GearVR in linear space - problem - dark image

Hello
We've started developing to gearvr and immediately strange problem appeared.
If the game uses linear workflow, colors on the gearvr are really dark.
When we change the color space to gamma, colors are ok (colors on gearvr are identical as colors in editor)
Do you know what have to be done to properly run a game on GearVr in the linear space?
or maybe gearvr doesn't support the linear color space
I really appreciate any help you can provide.
Greg

 

I would like to second this. Just discovered this today. I have been going crazy wondering why my lightmaps weren't working.

Glad I'm not the only one

 

yes its Darker on Linear for some reason

 

Same observation here... Unity 5.5.1p3...

Was quite a pity to get the colors correct

 

Same observation here... Unity 5.6.0f1

 

Are the colors fine in the editor? Gamma is significantly different than Linear, and generally Linear is darker. Just want to make sure what you're seeing isn't standard behavior.

Some side-by-side image comparisons would be useful.

 

I am experiencing the same problem. I took two screenshots using C# code, one using Gamma (ScreenshotGammaC#.png) and the other using Linear (ScreenshotLinearC#.png). You can see the subtle expected difference. Both screenshots from GearVR using the default Unity scene with a Cube, version 5.6.0f3.

But when using Linear, what the screenshot shows is not what I am seeing on the GearVR. So I took two screenshots from the smartphone screen while connected to the GearVR. There you can see that the Linear scene is much darker than it should. (GammaScreen.jpg and LinearScreen.jpg)

 

As answered here, it is a known issue. I'll have to use Gamma for now.

 

have you noticed that even in the same space there is a color transform that is happening ? like how the pic of gamma space, when compared to the screenshot of gamma space, looks more saturated and contrasted. do you know how to avoid THAT? I have been tearing my hair out because of this color transform but there is no documentation about this anywhere.

 

Mmm... Try to ask that on Oculus Forums, the same forum from the link on my previous answer. For me it seems like the difference you got from two different monitors.

 

Has anyone checked to see if this is fixed in Unity 2017.2?

 

I have same issue with Unity

I have same issue with 2017.2.03f and Samsung Note 8

 

Problem persists with 2017.3.0 ...

 

So I did a similar experiment. Everyone is recommending using Linear for VR but when I asked an Oculus rep, he said that you need to use Gamma for mobile (GearVR). Gamma, from my tests, produces a better-predicted result.
If you take the time to look at that link to the OVR forums, they say its a known issue with the Qualcomm sRGB drivers.

 

Just want to update this.

Using 2017.4.5f1 and the issue still remains.

Still stuck using Gamma color space.

 

Using Unity 2018.1.6f1 and the problem still exists....

 

That's true, even the Tech Note from Oculus mentions that Linear is the right one, but the Oculus Staff recommends to use Gamma due to an issue with Unity on Android.

 

Even with the newest unity (2018.2.3f1) this issue still exists.
The problem is that framebuffer outputs linear result without gamma correction to screen
Have to do manually gamma correction or color grading with post effects. This costs cpu/gpu cycles

 

same issue with Unity 2018.2.13f.
I've created a Lightweight RP for VR and Post processing doesn't work at all ( https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/PostProcessing/issues/686 ) .

Someone tried this too?

 

I see in the Unity 2017.4.14 notes that the Linear Color Space issue should be fixed for the Oculus Go and Oculus Quest. When can we expect to see this fix for Unity 2018? It's not in as of 2018.2.15, the image on my Go is still darker than on PC.

 

any news about this issue?

 

I don't have tested yet but on the Unity 2018.3.0 release note, you can see this:

 

[Edit] Please ignore me... I had Gamma selected in the player settings

This is still not working correctly as of 2018.3.4 on Quest with latest Plugins.

 

Still the same issue, on Quest, latest Unity 2019.2.0a13, latest Oculus Utilities, latest LWRP.
Has anyone filed a proper bug report? Otherwise I will.

 

Is this not fixed in 2018.4 LTS ? Is there any work around? Our entire game is based on linear rendering, so linear is just completely broken on Android or what, how long as this been an issue?

Note: Not using VR, regular android build, linear rendering, same issue as here it seems. Open GLES 3.0

 

Im Using 2019.3.0b11 with URP 7.1.5, my setup in Linear, single pass and building for Oculust Quest the color space in the editor (right color) in the Quest looks way more bright...

I tried to add to the Android Manifest the follow line to force it but no luck

Code (CSharp):

1. <meta-data android:name="com.oculus.application.colorspace" android:value="Rec.709"/>

Any update on this ?

 

Recently added quest compatability to my game, and although previously the linear space was not working on android, it is totally fine on the quest.

Unity 2019.2 default render pipeline

 

Has this been fixed yet?

Using unity 2021.2 and we can't find a solution to avoid the high satuation/significantly darker scene on an android/quest build. It's roughly 50% darker than on PC.

About three weeks ago it started to affect all scenes without doing changes to the color space. We aren't using image effects nor have we updated the URP. The darker scene persists with and without baked light or lightprobes. As I said: on PC or with link cable connected to quest it looks completely normal and as expected. The colours are bright and vivid. It only appears significantly darker on quest/android build. When creating a new project with the same Unity version everything is ok!

Our game is about to finish and we would highly appreciate any help in this matter. If a fix isn't possible a work around would be very helpful.

We can also provide screenshots or log files or playpref settings if needed.

 

We are using Unity 2019.4.12f1 and I guess we're facing the same issue with a port from Steam VR to Quest. If there is any workaround I would be very happy to know more about it

 

I my case it helped to change the color profile on the OVRCameraRig. But note that the change is only visible in the build: https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/unity-color-space/

 

I'm still experiencing the same issue in 2020.3.9f and 2019.4.26.
I've tried all combinations of color spaces, blit types, and other settings, but the build on my Quest 2 looks darker than when I run it via the Unity editor.

 

Hi,
What quality settings do you have for the build? Perhaps all light sources, and reflections are not running on your platform.

 

@aleksandrk @arfish

I'm still experiencing the issue in 2020.3.9f and 2019.4.26f.
My environment is a dark scene to begin with, but the build version is much darker (and saturation is different too; e.g. pink becomes red) than the editor-play version (through a Rift S or a Quest 2+ Link cable).

I've tried various combinations of these settings:

Color space: Linear/Gamma
Blit type: Always/Auto/Never
Lightmap encoding: Low/Normal/High Quality
Quality: Medium/Ultra
Color Gamut (on the OVRManager script): Default/Rec_2020/Rec_709/Quest/Rift_CV1/Rift_S/Adobe_RGB

I don't mind redoing the lighting, I just need the editor-play version to match build version, so I can iterate on lighting quickly.

 

Still have this problem: Quest 2, linear color space, 2020.3.20f1, URP. Color is correct using link cable and editor, builds appear to render darker and with higher saturation. Any work around?

 

Setting the oculus color space in a custom android manifest solved the problem:

In unity 2020.3.21 we fixed the problem by modifying the android manifest

1. in Project Settings -> Player -> Publishing Settings -> Build -> enable "Custom Main Manifest"
   
   
2. unity will create AndroidManifext.xml in Assets/Plugins/Android
   
   
3. in this file we added this line in <application>, right after </activity>: <meta-data android:name="com.oculus.application.colorspace" android:value="Rec.709"/>