Bigscreen, a startup focused on Virtual Reality (VR), has unveiled its debut hardware product, the Bigscreen Beyond. This innovative headset boasts an exceptional design, weighing less than 127 grams and measuring under one inch. Despite its small size, it offers impressive specs and is six times lighter than its competitors.

The VR headset includes:

  • Ultra-high-resolution organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays
  • PC tethering for full gaming experiences
  • 5120 × 2560 resolution
  • Up to 90 hertz refresh rates
  • 28 pixels per degree (PPD)
  • 90° × 93° field of view (FoV)
  • Pancake optic lenses

The Bigscreen Beyond headset comes with custom-made face guards and shapes to enhance comfort during prolonged usage.

Bigscreen was established in 2014, and has since launched a social VR platform that enables users to stream movies, play video games, and collaborate with friends and colleagues across PCs. The platform is compatible with a range of major headsets, including Meta Quest 2 and Pro, SteamVR devices like the Valve Index, HTC VIVE, and Windows Mixed Reality (MR) head-mounted displays.

Custom Comfort, Bigscreen Beyond

Those who pre-order the Bigscreen Beyond headset will be given a Bigscreen app invitation to use on an Apple iPhone Xr or a more recent model. The app uses 3D mesh building and the TrueDepth sensor on the phone to create a precise sub-millimeter map of the user’s face.

In addition, the app’s computer vision tools can measure the user’s interpupillary distance (IPD) and facial contours after just five minutes. Once this is complete, Bigscreen will create a customized face cushion and front interface. The timeframe for this process varies from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the level of demand.

Upon receiving their personalized headsets, customers can experience complete comfort and visual clarity with these perfectly fitting devices. These offer significant advantages, such as uniform weight distribution, zero light leakage, and accurate interpupillary distance (IPD) alignment. The cushions can be hand-washed by users to maintain the headset’s cleanliness.

bigscreen: Pancake Optics

bigscreen: using PCVR tethering cable

bigscreen: Side Profile

bigscreen: Top Profile

The Bigscreen Beyond headset has a feature that allows magnetically-attached prescription lenses to be used with the device’s optics.

Additionally, it comes with soft head straps that can be used with external audio speakers, or audio straps that have improved ergonomics and on-ear headphones.

Gaining SteamVR, Shipping

The headset is fully equipped with built-in SteamVR tracking for precise body positioning and spatial orientation. When paired with a SteamVR v1.0 or v2.0 base station, it provides complete six degrees of freedom (6DoF) body tracking.

The headset is compatible with the SteamVR game streaming platform, offering access to a vast collection of popular games. To use this feature, users need to download the Steam client and SteamVR apps on their Windows PCs. The Bigscreen Beyond headset also supports Valve Index and HTC VIVE controllers, as well as full-body tracking wearables.

The device is slated to be shipped in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023. Interested buyers can pre-order it for $999 and receive a full refund if necessary before it ships. The headset is available for purchase in the United States and Canada, as well as several European countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, and others. The company also plans to expand to other regions like Japan, Australia, and New Zealand in the coming year.