No way man, autoclave or I'm out.
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Will there be demo kiosks for VR headsets at Best Buy, Walmart, etc?
- Thread starter gdt
- Start date
No way man, autoclave or I'm out.
GearVR is actual VR.
Azure Dream
Member
Most of the VR headsets allow you to pop out the liners and clean/replace them.
Yes, GearVR is "actual VR", it just doesn't have positional tracking. Yet.
Edit: Beaten while I was looking for that Carmack tweet.
Yes, GearVR is "actual VR", it just doesn't have positional tracking. Yet.
Edit: Beaten while I was looking for that Carmack tweet.
There's always a weird level of hygienic hypocrisy out there. If your cashier at McDonald's handed you a hamburger with their bare hand, you would probably freak the fuck out (and so would I, to be fair). At the same time though, that employee probably washed his/her hands a lot more recently than you did. If he doesn't touch your burger though, what are you going to do with it? Sit down and put your filthy hands all over it, even though you probably haven't washed them since you were in the shower this morning or the last time you used the bathroom (assuming that you are part of the 50% of people that do wash up after using the bathroom).
I know you are the resident expert -- exactly how will PSVR compare to GearVR in terms of just visual fidelity? I mean obviously the PSVR will have more complex graphics and greater poly counts and more graphical effects.....but how does GearVR stack up in terms of things like resolution, screen-door effect, and FOV? What's mostly brought VR down for me has been things like limited FOV and pixely-grainy imagery.
GearVR is higher resolution, but has a lower pixel density because it's designed primarily as a phone first, not a VR display. It has the lowest refresh rate of any major consumer VR headset - 60hz, compared to the 120 hz native of the PSVR. I'm not sure the FOV of the PSVR, but I'd imagine they're roughly similar.
Despite running at a lower resolution, PSVR's display will undoubtedly be functionally superior given it's pixel density ratio. This works to reduce the screen door effect. The high resolution of the Gear VR (Technically the highest resolution consumer VR headset) means the screen door effect isn't as noticeable as even the DK2, but PSVR, Vive, and CV1 will undoubtedly have lesser screen door effect because of their tailored-for-vr pixel densities.
PSVR is about 10 times better than GearVR. & Vive/Oculus is about 10 times better than PSVR.
GearVR is kind of a horrible representation of VR.
Will this improve at all for people who buy a Galaxy S7? If not, at what point will Samsung start pushing for greater pixel-density or higher refresh on their phones to help improve the VR experience?
Assuming that Apple jumps into VR, are current iPhones in better shape to serve as screens for VR headsets?
Well, compared to my Note 4, the Galaxy S7 has a higher pixel density because of it's smaller screen (5.7" vs 5.1"). I would expect phone VR to continue to favor phone utility over VR utility so I would never expect any tailored-for-VR screens any time soon on a mobile handset.
By contrast, I'd expect Samsung to eventually spin GearVR into an all-in-one wireless headset relatively soon enough, at which point it'll have it's own custom screens, just like all the other headsets. Once you remove the need for the hardware in these phones to act as a phone, they can be much more flexible.
Not really. The problem with phone VR is that you need a flat, uniform screen, because the screen must accommodate a phone. The way current optics work in VR, it makes sense to have a custom pixel density in your screen that favors the perceived sweet spot of the lenses. Vive and CV1 go a step further and remove the wasted pixels along the bridge of the nose (hence why they have two screens) while the PSVR opts for a single screen wasting pixels along the bridge of the nose, but with custom pixel densities for its optics.
I expect apple's eventual entry to VR to be in the form of an all-in-one wireless headset. This is the upcoming "mobile VR" realm - these devices will abandon phone tethering quickly. Using existing phones is just a stop gap. Eventually these headsets will have everything needed inside. Nvidia's VR headset is of this type.
Marty Chinn
Member
I always assumed Gear VR was like Google Cardboard except it had more precision due to the sensors built in. Google Cardboard is terrible so if Gear VR is anything like that experience, it's hard for me to put it in the same category of VR that the Rift, Vive and PSVR. I'm not even sure if tell someone to try it in fear of the negative impression it would leave.
I feel like Oculus is really poisoning their brand by slapping their name on GearVR. A lot of people are getting free GearVR headsets with the new Galaxy phones and getting a very bad first impression.
How quickly are prices expected to come down on VR-capable headsets? It would seem to me that phone tethering is a pretty important stop-gap, at least for the next 5-10 years. I am just a layman, but I can't imagine that there will be affordable all-in-one devices anytime soon.....particularly when most game/software development is currently aimed at PS4/980 level GPUs.
You could already feasibly bundle something like a Galaxy Note 4 and a Gear VR at about $300-$350. Give it a couple of years when these types of headsets should be coming out, and you'll be able to get all this stuff into an attractive price point.
UNINFORMED OPINION AHOY: To be honest, I tend to feel like PSVR is a lot closer to GearVR than it is Vive/Oculus. Single screen, focused on affordability over quality.
I'm probably a lot closer to purchasing a PSVR than I am to purchasing a Vive/Oculus, but it seems like Vive/Oculus is probably a smarter bet for the future.
Agent Unknown
Member
There will definitely be VR demo units at Walmart except they'll be in the ultra crappy family "arcade" area and will only run interactive versions of Deer Hunter, awful crane toys and Cruisin' USA.
I'd expect the size of the step up from Gear VR to PSVR to be the same as the step up from PSVR to CV1/Vive. I don't think Sony's offering will be closer to GearVR.
GearVR feels a lot like a very polished, consumer-ready version of type of VR experiences I had with DK1, both because of lack of positional tracking and because the games are smaller and simpler (due to lack of horse power in GearVR, and due to the experimental nature of DK1 demos). I'd expect PSVR to feel similarly like a very polished, consumer version of the type of VR experiences we had with DK2. I'd closest compare PSVR with something like OSVR.
I fully expect the full, big titles for CV1 and Vive to be an entirely different class of VR.
nhlducks35
Member
But all the reviews of it have been super positive
It would seem to me that there are 3 (possibly 4) tiers of consumer-grade VR.
1.) Cardboard/GearVR
2.) PSVR
3.) Vive/Oculus
Is GearVR enough of a step up from Cardboard to occupy its own tier, though? Do the enhanced sensors and lenses make up for problems with Cardboard? If GearVR is only marginally better than Cardboard then maybe I will step up to PSVR. If GearVR is closer to PSVR, then maybe I can settle on just getting a Galaxy S7 with a smaller screen to enhance pixel density.
Jarod McChicken
Member
Doesn't matter. Phone VR doesn't even come close to matching what actual VR is capable of.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
No United States for country of residence. Maybe this is only for the rest of the world, and they will stick with box stores for USA?
Without a doubt. Cardboard to GearVR is an enormous step.
Azure Dream
Member
YES.
I used my exact same phone I use for GearVR with very few problems in one of the recent Star Wars-themed Google Cardboards. The demos I tried had noticeably lower visual quality, judders, etc. It started making me nauseated quickly, when that same phone in a GearVR works fine for me 90-95% of the time, no sickness.
Not only are the sensors on the GearVR far more accurate, and the lenses better, allowing you to adjust their distance for refocusing, and you have a touch pad for limited control options, but kicking things into GearVR mode means the phone itself does a lot of behind-the-scenes optimizations, prioritizing VR rendering.
GearVR is also made to be worn, while Cardboard is, by design, supposed to be held up to your face. They do not want you using a strap with it specifically as a nausea-fighting feature.
Why are you putting it into your eye
A few, yeah. Mostly on the east coast
Question for you, if you don't mind. I've read that you can use cardboard apps with gearVR using 3rd party apps. Have you tried this? And if so, does it help the experience? And is there a native photo/video watching app?
Azure Dream
Member
I've heard of these, but haven't experimented with them yet. Cardboard apps are still being handled through Google's software, so it doesn't get the rendering benefits afforded to the Oculus services, and I don't think it uses the GearVR sensors, unless that's a new addition.
From what I've heard it's better, but not by that much. And it breaks the "don't strap Cardboard to your head" rule, which may make you more susceptible to nausea.
Yes, whether you want to view 2D/stereoscopic 3D content in a cinema or other presentation, or 180 / 360 degree content in something like MilkVR or 360 Photos, GearVR has those.
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
Gear VR is incredibly shit. I used it so many times its just garbage.
Deadpool_X
Banned
No way is Best Buy sacrificing hours on an employee who's single job is to help people demo VR. As someone who was a supervisor for them for 5 years, they aren't even allocating hours to media employees anymore, expecting inventory to stock the department and other departments to kinda bleed in if they see someone needing help. Most of the time, though, you can't get help if you are in the media department without hunting someone down from somewhere else, and even then, they reluctantly help.
If Best Buy won't do it, good luck expecting Walmart or anyone else to have something like that. Sure, there may be a weekend event where a Sony rep is in store with a PSVR, demoing it, but there will not be any permanent PSVR/Oculus/Vive demo stations in retail.
Seven4sses
Member
I saw a Samsung Gear VR kiosk at the T-mobile store recently, so yes. Maybe a month before each headset comes out.
whitemex88
Member
I doubt we'll see anything but PSVR and SGear. Judging by the state of most controllers I've seen at kiosk, it would be way expensive to replace after an asshole breaks the thing. Also this is a germaphobe's nightmare having something directly on your face.
Not to mention the waste of labor dollars having someone there to work the station
Not to mention the waste of labor dollars having someone there to work the station
Eh. Not really. Calling GearVR VR is a huge disservice to VR. You can't just slap a piece of plastic on a phone and have VR. People who have never tried VR and try GearVR as their first experience will be soured on the entire thing. You need more power to achieve proper VR.
"Hur hur VR is dead even though I've never personally tried it"Sounds like VRis dead even before it got started.
It induces presence, so no it isn't.
That's not what GearVR is.
That's not what is happening.
"proper VR" isn't a function of power.
Azure Dream
Member
GearVR is a combination of software built into the phones to prioritize rendering and tracking, not to mention reclocking the phone hardware, and extra fine trackers and inputs built into the headset. All of this with Oculus behind it. Hell, Carmack tweets about working on GearVR all the time.
It's not the $15 "slap your iPhone in and whoa" you seem to think it is.
SmoothRunningGun
Member
Bring a gallon of purell.