Two great Steam Frame features are available on the Galaxy XR right now, and I love what they do for my gaming
The Galaxy XR has become my go-to multitasking device. While the headset seems to be marketed more for entertainment like watching live MLB or NBA games, the Olympics, and more, I’ve found that I keep coming back to it to run my favorite Android apps and experience in a bigger, more comfortable way than my phone or tablet can offer.
But what if you want to leave big than this? Streaming a desktop PC to the Galaxy XR can be done in many ways, but the two “official” ways to do it are very limited. Samsung’s official app requires a GalaxyBook laptop — I don’t know anyone who owns one of those — and the official Android XR PC Connect app is a surprisingly slow, slow experience.
How is Steam Frame streaming different?
Valve’s Steam Frame is basically a Steam Deck you can wear. And while that’s a good enough proposition in itself, Valve is still prioritizing PC VR games. Instead of ditching the home wireless network, Valve includes a USB stick that creates a special wireless network designed for the headset. That not only helps to avoid congestion that causes degradation of broadcast quality, but also gives power live streaming.
If you’re like most people, you’ve probably never heard of that last quarter, but it’s one you’ll want to get used to quickly because of what it can do. Foveated streaming works in tandem with Steam Frame’s eye-tracking capabilities and keeps the highest quality streaming in the center of your vision, while everything else stays low quality (since your entire vision can’t see you clearly, anyway) to save bandwidth.
While we thought Valve might be the first company to launch a headset with this capability, it turns out that Guy Godin, the famous developer behind Virtual Desktop, has just released a major update to his app that enhances your existing headset with Steam Frame-like streaming.
Converting a Galaxy XR into a Steam Frame
If you own a Samsung Galaxy XR, Meta Quest Pro, or other headset with eye tracking capabilities, Virtual Desktop is about to become the best accessory you can buy for your headset. I got to try out the beta release of the new feature on my Galaxy XR this week and was blown away by the clarity it provides. The update is now available for all Virtual Desktop users from version 1.34.16.
Surprisingly, it is not just the image quality that is improved by foveated diffusion. Even though the center of the vision is streaming in higher quality than you’ve ever seen in your earphones, the entire stream uses less overall bandwidth than standard streaming quality. That means your PC VR games streamed on Steam or another platform will run smoothly, look sharp, and will be less taxing on your home network.
To open it, start a Virtual Desktop session on your PC, then click the menu button on the left controller, or make a gesture with your left hand to open the Virtual Desktop menu. Click on Broadcasting menu on the left, and select the check box next to it Focused Broadcasting.
Everything from here on out is handled automatically, or you can adjust the bitrate and image quality in the app if you want to control the settings automatically. This will work on any headset with eye tracking on all platforms Virtual Desktop is available on, which is great news for everyone’s VR headset of choice.
Now for better wireless streaming
If you live in a public building, such as an apartment or condo, or if you simply have a million devices consuming bandwidth on your home network, you may find that wireless streaming quality leaves a lot to be desired. This is where a special wireless router can come in handy to create a low-latency network between your PC and VR headset.
You can buy the Steam Frame when it finally comes out and use a wireless adapter, but I have a better solution that you can find right now, and it’s less than 1/10 the price of the Steam Frame: the PrismXR Puppis S1.
The company sells two versions. The entry-level model, Puppis S1 Lite, offers AX1500 Wi-Fi 6 connectivity for $50and an upgraded model that offers AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 connectivity for $80. The cheaper model requires a wired Ethernet connection to your PC, while the more expensive model offers a USB connection and additional wireless power.
I used the original model a few years ago and was generally unimpressed with the package, which I thought needed a little more processing for my liking, but the company’s improved software and new hardware models are a completely different experience.
The Puppis S1 and S1 Lite both work with any VR headset you might have, so it’s as good for Meta Quest 3 owners as it is for Galaxy XR owners.
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The S1 Lite is a simpler experience and that’s what I’ll be focusing on today. You plug the included power adapter into it, connect one ethernet cable from it to your router, and then connect the other ethernet cable to your PC. Any configuration you need to use is done through the PrismXR PC app, and it lets you set a wireless network name, password, adjust a few other options, and scan for the best available wireless signal.
That last part is important in making sure the unit works at its best, especially if you live in a public building with a ton of different Wi-Fi networks. The one-tap scan utility will take about 60 seconds to check a bunch of different performance parameters and make suggestions for improving any issues you might be having. My first scan found about half a dozen problems, all of which were one-click fixes. It’s surprisingly low effort to set up, something I’m not used to with PC VR games.
From here, you’ll connect your headset to the hotspot created by the Puppis S1, and open Virtual Desktop (or your other preferred streaming application) to connect to your PC. I’ve seen an immediate improvement in wireless latency and performance compared to my home router, and this is exactly the same experience I expect to see from the Steam Frame’s wireless dongle.
Undoubtedly, Valve’s Steam Frame will be the easiest way to do all this for someone who may not have a VR headset with eye tracking, but all of us who already love our headsets can get a quick upgrade without waiting for the RAM problem to go away so that Valve can finally release the Frame.
Tired of poor quality wireless streaming from your PC to your VR headset? You need PrismXR Puppis S1 Lite, a new type of router that creates a special wireless network for your VR headset. Now you can play wirelessly with cable-like visual quality!
