First VR headset

Ravenger · 11 Apr 2020 at 12:24

Vive Link box won't work for Rift S, as it's HDMI and Rift S used display port.

Best thing to do is to buy 1m or 2m USB3 and Display Port extension cables and cable tie them together. You may need active ones though for the Rift S. I extended my CV1 cable by 2m and it worked fine, and made it much easier to untangle the cables after each session as you just unplug from the extensions rather than having to go back behind the PC.

Ravenger · 11 Apr 2020 at 12:27

Oops posted twice. Ignore.

ArmitageShanks · 11 Apr 2020 at 13:30

danlightbulb said:
If I buy one its going to be the rift s though. Is the vive link box or index breakaway connector a generic extender or is it specific to that device?

On the Vive it's specific unfortunately. Not sure about the Index. As Ravenger says, you'll need some extensions, possibly active ones.

danlightbulb · 11 Apr 2020 at 13:43

Ah found one. Decent price surprisingly.

Edit - oops forgot i couldnt post rainforest links...sorry...
Its Cable Matters displayport repeater £16.99.

Should be good for a few meters.

Would have to also get an active usb extender and probably tether it all together somehow to make an umbilical type arrangement.

danlightbulb · 18 Apr 2020 at 09:57

Well I bought a VR headset...

A £2.90 Google Cardboard knock off on the bay

I just wanted to see what the effect was like. Its works pretty well actually Im quite impressed. I can see why image quality is important.

danlightbulb · 18 Apr 2020 at 22:22

Where do you get movies that you can watch in VR from, if you either:

have a rift and need to run the movie from pc
or have a quest and either run it from pc wirelessly or load it onto the device

?

Ravenger · 19 Apr 2020 at 10:56

danlightbulb said:
Where do you get movies that you can watch in VR from, if you either:

have a rift and need to run the movie from pc

or have a quest and either run it from pc wirelessly or load it onto the device

?

Several options:
Use Amazon Prime, you Tube or Netflix Apps
Big Screen is having paid for screenings of 3D movies.

Personally I use commercially available software coupled with additional free software to convert my 3D Blurays into a format I can view on my Oculus Go, and watch them using Skybox in a huge virtual movie theatre.

Until the lockdown I'd been going around the second hand shops buying up every decent 3D blu-ray I could find, as they're getting harder to get hold of new. Ironic that as soon as 3D becomes less popular the best way to view them (VR) starts getting mainstream.

danlightbulb · 19 Apr 2020 at 11:44

@Ravenger thanks. I dont have any 3d bluerays. I dont currently have a netflix subscription (or any of the others) but I was planning to ditch virgin and get netflix instead. How good is the library of 3d films on there and is it part of the standard subscription?

I dont think i want a virtual cinema view, just to see the 3d films in fullscreen view. Does it work this way or only as a virtual cinema?

Ravenger · 19 Apr 2020 at 18:25

danlightbulb said:
@Ravenger thanks. I dont have any 3d bluerays. I dont currently have a netflix subscription (or any of the others) but I was planning to ditch virgin and get netflix instead. How good is the library of 3d films on there and is it part of the standard subscription?

I dont think i want a virtual cinema view, just to see the 3d films in fullscreen view. Does it work this way or only as a virtual cinema?

Unfortunately Netflix and Prime don't offer 3D movies via their streaming service. The only paid service I know that does currently is Big Screen (the app is free, but you pay to watch the movies).

All the streaming and video playback apps offer 'void mode' screens where there is no background and you can freely scale and move the screen.

danlightbulb · 20 Apr 2020 at 14:57

Thanks @Ravenger

Seems like the available content has a lot of room to grow still, which affects all headsets.

I'm still torn between the quest and rift S. The reviews are so mixed, with half the commentators saying quest and half saying rift s. Its a shame they couldn't produce a headset that has the picture quality of the rift S when tethered but then has the choice of being ran wirelessly using the inbuilt processing for a lower quality and to watch movies or more simpler games more freely. Its a shame not to be using the full power of a capable PC to push the unit when its tethered, and to have to rely on lower power on board processing when the tethered option is available.

I like the idea of using the quest as a more flexible unit when i don't want to be tied down to the pc, but I don't want to trade off quality for it.

As Im not able to try them out, can anyone express their opinions on the quality difference of the rift S and quest when tethered to a good pc playing proper FPS or racing games? Are we talking 10% difference or 50%?

Edit - another downside appears to be that the strap I would have been planning to buy to retrofit (the Vive Deluxe Strap) appears to be no longer available? This is crazy - why are there so many compromises, stock issues, discontinued products?? This was only released last year!