Facebook's Phone-Free, Wireless 'Oculus Go' VR Headset Is Released Today 34
UnknownSoldier writes: The Oculus Go is finally available for purchase. Amazon is selling the 32GB model for $199, while the 64GB model is selling for $249. As a standalone virtual reality unit, it doesn't require a computer or phone to use. Ironically, you must use a phone for the initial setup. Reviews are out on The Verge and Ars Technica. The TL;DR -- Pros: Inexpensive; Cons: LCD, fixed 72 Hz rate, limited motion tracking. Will 2018 finally will be the year of cheap VR?
cheap headache (Score:2)
given the specs of that gadget, 2018 will mostly be the year of the cheap headache.
I have an almost-decade-old VR headset with specs better than that.
(the slow LCD causing motion blur combined with the limited motion tracking are going to be kill*ing* features).
Realism isn't everything. (Score:2)
Realism isn't everything.
The obvious solution is to make less detailed games for it. The original Wii was extremely popular despite positively crude graphics, in large part due to novelty, physicality, and generally excellent use of available potential. As long as you can push enough pixels to keep the edges smooth(ish) and see into the distance a ways,fast enough to avoid nausea, it might not matter so much if the graphics reminds you a little of the VR from an 80's movie.
Heck, I'd fully expect quite a f
Headaches are real. (Score:2)
Realism isn't everything.
But headaches and motion sickness are everything, at least if you want a product with wide mass appeal among the general public.
You want the headset to display something that is as close as possible as the motion sensed by the user while moving the head around.
That means the best head tracking you can get. This has been studied for as long as VR headsets exist.
The expensive headsets use IR+camera tracking to be extremely fast and reactive and precise as possible.
That also means a very fast display: as high
Re: (Score:2)
With that I agree completely, I was more addressing the SoC limitations raised in the comment I replied to. Component lag is a problem, performance of the rendering pipeline on the other hand can be worked around by lowering detail expectations.
I'm rather surprised though that it doesn't have at least accelerometer-based "fake" positional tracking - obviously it couldn't be extremely accurate, but you'd think it would be better than completely ignoring position. Seems like having at least two acceleromete
Stats (Score:2)
Really? You have one with a > 538ppi screen that's almost a decade old?
By some random chance it happens that, yeah, about three time this resolution. But it's not relevant actually.
PPI (points-per-inches) are (nearly) irrelevant in headset for the resolution. :
What's relevant and of key important
- the field of view (the total angle that the screen cover in front of view).
- the angular resolution (number of pixels per degree of angle).
Yes, on modern headsets, the display is achieved usually by using a smartphone screen, so you can take a short cut and compare th
Good build quality and lenses, sharp image (Score:2)
The reviews so far have been favorable:
"The headset manages to feel more high quality than the Rift in a lot of ways. Comfort-wise, I would say the Oculus Go bests even the first-gen Google Daydream View headset." https://techcrunch.com/2018/03... [techcrunch.com]
"The visuals far exceed those on a phone powered headset. This is due in part to the new LCD display which boasts a 2560 x 1440 resolution and some very well designed lenses. Content looked crystal clear and pin sharp, instantly impressing." https://www.vrfocus [vrfocus.com]
VR sickness symptom != image quality (Score:2)
I'm not criticizing the picture quality.
I'm just pointing out that the thing they cut back on (refresh rate/transition speed of LCD, lower quality tracking) are the exact cause of motion sickness and headache in VR.
To take the matephore of Ars Technica : Yes, like the author mentions, it's like back at the beginning of MP3 player (back when they were expensive due to the HD drive inside), there were a few Asian no-name who thought about slapping a cheap MP3-decoding chip on a cheap portable CD-player.
Result
Re: (Score:2)
Your later comment put the list price of the headset you bought a decade ago at $1200-$1400 (2x the intro price you quoted). That headset did not include a built-in computer, either, and had to be connected to one (so add another $1000 or more to that cost).
My question is "how the fuck are you surprised a $200 standalone headset doesn't match the specs of $2200 ($2800 if you adjust for inflation) worth of equipment?"
Interpretation (Score:2)
And the intent I was having with my common :
"We know for an extremely long time that fast displays and high precision tracking are absolutely key points so people don't suffer from nausea.
10 years ago we were already been achieving better on that front that this cheap VR headset"
Yes, my old equipment did cost a lot a decade ago. Because they tried to achieve this spec with tech that was available to them in 2005.
But a decade later, if we absolutely try to stick to at least this level of nausea-prevention, w
Really (Score:2)
This sort of VR is barely any better than Google Cardboard (which is awesome)....super cool technology without decent software. What I'm waiting for is better VR content and an ecosysytem that makes it really easy to browse/share/deal with 360 degree photos and videos.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm waiting for something more flexible. I have a Gear VR myself but the inability to adjust the interocular distance on it gives me grief. That could be fixed with a bit of plastic and a few lines of code.
VR is sadly still in its infancy.
Some nice games, movies, social VR (Score:2)
For a list of decent games for Oculus Go / Gear VR check this wiki: https://www.reddit.com/r/oculu... [reddit.com]
Many people find it attractive as a portable video player (both 2D and 3D).
And then there is also an intriguing gimmick that is Oculus Home, which might gradually grow into a richer social VR, as envisioned in sci-fi classics like "Snow Crash" and "Ready Player One". https://www.oculus.com/blog/we... [oculus.com]
Phone free is a lie..... (Score:2)
When I look at this (Score:2)
It's just a slightly better... (Score:2)
So if you've got a Google Cardboard, Google Daydream or a Samsung Gear already, well, you're not missing much here.
219 - 269 EUR (263 - 323 USD) in Germany (Score:2)
I did want one of these (Score:2)
That pretty much killed VR for me.