Multi monitor setup v Oculus Rift

[777Driver]

I don't own one because I tried one first...
Oh and by the way ignore 777 he sometimes exhibits fanboy behaviour

Well as we have explained to you many times, trying someone else's rift will not give you a good idea of how well it can work for 'you'.. You need to spend a little while setting it up. When I bought my DK2 the seller allowed me to try his, everything was blurry and it looked like crap, it was setup for his eyesight and using different lenses, when I got home and ran through the setup myself, everything was clear. Am glad I didn't listen to the nonsense people like you tend to spout.

As others have also stated, I have TrackIR5, 47' LED TV's and 3D TV's in my mancave, I would never go back to a normal monitor. Most people that own one will say the same, seems that some people who don't own one want to complain, which i find bizzare.

You just don't seem to get it.. And please, fanboy? I just wanna b... slap someone when I hear that word, grow up..

 

[Dr Zachary Smith]

Well as we have explained to you many times, trying someone else's rift will not give you a good idea of how well it can work for 'you'.. You need to spend a little while setting it up. When I bought my DK2 the seller allowed me to try his, everything was blurry and it looked like crap, it was setup for his eyesight and using different lenses, when I got home a ran through the setup myself everything was clear.

You just don't seem to get it.. And please, fanboy? I just wanna b... slap someone when I hear that word, grow up..

I can look at anyones monitor though, thanks for pointing out yet another minus point for Rift...

Meh after Rift

 

[777Driver]

I can look at anyones monitor though, thanks for pointing out yet another minus point for Rift...

Meh after Rift

View attachment 4974

lol, dude I swear you're on drugs.. We all know you're a troll over on the VR forum, I'll leave you to it Dr

 

[Nikonthenet]

I have owned Oculus DK2 and sold it.
-If the resolution concerns you at all, then you're not going to like it. Its like looking through a fine wire mesh. Not only that, but you have to drink through a straw being careful not to knock things over, you can't use the keyboard, the galaxy map is unusable. Apart from those drawbacks, VR is a game-changer -just needs time to mature. That said, Oculus is VERY cost-effective for what it is...

My suggestion to you if you have the cash to part with, is TrackIR and a 21:9 monitor. Samsung have just launched a new curved 34" 21:9 2K monitor(£800 in the UK). Now, I dismiss curved TVs as a gimmik, but a monitor you sit centrally and only from a couple feet, thats a whole different aspect.

Might be worth looking at. Good luck

 

[OVMorat]

4k monitor is great now, and a CV1 is going to be the best thing evah. When the reviews hit for CV1, I'll be in a the monstrous queue but at least I'll be playing at 4k while I wait.

 

[Thoemse]

Since i got three 27 inch displays and a rift i can say: easily the rift.
Tripplescreen or oculus rift. It doesn't even compare.

Gaming with three screens in general is a great thing. It is so much better.
Playing ED with the rift is sitting inside the spaceship though. No amount of screens makes you feel like that.

 

[777Driver]

I have owned Oculus DK2 and sold it.
-If the resolution concerns you at all, then you're not going to like it. Its like looking through a fine wire mesh. Not only that, but you have to drink through a straw being careful not to know things over, you can't use the keyboard, the galaxy map is unusable. Apart from those drawbacks, VR is a game-changer -just needs time to mature. That said, Oculus is VERY cost-effective for what it is...

My suggestion to you if you have the cash to part with, is TrackIR and a 21:9 monitor. Samsung have just launched a new curved 34" 21:9 2K monitor(£800 in the UK). Now, I dismiss curved TVs as a gimmik, but a monitor you sit centrally and only from a couple feet, thats a whole different aspect.

Might be worth looking at. Good luck

My girlfriend recently bought one of those curved TV's, Hooked up the PS4 and have to say I was very impressed.

 

[IndexCase]

I have a rift. After playing on it there is no way i am going back to ED without it. To be honest, if my rift broke i would probably not play ED.

 

[Entropy1024]

Here's a nifty website that gives you some idea of what things look like in the Rift.

That was a really helpful page thanks for the link. Gives me a good idea what to expect. Certainly could not play it with the smearing from high persistence.

I think the rift wins for dog-fighting and general immersion and multi monitors for comfort and resolution. Guessing any extended play would be tougher on Oculus.
So when is the holodeck out on Elite?

 

[Amos]

I have a two monitor setup on my PC, each monitor is a fairly large 1080P screen. I use the two screens for my general PC work, but never for games as the center of focus would be between each screen. Not very useful
So was thinking of getting a third screen. This would then also mean getting a second graphics card, a good one is not cheap, and there possibly may not be a spare slot for the card in my PC anyway.

Then I thought of the Oculus Rift. Not sure how much it will retail for but could possibly be a cheaper option and more fun.

For the people that have played with both setups, what do you think is best? I am worried about the resolution of the Oculus. I'm guessing that the best it will achieve is 1080 pixels vertically and 960 pixels horizontally (as it has to split the image in two, one for each eye). Also a bit concerned with the fatigue factor. I can't stand watching 3D TV, it's just like sandpaper to the eyeballs. If I have issues with 3D TV will I have the same issue with VR headsets?

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Would be very interested in your opinion.

Cheers
Tim

cant say much for the rift as I do not own one, but I have a 3 monitor setup, depending on the type of graphics card you have you will need one with alot of vRAM, and if AIT one with a display port, you can get adapters from display port to RGB I have an inactive one and it worked fine, I now have 3 display port monitors running at 5760x1080 and its awesome, not played elite for a while so I will will have to tinker with the graphics settings see what I can squeeze out of the card.

 

[stjones]

I have a two monitor setup on my PC, each monitor is a fairly large 1080P screen. I use the two screens for my general PC work, but never for games as the center of focus would be between each screen. Not very useful
So was thinking of getting a third screen. This would then also mean getting a second graphics card, a good one is not cheap, and there possibly may not be a spare slot for the card in my PC anyway.

Then I thought of the Oculus Rift. Not sure how much it will retail for but could possibly be a cheaper option and more fun.

For the people that have played with both setups, what do you think is best? I am worried about the resolution of the Oculus. I'm guessing that the best it will achieve is 1080 pixels vertically and 960 pixels horizontally (as it has to split the image in two, one for each eye). Also a bit concerned with the fatigue factor. I can't stand watching 3D TV, it's just like sandpaper to the eyeballs. If I have issues with 3D TV will I have the same issue with VR headsets?

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Would be very interested in your opinion.

Cheers
Tim

I have a triple monitor setup and it is superb, but I also hear so is the OR.
The one thing that is a problem for me , with the OR,and not for many who use it I suspect, is not being able to use my keyboard as even though i have a good HOTAS I still have many controls on my keyboard. I will not buy any variety of the OR until I can use my keyboard too.
Horses for courses

 

[SilverlightPony]

... you can't use the keyboard ...

You can if you know how to touch-type.

Plus, you can always take a moment to pull the Rift off your eyes briefly to take a drink or whatever.

 

[NoiseCrime]

I have a triple monitor setup and it is superb, but I also hear so is the OR.
The one thing that is a problem for me , with the OR,and not for many who use it I suspect, is not being able to use my keyboard as even though i have a good HOTAS I still have many controls on my keyboard. I will not buy any variety of the OR until I can use my keyboard too.
Horses for courses

Two words 'Voice Attack'

I have a X55 rhino with enough buttons and hats for all the controls in Elite, but I still prefer to use VA, especially as I have presets for power distribution which are easy to call out during a fight. The only real downside with not being able to see the keyboard is being able to enter system name in the search box, though honestly if you use a keyboard for more anything more than just writing the odd email then you should find you can already touch-type pretty well. VA sound allow dictation sometime, but while I think that will be great for chat, i'm not sure for entering system names as some are pretty awkward to pronounce or even know their pronunciation.

 

[Deadmeat]

I have a Rift, three screens and TrackIR, so I'll give you my opinion for what it is worth...

TL;DR: Get a rift or head tracking. Three screens are fine, but won't add that much.

Three screens are good. I bought mine for iRacing. In that, it is a major help as iRacing properly supports three screens (it renders them separately). It allows you to have a natural FOV and also look into corners etc. In most games, it isn't so helpful. Most of the time the image gets distorted on the side monitors - it adds some periphery vision, but that is about all. On many games, it is not usable as the game isn't written to support it at all (e.g. the gui ends up on opposite ends of your three monitors and is a pain in the backside). In things like flight sims, your vertical FOV is usually more important than the horizontal. ED is a bit of both, but I would say it is more vertical than horizontal. Three screens is nice to have, but I wouldn't advise anyone to go and blow a load of money on three screens for ED alone as it doesn't add a lot.

Far more effective would be spending the money on Track IR or similar. It is far from perfect, but is certainly helpful and likely a much cheaper solution overall. I played for some time with three screens and Track IR and the result is good. You gain a lot from being able to track targets and look at the holoscreen menus. Three screens will help a little with TrackIR, but not much - you still end up moving your eyes as you move your head, as the focus is the centre of your centre screen, hence 'looking' at the side holographic menus brings them to the centre of the screen! You still only gain periphery vision.

But the Rift... well, I just don't do either ED or iRacing on three screens any more. The experience is so much better. It can't really be described, but you are just there. Many others have pointed out the low res, screen-door etc so I'll just say on this - ignore Dr Zachary. I can understand his personal opinions about the resolution not being good enough for him etc, but he seems overly keen to find 'negative points for the rift'. For me, it is fine (I can read text with no problem, so I don't know what the issue is for others there). I have no problems with eye strain, even after using if for hours. It is uncomfortable where it presses against my large nose. I am extremely prone to motion sickness, but in ED I don't get sick. I may have the odd moment where my stomach flips, but I never get sick. It is intense. The head tracking, sense of depth, of size, scale and detail (in many ways you see more detail in 3d low res than 2d high res) massively outweigh the down-sides for me. IMPORTANT: You will need a really good rig to run ED in the Rift. It is far more demanding than three screens, not least because your experience in the Rift is very sensitive to frame rate. In 2d, if you momentarily drop to 40fps it doesn't really matter. In the Rift, the experience is awful and can make you feel ill in seconds. My 7850 2gb is enough. Just.

So, what should you do? For me personally, I'd say get a Rift. You can probably get most of your money back on eBay if you find it isn't for you. Otherwise, get head tracking and wait until CV1. Three screens? Hmmm - I'd say ED is not the 'killer' use that justifies the expense.

I highly recommend VoiceAttack, whichever route you go down.

 

[Ravenov]

I'm a 3 screen user and love it, but since i got track ir i feel queasy when i don't use it, like if i have paused it and move my head expecting the view to move and it doesn't. I liken it to having a 3 panel panoramic window a few feet from my face, but i also rarely look directly at the side screens.

If you could borrow a 3rd monitor your card should be able to at least run the game to give you an idea of whether 3 screens are for you, although your FPS might not be stellar in stations.

 

[Freddie Mc]

had a quick poke around the forums but to no avail.

Whats the work around for using the rift with the galaxy map? Only negitive for me so far.

 

[neXib]

I don't think you are really grasping the impact of the Rift if you compare it to three screens. You could have 100 screens all around you, it's nothing like using the rift. The Rift gives you depth, you are IN your ship. You are not just looking inside your ship with a bigger keyhole like a three screen setup would do.

I have two amazing monitors, each in their own right, but the Rift, that's something else. Nothing's like getting a star slapped in your face as you exit hyperjumps. Also, aiming, escaping interdictions etc. is easier in the Rift imo. I also used to get a bit nauseous at first in the rift, but have been playing Elite for hours at a time, I get easily nauseous in general so I think that's a good sign of the implementation and that you get used to it quickly.

Quite frankly I don't know why people have trouble with the galaxy map either, sure that's not a controller issue? (360 controller here)

 

[saviornt]

had a quick poke around the forums but to no avail.

Whats the work around for using the rift with the galaxy map? Only negitive for me so far.

The trick with the galaxy map is to set up your keybinds. I have no issue with the galaxy map, other than having to type in system names.

 

[Freddie Mc]

I don't think you are really grasping the impact of the Rift if you compare it to three screens. You could have 100 screens all around you, it's nothing like using the rift. The Rift gives you depth, you are IN your ship. You are not just looking inside your ship with a bigger keyhole like a three screen setup would do.

I have two amazing monitors, each in their own right, but the Rift, that's something else. Nothing's like getting a star slapped in your face as you exit hyperjumps. Also, aiming, escaping interdictions etc. is easier in the Rift imo. I also used to get a bit nauseous at first in the rift, but have been playing Elite for hours at a time, I get easily nauseous in general so I think that's a good sign of the implementation and that you get used to it quickly.

Quite frankly I don't know why people have trouble with the galaxy map either, sure that's not a controller issue? (360 controller here)

Im using a hotas but try and use the mouse to navigate. The problem is selecting a star with the mouse in rift, you can get it by trail and error but its a PITA.

 

[Alric]

As neXib and others have mentioned, the Rift is just a totally different experience to using any kind of monitor setup.
Both have their advantages. With monitors it's easier to interact with other people in the room. They are higher definition currently and if you want to lay back, put your feet up and grind some trade runs they're the easier option.

But if you want to get in a space ship and fly, Oculus is the only option. You can't compare resolution with a monitor in any useful way. The resolution on Oculus needs to be higher because you see things that are 2 miles long. Yeah they need more pixels! That doesn't mean a monitor is a better display, any more than an iPad beats a big TV for watching movies on just because it has more pixels.

Personally I find the Rift's 3D much easier on the eye than 3D TV. You are getting a separate, stable image to each eye without any shuttering or anything, and a much higher frame rate. However, the device itself still has some way to go on comfort - it's still a dev kit after all - so just wearing it isn't as comfortable as it might be, but you can still go for hours when you're caught up in the game.

Controls may be an issue depending on your setup. I used voice attack and a basic joystick which was fine. A good HOTAS minimises even the need for voice attack. So I never struggle with the controls. Only typing is an issue - but since it's not something you spend much time doing, you can either touch type or just raise the rift a couple of inches so you can see to type.

So they are just two completely different experiences. I would not say ditch your monitors for a rift, and it may be best to wait for CV1 which should be sharper and more comfortable. But when it comes down to it, VR is peerless for playing E : D.

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Im using a hotas but try and use the mouse to navigate. The problem is selecting a star with the mouse in rift, you can get it by trail and error but its a PITA.

I could never do that either. I found it much easier if I just don't use the mouse. Map the galaxy map movement to the stick itself and/or your hat switches. Think of it as flying around the galaxy map rather than trying to move a pointer to a place on the screen.