Thanks for the update! So apparently there used to be an anaglyph mode in HS? I find this invaluable in DEO to correct stereo misalignment. AF in HS seems to correct some poor alignment but is sometimes more trouble than its worth because the scaling changes, and when it performs poorly that ruins immersion - I find AF difficult to use but usually have it switched on.
Please bring back anaglyph, and have the AF on/off state tied to each video or at least an option for that. Sorry, I know the more features you have, the more complex you risk making the app.
The best way to correct poor alignment is to use the autofocus depth estimation text as a reference. It basically acts as the ground truth for how the stereo image should be, including the vertical alignment. Just pause the video, look straight forward, and adjust the stitch shift y or camera stereo alignment pitch until the text looks clear without double vision. Best way to adjust is hover over the setting, hold the grip button, hide the menu, and then move the thumbstick to adjust (or hold trigger and twist the controller back and forth) until the text is clear.
I installed the latest update, v0.9.5 , however it has made SMB browsing much worse for me (using TrueNAS). I couldnāt find where I could turn off packet signing in the TrueNAS dashboard.
I waited much longer than normal after starting HereSphere to browse over SMB and it was very unresponsive.
Since reverting back to v0.94 it is much quicker. I can browse after about 15 to 20 seconds of HereSphere starting, and can quickly navigate directories and also flick between movies when I am watching.
Another user reported issues with browsing SMB shares by hostname with the new update. Iāll be reverting back to the SMB startup scan used in 0.9.4, but will add a prompt that will show up if a user clicks on an SMB bookmark before the scan has finished, recommending the user to wait a little bit or they can force the connection to proceed by clicking on a āproceed anywayā button.
HereSphere update v0.9.6 for the Quest, Quest 2, and Quest Pro is now available. This update patches some issues with the SMB startup scan, fallback script lookup for streamed videos, and some other quality of life improvements. This update is available on App Lab (select RC channel next to the version number) and itch.io. Try the free demo.
Changes:
SMB startup scan has been reverted to v0.9.4 behavior, where the app will check whether a network device has SMB shares before trying to resolve the hostname from the IP address. However, if you try to open a SMB bookmark while the SMB startup scan is in progress, a notification will appear recommending that you wait until the scan is finished. You can click a button to proceed anyway if you wish not to wait.
Fixed issue with fallback script for streamed videos looking for the incorrect file when the video title contains a period.
If ā_F120ā or ā_120Fā are included in the filename (underscore can be replaced with hyphen or space), the player will automatically set the projection to fisheye with 120 degree linear lens.
Changed android manifest to no longer require positional head tracking, so the app can be used in 3DOF mode on app lab.
Iāve been having regular problems with buffering and general playback since the last update. Iāve recently been messing with the player buffer settings. Currently Iāve got it set up so Heresphere pinpoints the exact moment when Iāve reached the point of no return and immediately halts video playback. I would very much like to adjust the settings so that it does the opposite of this. Any help would really be appreciated.
Even with the pop up info, Iām uncertain how to adjust these in order to solve the problems Iām having. Iāve tried maxing them out, and all kinds of various combinations without success. The way Iāve got it set up now is my best attempt at getting it back to default, but I canāt remember what default is exactly and I donāt see a way to quickly reset it.
Iām also having issues with lots of failure to connect and/or upload script messages. Iām not sure what the exact wording is for each of these, but I will sometimes get an orange icon and sometimes a red icon. I get these even when my Handy is successfully connected to wifi. It also plays fine on other players such as ScriptPlayer, the Handy app/website, and I can even switch the manual function on in Heresphere and it starts moving. I canāt find any rhyme or reason as to why this happens. I try to resolve these errors by first reuploading the script, then toggling the peripherals on and off, unplugging and plugging back in my Handy, and then restarting Herephere. These attempts usually donāt work. Sometimes I can resolve it by restarting my headset, but often I just canāt and Iām forced to not use Heresphere at all.
Does rolling back to an older version of HereSphere fix the issue? It kind of seems like you have some network connectivity or wifi issues. Have you tried restarting your modem and router? And are you playing files with SMB, XBVR, or some other method? Have you tried generating a new Handy connection key?
My wifi should be okay. I know thereās more to it than this, but I have no issues with streaming services and Iām able to play online multi-player FPS games over it without any perceptible lag. Also, while Iām not in the same room as the router, I am right next to it.
Iām playing files with SMB on two different computers. One of them has an ethernet connection. I use this one for VR, high res, and other files with bit rates over 20,000kps. Nothing in this set up has been changed since the last update or even since I started using Heresphere. Whenever I have buffering or playback issues, it does not seem to matter whether Iām trying to play files from my wifi connected computer or my ethernet connected computer.
The modem and router have been restarted multiple times in the last month, and Iāve still had all of these problems since then.
I have not tried generating a new Handy key. I didnāt think that would do anything to help. Anytime I get the failure to connect or script upload failure messages, I always go back to the Handy website on another device to make sure thereās not an issue on the Handy side. I have to use their remote control function just to keep the blood flowing anyway so I know the device is still connecting.
I havenāt tried rolling back to an older version yet. I didnāt want to lose my playlists since I can only create them by adding 1-5 videos at a time. It sounds like Iām probably going to end up having to do that anyway though.
I think playlist data should still be saved even if you roll back. You can go to the user settings and click on āSave Backupā just in case. To reset settings to default, just hover over the setting and then press A or X (for Quest 2). The only thing that changed on the SMB side from the old version was bumping up the SMB block size from 1MB to 4MB, so maybe setting it to 1MB might fix the issue? Also, which Quest OS version are you on? Iād still recommend changing the Handy connection key just to exhaust all possibilities.
Currently finishing DirectShow playback for PC to handle codec issues. Will be releasing an update with script heatmaps soon. After that, need to focus on UE5/OpenXR update with new UX and passthrough. Itāll support loading external image files for thumbnails (holding off on generating thumbnails for now because itās difficult to do in the background with mobile hardware without causing performance issues or crashes). I still recommend using XBVR if youāre interested in organizing your library with thumbnails and tags, though.
HereSphere update v0.9.7 for the Quest, Quest 2, and Quest Pro is now available. This update adds support for bluetooth devices on App Lab, script heatmaps, quality of life improvements, and minor bug fixes. Try out the free App Lab demo (also available on itch.io). To switch to the release candidate channel, visit the HereSphere App Lab page, scroll down to āVersionā, and then select ā0.9.7 (RC)ā from the drop down box.
Added support for bluetooth synchronized peripherals on App Lab (already available on itch.io version). In the synchronized peripherals menu (access by clicking on the play button with radio waves above the seekbar), enable the synchronized peripherals toggle, then click on the āScan Bluetooth Devicesā button, and then accept the requested permission. The app will scan and connect to supported bluetooth devices.
Added script heatmaps, which will be displayed on the seekbar when a script is loaded. Cool colors represent lower speeds, while warm colors represent higher speeds. The vertical area that is colored represents the movement range.
Added an āAuto Collapse Main Menuā toggle to the user settings under the miscellaneous group. When enabled, the main menu will automatically collapse after clicking on a file to play a video.
Added a filename suffix ā_2Dā that will force the player to use flat screen settings (monoscopic and perspective projection).
Reduced aspect ratio tolerance for autodetecting video projection format for VR videos.
Added ā_F120ā or ā_120Fā filename suffix for fisheye 120 degree linear lens projection.
Added an āOpen Random Playlistā keybinding.
Increased http timeout to 90 seconds (from 60 seconds).
Added code to better handle serialization changes between different update versions.
Fixed issue with file explorer dates displaying time in UTC instead of the local timezone.
Note: Quest 1 headsets donāt support the necessary permissions for bluetooth scanning on App Lab, so youāll still need to use the sideloaded itch.io apk if you want to use bluetooth synchronized peripherals with Quest 1.
@HereSphere hi there! Wondering if you had any roadmap items to share for new features/capabilities of the Quest 3 or anything new within Airlink. Thanks!