The Quest is subsidized, swinging the other way with the S which partnered Lenovo to streamline the cost.
First VR headset
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The Quest is subsidized, swinging the other way with the S which partnered Lenovo to streamline the cost.
Now there are games like Alyx being released my trusty Vive has started to be used again almost everyday but I highly recommend getting a tether free Headset as I use my Vive with the wireless adaptor and I'd struggle to go back to a cable!
So 2nd hand Vive + Wireless adaptor would be a good choice.
If the index controllers were closer to £100 I'd also buy them in preference to the standard Vive controllers.
So 2nd hand Vive + Wireless adaptor would be a good choice.
If the index controllers were closer to £100 I'd also buy them in preference to the standard Vive controllers.
The display is slightly better but absolutely not night and day. I upgraded for the inside-out tracking (which works well). If you already have a 3 sensor setup and no issues with tracking I would say it's not worth it.
The big issue with the Rift S is there are too many compromises compared to the original CV1.
No IPD adjust, 80hz, and very poor sound quality. A massive jump in screen clarity and reduced SDE, but at the cost of less vibrant colours and grey blacks.
Also the new touch controllers, while great, are not as ergonomic or robust as the CV1 controllers.
If Oculus had produced a CV1 with higher resolution, keeping the same form factor and sound solution I'd have gone for that over an Index, or even if the Rift S had IPD adjust and decent sound.
It's still the best 'budget' PC only headset by far though. The Index is not worth over double the cost of a Rift S, but unfortunately it's just about the only decent high-end VR system around these days. There''s definitely a gap in the market between the £400 and the £1000 VR systems.
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I will be paying interest in this headset, But for now the best all rounder is the rift S. I have a Vive Pro which gathers dust now might sell it. The rift is less of a hassle than pluging everything in to start , its always ready on a whim. The lenses are far better despite the resolution pixel difference the rift S for me is clearer. For instance I can read the truck gages in ETS ATS much better in the rift S and rely on this rather than the pop up hud now for information ect. Looking out the right mirror is a lot better, In the Pro you have to engage the sweet spot more and, turn your head more accuratly to focus on it, with the rift I can glance cause it does not have to be that perfect as overal the entire lens is more clear. It makes playing that game a joy.
Im not a fan of the first HP the sweetspot is to narrow for me. Iv never tried the Index yet but I dont think the clarity would be much noticable above the rift s looking at all the comparison videos. I would gain a welcome few FPS extra but all that godrays and less sweetspot would make it harder work to live with.
Im not a fan of the first HP the sweetspot is to narrow for me. Iv never tried the Index yet but I dont think the clarity would be much noticable above the rift s looking at all the comparison videos. I would gain a welcome few FPS extra but all that godrays and less sweetspot would make it harder work to live with.
For me it was a massive upgrade, and I came from a 4 sensor setup.
The clarity of the screen is just so much better. Once I tried the Rift S, I couldn't go back to the Rift.
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I am confused about how these headsets tether to the PC. I understand some use HDMI, some use USB and some use wireless.
The GPU in the PC obviously pushes pixels over HDMI. If the same graphical power can be pushed over USB or over a wireless connection, then why in the hell do we still have to have thick HDMI or DP cables running to our monitors?? Why don't these modern GPUs use wireless directly or USB connections??
Google tells me the bandwidth of HDMI is almost 10 times that of USB 3, and a hundred times that of wifi. How then, can these headsets run like this?
The GPU in the PC obviously pushes pixels over HDMI. If the same graphical power can be pushed over USB or over a wireless connection, then why in the hell do we still have to have thick HDMI or DP cables running to our monitors?? Why don't these modern GPUs use wireless directly or USB connections??
Google tells me the bandwidth of HDMI is almost 10 times that of USB 3, and a hundred times that of wifi. How then, can these headsets run like this?
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I must admit I've never had sweetspot issues with my Vive Pro (or OG Vive before that). I suspect it's because I use prescription lens inserts - it all looks very clear edge to edge. Some say the Gear lens mod is fantastic, but I'm way too nervous to open my headset and let contaminates into the display box 
(plus I see no need).
I would have thought the Rift S is closer to a sidegrade than an outright upgrade, but I guess it depends on what you consider more important in terms of features. Personally I value colours and blacks that OLED delivers as more important than resolution and FoV... but that's just me
(plus I see no need).I would have thought the Rift S is closer to a sidegrade than an outright upgrade, but I guess it depends on what you consider more important in terms of features. Personally I value colours and blacks that OLED delivers as more important than resolution and FoV... but that's just me
No Physical IPD adjustment. This is a problem for some people and it's a shame that they didn't include one.
80Hz - not an issue, the low persistence lens of the Rift S more than make up for the 10hz drop.
Very Poor sound Quality - I disagree, Yes, it's not quite as good as the Rift, but, it's not bad at all. (I think this entirely depends on how the headset fits on you)
Grey Blacks- yes this is true, the problems of going with LCD screens.
The controllers, yes, they aren't as robust as the original ones, but, they are still fine to hold.
For me, there is only one thing that I miss from the Rift Civ 1 and that's the black levels.
I guess the controllers aren't going to be a problem as he only plays Elite
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Elite will be massively better on the Rift S than the CV1. Much higher apparent resolution due to the sub-pixel layout, and god rays are almost non-existent. The main difference is the grey blacks, and after playing Elite on the Index, which has similar black levels, this isn't really a big issue in Elite.
I have the game and tried it on both headsets. The clarity in the game on the Rift S is amazing. But, the black levels aren't as good.
Is there anything annoying you at the moment about what you have? God Rays? Reading the ships screens?
Educated guess here - I have the rift and the index and both connect via HDMI so would guess all wired headsets connect this way
For the wireless adapter the transmitter connects to HDMI
The quest connects to a PC via USB-C but has its own processing power as is it is portable so maybe does not need HDMI connection aswell?
Index and Rift S connect via displayport, as they need the higher bandwidth.
The hardware on the Quest doesn't have the capability to use HDMI or display port, so the link cable uses USB3 (can be a type A or a Type C connector) and video compression to get the video down to a manageable bandwidth which adds latency and some compression artefacts. It uses a technique called 'sliced encoding' to make this possible. It actually works amazingly well, and gives a much clearer image than the Rift CV1, though it's a little soft.
The hardware on the Quest doesn't have the capability to use HDMI or display port, so the link cable uses USB3 (can be a type A or a Type C connector) and video compression to get the video down to a manageable bandwidth which adds latency and some compression artefacts. It uses a technique called 'sliced encoding' to make this possible. It actually works amazingly well, and gives a much clearer image than the Rift CV1, though it's a little soft.
Issues with Reading ships screens and "bloom?" if thats the correct phrase. Feels like the screens need a good clean
Anyone noticed if motion sickness is any better with the Rift S.. It has been a while since I played it and surface mission used to knock me sick
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Hmm i mean we are talking pixel counts higher than 1080p with all these headsets, so its hard to believe that any connection other than HDMI/DP direct to a good GPU is going to give monitor equivalent quality?
How do these visuals compare to looking at a sharp monitor image?
I watched a youtube video of assetto corsa and the guy was talking about how far away he could read the brake distance marker numbers on the track. With a monitor he could see them from hundreds of meters away and with a headset (can't recall which one), it was about 100m. However what i thought was, well how well could i see the distance markers when driving a real car in real life with my contact lenses in! Because the whole point of VR is realism and my eyes aren't pin sharp at hundreds of metres away in real life.
How do these visuals compare to looking at a sharp monitor image?
I watched a youtube video of assetto corsa and the guy was talking about how far away he could read the brake distance marker numbers on the track. With a monitor he could see them from hundreds of meters away and with a headset (can't recall which one), it was about 100m. However what i thought was, well how well could i see the distance markers when driving a real car in real life with my contact lenses in! Because the whole point of VR is realism and my eyes aren't pin sharp at hundreds of metres away in real life.
Only headsets like the Valve Index or HP reverb get anywhere close to a monitor image, but even then they're not as sharp. The main issue with headsets is the Screen Door Effect (SDE) where you can see the black gap between pixels. This is massively reduced on the latest LCD screen headsets, though it's still there if you actively look for it. In normal gameplay you don't notice it.
Another issue is that you're rendering dual displays which requires more GPU and CPU power, so you can't run as high detail or draw distances as on a 2D screen, unless you have a monster PC (and sometimes even monster PCs have issues).
This video will give you an more of an idea of what to expect.
Another issue is that you're rendering dual displays which requires more GPU and CPU power, so you can't run as high detail or draw distances as on a 2D screen, unless you have a monster PC (and sometimes even monster PCs have issues).
This video will give you an more of an idea of what to expect.
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thanks Ill give that a watch.
Whats the more important thing here...is it absolute quality or is it realism? because as i said above, our eyes in real life are not pin sharp at long distance, far from it. Surely to see monitor sharpness at any distance would not be realistic?
Whats the more important thing here...is it absolute quality or is it realism? because as i said above, our eyes in real life are not pin sharp at long distance, far from it. Surely to see monitor sharpness at any distance would not be realistic?
If those problems are annoying you, then yes, the Rift S would be worth buying. No "Bloom" and much easier to read the screens.
Motion sickness might be a little bit less because the lens are better for motion blur and because it's 80hz instead of 90hz it's easier to maintain your frame rate above the refresh rate.
But, the only real way to stop motion sickness is to get used to it. So do a surface mission, but the second you notice yourself feeling a bit nauseous, Stop playing. Take off the headset and take a break for a while. Then try again. Over time you will find yourself staying longer and longer in VR before feeling sick.