Why do glasses need to be worn to see in a VR headset, but don’t need to be worn to see any other screen being held close to the face? (shortsighted)

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Why do glasses need to be worn to see in a VR headset, but don’t need to be worn to see any other screen being held close to the face? (shortsighted)

In: Physics

2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Field of view. A screen by itself is a flat object, but your vision wraps around a little bit. I believe the total angle of visible objects in human field of view is about 130 degrees, whereas a screen projects only 90 degrees. The lenses in a VR headset are convex, which projects the screen further out than it would normally be, angle wise, giving a wraparound view. This is why VR video typically has a sort of fish eye lens look to it – that flattens out during the lens transformation.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Because the VR headset has optics in it that make it appear to be farther from your face than it really is. This is a feature, for most, because most people can’t focus on something as close as a nearsighted person can focus.

There might be an adjustment to the goggles, to fold in your prescription, but the less expensive they are the less likely you are to find this.