The Oculus Quest 2 is an excellent virtual reality headset. In Technoeager we had the opportunity to test these glasses thoroughly and the experience with them was outstanding, but they lacked one thing: being able to play PC games without the need for cables officially. Because yes, it is possible to connect the glasses to the PC to play ‘ Half Life: Alyx ‘, but for this it is advisable to use the Oculus Link cable, which is worth 99 euros, or a similar cable.
Wireless gaming is the next big step for the Oculus Quest 2 and, in fact, it is a step that has been taken unofficially thanks to Virtual Desktop, a standalone app developed by Guy Godin. Now we are closer to an official solution developed by Oculus, as the Facebook-owned company has announced the launch of Oculus Air Link, its system for playing PC virtual reality games on Oculus Quest 2 wirelessly.
Goodbye, cables
One of the problems with the current system for playing PC games with the Oculus Quest 2 is that it requires a cable. It is not a drama, but it is something that considerably reduces mobility and therefore immersion in the game. Air Link seeks to solve precisely that, since by streaming the game from the PC to the viewer, the user will be able to move freely.
Air Link will work via WiFi. From Oculus they say that if we have a strong WiFi network and we are about six meters from the router or less, Air Link will be a good alternative to play. It is recommended to connect the viewer to the 5 GHz band and the computer via Ethernet cable. However, they emphasize that if we want to charge the glasses while we play or “experience the images with the highest possible fidelity”, the cable is still a better solution.
The quotation marks is not accidental, since together with the announcement of Air Link Oculus has confirmed that it will activate the refresh rate of 120 Hz. Currently the glasses work at 90/72 Hz, but from now on it will be possible to access a higher refresh rate in those apps that are compatible. Compatibility with Oculus Link for 120 Hz will come in a future update, so we will have to see if with Air Link it will be possible to play with those refresh rates or if there will be some kind of limitation.
On whether Air Link will be compatible with other viewers, only the Quest 2 will be available at launch. Oculus Air Link is a feature that will be part of version V28 and requires both the headset and the PC to be running that version of the software. That is precisely why we will have to wait a bit, since Oculus will unlock the function when the two applications are ready.
