Get to Know the New VR/XR Software Features in Varjo Base 3.5 – Removing Distortions
Varjo product improvements are driven by the valuable feedback we receive from our customers. The latest 3.5 release of Varjo Base is now available, introducing a new distortion reduction model, personal settings for foveated rendering, and several improvements to existing features.
What’s new in Varjo Base 3.5?
Alongside improvements to existing features, Varjo Base 3.5 introduces a new experimental distortion correction model aimed at improving every virtual reality experience. Please note, the new distortion profile is not enabled by default and needs to be toggled on.
New personal calibration settings for foveated gaze rendering help you personalize each VR/XR experience. The new 3.5 features include,
- Foveated rendering: New calibration options
- Unity: AR Foundation support added
- API: Experimental new measurements (in mm) for pupil and iris diameter Eye-tracking
- API: global chroma key toggle for Varjo mixed reality
See the full release notes, or take a closer look at some of the new features below.
Together with the 3.5 release, we’ve also worked on some exciting features for the Varjo Lab Tools, introducing a brand-new method to dynamically mask your hands in XR with Ultraleap tracking, as well as chroma controls.
Say goodbye to distortions
New Experimental Distortion Profile, Improving All Your Virtual Experiences
With the Varjo Base 3.5, we’ve added an experimental distortion correction model that should significantly improve visual distortions and chromatic aberrations experienced by some customers. The experimental distortion feature is disabled by default and needs to be activated in Varjo Base, under the system tab.
Each person is unique, and therefore each VR experience is also unique. It’s important to make sure to take the proper steps to ensure optimal visual experience and comfort by wearing the headset correctly. In the Varjo Lab blog, we’ve recently covered some simple steps to ensure you’ll get the most out of your VR experiences. Read the article “How to adjust a VR/XR headset for an optimal visual experience” for our best tips.
Personal Settings Added for Foveated Rendering
With foveated rendering, the area with the highest image resolution follows your gaze so that you can always experience the best possible image quality. Simultaneously, your headset can render fewer pixels in peripheral areas, improving application performance.
The new settings include the following options:
- Always Calibrate
Foveated rendering is recalibrated whenever you put on the headset.
This option is well suited for situations where several people share a headset, providing the best possible image quality. - Remember My Calibration
Foveated rendering is calibrated once. Your calibration settings are saved and reused in future sessions. This option is most useful when only one person is using the headset. - Best Estimation Without Calibration
Foveated rendering is calibrated using data from a statistical sample. This option works best when several people are using headset in quick succession. Note that without calibration, eye tracking accuracy is not sufficient for the most demanding applications. - Never Calibrate
Foveated rendering is never calibrated. The area with the highest resolution is locked to the center of the display. This option can be a useful fallback if, for example, calibration cannot be completed with certain types of eyeglasses.
New features added to Varjo Lab Tools
Varjo Lab Tools empower advanced Varjo users with groundbreaking real-time control of masking, depth testing, chroma controlling, and more. Along with the Varjo Base 3.5 release, we’ve added a couple of exciting features with the Varjo Lab Tools 1.2 release. Download Varjo Lab Tools or watch our recent webinar to learn more.
Skeletal hand masking
You’re now able to use the geometry generated through Ultraleap as a dynamic hand mask in mixed reality experiences, further bridging the gap between what’s real and what’s digital.
Chroma controls now available in Varjo Lab Tools
Chroma keying is a video technique where a predefined color is replaced with virtual content. Usually, the color that is replaced is bright green or bright blue, as those colors contrast the most with human skin.
Now, you can find Chroma controls in the Varjo Lab Tools, previously located in Varjo Base, and instantly enable/disable chroma keying for video pass-through mixed reality in all your applications.
Improvements to existing features
With Varjo Base 3.5, we’ve also worked on existing VR software features and made improvements to the following:
- Motion prediction quality improvement
- Updated Ultraleap runtime to 4.5.3
- Varjo inside-out tracking (beta) & Varjo Markers: Stability improvements
- Varjo Workspace: Fixed an issue where user assigned Workspace shortcut did not work for Varjo Aero and VR-3
- Varjo Workspace: Fixed an issue where VR controllers were unable to control the virtual desktop
- Fixed an issue where Varjo inside-out tracking (beta) would not work without SteamVR installed
- Fixed a rare issue where SteamVR would not start when launched in Varjo Base
See the full release notes.
Let us know what you think about the new distortion profile & other features
We introduce new software features and improvements based on feedback from our customers, and we’d like to concentrate on the features that matter the most to our users. So, after giving the new Varjo Base a try, get in touch with us and tell us what you think. We warmly welcome all feedback and improvement suggestions.
