Vive vs Rift: Help me decide what to buy!

[bitstorm]

The 'Lighthouse' sensores have to be optimally placed and they have to be powered!
These two preconditions might not necessarily be met simultaneously. In my experience, there are always too few plug sockets available in a room. And now, they have to be additionally close to the sensors! If not, you may end up with additional extension cords laying around in your room - something at least I find very distracting and uncomfortable.

On the flipside the Vive sensors don't need USB, and when Rift's final form comes along, the multi-sensor placement there may have to be just as optimal.

I mean if you want to be able to move around in a space that space has to be covered.

 

[bitstorm]

Plus the Touch controllers just seem so much better - http://www.roadtovr.com/hands-on-oculus-touch-2016-prototype-brings-refinements-to-an-already-elegant-design/

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "better".

They look pretty much the same except Rift has thumbsticks, Vive has one of those Steam pads.

 

[jabokai]

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "better".

They look pretty much the same except Rift has thumbsticks, Vive has one of those Steam pads.

Well, steam pads suck (IMHO) so the thumbsticks are better to start with. Also, capacitive buttons and gesture recognition - http://www.roadtovr.com/hands-on-oculus-touch-2016-prototype-brings-refinements-to-an-already-elegant-design/. Sort of a halfway house between controllers and VR gloves - but still firmly being controllers. Aside from that it does everything the Vive wand does... so with extra stuff, it's just betterer innit!

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

One of the reasons I went with the CV1 is because I think that nice static cameras is a lot more reliable a way to track movement than using spinning mirrors (I assume that's how the lighthouses work). Anything mechanical has the chance to break down. The cameras might never cover as big a space as the lighthouses, but I'm sure it will be big enough for my hovel. After all, pushing all the empty pizza boxes and crisp packets to one side can only make a moderate clear space.

How many HDD headcrashes did you experience thus far? How many CD players, CD drives, tapedecks and record players stopped working because of motor malfunction? If it's anything close to my experience it was mostly a mechanical belt breaking down on the earlier devices or a circuit in the PSU or PSB on the latter ones - never the motor.

The HTC get-everything-in-one-go might work out cheaper than the Oculus way. But buying the roomscale as an add-on at a later date allows me the luxury of deferring my decision.

BTW I went to the Oculus website to see what length of cable they provide you with. All I could see was something that looked like a perfume advert with a bloke in a headset gawking with amazement. What's the length of the cable?

I am deferring my decision. I may probably end up with some weird third party headset requiring injection of radionuclides to get perfect body tracking. As long as facebook isn't involved, that's perfectly fine .

 

[llanky]

Possibly, but not being available at launch is a minus. Now it appears game developers are having to add new modes for the Rift to work around occlusion issues?

I don't see it as a problem. There's nothing actually worth using/playing with the controllers apart from tech demo's...

 

[Wolfox]

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "better".

They look pretty much the same except Rift has thumbsticks, Vive has one of those Steam pads.

mmm not really, on the Touch you can easily reach all buttons, more ergonomic and hand has a more natural position, on the VIVE-C you have to articulate for the two lateral buttons and stretch your thumbs for the button above the PAD, but from the dimensions it's strange it doesn't have a huge battery life.

 

[Mosait]

Personally, I'm more concerned about comfort, strain and numbness from arthritis with the controllers.
The HTC controllers look like they'll exacerbate symptoms, similar to my hotas (at times). Whereas, the rift controllers look like they'll be able to rest in my hand without me having to frequently having to set them down mid play.

Of course, no one will really know until they come out. Though, I'm mostly going to use VR for ED, so I'm not too concerned.

 

[Ozram]

Personally, I'm more concerned about comfort, strain and numbness from arthritis with the controllers.
The HTC controllers look like they'll exacerbate symptoms, similar to my hotas (at times). Whereas, the rift controllers look like they'll be able to rest in my hand without me having to frequently having to set them down mid play.

Of course, no one will really know until they come out. Though, I'm mostly going to use VR for ED, so I'm not too concerned.

I'm remotely surprised they didn't just make a set of gloves.

 

[Frank]

How many HDD headcrashes did you experience thus far? How many CD players, CD drives, tapedecks and record players stopped working because of motor malfunction? If it's anything close to my experience it was mostly a mechanical belt breaking down on the earlier devices or a circuit in the PSU or PSB on the latter ones - never the motor.

I am deferring my decision. I may probably end up with some weird third party headset requiring injection of radionuclides to get perfect body tracking. As long as facebook isn't involved, that's perfectly fine .

That is a good point. I do remember a couple of hard drives starting to make a funny squealing noise, but that was after many years of use. If folks can get 3 or 4 years of use out of these things before the bearings give out then I'm sure they'll be happy enough. After all, both of these headsets are just stopgaps to the nanotech radionuclide Holodecks which are to come.

I'm remotely surprised they didn't just make a set of gloves.

Ironically I'd imagine it would be to the difficulty of getting them to fit <wry grin>

 

[Ozram]

That is a good point. I do remember a couple of hard drives starting to make a funny squealing noise, but that was after many years of use. If folks can get 3 or 4 years of use out of these things before the bearings give out then I'm sure they'll be happy enough. After all, both of these headsets are just stopgaps to the nanotech radionuclide Holodecks which are to come.


Ironically I'd imagine it would be to the difficulty of getting them to fit <wry grin>

Well we do have stretchy materials these days. I'm sure they could come up with something. I imagine eventually one would put on a whole suit. They may as well start with the gloves

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

I don't see it as a problem. There's nothing actually worth using/playing with the controllers apart from tech demo's...

to each their own... but even as a rift orderer i disagree.

Full room VR if you have the space for it is very exciting imo even with what is out now... however i am keeping the faith that oculus will embrace it....... VIVE has made such a big deal of it i am almost expecting oculus to quickly add a twin camera system in with the touch controllers, that way they can officially support full room and still have the 2 front cameras.

 

[Frank]

I'm also defending the roomscale VIVE without actually buying one. The headset looks very clunky. It seems to be about the same state of development as the DK2. I can remember the advice I gave when that first came out. "VR is great! Don't buy it yet."

Roomscale is for the true enthusiasts at the moment, and that can only be a good thing for someone like me who wants to experience it, but not as much as 4 hours of setting up, $200 extra cost, and $15 a pop for demos that should really be free.

Let the early adopters sort it all out. I'll be happy with a CV1 for now.

 

[Arubeto]

After reading lots of opinions and articles on the topic, I am now convinced that the room scale VR isn't really appropriate to favour one HMD over the other (at least for me). As has been pointed out numerous times, Oculus is probably going to deliver something equally awesome as HTCs full room VR version of the Vive eventually.

No, the more I read about it, the more I think the front-facing camera and the Rifts nose gap appear to me what really sets these two HMDs apart - even though both might look like minor aspects initially.

What I have seen of the "real world overlay" that the Vive is able to display using it's lighthouse and front-facing camera, together with how the stream of the camera is fed into the VR world really convinced me that that is going to be a very useful and well implemented feature indeed.

Concerning the Rifts nose gap I don't buy the reasoning that some are applying - that it would indeed even be a benefit since you could glance at your keyboard through it. That sounds indeed like Oculus fanboyism, trying to sell even the Rifts shortcomings as some kind of advantage. If someone really values the option to sometimes see his keyboard while using the HMD, the front facing camera of the Vive sounds like a way more convincing solution then some gap that even allows environmental light to enter the HMD and - according to Eurogamers review - have negative impact on the immersion. And no matter how much "immersion" has become a controversial term in this forum, it remains a main reason for me when deciding to buy a VR headset.

What it comes down to for me is whether the front-facing camera and the lack of a nose gap in the Vive counterbalance the Rifts reduced weight and slightly better ergonomics.

As I said, I think that both will provide very good room scale experiences and VR controllers eventually, so those factors I can rule out as being essential for my decision, and I also don't believe that the image quality and small artefacts that have been observed - like the "godrayes" - are very much apart when both HMDs are compared, at least when reading reviews that specifically compare both HMDs.

 

[jabokai]

The camera is an issue (depending on whether you want it or not), the nose gap is not. If you don't like the nose gap then anybody with even a modicum of creativity can stop it up - let's face it, all the Vive has is a little rubber flap!

I got my free CV1 yesterday and there is a nose gap - I love it! I liked it on the DK2 and I like it here. Not fanboism - I find it useful and less intrusive than an external camera would be, BUT they should have offered a built in way to block it (i.e. supplied a detachable rubber flap), I won't deny that. And they should have had a built in camera. Basically the ideal HMD would offer multiple solutions to all the ergonomic and practical issues but don't let trivial ones, that you can easily work around, overly blind you to one or the other. Again, if you like the idea of the camera then this is insurmountable in the CV1 - get a Vive (as long as any other issues don't tip the balance the other way.)

 

[Mosait]

I'm remotely surprised they didn't just make a set of gloves.

Good point, and I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't something already in development.

 

[CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE]

Good point, and I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't something already in development.

But why do we need gloves/suits/controllers at all when we have technology like Kinect or Leap? Am I forgetting something here? Is it just a case of the technology is not quite there yet?

 

[Frank]

But why do we need gloves/suits/controllers at all when we have technology like Kinect or Leap? Am I forgetting something here? Is it just a case of the technology is not quite there yet?

lag.

You really want the controllers to respond as quickly as possible. I've heard that this is an issue with using the Move controllers with Sony VR.

But then this is maybe something they can get down to acceptable levels in the future. Who knows <shrug>

 

[[VR] Deggial]

... Am I forgetting something here? Is it just a case of the technology is not quite there yet?

No, you are not and indeed, we'll see something like this in the (near?) future.

As far as I know, Oculus has already acquire one of the most innovative related companies (was it even Leapmotion? I do not remember) and I've seen very fascinating and promising video clips that demonstrated the current state of technology.

There will be a camera integrated into the headset that will track your hand movement (and can probably be used to show the surrounding room as well). The benefit of an integrated camera over a static one is, that you'll usually watch what your hands are doing and the camera is therefore always perfectly alligned to your hands (-> no occlusion by your body, as your hands tend to be in front of your body).

 

[Arubeto]

The camera is an issue (depending on whether you want it or not), the nose gap is not. If you don't like the nose gap then anybody with even a modicum of creativity can stop it up - let's face it, all the Vive has is a little rubber flap!

I got my free CV1 yesterday and there is a nose gap - I love it! I liked it on the DK2 and I like it here. Not fanboism - I find it useful and less intrusive than an external camera would be, BUT they should have offered a built in way to block it (i.e. supplied a detachable rubber flap), I won't deny that. And they should have had a built in camera. Basically the ideal HMD would offer multiple solutions to all the ergonomic and practical issues but don't let trivial ones, that you can easily work around, overly blind you to one or the other. Again, if you like the idea of the camera then this is insurmountable in the CV1 - get a Vive (as long as any other issues don't tip the balance the other way.)

Congratulations on the timely delivery!

I agree, the nose gap issue - if one perceives it as such - may be easily fixed, but the necessity to do it myself in the first place is an indication of a problem, IMHO. Not a big one, but it's still a problem.

And I also agree that of the both factors I mentioned the front-mounted camera is probably the bigger one for me. I haven't been able to get an appointment with the lab I mentioned earlier to test the Vive, but I hope I will be better able to judge the usefulness of the camera afterwards.

 

[Thoemse]

Vive VS CV1 is such a hard decision.
I decided Vive simply because i found aguy selling his without herrondous markup (it's on it's way now).
If someone sold his CV1 i'd bought that.



Pro Vive:
Roomscale
Camera
Chaperone
Bigger FOV

Pro Oculus Rift:
Doesn't look as creepy
Lighter and more comfortable
Sharper
Easier to set up

I think the rift will be close to the vive once touch is released. i am sure they can make it work good enough that you wont feel a difference toi the vive tracking.
By then you paid as much as for a vive though and you lack that very useful camera. I missed such a camera a lot when playing with my DK2. Especially in ED!
The vive will always be the heavier somewhat ungainly device though.

These are early days. The optimum headset would combine all the Pros and i am sure Gen 2 will.

My advice: Get the one you can get hold of if you are an enthusiast! I don't think you can go wrong with either choice really.

I still do have a rift May preorder though. There might be one on the market if the Vive is as good as i hope it is.