Pyra for wearable computing w/ twiddler 3 and vufine +

[Calculus]

I bought a vufine + and twiddler 3, anticipating that I could use it with a pyra. I'm currently using it with a rapberry pi 2 and lifepo4wered pi 3. I've only encountered one serious issue: the resolution is too high to see default text clearly. How compatible can I expect the pyra to be with the vufine + and twiddler? Also, any suggestions for gui resizing would be appreciated. I'm currently using XFCE and raising the text size. Does anyone know any similarly priced alternatives to the vufine +?

 

[levi]

The Pyra will sport a 720p screen internally, so I'd expect the display to be optimised to that. Would that help?

For others, the vifune is a glasses mounted HUD, and the tiddler is a type of mouse type thing.

 

[Calculus]

Yes, that does help. I'm suspecting there would be no additional issues, but I don't know exactly how usb and hdmi work. I know I have issues with detecting hdmi connections on my tv after my desktop goes to sleep.

 

[Grench]

Speaking of niche products - those are pretty cool. I do not see any reason for either of them to not work.

https://www.vufine.com/

http://www.tekgear.com/twiddler3.html

Some day when someone has one or both of these and a Pyra they will need to report back on how it all went.

 

[Calculus]

I plan on it. : )

I only bought the lifepo4werd pi3 (already had the rpi2, also bought a case designed for them together) to make sure the pyra would be viable w/ the twiddler 3 and vufine +. I haven't preordered yet because I'm still (probably foolishly) hoping to get more euros for my dollars, and I have had a very bad experience with pijuice on kickstarter. I'll buy one as soon as they are a finished product as long as they stick to the specs they advertised sufficiently. I'm nearly certain that this project will be finished properly, but one never knows with pre-orders.

Edit: I started a thread in off topic about dollar/euro.

 

[Neelix]

I bought a vufine + and twiddler 3, anticipating that I could use it with a pyra. I'm currently using it with a rapberry pi 2 and lifepo4wered pi 3. I've only encountered one serious issue: the resolution is too high to see default text clearly. How compatible can I expect the pyra to be with the vufine + and twiddler? Also, any suggestions for gui resizing would be appreciated. I'm currently using XFCE and raising the text size. Does anyone know any similarly priced alternatives to the vufine +?

Have you tried adjusting the DPI setting? (In the pandora's version of XFCE this can be found under Settings -> Appearance -> Fonts)

-Neelix

 

[spud42]

Compatible with any device capable of outputting a 720p HDMI signa

from the website ,so it should be plug and play...

 

[Calculus]

I did alter both dpi settings in that menu, but the non-text-specific one made the "display" so big it did not fit on the physical screen. I am also aware of the fix for non-gui mode.

 

[Grench]

from the website ,so it should be plug and play...

That is the (a?) compatible input signal to it. But - that is not the native resolution of the display. Anything at that resolution would have to be scaled to the native resolution of 960x540. I have no idea if the Pyra or anything else can push that exact resolution or if the Vufine would be able to accept it's own native resolution through HDMI. Someone is going to need to play with one and find out.

A bit of research says that 960x540 is "qHD" (not to be confused with QHD) which is a relatively obscure format that was used by a few phones and some projection systems. It is 1/4 the resolution of a 1920x1080 display, so, "quarter HD".

 

[trix]

According to the website, the vufine will only accept a 720p input signal via HDMI. The website says "General Rule: Vufine will only accept a 720p signal. Therefore, Vufine will be compatible with devices which output a 720p signal."

Sounds like the Pyra would work just fine. I assume the Vufine itself scales the resolution to 1/4.

Looks like a nifty device, but I wouldn't get nearly enough use out of it to justify $200. Now if we can get something similar to the Occulus Rift on the Pyra, sign me up!!

 

[levi]

I think the Pyra outputs a 1080p signal by default, although presumably that's adjustible, though I have no idea how at present.

 

[TrashyMG]

I think the Pyra outputs a 1080p signal by default, although presumably that's adjustible, though I have no idea how at present.

It will output whatever it detects the monitor wants, if the native res of the monitor is 1080p it will do that, if it's 720p it will do that. Not entirely sure what would happen if you plugged in a 2 or 4k monitor, I think the max resolution of the SoC is somewhere in the 2K range. I've done 1920x1200 on my PC monitor.

 

[trix]

I think the Pyra outputs a 1080p signal by default, although presumably that's adjustible, though I have no idea how at present.

It's Linux, wouldn't xrandr work?

 

[levi]

xrandr may well work (I've not tried, but I've just read the manpage), but would you need to given the Pyra should read the monitor's EDID and set the output resolution automatically (which I assume is what Trashy was referring to, and I wasn't aware of when I made the post your quoting)?

 

[ible]

xrandr is fairly intuitive. it gives you a list of possible outputs just by typing in the command. here's my current setup (on a laptop, outputting to the hdmi):

supersecretuser@supersecrethost:~$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 32767 x 32767
LVDS1 connected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
   1920x1080     59.93 +  59.93 
   1680x1050     59.95    59.88 
   1600x1024     60.17 
   1400x1050     59.98 
   1600x900      60.00 
   1280x1024     60.02 
   1440x900      59.89 
   1280x960      60.00 
   1368x768      60.00 
   1360x768      59.80    59.96 
   1152x864      60.00 
   1280x720      60.00 
   1024x768      60.00 
   1024x576      60.00 
   960x540       60.00 
   800x600       60.32    56.25 
   864x486       60.00 
   640x480       59.94 
   720x405       60.00 
   640x360       60.00 
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI1 connected 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 598mm x 336mm
   1920x1080     60.00*+  50.00    59.94 
   1680x1050     59.88 
   1600x900      60.00 
   1280x1024     60.02 
   1440x900      59.90 
   1280x800      59.91 
   1280x720      60.00    50.00    59.94 
   1024x768      60.00 
   800x600       60.32    56.25 
   720x576       50.00 
   720x480       60.00    59.94 
   640x480       60.00    59.94 
VGA1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

 

[trix]

What I really wonder is if the Pyra would see its native resolution as 720p or as 960x540 (Vufine display resolution). The website strongly implies it will accept only 720p input so I would assume they have it set up to report 720p as native.

But yeah in any case making it work is very likely a quick xrandr at most.

 

[Calculus]

I just tested the vufine with GNOME hidpi on my desktop and it works flawlessly. It's so simple: "gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface scaling-factor 2" quadruples the "pixel" size.

 

[comradekingu]

I bought a vufine + and twiddler 3

Are we this kind of a forum now?

 

[Calculus]

Are we this kind of a forum now?

What do you mean by this?

 

[comradekingu]

I mean the pyra has rumble already