I already managed to contact a person from Valve, so I hope it will be fixed soon!

Here's the bug: SteamVR's PC VRLink shader genforencode_ps_chroma_full_stack.fxo doubles chroma derivatives that already account for 4:2:0, blurring color before HEVC. My patch averages matching 2x2 RGB pixels after sRGB conversion, then computes Cb/Cr.

As you can see, the fix doesn't remove all the blur. That's why we need 4:4:4 color sampling. In this comparison you can see that Pyrowave looks much cleaner in my vibe-coded prototype on Frame. However, it doesn't work in runtime yet. So, Valve, please... you know what to do!

I used 250% supersampling here, so it's not an effect of the small resolution. If you thought the excess blur came from the optics, now you know it starts on the PC, before compression! I'd really like someone at Valve to see this and fix it. Details below.

I want to talk about a big Steam Frame problem no one seems to mention: image quality. SteamVR's streaming pipeline has a serious bug that blurs high-contrast edges. I managed to partially fix it. These are real screenshots from the headset after decoding and lens correction.

11. A very important thing I forgot to mention! Lens has visible distortion. Not as crazy and bad as in BSB, but for me, it's a slightly visible distortion in the center or the bottom of the view, hard to tell where, to be honest. But I can feel it.

10. Passthrough is... there. It's as bad as on Quest 2, but it's not that bad, when we have an external module for that. Will get it soon and share my experience too. Ah, it also has super bright IR LEDs, so you'll have a nice tracking in a complete darkness too.

9. Tracking is perfect. In my opinion, much better than Lighthouse tracking. It even tracks controllers behind your head, unlike the Quest 3. Not as perfectly precise, as when in front of you, but surprisingly, great. You just don't have to worry about it.

8. Sound is very good. Maybe not as good as with Index BMR drivers, but it's really nice, times better than Vive Deluxe Audio Strap ones or Koss Pro from BSB headstrap. Mic is good, but needs some equalizer tuning. Internal fan is not loud at all, especially comparing to the BSB.

7. Battery life is fine if you use an external powerbank. 1.5+ hours on internal battery, but think of it as a hotswappable feature for your external powerbank :D I'd recommend buying several small 10k mAh ones for long VRC sessions.

6. Eye and face tracking is yet to be configured. It works, works really fast with foveated streaming, works natively in VRC over OSC, but can't tell if it's good or not, really want to hear Hash's opinion :D And waiting for the Project Babble external FT module.

5. Software is currently bugged, but usable. I spent 1 hour trying to pair my wireless dongle (had to disable USB power saving mode in Windows). Playspace mover works bugged with dashboard UI when installed on PC. Will maybe work better if I install it directly on Frame.

4. Video streaming and compression are noticeable. Less visible than on Quest, but really noticeable. Foveated streaming is also noticeable, but not bad. In my opinion, the best visuals with no visible compression are at 300%+ supersampling. Ideally 500%, but will require a 5090

3. Controllers are very good for my hand size (medium but slim hand size?). TMR joysticks are a pure JOY. Finger tracking range is times less than on Index, which is grate, but it's fine. Haptic feedback as PS5-like - very good! Straps are super comfortable.

2. Visuals as good as on Quest 3, maybe slightly bigger FOV. Screendoor is visible, but only slightly. Almost no glare. On Quest 3 I had a weird problem: after one hour of play, my eyes always started to hurt really bad. Here I can play hours with no discomfort at all.

1. Very comfortable to wear. I know it depends on your head size and your face shape, but for me it's 100 time better than BSB with their individually built face gaskets, much better that Quest, as comfortable as Index, but lighter, more balanced.

My opinion on Steam Frame. I'm not going to overhype it or something, but long story short: overall, it's the best headset I ever used with minimum amount of tradeoffs, and thats why:

I got mine an hour ago

Looks like I got into the reservation queue!