Before you use the headset in a new environment, we recommend you take a moment to prepare your surroundings. This will help you get the best experience when using the headset.
Safe environment
Always clear the room of any obstacles that might get in your way. Also check that you have enough room to move around freely when using the headset. When using the headset, be aware that real-world objects in your environment may be obstructed by virtual ones. Keep in mind the location of the headset cables as you move around.
Common ways to improve tracking quality when using Varjo inside-out tracking
| Room lighting | Suggestion |
| Room is too dark (< 200 lux) or too bright (> 500 lux). | Adjust the lighting in the room so that the room is evenly and sufficiently lit. Avoid glaring lights. |
| Natural light sources are present. | Use curtains to block sunlight and rely on artificial light. |
| Other infrared light sources are present. | Turn off additional infrared sources if possible. |
| Lights flicker. | Use better quality light sources. Some low quality lights can have strong flicker that interrupts Varjo inside-out tracking. |
| Lighting changes over time | Try to keep the lights static if possible. |
| Room geometry | Suggestion |
| Room is too large or too small | Ideal room size is 3×3 m–5×5 m (10×10 ft–16.5×16.5 ft). |
| Room ceiling is too low or too high | Ideal room height is between 2–4 m (6.5 ft–14 ft). |
| Room contents | Suggestion |
| All walls and objects are less than 0.4 m (1.3 ft) from the user. | Trackable visual features should be at a distance between 0.5 m–4 m (1.5 ft–13 ft) around the user. |
| Reflective walls, glossy surfaces or glass walls are present. | Try to add posters or other textures to at least partly cover such walls. |
| Walls, ceiling, and floor are blank (bare) and lack furniture and other features. | Visual clutter like posters, paintings, and markers help tracking. Note that smoothly changing color gradients may hinder tracking.
It also helps to have clearly detectable and stationary features in your environment for the headset cameras to follow. You can also add some visual patterns to the ceiling (if possible). |
| Environment | Suggestion |
| Movement in the user’s environment | Try to avoid moving elements in the tracking camera view. We recommend using the headset facing away from your physical monitors if possible, or turning the monitors off completely. Tracking may start drifting if there is moving content on a monitor in your field-of-view. |
Note: If you are using chroma key, see the instructions on how to prepare your environment for chroma key.
Common ways to improve tracking quality when using SteamVR™ Tracking
| Room lighting | Suggestion |
| Natural light sources are present. | Use curtains to block sunlight and rely on artificial light. |
| Other infrared light sources are present. | Turn off additional infrared sources if possible. |
| Room geometry | Suggestion |
| Room is too large or too small | Recommended distances between the devices are:
|
| Room ceiling is too low | The base stations should be mounted at a minimum height of 2 m (6.5 ft). |
| Room contents | Suggestion |
| Reflective walls, glossy surfaces or glass walls are present. | Try to add posters or other textures to at least partly cover such walls. |
See our guide on how to set up SteamVR™ tracking for more information.