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RinCast 1.0.0

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@github-actions github-actions released this 06 Nov 22:52
v1.0.0
9b79605

The first public release of RinCast: a free, open-source way to use your Windows PC from a
Meta Quest 3 or a PICO 4, for your desktop and for PC VR games through SteamVR.

Installing

  1. On the PC, run RinCast-1.0.0-Setup.exe. It asks for administrator rights once. (Or unpack
    RinCast-1.0.0-windows-x64.zip and run install.ps1.)
  2. On the headset, install RinCast-1.0.0.apk with adb install -r RinCast-1.0.0.apk or
    SideQuest. The Quest needs developer mode; a PICO needs USB debugging.
  3. Open RinCast on the headset, choose your PC, and select Allow on the PC.

SHA256SUMS.txt lists the checksums of every file. The rincast-server files are only for
running your own account server; you don't need them to use RinCast.

Desktop

  • Every monitor as its own floating screen, curved or flat, that you can move and resize.
  • The controllers work as a mouse, with a virtual keyboard, and hand tracking can click and
    scroll.
  • Sharp text through the headset's compositor layers.

PC VR

  • SteamVR sees a RinCast headset and Touch controllers, with haptics. Steam VR games can be
    launched from the headset.
  • H.264, HEVC and AV1, hardware-encoded with NVENC, AMF or Media Foundation, with adaptive
    bitrate and fast recovery from lost packets.
  • Foveated encoding on NVIDIA GPUs: fewer bits at the lens edges, more in the middle.
  • A performance overlay with the latency split by stage, from the in-VR menu.

Audio

  • PC audio on the headset, and the headset's microphone on the PC, through Steam's streaming
    devices by default. See "Audio" in the README.

Connecting

  • PCs on the same network appear by themselves; no account needed.
  • An optional account connects you from other networks, always directly between headset and
    PC. You can run your own account server.
  • VPNs such as Tailscale or ZeroTier work without an account.
  • Every packet is encrypted, and a PC only accepts headsets it has allowed, on every path.
  • The headset reconnects by itself after a dropped connection, and explains what went wrong.

The headset app

  • Procedural skies and passthrough, and background music while no PC is connected.
  • Accessibility: interface size, high contrast, sounds, read aloud and a one-handed route to
    the menu. The streamer works with keyboard, screen readers and Windows high contrast.

Built, but not tested on a headset yet

These are in this release, mostly off by default, and haven't been tried on real hardware.
Reports are welcome.

  • Everything on PICO 4 and PICO 4 Ultra, including PICO Motion Trackers as SteamVR trackers and
    PICO face tracking.
  • Frame generation, like Synchronous Spacewarp, and upscaling on the headset.
  • Body tracking as SteamVR trackers, and hand and finger tracking in PC games.
  • Face and eye tracking shared with VRCFaceTracking through RinCast's module.
  • A wired connection over a USB-C cable (Horizon OS 2.5 or later).

Known limitations

  • Windows only for now. A Linux streamer is planned.
  • The files aren't code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may warn about them.
  • RinCast's own virtual audio driver isn't included, because Windows needs it signed by
    Microsoft. Steam's streaming devices are used instead.
  • OpenXR games run through SteamVR; RinCast's own OpenXR runtime isn't in this release.
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