YouTuber builds CRT-based homebrew VR headset

A YouTuber known as dooglehead built a homebrew VR headset using mini CRTs to tackle the screen-door effect. He repurposed a couple of 1990s Sony Watchman units with 2.7-inch, black-and-white CRTs that run at 640 by 480 resolution, interlaced. Starting from an open-source VR headset project, he used an FPGA to convert digital video to analogue and added an off-the-shelf infrared laser lighthouse head-tracking system.

He designed a custom PCB to combine the FPGA, tracking input, a USB-powered supply for the CRTs and an HDMI input, then housed the lot in a cardboard chassis weighing 544 g, roughly the same as commercial headsets. He tried driving sims, first-person shooters and puzzle games.

The image looked blurrier than expected, likely because of the CRTs' extreme electron-gun angle and limited focusing hardware, but the picture is smooth and free of any screen-door effect since the displays lack sharply defined pixels. The setup has obvious drawbacks: no colour, limited contrast and an effective 60 Hz refresh.

homebrew vr, crt headset, dooglehead, sony watchman, mini crts, 640x480, interlaced, fpga, lighthouse tracking, screen-door effect