Anybody else pre-order an Oculus Rift?

[wayner]

I am not really a hard core gamer but the OR looks very cool. I wonder if you could even just output regular PC video into the OR?

[reggie14]

I think its going to be too heavy to want to wear for regular PC use or for watching videos.

Still, I was going to buy one when I thought it was ~$350. I'm not shelling out $600 for it, though.

[wayner]

And you need a pretty fast PC. The hardware that I was going to use for my new SageTV server would fit the bill if I want to repurpose it - I would just have to add a ~$300 video card.

[KarylFStein]

I thought I was. In fact my last computer upgrade was built with that in mind, (although I've been waiting for the GTX970s to come down a little more in price before upgrading the video). The $600 pricetag kept me away from the preorder, though.

I received a Gear VR for Christmas. It's a pretty neat experience and ate up several hours of vacation time, (time I had planned to use upgrading to SageTV v9...) It's also really funny to watch someone else playing something on it . But it is a phone strapped to your head and you can tell. Even with the flaws it can be pretty immersive, though.

I'd really like to see what a "desktop" VR rig can do, but will wait until prices get lower.

[Fuzzy]

I used a crude HMD back in 1996 to play mechwarrior 2 on, and thoroughly enjoyed it then. Compelely immersive, at 320x480 (or something like that) per eye... can just imagine what a modern piece could do. But for $600, it's certainly not something I'm likely to even look at. Honestly, I doubt I could justify spending $300 on it.

[mikejaner]

I ordered one, and I am on the fence about keeping it. I knew that the preorders would be in great demand, as showing by the now June Ship date (yeah I know the conspiracy stuff about holding back supplies etc....), but I have been wanting to do VR for a long time. I just looked on Ebay and they are listing for well over $1000, holy crap I will just put it on Ebay if I come to my senses in the next few months.

[mikejaner]

Originally Posted by wayner

I am not really a hard core gamer but the OR looks very cool. I wonder if you could even just output regular PC video into the OR?

From what I have been reading, they have tons of stuff already, not related to games. One of those is a virtual theater you can watch your movie files with.

[stuckless]

I'll probably never buy a Rift at $600US, but, it is interesting, for sure. I'm not interested in games, though.

I bought a google cardboard (a premium one for $30), and last summer when I on vacation, I took all my photos using the google photosphere camera to create 360 degree photos. Re-watching (or re-living) these photos using Google Cardboard is amazing, and so immersive. I can only imagine how much better a $600 device will be.

I normally hate bringing out the "vacation" photos, since no one, except yourself, really wants to see them But in this case, I had a line-up of people wanting to view my summer experiences. It's funny watching them trying to walk while looking at the photos

I recall 20 years ago being a hobbyies of "VR" and buddy of mine made his own HMD. It was cool then, and the graphics were crap Fast Forward 20 years, and it's back in style.... Like JavaScript and probably soon, bell bottom pants

[Taddeusz]

Until the devices are not as bulky and the prices come down significantly this stuff is going to remain the niche it has historically been.

The same goes for Microsoft's HoloLens. I believe both products are doomed. I think the technology just isn't small enough or cheap enough to make it compelling for the wider public. Microsoft might have enough money to keep their product alive but I don't know that Oculus will be able to be profitable.

3D television faced a similar problem. People just didn't want to wear the glasses. And the viewing requirements were just too stringent. That and the media was limited. But it just wasn't as convenient as popping in or streaming something. So now there are very few if any new 3D tv's on the market and the media has all but gone away. Very few people still care about 3D tv.

For now I think VR and 3D media are solutions looking for a problem. For the vast majority people, me included, are happy with flat media. They are neat ideas but not really practical for everyday use.

[wayner]

The other issue is having a PC powerful enough. The requirements are:

• i5 4590 CPU or better (apparently AMD CPUs aren't good for some reason)
• Nvidia 970 or AMD R9 290 video card
• 8GB of RAM
• 3 USB 3.0 ports and 1 USB 2.0 port (and it doesn't like certain USB 3.0 ports)
• Win7 64 bit

I am not a gamer so I have been happy with the integrated GPUs of recent gen Intel CPUs and have built some systems with mini ITX mobos. When I run the Oculus compatibility tool it doesn't like the USB 3.0 ports in one of my PCs. This is easily fixed with a $25 USB 3.0 PCIe card, but the issue is that mini-ITX cards only have one PCIe slot and that is needed for a discrete video card.

I have another system that is a few years old and the CPU is a bit too slow for the Rift - is a i5-2500K. I could OC the CPU from 3.3GHz to 4.5GHz except my mobo doesn't allow OC'ing. I could also buy a faster CPU. The problem is that it is hard to find socket 1155 CPUs or motherboards since they are no longer made and you have to pay a premium for them. And it is really worth spending $200-$300 to upgrade a four year old system - although it is plenty fast for everything other than gaming.

I have just built a fast PC as my SageTV9 server of the future. It has everything required except for the video card. But I want to use that for Sage - it is a bit overspec'ed but I figure it is a good investment if it is going to last 5+ years, especially if we have to transcode for some uses.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

For now I think VR and 3D media are solutions looking for a problem. For the vast majority people, me included, are happy with flat media. They are neat ideas but not really practical for everyday use.

I agree regarding 3D but I think VR is different since it completely immerses you in the experience. I guess we will have to wait and see.

And while 3D is dead in the home it appears to be thriving at the theatres - of those of you that have seen Star Wars TFA - how many saw the 2D version? Here in Toronto there are about five theatres showing it in 3D for every one in 2D.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

For now I think VR and 3D media are solutions looking for a problem. For the vast majority people, me included, are happy with flat media. They are neat ideas but not really practical for everyday use.

3D movies you're still watching the same movie. VR games, however, are a completely different experience, and if I HAD $600 for my gaming budget, I probably WOULD get the rift, even if all i played was Eve: Valkarie.

Originally Posted by wayner

The other issue is having a PC powerful enough. The requirements are:

• i5 4590 CPU or better (apparently AMD CPUs aren't good for some reason)
• Nvidia 970 or AMD R9 290 video card
• 8GB of RAM
• 3 USB 3.0 ports and 1 USB 2.0 port (and it doesn't like certain USB 3.0 ports)
• Win7 64 bit

I am not a gamer so I have been happy with the integrated GPUs of recent gen Intel CPUs and have built some systems with mini ITX mobos. When I run the Oculus compatibility tool it doesn't like the USB 3.0 ports in one of my PCs. This is easily fixed with a $25 USB 3.0 PCIe card, but the issue is that mini-ITX cards only have one PCIe slot and that is needed for a discrete video card.

Those specs are far below the typical gaming PC for any gamer who might even have an inkling of spending $600 on the rift.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Those specs are far below the typical gaming PC for any gamer who might even have an inkling of spending $600 on the rift.

True if you have a new gaming PC from the last couple of years but it still may be an issue for a non-gamer (like me) who is curious to try out VR. The Oculus forums are full of people asking how to get within the specs and how much worse the experience will be if their video card or CPU is slightly below these specs.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by wayner

True if you have a new gaming PC from the last couple of years but it still may be an issue for a non-gamer (like me) who is curious to try out VR. The Oculus forums are full of people asking how to get within the specs and how much worse the experience will be if their video card or CPU is slightly below these specs.

There will be plenty of opportunities to 'try out' an occulus rift. I wouldn't be surprised to see them rented, or available at gaming cafe's and the like. Many people have already tried them at game conventions and the like.

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by wayner

And while 3D is dead in the home it appears to be thriving at the theatres - of those of you that have seen Star Wars TFA - how many saw the 2D version? Here in Toronto there are about five theatres showing it in 3D for every one in 2D.

I purposely chose to see it in 2D... both times. I've never watched a 3D movie (ever, in theater or someone's home). The theaters around here seem to have about the same number of showings of SW:TFA in 3D and 2D, though I haven't really studied it to determine how many screens of each.

On the OT, the guy who sits next to me at work ordered a $600 OR. He's a serious gamer. He recently bought a new high-end gaming rig (won't say what it cost but he smiled and said "a lot"), to ensure he has the specs for it.

[wayner]

With the recent launch of the Oculus Touch controllers I have been using my Oculus Rift a bit more. It is kind of cool to watch stuff on SageTV in a virtual theatre, but to do this most efficiently the UI has to work with a mouse which isn't always the case with Sage and Gemstone.

[jusjoken]

Originally Posted by wayner

With the recent launch of the Oculus Touch controllers I have been using my Oculus Rift a bit more. It is kind of cool to watch stuff on SageTV in a virtual theatre, but to do this most efficiently the UI has to work with a mouse which isn't always the case with Sage and Gemstone.

One of my goals with Gemstone 2 is consistent mouse and hopefully touch control...not there yet though

k

[wayner]

I can test on both a Windows 10 tablet and via a VR environment on the Oculus.

[jusjoken]

Originally Posted by wayner

I can test on both a Windows 10 tablet and via a VR environment on the Oculus.

Cool, but not close to a release yet. I have done a lot, but there is a lot more to do before i need testers.... but i will need testers eventually.

thanks
k