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HoloLens 2 fundamentals: develop mixed reality applications - Training
Learn about the best practices for developing Azure-enabled mixed reality applications with the Mixed Reality Toolkit.
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The HoloLens 2 display is a combination of waveguides and light projectors. Users look through the waveguides—the lenses inside the visor—when wearing the headset. The light projectors are inside the enclosure above the brow. HoloLens 2 uses laser light to illuminate the display.
Take the following steps to ensure the highest visual quality of holograms presented in displays:
Increase brightness of the display. Holograms look best when the display is at its brightest level. When wearing the HoloLens, the brightness buttons are on the left side of the visor near your temple.
Bring visor closer to your eyes. Swing the visor down to the closest position to your eyes.
Shift visor down. Try moving the brow pad on your forehead down, which will result in the visor moving down closer to your nose.
Run eye calibration. The display uses your interpupillary distance (IPD) and eye gaze to optimize images on the display. If you don't run eye calibration, the image quality may be made worse. To run eye calibration, go to Settings > System > Calibration > Run eye calibration.
Run display color calibration. On Windows Holographic, version 21H1 and onwards, you can select an alternative color profile for your HoloLens 2 display. This may help colors appear more accurate, especially at lower display brightness levels. Display color calibration can be found in the Settings app, on the System > Calibration page.
Note
Because this setting saves a new color profile to your display firmware, it is a per-device setting (and not unique to each user account).
Launch the Settings app and navigate to System > Calibration.
Under Display color calibration, select the Run display color calibration button.
The display color calibration experience will launch and encourage you to make sure your visor is in the correct position.
After you proceed through the instruction dialog boxes, your display will automatically be dimmed to 30% brightness.
Tip
If you're having trouble seeing the dimmed scene in your environment, you can manually adjust the brightness level of HoloLens 2 using the brightness buttons on the left side of the device.
Select buttons 1-6 to instantly try out each color profile, and find one that looks the best to your eyes (this usually means the profile that helps the scene appear most neutral, with the grayscale pattern and skin tones looking as expected.)
When you're happy with the selected profile, select the Save & Exit button
If you prefer not to make changes, select the Cancel & Exit button and your changes will be reverted
Tip
Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind while using the display color calibration setting:
If you're unhappy with the custom color profile saved to your HoloLens 2, you can restore the device's original color profile:
Occasionally, your HoloLens 2 will show different patterns in the bottom left and right corners of the display. Examples are shown below (animated GIFs). This pattern is part of the normal operation of your HoloLens 2 device to calibrate the display for optimum experience.
The HoloLens 2 display is designed to be viewed by the human eye. The device has an active color correction system that adapts to a user's eyes. Compared to the human eye, cameras see environments differently and below are some factors that may impact any inconsistency between what a camera captures and what a user sees.
All said, it is still possible for specialized industrial cameras to capture representative images from the HoloLens 2 display. Unfortunately, smartphone, consumer, and professional cameras will not capture images that match what a user sees on HoloLens 2.
The HoloLens 2 display actively color corrects images based on the position of the user's eyes. Eye calibration provides two important inputs: (1) the user's interpupillary distance (IPD), and (2) the direction each eye is looking. Without eye calibration, the system defaults to a nominal eye position with no eye movement. The difference between active color correction versus no correction depends on the user's physiology themselves. For example, users that have the same IPD as the system default will see fewer color correction improvements. While users that have a much narrower or wider IPD than the system default will see more changes to the display image.
Note, a new feature in Windows Holographic version 20H2 will start automatically detecting eye position.
Among the top requests customers gave Microsoft after experiencing HoloLens 1 was (1) increase the field-of-view and (2) increase the brightness. Technology developments allowed Microsoft to produce waveguides that doubled the field-of-view's area and produce light projectors with a display that are up to three times brighter. The hardware sets the baseline for a trio of tradeoffs for the display image quality: (1) field-of-view, (2) brightness, and (3) color uniformity. Continued technology advancement allows improvements in all areas without sacrificing another area. In the interim, the existing technology sets the limits available for these tradeoffs.
While we have many investigations underway to improve image quality, the following areas are expected to arrive in upcoming updates:
Operating system updates are delivered automatically. You can also test early releases of software improvement through the insider preview program.
Users will have the best experience when avoiding white backgrounds. Dark mode is a design principle used by apps to use black or dark colored backgrounds. The system settings default to dark mode and can be adjusted by going to Settings > System > Color.
Developers are advised to follow dark mode design guidance:
When a hologram requires a white background, keep the size of the hologram smaller than the display's full field of view. This size allows users to put the hologram in the center of the display.
Use a microfiber cloth to gently wipe the visor. To sanitize the visor, use 70% isopropyl alcohol to lightly moisten a cloth then wipe the visor. Read full guidance in the HoloLens 2 cleaning FAQ.
Training
Learning path
HoloLens 2 fundamentals: develop mixed reality applications - Training
Learn about the best practices for developing Azure-enabled mixed reality applications with the Mixed Reality Toolkit.