The future of VR

[Dawelio]

Hey guys,

Since I've seen some rather interesting posts and discussions regarding VR, I thought maybe a thread is in order... Now pardon me if one already exists though.

One thing regarding VR that I have seen that bugs me is the speakers, they seem to be on top of your ears. Like some cheap Skype compatible headset and not over the ears, such as most gaming headsets these days.

As personally, I get fetique (?) and my ears starts to hurt a bit after using that kind of a headset after some time.

And lastly, for me personally, I have mixed feelings regarding VR and less it's future. I see it's purpose, place, functionality and it's potential. Although, I don't quite see if it's something that appeals to me or will.

 

[SuB]

If you're talking about the oculus ones, they're removable. and as they're on a headband, they don't actually put much pressure or cause fatigue to your ears at all tbh.

I would still opt for removing them and using a proper set of headphones.

As for the future, as game devs / software devs get better with the tech and the concept, games and software will only improve, even from a productivity/training point of view the possibilities are pretty boundless tbh.

The thing with it is, unless you pop a headset on someone's head and SHOW them how it FEELS it's quite difficult to explain the experience, you really have to try it to feel what it does to your brain and your senses when setup properly. It's really another level... 3D stuff is 'okay' but you don't get that sense of being there like you do with VR.

As it gets cheaper and drives the GPU market back into actually giving us more power in multiplications instead of percentages it's only a good thing for the consumer, far too long has the GPU market stagnated with 10% increases instead of the good old days where they were almost doubling power every release... I get the why, but VR could be the push we need to drive the power needs back up.

 

[AlienALX]

Maybe call this the VR thread?

I need some help. Ages ago I bought a headset for my new phone. Phone is a Oppo Find 7a 1080p 5.5". So after doing some digging I got this.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01D2OKB5O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

Holding a cardboard thing to my head did not seem ideal, plus I wanted to be able to lie in bed and watch movies using the cinema app I paid for. And the app works well, but I can not control it because I am missing the button on the cardboard :S

Does any one know of a controller that will work with it? I have a Razer controller that does not. I just need the go button basically so I can launch films etc without having to keep taking it out.

 

[Warchild]

Maybe call this the VR thread?

I need some help. Ages ago I bought a headset for my new phone. Phone is a Oppo Find 7a 1080p 5.5". So after doing some digging I got this.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01D2OKB5O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

Holding a cardboard thing to my head did not seem ideal, plus I wanted to be able to lie in bed and watch movies using the cinema app I paid for. And the app works well, but I can not control it because I am missing the button on the cardboard :S

Does any one know of a controller that will work with it? I have a Razer controller that does not. I just need the go button basically so I can launch films etc without having to keep taking it out.

If its Android, any blue tooth controller should work. The new Xbox S are supposed to be wireless and also bluetooth.

If you run a google search on blue tooth controllers you should get a nice list. But none of them are cheap.

 

[AlienALX]

If its Android, any blue tooth controller should work. The new Xbox S are supposed to be wireless and also bluetooth.

If you run a google search on blue tooth controllers you should get a nice list. But none of them are cheap.

I've got two and neither worked. I have a Razer Serval (name escaped me earlier !) and a Mad Catz C.T.R.L or whatever they called it. Neither seemed to work.

Edit, just tried again. So the CTRLR would work because it has mouse mode. However, the Bluetooth on it does not work so I would have to use an OTG. The problem then is I can not have the phone charging and VR eats the battery flat in about 15 mins (phone gets quite hot too).

The Serval only works as a game controller, and whilst it does allow you to move around the phone and launch apps it becomes redundant once the app has launched. However I did just notice that the VR cinema has been updated, and if you look at something for more than a second it starts a 3 second auto launch. I would look like a moron moving my head around in bed though..

What I want to get is something like this.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wireless-B...8&qid=1480606707&sr=8-1&keywords=bluetooth+vr

Which works like a mouse, allowing you to trigger apps and so on. Not expensive either..

The only bummer about VR on a phone is that your eyes are about 3" from the screen, so any finger marks on the screen are amplified. You literally need to steralise the screen before using it :S

Will order that one soon, and some proper alcohol wipes. Even a spec of lint is very visible.

 

[Warchild]

I've got two and neither worked. I have a Razer Serval (name escaped me earlier !) and a Mad Catz C.T.R.L or whatever they called it. Neither seemed to work.

Edit, just tried again. So the CTRLR would work because it has mouse mode. However, the Bluetooth on it does not work so I would have to use an OTG. The problem then is I can not have the phone charging and VR eats the battery flat in about 15 mins (phone gets quite hot too).

The Serval only works as a game controller, and whilst it does allow you to move around the phone and launch apps it becomes redundant once the app has launched. However I did just notice that the VR cinema has been updated, and if you look at something for more than a second it starts a 3 second auto launch. I would look like a moron moving my head around in bed though..

What I want to get is something like this.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wireless-B...8&qid=1480606707&sr=8-1&keywords=bluetooth+vr

Which works like a mouse, allowing you to trigger apps and so on. Not expensive either..

The only bummer about VR on a phone is that your eyes are about 3" from the screen, so any finger marks on the screen are amplified. You literally need to steralise the screen before using it :S

Will order that one soon, and some proper alcohol wipes. Even a spec of lint is very visible.

good to know because I almost invested in one. I guess ill be more skeptical about them now.

 

[Davva2004]

I've got the Galaxy S7 Edge and got the Gear VR headset with it, and tbh when it arrived I thought it would be a bit if a one hit wonder.

Then I installed Gunjack, and had my mind blown.

Then I watched 3D movies on a screen that appears to be about fifty feet wide, and had it blown again.

Then I took some photosphere photos and viewed them in the headset, yup blown.

And this is on a phone. So yes you get a bit of screen door effect that you notice for the first ten seconds or so, and then it goes out your mind completely.

I'm totally converted, and I'm planning a pc build for VR including the Oculus Rift as my favourite game right now is Elite Dangerous and the thought of playing it in fully immersive 3D gives me goosebumps.

 

[AlienALX]

Yeah the cinema type apps are amazing. The one I have allows you to pick which seat you want in the cinema lol. You then watch it from there

 

[Dawelio]

Sucks it's only for Samsung phones (Android) as far as I understand?... Like I don't Apple and iPhone has this right?.

 

[AlienALX]

Sucks it's only for Samsung phones (Android) as far as I understand?... Like I don't Apple and iPhone has this right?.

Iphone 5 and onward works with VR too. Needs to be at least 1080p though, and ideally 1440p. Remember it splits in half, so you get half per eye. Expect the phone to get hot and battery life to suck too.

 

[Dawelio]

Iphone 5 and onward works with VR too. Needs to be at least 1080p though, and ideally 1440p. Remember it splits in half, so you get half per eye. Expect the phone to get hot and battery life to suck too.

I own an iPhone 6 atm

 

[Warchild]

I own an iPhone 6 atm

iphone has some VR capabilities, after all its only through clever usage of a gyroscope. And considering how accurate their cute little spirit level is on the iphone, it does make you wonder why they havent pushed this further. The tech is there for them, but it seems they prefer sending out new derivatives of phones with very little changes.

 

[Davva2004]

Apple have been hiring vr experts like mad, and now that Google have fully launched their vr offering with Pixel and Daydream you can expect to see iVR very soon.

 

[SuB]

[...]you can expect to see iVR very soon.

Which will of course require a dongle, have no 3.5mm audio jack, and won't come with the necessary adapter to make it work with any existing display outputs for HDMI, DVI or DisplayPort, and probably only have a single USB-C port that requires a 3 way splitter to do anything of value.

It will cost 4 times the price of anything else on the market, and be machined from a single billet of aluminium and come with a 30 minute launch speech from Jony Ives on how much they innovated, how this is the 'Best VR Experience... ever made'

It will come in a non-descript, canvas covered white box with a black Apple logo on it that when you look at it with the iVR will show a 3D representation of the Apple logo, sliced into the original rainbow colours, that you can interact with in the virtual world to make the logo.

 

[Davva2004]

It's almost like you work for Apple, that's so spookily accurate.

 

[Dawelio]

It's almost like you work for Apple, that's so spookily accurate.

He does, in secret

 

[AlienALX]

Just ordered my VR button/remote. I am thinking of retiring my Android phone into the VR headset and going back to my Blackberry. Nearly a year in and I still can't stand stabbing a glass screen to type.

My wife has been getting on my back recently for watching TV in bed too late. So I will just use the headset for that I think.

 

[AlienALX]

So basically VR on my phone was a bust for a few reasons. Firstly it got too hot and throttled very quickly. Secondly getting the phone clean enough so that I didn't have specs/smudges in front of me was incredibly difficult and I did not have a USB cable long enough to make it viable.

Also, the remote I bought was just as crap as the controllers I tried. None of them would trigger. It also refused to allow me to calibrate it so that I could lie on my back and watch movies for example. I had to sit bolt upright, really annoying.

So I gave up on that.

Then today I was looking at a Deepoon E2 which apparently is a reasonably decent VR headset. However, it costs over £200 and comes with some pretty severe caveats.

Then I found out that for some reason there is a flood of DK2 kits on Ebay for around £160. Like loads of them, seems some one had a clearout. Brand new with the motion camera etc.

I chucked in an offer of £140 expecting it to be refused but to my delight it was accepted.

Desperately trying to keep my desk tidy I got this.

So yeah, I'm ready. I will report back once it's all set up and give my opinions etc

 

[AlienALX]

It's amazing. It really is.