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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Oculus Rift/HTC Vive / VR in general?

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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

Well, currently there are already issues with pushing 4k content out to people, future versions of VR, for streaming will require even more.

Content wise I think it will be there.
 





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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

An even more basic application I see potential for, is simply being able to use the theater mode for games an older media/movies. I mean how many of us wouldn't mind playing a game on a perceived screen the size of an Imax?
 
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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

It depends on the type of game or movie. Something like that would be great for flight sims.
 
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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

I spent spent sometime last night using it to do something completely mundane. Specifically streaming netflix.

The app places you into a ski lodge, and you use netflix on a you would on a smart tv, moving your head around to browse.

What impressed me was the relative size of the virtual tv, which to me simulated a roughly 120" tv (guessing on size here). Combined with noise cancelling headphones, and the surrounding "virtual" area dimming, it makes for an interesting experience, with the only downside being the resolution. It's still vastly superior to the tv's most of us grew up with, but a far cry from 1080 or 4k resolution.

The only somewhat annoying part was that due to position tracking I couldn't lie down on my bed, or I'd end up staring at a virtual ceiling. Hopefully a future app update can address this, allowing the screen location to be re-centered, because a ceiling mounter tv, facing down, even a virtual one would be very comfy.

I hope we also see development of the ability to store content locally, for example the virtual theater modes would be absolutely fantastic for use on flights... plug in, and while a tad cramped you're in a movie theater watching a movie, instead of on a flight :D

Two things in VR that I see as potential pitfalls, one small, one big;

Lenses - even on the gear vr, the lenses already feel somewhat dirty to me after just ~3 hours of use.

Wires. With headphones on, even with it's limited resolution, and screen door effect, you do end up completely isolated from your environment. Viewing 360 degree phones I did swivel completely around many many times. Not exactly an option if you're hooked up to a computer. Which means that future vr systems will need to be better prepared to shift the environment around, hopefully tracking eye movement, and not just head movement, so as to not require a person to twirl around in one spot. I think simply adding an input for movement via a controller would go a very long way to address this.
 
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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

I'll give it a shot. Don't really have any videos on my phone.

#1 gripe with the Samsung Note 5 - no SD expansion slot. My phone upgrade was somewhat unplanned, and I was limited to 32gb... unfortunately leaving me with only a measly 5gb of free memory left.

Is google cardboard worth the hassle, compared to gear vr? Going to see if I can load google cardboard using VR somehow.
 
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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

I have not tried Gear VR, but from what I've heard it is a lot better than cardboard, with it's on-board gyro and such n such. And I think that standard cardboard apps may also work on it - they both still work very similarly.
 
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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

I've been doing some reading, and apparently by default cardboard apps can't be used on the Rift. There is of course a workaround for this, which involves a $1.50 app, to disable the oculus app from launching when it's inserted into the gear.

Review consensus seems to be that the gear is A LOT better vs the google cardboard. So I'm not gonna bother with buying a cardboard, but will explore how to run those apps.

Thinking of picking up a controller to give some games a shot, but decent controller is not super cheap.
 
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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

I was not talking about the rift on the previous two posts, but yeah, I think there is some kind of pass-tru thing you can do for Gear VR which lets you connect it to your PC, basically turning it in to a "rift". Not really though.
 
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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

Ahh, my bad, I meant the Gear, not the rift in my post. Have been reading so much about the two that I'm mixing them up.

There is way to run google cardboard apps with the gear... going to give it a shot once I get through trying more of the default gear content.

Another potential use I see for VR systems is with virtual offices... especially with the current trend of open offices (which my company uses) there is definitely a demand for some isolation to get work done at times.
 
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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

In case you didn't; Install the Google cardboard app first, and then install misc cardboard apps. It acts like a launcher for the misc cardboard apps.

Ones we have VR using 4K, or even 8K panels, virtual desktops will allow you to have any number virtual screens around you in HD. Stock brokers will surly love it.
 
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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

Will definitely make sure to do that.

This is more of a product design criticism, but the gear vr gets quite warm... and makes for a warm experience inside. Would have been nice if they built in a small fan to provide some ventilation for both the phone, and the user. My eyebrows as it turns out, swear a bit :p

After doing a lot of reading today, I'm both excited by the prospects of what is possible, and somewhat disappointed by current technology... much more limited or mobile vr solutions will definitely drive adoption, not oculus or vive which will remain too niche.

Hopefully the cellphone/tablet manufacturers will begin to consider VR as an important feature in the future though. Given the development that HTC is putting in, I would be very very suprised if we didn't eventually see some Gear VR analog for their flagship phones.
 
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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

VR for phones is an afterthought. It's just by pure coincidence that Oculus started the reboot in 2012 (from way back in the 80-90's) of VR with PC hardware, meanwhile while current phones just also happened to have the necessary capabilities to also do VR. But the limitations are clear when comparing it to an enthusiast gaming PC, which is what proper VR like Oculus is Vive is made for.
 
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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

It may have been an afterthought, but I expect it could outpace adoption vs more advanced systems like Vive, and Oculus. At the very least it's acting as an amazing proof of concept.

Granted the Oculus is miles ahead in almost every way, except the wires, it's still a minimum investment of $1300 right now in the US, to get one, without any content. (Absolute cheapest I can see building a PC without peripherals to run it, and and getting the headset.) With the controllers, probably $1600, and another couple hundred for games and videos.

If the technology is to be embraced by all, it has to come as more of a self contained unit, and it will absolutely have to become wireless. For many people their phones are also already their most powerful devices, and require only an addon or two to function. IMO, from a marketing/sales standpoint, it would be easier to convince people to spend an extra $200-300 spread over a two year contract, on upgrading their phone some more, vs getting them to invest 2k on a more dedicated system.
 
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Re: Oculus Rift / Samsung Gear / VR in general?

Oculus will ship with two VR specific games: 'Eve Valkyrie' and 'Lucky's tale'. It is unknown if Vive will ship with anything, but if they want to stay competitive, I expect they will. Software company Valve will host a content showcase on jan 28, where at least 10 games will be featured. And expect more to come soon after release for both headsets. So don't worry about content.

If I would compare just the hardware capability for the main VR tech available as a vehicle, it would be something like this:

Google cardboard: a bicycle
Gear VR: a moped
PlayStation VR: a smart car
Oculus: a sedan
Vive: a sedan, with all the extras

Oculus is the most known, but not as capable as the Vive. Mainly it fall behind in tracking. You'll mostly be limited to sitting/standing, facing the tracking camera. And it don't ship with controllers. Vive track the whole space in the room, using laser beacons (yay lasers), which work well even at larger distance, where a camera loses it's resolution. Not to mention the extra load it is on the CPU to run an HD camera. If you want controllers and an extra camera for room tracking with Oculus, then you have to wait til summer and make a second order, effectively doubling the shipping cost.
 
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