The image freezes in the VR, tracking still works, be careful with NVidia drivers (Meta Quest)

[YoYo]

Warning: with the latest NVidia drivers - 616.56. Everything was working fine for me. Today... something went wrong. After 10-25 minutes of using the headset, even on desktop, I would experience a freeze like in the video https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/comments/1upjz5z/oculus_quest_2_freezes_on_a_single_frame_and/. The image in the game itself still had tracking as seen on the 2D screen, but it seemed to lose the image in the headset itself, the frame froze, and some artifacts appeared: https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/comments/1n42awn/vr_headset_freezes_after_around_30_mins_of/. I thought there was something wrong with my cable or something, but then I remembered that I installed these drivers today and... I found a fix; there are a lot of complaints about them:

https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality/comments/1tuf7qf/comment/osx1sut/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button,
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/support/590061/bug-concerning-pcvr-experience/,
I see there's even a topic on the DCS forum: https://forum.dcs.world/topic/391597-vr-freeze/#findComment-5807148.

This topic has been around for a while, but sometimes this bug is there, sometimes it's not (I remember having a similar problem earlier this year). Interestingly, it can occur on both WiFi and Link (as in my case). I was previously using 610.88 drivers https://www.nvidia.com/pl-pl/drivers/details/274411/ (apparently, 610.74 is best; I don't remember if I had 610.88 or 610.74 before). I restored it, and it seems to have worked perfectly. 30 minutes of flight time and no freezes.

Another solution is to change the codec to H.265 and set the bitrate to 0 (default, if you've touched it). However, after testing, I'd say I don't like H.265. It blurs solid colors too much (e.g., ground from a height), and after some time, color artifacts appear, such as a pink tint on textures. So something's not right. I'd rather stick with H.264.

[Joch]

Yes, freezing/blackouts is a known issue which will apparently be fixed in the next driver.

Whenever a new driver comes out, I always check the Nvidia Reddit thread to see if it is safe to install:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/1vyxagw/game_ready_studio_driver_61656_faqdiscussion/

Currently still on 610.88 which works fine in IL2-Korea.

Edited September 4 by Joch

[YoYo]

1 hour ago, Joch said:

Currently still on 610.88 which works fine in IL2-Korea.

Yes, this version does not cause this issue for me.

[Aapje]

My advice in general would be to not rush to adopt new drivers unless there is a feature that you want (and even then it is often wise to see what people's experiences are). In most cases, you will notice zero positive differences and just run the risk of running into a bug.

[YoYo]

There are new drivers now, I wonder if this bug has been fixed. 616.64.

[CrashesInVR]

I can confirm the issue persists in 616.64
I tried playing after updating my drivers recently and experienced the exact problem described.
Im reverting to 610.74 🤞
Thank you! 

Edited September 8 by CrashesInVR

[RistoDaLoner]

I also had the same issues with IL2 Flying Circus with updates 616.92 & 616.56. I reverted back to 610.88 and had no issues. So, I'll stay on 616.88 until they fix the bug(s).

[YoYo]

2 hours ago, RistoDaLoner said:

I also had the same issues with IL2 Flying Circus with updates 616.92 & 616.56. I reverted back to 610.88 and had no issues. So, I'll stay on 616.88 until they fix the bug(s).

Thanks for the info, so there's still a problem with 616.92, which was released recently. I haven't installed them, so I'll stick with 610.88, here no issue for me.

By the way, apparently switching Sliced Encoding to OFF solves the problem with the new drivers.

Edited September 15 by YoYo

[YoYo]

I checked the latest NVidia 617.14 drivers. It's still the same. The issue hasn't been fixed.

Btw. As you can see, Meta is aware of the problem. I wonder what they are doing about it? 

[YoYo]

It seems Nvidia will resolve the issue in the November drivers:

 

[YoYo]

It seems today's NVIDIA drivers include a fix for Meta Quest and Link:

Fixed General Bugs

• Meta Horizon Link stream may freeze when connected over USB [6292679]

https://www.nvidia.com/en-eu/drivers/details/282430/

[CrashesInVR]

Can confirm the fix works! Eventhough the meta link app still claims there is a problem with my driver, i can play with version 621.01 without the image freezing.

[YoYo]

Yes, I forgot to mention that. I'm fine too.