Comparison BetaFPV VR03 vs Parallel VR

— VR glasses. Headsets or goggles that display images directly in front of your eyes and block out the real world, creating the sensation that you are inside a virtual space. Through VR glasses, you don't see the room around you but rather a digital world: games, simulators, virtual cinemas. VR glasses completely block your real view and create a feeling of being "inside" the scene, so comfortable fit, good resolution, and refresh rate are important to reduce motion sickness and eye strain. Such devices are used by gamers, fans of car and flight simulators, and are also applied in training and 3D presentations of technology or real estate.

— MR glasses. Mixed reality devices that combine VR elements with display hints and allow virtual objects to "live" in the real space, considering the floor, walls, and furniture. In MR glasses, a 3D model can stand on a real table, and the user can walk around it, view it from different angles, and interact with gestures or controllers. MR glasses are suitable for engineering, interior design, medicine, and staff training.

— FPV goggles. Specialized goggles for first-person view flights that display real-time images from a drone camera or other remote-controlled devices. Unlike VR glasses, FPV goggles are almost always "geared" towards one task — providing the pilot with the most direct and minimally delayed image...for precise drone control, especially in racing or freestyle. Here, low signal latency, comfortable fit, transmitter compatibility, and support for the required video format are important.

— 3D video glasses. Compact glasses or mini headsets that create the effect of immersive images and a large screen before your eyes but without typical "gamer" VR functionality. They can connect to a laptop, media player, console and display movies, series, 3D content, or regular video, making viewing more private. Unlike FPV goggles, which show live footage from a drone, 3D video glasses are optimized for media content: the quality of the matrix, contrast, and comfort for long-term use are important. They are chosen by movie enthusiasts, frequently traveling users, and those who don't want to allocate space for a large TV.

The signal source in VR headsets reveals where exactly the image comes from and who performs the main "heavy" graphic processing. In one case, the image is generated by a powerful PC or console, in another — a mobile phone, and for FPV goggles, the signal comes directly from the drone via a radio channel. Stand-alone devices that do not require connection to external gadgets deserve special mention. The chosen signal source affects the image quality, latency, the range of available games and applications, as well as how the VR headset is connected — via cable, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or through a specialized transmitter.

— Stand-alone Device. VR headsets where the headset itself acts as the signal source: it has a mobile processor, video chip, memory, and its own operating system inside, so the image is generated directly in the headset, not on a computer or phone. The user wears the headset, connects to Wi-Fi, and launches games and apps from the built-in store — no wires, no PC, and no mandatory smartphone at hand. Such solutions are closer in power to a good Android smartphone and fall short of a Windows PC setup, but are noticeably more convenient than mobile headsets, where everything is tied to the phone: no need to insert the device into the casing, monitor heating, or charge two devices at once. Stand-alone VR headsets are especially suitable for everyday games, fitness, and education, where freedom of movement and ease of launc...h are more important than maximum graphic settings.

— Android. VR headsets are tied to Google's mobile platform and work either in tandem with a smartphone or independently as an Android stand-alone device. In the first case, the phone is inserted into the headset casing or connected to it wirelessly, forming the image and transmitting it to the headset's screens, in the second case, the headset contains a built-in chipset, memory, and app store, and the phone is used only for setup and streaming. This signal source makes VR mobile: a smartphone and headset are enough to run simple games, 360 videos, and educational apps without a powerful PC, but in terms of graphics, these solutions fall short of full-fledged PC and console systems.

— iOS (iPhone). Similar in concept to Android, but tailored to the Apple ecosystem and iPhone smartphones. In this case, the VR headset receives an image either from the phone itself, installed in the headset casing, or through a special streaming/mirroring mode from the iPhone via Wi-Fi or Lightning/USB-C cable. iOS support means that the user can access a large number of applications, 360 videos, and educational content from the App Store, while the system is generally simpler and more reliable in setup, but the choice of "real" VR games is smaller than in the Android or Windows world.

— Windows. VR headsets work in conjunction with a PC running Windows, which is fully responsible for 3D graphics output. Typically, the headset connects via USB-C / DisplayPort or via Wi-Fi in streaming mode, and the headset acts as a "display with sensors." This signal source provides the most advanced VR gaming: major gaming platforms, simulators, mods are supported, and the quality and stability depend on the computer's graphics card and processor.

— MacOS. VR headsets can receive images from Apple computers — iMac, MacBook, and other models with macOS. Here, VR is more often used for demonstrations, design, 3D viewing, and professional applications than hardcore gaming, so stable integration and proper driver operation are more important than maximum performance. Connection is usually through USB-C / Thunderbolt and specialized software, and the choice of native VR content for macOS is noticeably more modest than for Windows.

— PlayStation. VR headsets are designed to work with PS4 or PS5 consoles, which render all graphics. Proprietary HDMI/USB connections and Sony's own protocols are used here, and the headset itself is optimized for the console's ecosystem. This option provides a predictable experience: PS VR games are carefully adapted to the specific model of headset, latency is minimal, and the user does not need to think about drivers or hardware configuration.

— Xbox. The Xbox signal source implies compatibility with the console in display mode or via an intermediate PC. In the traditional sense, Xbox lacks complete VR support, so the headset is more often used as an external display rather than a comprehensive VR solution with game space tracking. If the manufacturer still declares Xbox as a signal source, it is worth carefully studying the description: most often these are specific scenarios like a "cinema" or streaming output, rather than full VR projects.

— Drone (quadcopter). A separate class of VR headsets where the image comes directly from the drone's camera in real-time via radio channel. Such goggles have a receiver operating on specific frequencies and protocols inside, so compatibility is usually strictly tied to a specific system: the headset "understands" only those video transmitters and modules for which it was originally designed. The main task here is to ensure minimal latency so the pilot can safely and accurately control the drone "first-person" rather than launching ordinary games, and it is crucial to check in advance whether the goggles will work correctly with your FPV set or if it will require changing the camera/transmitter to the required standard.

In this section, the operating frequency range is usually specified (most commonly 5.8 GHz, less frequently other ranges), the number of supported channels and bands, and the type of system — whether the receiver is designed for an analog or digital video link. The more channels and ranges the FPV goggles receiver supports, the easier it is to select a "clean" frequency for your transmitter and fly in a group without interfering with other pilots. It's important for the frequency and protocol of the receiver to match the video transmitter on the drone: for example, racing quadcopters use popular channel sets, and goggles with a full-fledged receiver will allow you to quickly tune to the desired video feed or switch between multiple drones during training and competitions.

The largest diagonal of a smartphone compatible with the corresponding glasses (see "Intended use"). Note that this parameter can be specified both for universal models that do not have specialization for specific mobile phones, and for gadgets for specific devices (for more details, see "Compatible phone models"). The maximum diagonal is connected both with the features of the optics and with the physical dimensions of the "seat" for a mobile phone — a gadget that is too large simply does not fit there.

Note that even the smallest glasses for smartphones work quite correctly with devices with a diagonal of 5 – 5.5 ". So it makes sense to pay attention to this parameter if your device has a larger screen size. Nowadays, you can find glasses for gadgets 5.6 – 6 " and even 6" or more.

Resolution of built-in displays in glasses equipped with such equipment — that is, models for PC / consoles, as well as standalone devices (see "Intended use").

The higher the resolution, the more smooth and detailed the “picture” is given out by glasses, all other things being equal. Thanks to the development of technology nowadays, models with Full HD (1920x1080) screens and even higher resolutions are not uncommon. On the other hand, this parameter significantly affects the cost of points. In addition, it is worth remembering that in order to fully work with high-resolution displays, you need powerful graphics capable of playing relevant content. In the case of glasses for PCs and set-top boxes, this puts forward corresponding requirements for external devices, and in standalone models you have to use advanced integrated video adapters (which affects the cost even more).

The viewing angle provided by virtual reality glasses is the angular size of the space that falls into the user's field of view. Usually, the characteristics indicate the size of this space horizontally; however, if you need the most accurate information, this point needs to be specified separately.

The wider the viewing angle — the more the game space the user can see without turning his head, the more powerful the immersion effect and the less likely that the image will be subject to the "tunnel vision" effect. On the other hand, making the field of view too wide also does not make sense, given the characteristics of the human eye. In general, a large viewing angle is considered to be an angle of 100° or more. On the other hand, there are models where this indicator is 30° or even less — these are, usually, specific devices (for example, drone piloting glasses and augmented reality glasses), where such characteristics are quite justified given the overall functionality.

The presence of a card reader in the glasses — a device for reading removable memory cards.

Such equipment is found only in independent devices (see "Intended use"). The card reader allows you to install an additional amount of memory to store various data — in addition to your own points drive. At the same time, removable cards have a number of advantages: they are much cheaper than built-in storage (in terms of gigabytes of volume), and the volume of such a card can be chosen at your discretion. So a model with a small capacity, but with a card reader, can be a good alternative to glasses with a large amount of internal memory. Also note that you can purchase several memory cards and change them as needed. And card readers are available in many modern devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.), so that removable cards make it easier to store information with such devices (for example, you can record a movie on a card for viewing). On the other hand, removable memory is slower than the built-in memory, and some software functions may be limited for it — in particular, not every model of glasses allows you to install applications on the card.

Presence of a USB-C port in glasses. This is a relatively new type of USB port, with miniature size (slightly larger than microUSB) and a convenient reversible design, allowing the plug to be connected either way. It can be found in glasses of different purposes and, accordingly, designed for various applications. For example, in models for PCs/consoles, this port is used similarly to traditional USB-A — for main connection, alongside HDMI or DisplayPort interfaces. In standalone devices, in turn, USB-C is mainly intended for battery charging and connection to a computer for direct file exchange, settings management, firmware updates, etc.

It should also be noted that this section might specify the USB version that the USB-C port corresponds to. Currently, two versions are relevant — 5Gbps and 10Gbps; for VR glasses, the difference between them is generally not significant.

Availability in points of an exit for connection of earphones. Most often, the role of such a connector is played by a standard 3.5 mm mini-jack socket.

A full-fledged "immersion" in the virtual world requires not only a picture on the screen, but also an appropriate sound accompaniment, for which headphones are the best option. Its own headphone output allows you to connect wired "ears" directly to the glasses — it is much more convenient and safer during use than connecting headphones to a computer or set-top box. However, independent devices can also have such a connector (see "Purpose").

Note that there are VR glasses with their own built-in headphones, but this option is more convenient: it allows you to select the “ears” separately, according to the user’s own preferences.