dont forget to get two Zip lock baggies and label one left and one right and put the vive lenses in them as you are working on the head set. Never do any of the software stuff before backing it up like he has shown. V3 of the barrel mod works great.
Awesome, Im very happy to hear that! Yeah removing all dust is a pain hehe... you can try swapping the lenses in the bathroom where its usually much less dusty :) Cheers and enjoy mate!
with those 3d printed lenses, trying to get it working with the prescription glasses modification would probably be impossible. damn, now i gotta decide which is better to trade-off
If I understand completely, believe they're compatible, but I can't be 100% certain as I personally haven't done anything to my headset. While the video is different, let me refer a comment from it ( the video here, not the current page we're on, ua-cam.com/video/ftaxKLxfrIQ/v-deo.html&ab_channel=VirtualRealityOasis ) The comment is as follows: "John Cox 8 months ago (edited) I'm still rocking my HTC Vive from 2015. I've upgraded the lenses with the "gear VR mod" from fresnel to smooth, added prescription lenses from VR Optician on top of that (courtesy of a special 3D-printed mount from Etsy that supports both sets of lenses), the Vive Wireless mod, the "deluxe audio" headstrap, and I've fastened a pair of batteries on the curved back of the headstrap with Scotch Fasteners (basically super velcro) so that the entire thing, batteries and all, is contained on my head. The whole thing is heavy, but balanced, so it feels much less restrictive than the weight alone would suggest. And now that I've gone wireless from the PC, I can't go back. My Frankenstein is still the only combination that I've seen that is (1) wireless and (2) natively supports the Steam store out of the box (specifically Sairento and Half-Life: Alyx). I want the Index, but it isn't wireless. The Quest 2 looks great, but it doesn't natively support the Steam store. So for now I'm stuck with my Frankenstein headset. "
That's funny I bought the Vive 1 Week ago. I have like a 1-year experience with a ps4vr on pc with TrinusVR... And I thought about the first minutes using the Vive... There is something strange... Cauz I liked the image quality on the ps4vr much more... Gladly I own a few 3DPrinters and get the mod done within the next few days.. Thx 4 this amazing Video. EDIT: My SM-R323 arrived today and my printer is printing the adapter right now! I can't wait to get in done !!!! EDIT2: DONE! LOVE IT!!! I still had some light Barrel Distortion with all 3 Configs. After readjusting the IPD and looking for that Sweet Spot to carry the HMD on my Head, I'ts finally flawless! Really take care there is not a single Dust Particle on the OLED Panel... It happened to me and it looked like the panel is broken... xD Glad I was able to remove it!
@@leighfwarren Hey... Honestly, I just used an Airspray... But I didn't remove it out of the chamber... Cauz after 2 Days the Dust appeared again in a different spot... I think I need to use a vacuum cleaner with a small tube attached to it to get it properly done..... And the trick is to do it in your bathroom after a hot shower...Then there should be much less dust in the air.
Great video Martin! You put so much effort into this your videos just get better and better all the time!! This is a real eye opener as it seems like a no-brainer to fit these lenses. I cant believe the big corps ever thought that Fresnel would be a good choice??! And being such an easy mod there is no excuse for the Vive Pro not to have had them this way! Anyway good job and see you on Discord soon! :-)
Thank you very much Oliver :) I slowly try to improve my videos, its time consuming but really fun and challenging :) I wish I could make this video around 20 minutes, but there was just so much things to talk about in the second half, and I thought it was necessary to add all this to really make people know about the risks and possible issues. Yeah, lets chat on Discord tonight! :) Cheers man and big hugs!
The 3D printed lens adapters were made by www.solidifi3ddesigns.com (in Sweden) via Thingiverse.
You can also get them from www.solidifi3ddesigns.com/store/c2/vive with 10% off adding "SWEVIVER" coupon code!
Or buy them via Thingiverse from Solidifi3ddesigns: www.thingiverse.com/thing:2837804
This video took me more than 40 hours to make :) So please give me some love if you appreciate my work!
You can support me through Patreon with 2 bucks a month and make a huge difference: www.patreon.com/sweviver
But remember, 99% of my content will ALWAYS be free for you here on UA-cam :)
Join my Discord server and let's chat and discuss the lens MOD: discord.gg/asUNmMk
Also, big thanks to ACkellySlater, grodenglaive and slikk66 + others who have contributed with all information on Reddit!
Need a Gear VR to make this lens replacement mod? Check out best price here: goo.gl/fKuZA6
SweViver haven't watched the video but had to say your work is really appreciated, thanks.
You do give great content.
We love you :)
Thank you so much guys, Im so happy to hear that from you - it means a lot to me! :)
Thank you very very much SweViver ! YOu may have read previous comments that I was to say the least let down by VR (quality of games) but this tutorial video you made is just in time for my Skyrim VR gaming.
I happen to work in a clean room, for once it'll be useful :) The glare did bother me in horror games it's supposed to be black but you have a light reflect on the lens, immersion killer.
Oh man, this is an AMAZING video! How much you go into detail is stunning. This is the DEFINITE video about this topic! Thanks for pushing out these kind of videos that provide so much value for the community!
Thanks man :) Hehe yeah, this video was a real project... its probably hard to tell by just by watching it... but all the work behind, oh man. More than 40 hours in total - but I gotta say I love that challenge! Well quality content is unfortunately not valued by UA-cam anymore, but I prefer to make videos that challenges me and makes me and my channel improve overall :)
Same for you man, you have loads of quality content, and you know what Im talking about!
Thanks for you kind words again, and talk to you later tonight - Im off to work now! :)
Yeah! This is Amazing for Oculus Rift is it Better with the Oculus Touch🙄
How do you take a screenshot with Valve controllers and a Vive headset?
Oh, in case you missed it, here is a video timeline:
00:00 Intro
00:45 Taking apart the Gear VR and remove lenses
02:12 Insert lenses into the custom lens adapters
02:54 Remove original lenses from HTC Vive
03:43 Insert the first Gear VR lens into HTC Vive
04:00 First lens tests & comparisons in VR
04:31 Testing & lens comparisons in Steam VR environment
07:19 Testing & lens comparisons in various Test charts
16:42 Replace the second Vive lens with Gear VR lens
18:07 Software tutorial: Distortion correction step-by-step
22:37 First lens tests in VR game Skyrim VR
24:02 In-depth discussion talk about HTC Vive lens replacement issues, flaws, fixes and stuff you need to know before trying to replace the HTC Vive lenses on your own.
38:57 Final conclusion
SweViver Dos the adapters fit in the Vive Pro?
Please the oculus rift users need help with the glare too
Great job man! It works great! Did this a few months ago, went back to put Pro v14 correction in, really nice!
I have the warp effect a lot, even with your fix on Fallout, it still is really bad due to my weak 1070ti barely handling it with the frequency and resoures, so its not you or your tutorial, its your cpu needing upgrading.
Hey, have an awesome day! Keep making videos, i love it, VR fan here!
Also, i love your accent, im from AZ so it sounds really cool, especially when you say "butter knife" of "butter smooth" hehe when you said that in this video after the Fallout video and this, it made me even more excited and into it! Youre awesome!
Have a good one!
I've done this mod myself and overall I'm very happy my vive feels like a higher res DK2 now, btw on the dust issue I got zero dust in the HMD by filling my bathroom with steam for 15 mins by running your shower/bath, then let the steam clear and do the lens transfer in the bathroom (I used a metal spudger and a suction cup and they popped right out) now you will have maybe a 5 min window when there's virtually no dust in the air oh and print the adaptors with ABS not PLA as PLA flakes. I see the same FOV with a 6mm pad and the tip by going -2 on your IPD removes any eye strain
Awesome, thanks a lot for sharing your impressions man! :) Wow thats a VERY good advice man, I will do my future lens swaps in the bathroom and follow your tips! Anyway, really helpful tips - I appreciate it a lot! :)
Kubota snowblower to loader
Shoot a coat of clear over the PLA no problems.
Wow, how many water did you waste? Smh...
@@ClarkWhite81 Not as much as needed to build a vr headset :)
We also did this mod. Just a note on removing the lenses from the GearVR. You only need to remove the faceplate. The tabs can be popped without the disassembly. We both really love the way it turned out and have been using it now for 10 days with no eye strain. We did a caution video as well. Loving this mod. Also we found that using a suction cup helps a great deal when removing the lenses from the HTC Vive. We have several live videos on this mod.
Oh really? thats awesome news - thank you so much for sharing guys! :)
Sounds awesome to know that you are happy with using the lenses - Im also quite amazed about the quality improvements! Quite remarkable that a cheap mobile VR headset has such good lenses. Oh suction cups sounds like a reallyl great idea. Great job guys, and thanks for sharing your thoughs and tips - much appreciated! I will check out your videos later tonight! :)
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this as the reddit community has a bunch of folks on the fence. We shared our thoughts and they were exactly like yours. Hopefully folks will now see that is was not just a bunch of reddit hype but actually a worthy mod. Great job showing the details. Our camera could not get that close. You did a fantastic job showing what we were describing. Many thanks.
Yeah exactly! I really wonder why people started to reverse to Vive lenses again and call this a "fake hype". Im really thankful to you and the Reddit community that made this possible. I should have said more about it in the video, but this is all thanks to the VR community on Reddit :)
Thanks man, I just used my 1080p Sony camcorder. I wish I had a better camera though, as the recordings got VERY flickery. I had to use some expensive Premiere Pro filters to get rid of 90% of the flickers (due to 90->60 fps). Cheers
NOTE: You will need a Gear VR 2016 or 2017 edition to make this to work. I used a 2017 version (including remote): goo.gl/fKuZA6
I recently did the mod and I love the vive now
I had the vive for 2 weeks and couldn’t stand the god rays
Thank you for you help!
One of the best technical videos I've seen. You go from overwiew, to the technical, pause for some comparison, and then finish with faq!
Thank you so much mate, Im so happy to hear that and your feedback means a lot to me! :) I will really try to improve all my reviews and similar videos from now on!
I just did this hack, brought whole new life to my HTC Vive experience! Wish I had done this years ago!
It really is a big difference. Especially with the Vive pro!
Where have u found the lens adapters? I need them!
@@bjerrebjurner I printed my own with my resin 3d printer
@@junkmauler and what for those that don´t own a printer?
@@bjerrebjurner Do you live near a large city? Perhaps a maker space or local person in the maker community would print you some? If you were in the states I would mail you some for a small fee.
Done - thank you so much! I'd say it's definitely worth it. The peripheral vision alone is HUGELY increased, and text is actually readable.
Wow, it's such A BIG difference. I never would of guessed that such cheap lenses could be so much better. Thanks for the massive effort making this video, so thorough. The views in one day reflect all the work you've done.
Yep, same here. I was expecting less godrays but I never expected such a difference in terms of sharpness, sweet spot and even the FOV is the same! Amazing mod - Im so happy those guys on Reddit made this possible! :)
It was a very interesting video to make, and even if it took more than 40 hours totally, I really enjoyed every bit of it - and most important Im happy that so many guys find this helpful :) This is why I love doing this!
Cheers Brendon, and as always, BIG thanks for your support!!
It’s not that there better, it’s the fact they are different and have trade offs as well.
I finally 3d printed my adapters for the lenses and updated the lighthouse' and it is unbelievable how well it has improved the Vive. Thank you so much!!!
I can't believe they would just put those crap lens on the pro when better lens exist on inferior products, it is very disappointing; are we ever going to get a legit HMD upgrade!!!!
Yeah, me neither mate, its a shame... :)
I think it's obvious they were trying their best to eliminate SDE. In the color disc you can see clearly the underlying pixels on the gear vr lens, while on the vive side things are smooth. I'm not saying vive's are better, I just think they prioritized more SDE reduciton over sharpness.
Yep, you are so right Daniel, there is definitely a reason why the original lenses are not so sharp :)
Not crap lenses, it's called a Fresnel lense, it offers less weight and less damage to your eye, also, more FOV in game
It’s a crap fresnel lense; they can do better would be an understatement.
Talking about public service!! You are a treasure for the VR community. Thank you!!!
Hehe thanks man, Im happy to hear that :) Cheers
for those that do not know, the lenses do have adheasive in there holding them, so there will be no snap, and you want to remove them slowly to peel them off of the adheasive so it stays intact.
Thanks a lot, Mr. SweViver! I saw a "GearVR Modded" HTC Vive on sale at eBay when looking for a Vive Pro. I had no idea what that was and on my search I finally ended up here. I have a normal HTC Vive. And after watching your video I immediately ordered a GearVR and adapters, because I really couldn't believe what I was seeing here. The "godrays", bad sweetspot and bluriness of the Vive was bugging me all the time already. All the stuff arrived over the last two days and I just finished modding my HTC Vive. And it is amazing. I'm stunned, seriously. The difference is incredible. And with the Barrel Distortion fix (the /r/Vive thread already had V4) it is perfect, literally. So I really can't say thank you enough! 💗
Some thoughts / recommendations:
- The GearVR comes with a protection film over the lenses. I recommend leaving them on until the end and only remove it if you really have to.
- You can remove that lid from the GearVR without breaking it by removing the circuit board first. After you removed the circuit board, the lid will come off without violence. Not to save the GearVR, but to avoid accidentially scratching over the lenses. Because thats the last thing you want.
- That being said, be very careful removing the lenses. I saw that the GearVR lenses are very sensitive to (micro-)scratches. You don't want to touch them with the screwdiver when removing them. So put some protective cloth on the lenses when pressing into the opening to remove them. Even rubbing over the lenses with a microfiber cloth can leave tiny micro-scratches.
- Wear rubber gloves. Don't touch the lenses with your bare hands. It will leave fatty finger prints.
- The biggest issue I had was no dust particles, but tiny hairs getting stuck on the lenses. So I used a vacuum cleaner with a bare tube and held the lenses in front of the nozzle. Hold the lenses tight and make sure to not drop it though! 😄
- Removing the lenses from the HTC Vive was really the easiest part. Again I used the vacuum cleaner to suck out any potential dust from the chambers before inserting the adapters and new lenses.
- I'm wearing glasses, even though for playing in VR I always put in contact lenses. But even with the front panel moved fully back to my face my glasses didn't touch the new lenses.
Other than that, as I already said above: This mod is simply amazing! Thanks again! I have no idea why HTC is using these crappy Fresnel lenses! Even for the Vive Pro. What a waste ...
This is a great mod, I just finished completing it myself and I can confirm that it makes a noticeable difference. One thing I can say though is that these lenses seem to be able to pick up / are more noticeable to dust and smudging probably because of how much sharper and because of there not being any rings around the original vive ones.
Really good mod and tutorial Thanks!
Thank you so much man! :) Awesome, Im happy to hear your thoughts and Im glad you tried it as well!
Yep, I agree that the lenses gets smudge easier, but thats probably because they are so more clear. And also, they are a bit closer to our eyes now than the original Vive lenses... Cheers and enjoy!
Just did this upgrade yesterday. Thank you for posting this how-to! I picked up a 15$ used Gear VR (2016) and used my own 3D printer and it went flawlessly. It boggles my mind that HTC couldn't do this in the first place, surely these lenses cant cost much more than the included ones!
this is starting to become my favourite channel and i dont even own a VR headset (yet).
keep up the good work man
Thanks man, Im really trying to do my best to add as much useful content with value, as possible :)
I hope that you will soon jump on the VR train, its getting better and better now! Cheers
Use a can of compressed air for dust issue. Although keep the can upright as liquid can seep out if it's tilted too much.
I always enjoy seeing your videos dude. You're always so excited and put a lot of effort into all of your videos! It shows. They're very fun and easy to follow.
Thank you so much man :) Hehe yeah.... this video was probably the most time-consuming so far - but I really enjoy challenging myself and try to improve the content! Im very happy you enjoy my content - it means a lot to me! Cheers
SweViver Modifications, software or hardware, are fun. You do a great job at explaining the process and compare them in a really thorough (yet not long or boring) way. Keep up the good work, man. Have you considered starting a website (if not you definitely should, maybe shoot me a DM and I can give you some advice on where to start looking)? You're like The Gamers Nexus for virtual reality. Keep up the good work.
Thanks man, I really appreciate it :) Yeah Ive been thinking about doing a website - but I need more time for everything lol... Cheers
Even though I don't have a Vive I'm impressed with this video. I think its cool to see an effort to not just focus on the games and turn some attention to the actual headsets themselves. As ever, thanks for your efforts!
Hehe thats nice to hear, thanks a lot man! :) Yeah I love being "geeky" and be able to improve the quality and immersion - those videos are much more challenging for me and makes me improve over time :) Cheers and thanks for watching as always Todd!
"Valve hates him for this simple Trick"
So true.
As a Vive Pro user I was considering doing this mod thanks to your excellent video! Hats off for making this a thorough and complete vid! I already printed my lens holders and got hold of a GearVR. Ultimately however, I decided NOT to do it... That has nothing to do with the quality of your tutorial or its results. It was just due to the fact I got that same much bigger sharp sweetspot by using a home made thin face pad instead of the thick default one. So for everybody (still) considering this lens mod for their Vive Pro don't jump on it too blindly i'd say...
By getting the HMD as close as possible to my eyes the difference in sweet spot became massive! Almost the whole view is now sharp, except for the outer most edges. On top of that, it gains a bit more field of view (+ 10 degrees) which is very welcome too! Put the Vive Pro on your face without a face mask and you can quickly see the difference. Compared to the GearVR lens mod, I get very similar results . The only issue that's still there of course is the godrays/glares that can sometimes popup.
In the end it was a bit of a toss-up between two roads: Either create a face mask and accept the godrays/glare or change lenses and accept the fiddling around with custom distortion corrections hacks. For me the first option was just the easiest and safest, but maybe I try the lens mod in the future one time (when my vive is out of warranty anyway).
p,s
I did read some reports elsewhere that the GearVR lens mod on the Vive does decrease the FoV slightly.
Awesome video, man. I just ordered a cheap gear 2016 model and paid an online company to print the lenses. For about $40, I will be in the clear. Amazing video, my man!
Thank you :) Im happy you will give it a go - looking forward to hear your opinion about it soon - Im sure you will like it!! :) Cheers and enjoy your weekend!
Hey man! I got my adapters and GearVR. It took me roughly 15 minutes to swap the lenses (thanks to your clear instructions) and it's mind blowing clear. I can't even believe it could ever be that clear in VR. I will say this though, I feel really short now. I don't know what it is but I feel like the scale is slightly off somehow, even with updating the SteamVR stuff. I'll do more research on it of course because I'm not going to put the old lenses back in. Ultimately, the clarity is a night and day difference. Anyone reading this, you owe yourself this level of clarity in VR.
BaresarkSlayne Did you make any progress here? I have spare GearVR so I would like to try this but this distortion is a bit of worry...
You know what I figured out, the placement HMD on your face is slightly different with the new lenses. Where on the stock lenses the HMD sits a bit high on my head, the new lenses require me to sit it a little lower and the distortion isn't really noticeable. The only game I see a noticeable difference on the scale is actually Skyrim VR. All in all, I play with it and keep an eye on the reddit page to see if someone posts some better settings. But with the games I have been playing a lot of lately, the scale is not an issue in any way, where the visual clarity makes a staggeringly improved play experience.
This makes an INCREDIBLE difference when using the SimpleVR Video Player!
yup, films no longer get blurry around the edges!
Dude this is an excellent EXCELLENT video. No shit I'm glued to it from the start. Even covering things like dust that people would never consider prior to popping it open. Nice work mate, keep em coming!!
Thank you so much man, it means a lot to me hearing it from you :) And big thanks for the twitter post! Much love
What a great tutorial, I've ordered the gear VR lenses, and I have just printed the adapters to make the mod. Best Vive mod to date. HTC Vive are crazy for not giving you any support , for all the free advertising you give them, and also I love your enthusiasm for VR. ( Very refreshing) Thanks for for all the hard work in making these videos.
I had exactly the same impression after buying Homido V2. Focus on the whole field of view. Opportunity to look around with eyes instead of head movements :)
When I heard about these light flares ... the lack of focus ... on Vive or Cv1 ... I always wondered: why, HTC or Oculus did not apply proper lenses there?
In the future I want to change the screen from 1080x1920 (5.10 ") 441ppi S.AMOLED to 1440 x 2560 px (5.70") 515 ppi S.AMOLED. This will increase fov to 105-110 and will significantly improve the pretty good SDE quality. I can not wait for it to happen :)
Thanks for the interesting Video! :) congratulations for a successful DIY :) Cheers!
Yep, those Homido V2 seems to be awesome, I might check them out soon! :)*
Indeed, the sweet spot is a HUGE difference. Quite mind-blowing!
The future for VR is bright, Im sure everything will improve a lot soon...
Thanks man, Im glad you enjoyed :) Cheers
No need to undo all the Gear screws since you can already access the black tabs to pops out the lenses with a flat screwdriver. Thanks for the tutorial and review. This made a world of difference!
I have just finished the mod, and its great, what a difference, so much clearer its amazing. I wonder why HTC as produced such an expensive product, and failed on the lenses, the difference is chalk and cheese, I will never go back to the original lenses. From start to finish the mod took about 15min . There is no need to dismantle the Samsung gear VR head set, just pop the lens retaining clips from the front, with a small screwdriver, which took me about 30 seconds to do, I printed the lens adapters a few days ago, before I had my Gear VR delivered. So far I havn't noticed any barrel distortion at all, after 3 hours of playing all different games. So I didn't use the lens distortion correction mod. The only problem I had, was a few dust particles which I will clean out later. Thanks to Sweviver for the tutorial, keep up the good work.
will using a can of compressed air blower help?
Just done the mod today, the difference is NIGHT AND DAY!
Thanks so much for the tutorial.
A couple of things I would like to point out about my experience:
1) I didn't find it necessary to remove the cover from the Gear VR, I was able to just pop out the lens, saved me some fiddling with the tiny screws.
2) I had to adjust the distance of the lenses to my eyes with the side knobs because my forehead was touching the adapters. This also helped me to achieve the correct position for clarity as well. I didn't notice a loss of FOV either.
3) The lenses are more curved than the Vive's, so the distortion is present to various degrees depending on the position of the HMD on the face.
Overall, this is a great upgrade. It takes more work to get the dust removal and HMD fitting position to a satisfactory place than it does to do the actual lens swap. But it now feels like there is some peripheral vision and you can definitely look around using your eyes. This is how it should have been from the start.
Thanks again.
Awesome video. Really appreciate the effort you put into this. Even though I’m a Rift owner, I love everything VR, and your enthusiasm is contagious.
Thanks man, it means a lot to me :) I love doing those videos. They are time consuming but its always a cool challenge for me, and the best thing is that I can share such cool info that some people still dont know about :) And comparison videos are so cool to see afterwards!
Im gonna start doing much more through the lens videos soon - especially with Pimax 8K! :)
Hi Martin! Long-time viewer, first-time commenter. After seeing this video and all of the details you provided, I became convinced that this was something I needed to try. I've been running the new lenses for a day or so now and I've gotta say, the improvement is REALLY impressive! I can't believe I was missing out on so much sharpness and clarity this whole time! I probably wouldn't have attempted this if not for your video, but now I'm so glad I did. Keep up the great work, man. Your content is excellent!
I love your English accent 😀especially when you pronounce blurry and eye strain, the yt captions typed ice cream
Haha thanks man :) I hate my accent... I really need to improve my english... hahaha ice cream! Cheers and thanks for watching!
Dont lose or hate what makes you different.
Just did mine yesterday. No issues and looks great now.
According to online sites, removing the Fresnel lenses in favor of regular ones (like that on the Samsung) will increase the Screen Door Effect and is the reason why they are there. I guess if the SDE doesn't bother you then it's a trade off for clarity/brightness.
Yep, SDE is more apparent now, as I mentioned. The overall improvements though are still a HUGE achievement with the Gear VR lenses, especially the sweet spot, so I can live with that SDE for now :) Cheers man!
We can tell you that these Gear lenses just make the SDE more visible. It does not increase it. SDE is being able to see the pixels on the screens. They are there on the original lens but not as visible because the lens is only clear in the center. You can see the SDE in the center using the original lens and it will start blurring out. Because the Gear lens has a much wider sweet spot you see more of the screen clearer therefor more SDE. So its not increased just more visible. We did two of these and been using it for over a week and trust us after you stop focusing on it they are not even noticeable.
Exactly! Thanks for sharing guys, much appreciated :)
TenSix Gamer did you even watch the video
I never really understood people freaking out about SDE. When I first used Vive and didn't know about SDE being a thing, I didn't pay it any attention.
usually I do not watch videos of more than 10 minutes but I must say that video is complete, very well presented and pleasant to watch, I do not speak much English but your voice is clear and pleasant and allowed me to understand the video, thank you very much!
+1 sub
Is there any difference between the 2016 gear vr lense and the 2017 lense?
Im not sure, most people say that there is no difference. At least not in terms of the lenses. But people have reported mixed results with 2016, so maybe the 2017 lenses are better?
We got the same exact results using the 2016 model. Just dont use the 2015 model (White Version) we compared in our video and they are slightly smaller.
But did it fit? What where the problems?
No the will not fit unless the Thingiverse file is modified. Even then your FOV would decrease and the JSON file would have to be modified for the lens distortion fix.
Nope, the 2017 is way more expensive. the 2016 is like 20-30$ used and in some cases new
Thanks for putting this up! I upgraded my Vive pro yesterday and the difference is just astounding!
HTC need to see this Video Sweviver!!! well done ---nice!!!!
Haha I hope they do! They NEED to improve their lenses :)
HTC should hire Samsung how to make vr lenses. HTC brought unfinished Vive product in 2016(very uncomfortalble to wear compare to Oculus) and in 2018, they brought a Pro with blurry lenses. NO MORE HTC PRODUCT FOR ME ANYMORE. i rather support Oculus since they are spending money with game developers like Respawn game company(Titanfall series developers)
I fully agree Andy!
Htc ignored Sweviver and doesn't offer a Vive pro, so this is the Revenge of Sweviver ! wonderful job !
@Andy sky, i onlt went with vive for the full body trackers. Until i see another brand make insanely good ones so i don't have a rig up a kinect to use full body for certain games or development. I'm stuck with vive.
At least this /hack/ has no downsides.
Did this today, thank you so much for the guide SweViver!!!! Got the Gear VR 2016 for $26 from amazon and a friend from work had his son 3D print the adapters for me. Just have a few specs of dust to get out. At first things seemed a bit off, but after 5 mins I was fine and everything is so much sharper, especially text!
Hey there is a trick to stop dust! You turn your shower on hot (steam) let the room steam for a couple minutes until you see water in the air. This weights the dust by adding water in the air. Then you do this mod in there. Note there will be small water molecules in the air so after you replace lens there may be some water that gets on electronics inside the headset. Dont worry its so small that it will evaporate quickly so wait a day to play with your new lenses
Awesome tip mate, Cmdr Paine-VR also mentioned that. BIG thanks for this, I really appreciate it! I will follow your tips next time I swap lenses! Cheers
Wish I had thought of that. I put the last lens on while it was on , and displaying a white screen. Is supoer obvious, a few shots of compressed at with the vive upside down cleaned it perfectly
I have a Homido Prime, and using an LG G6 qhd phone with it and Riftcat. I love it's image quality. Was thinking on a Vive, so I can play motion controller games too, but I was afraid of the bad picture quality... now you have confirmed me, thank you.
This is really interesting. Thanks for making and showing this mod. I wonder how the same tests compare to the Oculus Rift. A comparison between the Vibe and the Rift with default lenses would be cool too.
Thanks man - I will probably do some lens comparison videos between the modded Vive and original Rift soon - hopefully this weekend :)
Just installed a set I bought off of Etsy. The lenses were already pre-packed in the 3D printed adapter, so that was nice. Big improvement to overall clarity. The only drawback I would say is I notice a slight, and I mean barely noticeable, fish eye effect. I’m already getting used to it so it’s not really a big deal. Pros outweigh the cons in my opinion. Beats forking out cash for a new HMD.
amazing video yet again. this is looking to be a must have fix for HTC Vive owners.
Thanks a lot man, Im glad to hear that! :) Yep, as long as ppl can take the risk and also lose the warranty... so its probably not for everyone hehe..
Just completed this mod and I have to say it’s amazing. Suddenly everything is revealed and makes it playing games in VR so much better , it’s like I’ve upgraded to a much better headset . Thanks again SweViver :)
Will you be doing this to the VIVE pro? Or have you used these enough to find out that there might be drawbacks?
If I had the Vive Pro, I would definitely to it :) But unfortunately, I cant afford it... :(
But as far as I know, the improvements are huge using these lenses with the Pro as well!
SweViver: I always love watching your videos. You are consistently genuinely excited with VR. It comes through and it's contagious. Thanks for taking the time to do these!
I hate godrays so much and always loved the lenses on Gear VR and PSVR. Why did HTC choose lenses with rings? I hope Pimax doesn't make the same mistake. We won't be able to replace those.
I think the original lenses for the HTC Vive are more univsersal and suit most people. The GearVR lenses can cause a lot of trouble.
Yep I fully understand you Leon :)
I was never THAT bothered about the god rays, but the small sweet spot has been a huge problem for me. Now its finally fixed :)
Its a very good question... HTC really cheaped out on the lenses - even on the Pro lol...
RedxFROG, indeed - you have a point there! This mod is not for everyone...
I follow the guidelines you provide and all runs easily because of the perfect guide from you. and the results are as appropriate as you say. greetings from Indonesia. kevin
Nice job Martin; instant VIVE PRO minus the cost! :-)
no, not instant Vive Pro. Because the SDE is even worse with this upgrade. The Vive Pro would be better. But oh well...! It's still an improvement.
Thanks Alan :) I can only imagine how much better the Vive Pro gets by doing this mod - but Im not sure if much people will dare doing this on a 800 usd unit hehe...
True, SDE is even more apparent now. With this MOD, the original Vive really shows now the poor resolution. Maybe they made the lenses blurry on purpose to smudge out the SDE a bit? ;)
We have done this mod twice. That is the only part of his video we sort of disagree with. Yes the SDE is more visible but definitely not worse. Once you stop focusing in issues they become less of a issue. If you focus on the very center of the original vive lens you can see it as well. The problem is that the original Vive lens is so blurry and full of god rays that the SDE is masked. So worse no...clearer yes.
Yeah sorry for the wrong words I used, you are totally right that the SDE is a bit more VISIBLE now and not worse :) Thanks for the clarification guys!
i put on today on my new VIVE PRO it is same as for VIVE ,thaks man, now its the picture much better
HTC should give you a job m8 :)
Haha they hate me, mate :) Even more now... probably!
they dont deserve him
they do because u obviusly dont know why the rings in the VR lens are there for and why its a stupid idea to change the fresnel lens to a normal clear lens.
Mentos have you seen the video and the obvious improvement, how is that bad
I hope not. If they have made the choice of the Fresnel, they need to explain why. Also it seems hard following your video :)
I just installed it. Works perfectly. Initially i tried upside down. It caused significant distortions when lenses were set bulgy side towards eyes. Be sure flat side of lens is set toward your eyes and broader side of adapter is facing the screen.
I have an old gear vr 2016 i can't use with my new note 8 plus i have a 3d printer so I'll give this a try. I've always been bothered be the lenses on the htc Vive
good idea, please keep us updated! :-D
SHADOWxWOLF please let us know if you got it to work
sadly i found out the gear vr i have is a 2015 model and i don't think will work with this method since the lenses are a different shape than the 2016-2017 model.
you could find a 2016-2017 model used for like 20$. Mine was used 20€ and lenses in perfect condition.
I will surely not revert my modification anymore. It's the best thing you can do with the old Vive. SuperSampling for example has a much weaker effect than this mod has.
Considering the cost of this HTC Vive I would have expected HTC to put maximum development into the lenses. Glad I saw this before I decided which system to go with. Thanks
Hey did you get the pimax 8k set to test? I can't wait to see your review on that one.
Not yet, they say during May :) It has been delayed a few times now...
OMG! I am in total shock! How is this even possible? I tried the GearVR briefly once and was struck by the clarity and larger sweet spot. But my mind dismissed this as not possible for the VIVE - or they would have done it right? WRONG! And the same lenses as the VIVE now in the "PRO". OMG! I can only hope PIMAX have learned from this! Thank you SweViver for showing the world what is possible if only there is the will! Someone please put SweViver in charge of future VR tech development!! Cheers from QLD Australia!
For me i will never take this risk xD plus i only have 1 HTC Vive & old version of 2016 Gear VR white, maybe wait for a better headset then, 1year+ Vive with me still good for now but still at least i learn something from SweViver, hope Pimax will learn something from you & listen to the community too, because this is very important to everyone who want have a great experience, vision of the lenses must be clear like you said everything in the video, 2nd is HTC Vive Pro standard is dropping & they still want sell bundle for 1.4k x.x i hope they will get kicked by Pimax xD because of the Ring thingy Lenses really make me irritating + its budget, wish when Pimax out will have something like Samsung lenses this will make the Experience different level, comfort also important like the headset when your head look down it will secure with your head. Sorry type too long xD but i suggest everyone who first jump into VR Metaverse should watch sweviver every single video first! I hope the day will come when you hit 100k subscriber so you can quit your jobs and work as VR UA-camr! Cheers bro ~
Yeah its a big risk making this mod, and you also probably lose the warranty by doing this. Also you will need the later dark Gear VR to make this to work (model SM-R323 or higher).
Indeed, I think this is one of the main reasons for the Pimax 8K delays. They really want to improve the lens as much as they can. Lenses are much more important than people may think. Even a low-resolution Vive looks so much better just by changing the lenses - its quite incredible! :)
Haha dont say sorry mate, I love reading your comments - always a pleasure! :) Thanks you so much man, your support is really appreciated and I love having you here man! I will do my best, maybe one day, who knows ;) Cheers and enjoy your evening!
hehe good to hear that, upcoming video will be this coming weekend right? its has been awhile for a gameplay + review
Yep, hoefully on Friday :) Im doing 2 night shifts now Wednesday-thursday. Looking forward to do some games in the upcoming videos! Cheers
This seemed pretty simple and straight forward mod
Forget about the risk. He only had to mention that in order to avoid any risk of being prosecuted for damages. I think it's actually more risky to break your new monitor while unpacking it and leveraging it onto your desk!
I just finished this mod and the first thing i want to say is that it is VERY clear. I was amazed at how clear it was! It isn't without its problems though. Im sure everyone who does this mod has to tweek it in different ways. I found the mod to be blurry at first so i tried to adjust the knobs to move the screens further from the lenses. this made a more narrow field of view and you could see more of the black around your eyes. So i adjusted the screens back to a closer position but it was still blurry. I found that pulling my vive away from my face would make it clear and i was able to keep the field of view so im going to get a thicker foam padding. Also, I found that putting it aside for a day helped because i wasn't comparing the before and after and i could just enjoy the clarity. Lastly, NO MORE GOD RAYS, no glare, or bounce lighting. I can go into dark skyrim caves again. Night time in skyrim didn't look like a drug trip of glare anymore. Im going to keep the mod for now
Sounds interesting. But i think these little problems are worth the huge benefits of these lenses. Cant wait to try them out in a few days. Im tired of these f*ckung rings any more :)
I'm having the same issue, for me It seems like anything close up is much more blury but everything mid to long range is crystal clear. I tried putting thicker pad on my headset and moving eyes back but it doesn't make a difference for me.
Do you have a link for where you bought the adapters?
Yes I included the link in the video description, its on Thingiverse: goo.gl/2eBcZ8
SweViver now I see it, missed the “printed” thanks for the awesome review. Doing this because of you video.
No problem, thingiverse is a bit confusing first time, I know ;)
Very very thorough review, thanks again. Wish someone was selling stand alone replacement lenses instead of sacrificing an entire vr headset. Going to print out the adapters and see if i can work up the courage to do this mod.
the GearVR isn't much more than those lenses anyway...!
Thank you RodanChi :) Yeah they should start selling the Gear VR lenses as a replacement! you should try the mod, it really makes a huge difference! Cheers and thanks for watching!
Great Video SweViver, but I will stay patient and wait for my Pimax 8k ... in June I hope so. = p
Thanks man, Im happy to hear that! :) Oh yes - that Pimax 8K is really going to be something special!!!
Just did this mod, it looks amazing and works great for me (IPD 66.4).
One thing i need to disagree with you on your video is the disassembly of the Gear VR. I didn't have to take out a single screw to get the lenses out. There is plenty of room to get in there. Other than that, this video is really great. I've watched it more than once from start to end, great work.
Wow, seems like a whole lot of trouble to go through; can't those pieces from the Gear VR be purchased, without the hassle of buying the Gear VR itself? Gear VR is $100+ with tax.
Actually its a very easy procedure :) Order lens adapters, rip apart the Gear VR, pop out the lenses and put the Gear VR lenses in. And then some minor software adjustments. Not sure about pieces from the Gear VR. But you can actually find gear VR 2016 for less than 40 bucks on many places. Or why not buy a used one? :) Cheers and tanks for watching!
$26 on Amazon for the 2016 version
Thats a nice price!
yes there are places that sell just the lenses and adapters so all you have to do is remove your old lenses and install the new ones, the the file updates of course.
Bought mine on Etsy already pre-packaged in the 3D printed adapters.
Did the Mod - perfect vision now! I would say 60% vision improvement with really no cons. FOV is the same and no in game problems. I used the 2017 gear VR lenses. An absolute must. Thanks for the video and it helped me decide whether or not to do it. I had a couple of specks of dust on the screens but used a microfibre cloth to carefully wipe the surface before replacing the lenses. :)
The next video could be removing the odyssey screens and moving them to the vive and BAM 10000 views
Hahaha yeah... but seriously, the Odyssey lenses are not really bad. I think the sweet spot and sharpness is really good on the Odyssey so Im not sure its worth the hassle.
screens, not lenses. I'd subscribe to that.
I just finished my modification - 100% better image for me! Thanks!
My dad when has vr headset: I have eagle eyes...
Me when I have vr headset: help me I am legally blind
I would like to see such an upgrade to the quest 2.
Same thing for Oculus?
I was wondering the same thing
Unfortunately I dont know. Probably not, or not yet at least. As the lens mounting on the Rift seems more difficult to open up. But I will investigate :)
Please do, the teardown of the Oculus seems way more difficult. Lenses are glued to the plastic but I assume they can be removed with hot air. If you try you will be my hero!
Thanks for the reply man. If you'll do it at some point (probably with broken oculus first), it would be cool. I do understand that rift is more complex to disassemble, so not forcing or anything
The lens are a specific shape so these wouldn't fit you would need a custom made adapter...look around I'm sure somebody will make one for that as well.
this mod made a huge difference in the headset for me.
Whats wrong with using a durable plastic tool to pop the lenses, like an iphone screen repair tool, instead of a nasty, pointy, metal one?
Nothing :) Its great - if u have one. I didn't, so the screwdriver had to make the trick hehe. But nice tip mate! :) Cheers
they are pretty nasty when they contact a plastic or glass lens compared to plastic
On mine exacto and plastic tools bent. I used an extremely sharp and rigid flat head and whole lot of working. I believe they added more glue in newer versions
WOW! You guys are really brave!
i'd imagine one of those suction cup tools used in mobile phone repairs will also do the trick - however the butter knife was my favourite part of this video.
Finally got the courage to try this out last night. Jeezus, I should have done it a long time ago. The difference is amazing. Still need to open it back up and get some dust out, though.
This begs the question: Why the hell are VR companies still making those TERRIBLE lenses?! I bought an oculus rift and returned it right away because of the insanely poor lenses.
Hehe very good question mate :) And even on the Vive Pro, its still the same terrible Fresnel lenses! Such a shame...
Yep they really are bad, i bought it for 9000 SEK and i expected more for that price. There is something wrong with the audio as well, some people on reddit have reported the same. The DAS sounds wayyyyyy better, for now. Another thing is that it doesn't fit nearly as snug as the original vive with the DAS, but i might have adjusted the Vive pro poorly.
Yeah its a shame, and as you say, the price here in Sweden is ridiculous :( I cant afford it!
Yep, so many issues... Its sad to hear all complains about it. Did you back the Pimax 8K btw?
SweViver pimax seems like it will be amazing. I know you have many fans, but you may recall me saying I have an odyssey and how much I enjoy it. I'm not looking forward to having to use sensors again. But if pimax comes through with the field of view and resolution well, I'll be thrilled.
Yep, and also the Pimax controllers are really gonna be awesome - have you seen the new prototypes? Just WOW! :)
Came here for some additional comfort before wedging out the lenses, then learned about the lighthouse mod! Thanks for that! I didn't experience any of the weird swim issues but dust is DEFINITELY a royal menace. I used a microfibre cloth which just put more dust onto the panels!! Then I used cotton buds to remove specs, thought I had it all done, but nope there's still dust there somewhere!!
For the dust , gobinto the bathroom and turn the shower on and let the room Steam up a bit to make the dust heavy and fall to the ground and do the lens fitment in the bathroom.
Yeah I have seen some guys mentioning it already - thanks a lot for the tip - I never actually thought about it, very clever! :)
Wouldn't this risk more humidity getting behind the lenses?
2ndLastJedi you could also travel somewhere subzero
Yes, go in the most dusty places in a house, due to toilet paper use, and change your lenses there. Some how the magic of the small amount of humidity will weigh down all that tp dust (it wont). Possible water behind the lenses is all you will get and tp dust. Maybe some poo dust as well.
lol
Update** so with the courage your video gave me I went ahead and did the mod. Took a good few minutes to get adjusted to being able to look around with my eyes and had a little eye strain but holy cow. It's like seeing with prescription for the first time. The ipd adjustment and placement of the headset on my face is critical to getting the image right but once it's dialed in it's perfect. Barrel distortion fix v3 I can't see any distortion.
whats sad is, with the premium that they charge for the vive pro you'd think that they would want to pair that improved screen with improved lenses, but it was a pointless cash grab so they couldnt be bothered sourcing new lenses that might have cost them $2 per eye as it would cut into their profits.
exactly. They have only re-used old parts from the Vive for maximum profit.
Trevor, I fully agree! :(
Thank you for this video. Just did this entire process on my own Vive and followed your video all the way through. I appreciate your detailed breakdown, helpful information, and your style! You have a great energy that made this process fun. Thank you!
You aren't experiencing distortion?
@@maulcs personally, not at all...
Does it need to be a 2017 version of a gear vr?
It can be either the 2017 or the 2016 edition, and the model number should be SM-R323 or higher
Ok thanks. Im jumping into an eBay straight away:)
Thanks, that's the information I was searching for ;)
Great video ''Sweet'' 👍 . I didn't even think that any mod is possible with vive 👌
This is great I've had my gear sitting there for a long time doing nothing.
Have seen your Video a few days ago and I felt soo lucky. In my Vive both lenses were scratced by the glasses of one of my friends. So the image always seems to be foggy. Vive Support tell me the change will cost round about 370€. Bought a gear vr with new lenses and the adapter for round about 40€. Parts were delivered today and the result is fucking awesome. Thank you great job man.
WTF It took me 30 min to take the gear VR apart and you don't tell us that all of that could be avoided???You don't need to undo any screw just unto those clips!
I just did this to my vive. Best thing to happen to the vive. Thanks for the detailed guide
sad to hear that Vive has such crappy lenses that a low budget device owns it
Yeah, its a shame!
Wow m8 can't thank you enough for this tutorial. I've got a vive pro and took the plunge and couldn't be more happy. Has made the world of difference for me :)
I recommend not doing this mod, you'll regret it.
Ok i'll bite. Why?
You read too much Reddit Zipiri, you should try it for yourself and make your own opinion mate :)
Agree!!!!
Not only that but it seems like it would be fairly easy to undo, even if you were unhappy with the result. You might end up with some extra dust in there but it can probably be removed somehow, so it's probably safe to say it's worth giving it a shot anyways. I can definitely see why you wouldn't want to do such a procedure due to the risk, but I'm considering doing it if my Vive's lenses get scratched.
Holy crap this is great! I'm fucking terrified of doing anything to my Vive, but this is a huge jump in quality that I wish would've been default for all Vives. Great vid, my man!
Thanks man :) I dont think you should worry as its quite an easy task to switch the lenses, but its good that you understand the risks and you are also voiding the warranty, so if you are really afraid to break anything, maybe you should skip this mod, as you say :) Im glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching!
This is a really impressively informational and professional review/tutorial. You've gotten so good at this! =)
Would it be useful to do this mod for my Valve Index, or are those lenses already sufficiently superior to the HTC Vive lenses?
I did this mod following this video. Few minor things to note which have already been mentioned. You do not need to remove the second part of the gear gr. Just lift it up slightly and reach in to pop out the lenses. The second thing is that the vive lenses are glued in and it doesn't damage them removing them the way he does, However; be very careful cause once the glue gives it pops out super fast. The third thing is that dust will get in there and it wont ruin your headset, just takes a few tires with some air to get it out. The clarity is drastically improved more than I thought it would. Depending on your face shape it will vary the amount of 3d "depth" in the game. Mine looks the same but my friend tried it on and noticed a little less 3d effect. Last thing is you need to drop your PD by at least 3 since the sweet spot is slightly inward. Also dont forget to get two Zip lock baggies and label one left and one right and put the vive lenses in them as you are working on the head set. Never do any of the software stuff before backing it up like he has shown. V3 of the barrel mod works great.
Glad to see more people doing this... Very definitive video here as well.
Excellent work again Martin ,There's a lot of video's on youtube but none as in depth as your tutorial keep up the good work Mate :-)
Thanks Chris, Im glad you liked it! :) It was time consuming and a bit painful, but I love doing those videos! Cheers
Fair play to you taking the risk mate , Just makes you think tho why didnt HTC especially the price they are charging use better lenses ???
Yeah, thats a very good question! :) HTC has a lot to learn!
just did my lens swap and it works amazing. only downside was getting the new lenses clean enough.
Awesome, Im very happy to hear that! Yeah removing all dust is a pain hehe... you can try swapping the lenses in the bathroom where its usually much less dusty :) Cheers and enjoy mate!
with those 3d printed lenses, trying to get it working with the prescription glasses modification would probably be impossible. damn, now i gotta decide which is better to trade-off
If I understand completely, believe they're compatible, but I can't be 100% certain as I personally haven't done anything to my headset.
While the video is different, let me refer a comment from it ( the video here, not the current page we're on, ua-cam.com/video/ftaxKLxfrIQ/v-deo.html&ab_channel=VirtualRealityOasis )
The comment is as follows:
"John Cox 8 months ago (edited)
I'm still rocking my HTC Vive from 2015. I've upgraded the lenses with the "gear VR mod" from fresnel to smooth, added prescription lenses from VR Optician on top of that (courtesy of a special 3D-printed mount from Etsy that supports both sets of lenses), the Vive Wireless mod, the "deluxe audio" headstrap, and I've fastened a pair of batteries on the curved back of the headstrap with Scotch Fasteners (basically super velcro) so that the entire thing, batteries and all, is contained on my head. The whole thing is heavy, but balanced, so it feels much less restrictive than the weight alone would suggest. And now that I've gone wireless from the PC, I can't go back. My Frankenstein is still the only combination that I've seen that is (1) wireless and (2) natively supports the Steam store out of the box (specifically Sairento and Half-Life: Alyx). I want the Index, but it isn't wireless. The Quest 2 looks great, but it doesn't natively support the Steam store. So for now I'm stuck with my Frankenstein headset. "
That's funny I bought the Vive 1 Week ago. I have like a 1-year experience with a ps4vr on pc with TrinusVR... And I thought about the first minutes using the Vive... There is something strange... Cauz I liked the image quality on the ps4vr much more... Gladly I own a few 3DPrinters and get the mod done within the next few days.. Thx 4 this amazing Video.
EDIT: My SM-R323 arrived today and my printer is printing the adapter right now! I can't wait to get in done !!!!
EDIT2: DONE! LOVE IT!!! I still had some light Barrel Distortion with all 3 Configs. After readjusting the IPD and looking for that Sweet Spot to carry the HMD on my Head, I'ts finally flawless!
Really take care there is not a single Dust Particle on the OLED Panel... It happened to me and it looked like the panel is broken... xD Glad I was able to remove it!
How did you remove the dust? Did you blow it out?
@@leighfwarren Hey... Honestly, I just used an Airspray... But I didn't remove it out of the chamber... Cauz after 2 Days the Dust appeared again in a different spot... I think I need to use a vacuum cleaner with a small tube attached to it to get it properly done..... And the trick is to do it in your bathroom after a hot shower...Then there should be much less dust in the air.
@@stonefx83 Thanks for the reply, this is the only thing putting me off the mod.
Great video! Just finished this mod on my Vive and it is a substantial improvement.
Great video Martin! You put so much effort into this your videos just get better and better all the time!! This is a real eye opener as it seems like a no-brainer to fit these lenses. I cant believe the big corps ever thought that Fresnel would be a good choice??! And being such an easy mod there is no excuse for the Vive Pro not to have had them this way! Anyway good job and see you on Discord soon! :-)
Thank you very much Oliver :) I slowly try to improve my videos, its time consuming but really fun and challenging :) I wish I could make this video around 20 minutes, but there was just so much things to talk about in the second half, and I thought it was necessary to add all this to really make people know about the risks and possible issues.
Yeah, lets chat on Discord tonight! :) Cheers man and big hugs!