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?

 

[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?

 

[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"?

 

[Haggisman]

Awesome, thanks...


Ordered the rift