Rift/Vive VS WMR (Acer)

[Haggisman]

This is sort of a duplicate of a post I made on a thread in the PC gaming section but I was advised to ask here for a better response. I wasn't even aware of the WMR until the other thread, but from looking at the price it's tempting, however I have a few questions about how it compares to the Rift/Vive

Other than the external tracking, (which could be seen as a negative depending on how much space you have/want to dedicate to it) what advantages do the Rift/Vive have over WMR - specifically the Acer AH101 which is going for £200 right now, vs the £360 for the newest rift (marvel heroes pack) or £450 for the Vive. The Acer appears to have higher resolution, but the Rift/Vive are OLED vs TFT in the Acer?

Would be mostly used for Elite dangerous, but obviously the more other games which could be played the better.

Tracking aside, what visual quality differences would I be likely to notice in the Acer vs the others? I guess blacks aren't going to be as good on TFT vs OLED, which I guess is kind of important in a space sim!

As I understand, the Acer also doesn't have adjustable IPD, which may be an issue - I've measured mine and it's 67

My only experience of VR so far is some dodgy thing in the 80s, and a gear VR with a galaxy S7 Edge

Edit: to check my PC is actually compatible, I'm running the following:

i7-2600 (not k)
16GB RAM
GTX 980ti
Gigabyte GA-PA65-UD3-B3 Motherboard

I understand that the Rift may have some issues with the USB 3 ports on this motherboard so might need to get an additional PCI-E card?

 

[Caracus2k]

If your are planning on playing non 'cockpit' games (I. E thoose you won't be sat down wearing) I would recommend a rift or vive over a wmr headset.

Personally I would say you are missing out on a fuller experience if you don't get up from your seat. Games like Robo recall on the rift are a real blast.

My preference would be for rift with an extra 3rd sensor for improved tracking if you have the space for a bit of roomscale. Reasons are arguably best hand controllers at the moment, good tracking (especially with third sensor) and a relatively good balance of price, FOV, and resolution

If you definetly don't or can't do roomscale a Wmr headset might be worth it for the lower price.

Advantages acer

Cheaper
Lighter
I think it has a flip up screen that allows you to keep the headset on but still see?
No need for external tracking sensors
Slightly higher res then standard vive or rift

Disadvantages

Head tracking generally inferior to a well set up external tracking system
No external tracking means means inferior tracking for handheld controllers especially if you are in a room with a lot of other light sources. Also tracking fails if you hand and the controller isn't in line of sight of the headset. You have to be looking at the held controller to get good tracking unlike rift of view.
Handheld controllers generally inferior to the rift ones
Narrower FOV
I don't think there is a wireless ad on option like there is for rift and vive? (but the options there are expensive)
Suffers from more motion blur due to screen type

 

[something daft already!!]

Doom 3 is amazing on the Rift standing up. I really feel like I am there in those dark corridors. Spinning around to blast that demon that appeared behind you is an adrenaline pumping experience.

 

[Haggisman]

If your are planning on playing non 'cockpit' games (I. E thoose you won't be sat down wearing) I would recommend a rift or vive over a wmr headset.

Personally I would say you are missing out on a fuller experience if you don't get up from your seat. Games like Robo recall on the rift are a real blast.

My preference would be for rift with an extra 3rd sensor for improved tracking if you have the space for a bit of roomscale. Reasons are arguably best hand controllers at the moment, good tracking (especially with third sensor) and a relatively good balance of price, FOV, and resolution

If you definetly don't or can't do roomscale a Wmr headset might be worth it for the lower price.

Advantages acer

Cheaper
Lighter
I think it has a flip up screen that allows you to keep the headset on but still see?
No need for external tracking sensors
Slightly higher res then standard vive or rift

Disadvantages

Head tracking generally inferior to a well set up external tracking system
No external tracking means means inferior tracking for handheld controllers especially if you are in a room with a lot of other light sources. Also tracking fails if you hand and the controller isn't in line of sight of the headset. You have to be looking at the held controller to get good tracking unlike rift of view.
Handheld controllers generally inferior to the rift ones
Narrower FOV
I don't think there is a wireless ad on option like there is for rift and vive? (but the options there are expensive)
Suffers from more motion blur due to screen type

Thanks for the detailed response, motion blur might be the killer there...

Is the resolution difference noticeable?

I guess the lower res will improve performance but have seen some reports of text readability?

 

[Caracus2k]

I would say from my limited experience of owning a rift and trying a wmr that whilst sat down the res of the wmr's is a slightly noticeable improvement over the rift so a plua for reading text.

When standing and or moving a lot however the motion blur is quite noticeable on the wmr headsets and the controller tracking is very noticeably worse then the rift (which can still have its moments and needs a bit of time to set up well)

 

[Pourma]

Just created this account for this reply. I got the Acer on sale literally yesturday (well it arrived yesturday) I don't have loads of space for vive/rift so for me it's the best option. The tracking is really good but I have found if you have plain walls that it's best to put some stickers on them to provide some form of contrast that allows the headset to track better. Also windows interfere with the tracking slightly if there is light coming in from them, I have found blinds help.

In terms of the controller tracking I have found that it does pretty well in a medium lit room with soft non direct lights in the view of the headset. The camera's on the headset are angled down slightly meaning that you don't have to look at the controllers. As long as you have your head level the controllers will be tracked when held at my waist level and slightly in front of me.

Tracking out of sight works alright as well, so far I have only played Pavlov (CSGO like game) and actions that require me to reach over my back still work. It's only if they are outside of your fov for an extended period of time (~1.5 seconds) that causes them to become untracked (although orientation and button presses are still registered).

The headset itself I have read has a narrow sweet spot (area that is unblurry) and I would have to agree, but with nothing to compare it to, I don't find the experience bad. The comfort of the headset for myself is pretty good, played for about 4 hours yesterday and it didn't get uncomfortable. However it must be said that flipping the visor up did cause the headset to move a little meaning when flipping it back down I had to readjust to get my eyes centered with the lenses. The 3.5mm jack is also located in a pretty bad position and I have found that my over ear headphones like to get stuck on the cable unless I move it out of the way, easily done, minor annoyance. However with in ear earphones there is no issue.

The room scale works really well. No issues here at all, except crouching not being fully synced. However I found that was caused by my surroundings being pretty plain and some stickers fixed that issue right away.

If you have any specific questions ask away. Although as I haven't even had it 24 hours at this point you will have to give me some time to answer. Happy Shopping.

 

[HummuH1]

Just get Rift and Touch for £399. You won't regret it and will work sweet with Elite on a 980Ti.

The downsides of the cheaper headsets aren't worth the savings IMO. Rift just works very well and the resolution whilst not great, is enough to mean you can have a fully immersive VR experience without needing a top-spec current GPU.

 

[Haggisman]

Thanks for the further replies, edging closer to the rift now, based on the room scale stuff and better (albeit lower res) displays.

One question, does it have some way of displaying play area boundaries on screen in the same way as the vive/wmr? Don't want to end up punching my TV or headbutting the wall XD

Seen some mentions of "Guardian"?

 

[something daft already!!]

Thanks for the further replies, edging closer to the rift now, based on the room scale stuff and better (albeit lower res) displays.

One question, does it have some way of displaying play area boundaries on screen in the same way as the vive/wmr? Don't want to end up punching my TV or headbutting the wall XD

Seen some mentions of "Guardian"?

You get a wireframe representation of the play area. If you stray too close, the wireframe will display to warn you of the boundary.

 

[Haggisman]

Awesome, thanks...


Ordered the rift

 

[HummuH1]

Awesome, thanks...


Ordered the rift

Good decision, enjoy!