Vr headset

[Criticalmeadow]

What vr headsets would you recommend? I have heard there are some good upcoming ones.

[Coaxialgamer]

What's your budget? What do you expect to do with one? What's your config?

[Holmes108]

I'd still recommend the Quest all day. Especially if you'll appreciate the wireless (and how can you not). That makes all the rest deal breakers for me. I'm still rocking the quest one, and games look great and wireless is flawless. I'll be upgrading to the Quest 2 as soon as I'm able.

 

The fact it can also be a standalone unit is a nice bonus too, that's essentially built in free. Even if it didn't have that feature, I can't believe how cheap it is.

[TetraSky]

Quest 2 all the way. You can't beat it for the price. (even after they raised the price by $125 in august of last year)

But there's supposedly the next gen one coming out this year, so you could wait a bit longer.

 

Quest 2 + Virtual Desktop (Quest version, not the Steam version) = wireless PC VR and that's great! Something other headsets can't even offer. Being able to be free to go wherever you want with your VR headset, in your living room, your bedroom, the toilet, as long as you have wifi signal is just great.

[Criticalmeadow]

2 hours ago, Coaxialgamer said:

What's your budget? What do you expect to do with one? What's your config?

I currently have an old oculus rift with pcvr.

[Thaldor]

If you have the room and the money, Index or Vive Pro 2.

 

I still cannot recommend any Facebook product just because Facebook, be they how good possible as long as Facebooks (as you can see I refuse to call them Meta, they were once Facebook and unless they really do something and show that they aren't, they are always Facebook) main dough is user data, you cannot trust them to do choices you would like them to do. I am still waiting the last prophecy of Oculus to become real and Facebook bringing mandatory ads to VR, they already tried and still have to certain level linked Quest accounts to Facebook accounts, they do already collect data from the headsets (currently just for "safety" and "control" and they ain't hiding it even noting that they do collect your handsize from tracking data in their own TOS), they haven't committed to OpenXR fully but require their own app, so the ads are the last thing foretold back in the day when it was published that Oculus was sold to Facebook.

[Heliian]

I have a quest 2 and it's great fun for the whole family.  I have the 64gb version and haven't run out of space yet, the new 128gb version looks like the sweet spot.  

 

The quest pro looks really nice but I'm not ready to drop $2k CAD for one.  

 

Everything else needs base stations but you can do more stuff with body trackers that way if you want the full experience, but then you need a good pc to go with it. 

 

2 hours ago, Thaldor said:

Index or Vive Pro 2.

Great options for the full tethered pc experience. 

 

[Thaldor]

53 minutes ago, Heliian said:

I have a quest 2 and it's great fun for the whole family.  I have the 64gb version and haven't run out of space yet, the new 128gb version looks like the sweet spot.  

 

The quest pro looks really nice but I'm not ready to drop $2k CAD for one.  

 

Everything else needs base stations but you can do more stuff with body trackers that way if you want the full experience, but then you need a good pc to go with it. 

 

Great options for the full tethered pc experience. 

 

I have always found the optical trackings "wonky", as in I don't mean they are bad but they are not as flexible as IR-grid based tracking. The trackers are one thing and with them a lot of options (like turning old MAG II gun controller into a VR gun, just 3D model it and slap a camera base screw into it and after setting up the offsets and all, vóla, you have working VR gun way lower price than even those laughable Vive Wand holders), not to mention the upgradeability of the base station tracking, like personally I just run the OG Vive because I like the swimming cap and I like to use in-ears (also I cannot use company's gear for leisure gaming and I rather have invested into company than my personal gear, so OG Vive is with what I started and I just haven't found the funds to upgrade, and it's good after the GearVR lens mod) but for controllers I use the Index Knuckles.

 

There's no indications that OpenVR would change the IR-grid configuration other than how the base stations identify themselves to allow bigger and more complex playareas. It would be a shock if OpenVR 3.0 (probably Valve Index 2 and whatever HTC brings then) didn't support at least OpenVR 2.0 (Index Vive Pro) and because the system is pretty "stupid" (at least the OpenVR 1.0, OG Vive base stations only communicate their state optically with themselves and BT is only used for the wake-up/shutdown) so including backwards compatibility is basicly just code unless something really radical happens. So with Index/Vive Pro 2 you have the possibility to upgrade to "Index 2" ecosystem without much anything, just like I can run the Index controllers with OG Vive.

 

Only thing what I am really envious on Facebook Quest 2 is the hand tracking because outside of Quest 2 it's not supported even while it's cheap as hay. I paid like $20-40 for hand tracking while Oculus wasn't even owned by Facebook and the Leap Motion still is very robust and good in it, the wider support is just missing. The fun thing about old Leap Motion support is that the empty space in Index is pretty much designed for it, you just need to find USB-A to USB Micro-B SuperSpeed (the odd two-part long micro port) adapter small enough to fit in. Too bad those adapters aren't around but there's one or two who have hacked up something. But using the Vives USB-port, disabling the pretyt much useless camera and having a 3D-printed mount for Leap Motion is pretty dope and again, doesn't cost that much (or your data as with Facebook, I just can't press this enough, even after name change Facebooks main bread and butter is userdata, not VR headsets, not app store, but the data of their usage, and I will repeat my years old promise to eat my hat if Facebook doesn't try to push for using XR to gain more of that).

[DarkSwordsman]

On 1/7/2023 at 10:07 AM, Criticalmeadow said:

I currently have an old oculus rift with pcvr.

Faced with the same position as you, I bought a Quest 2 used on eBay with the intention of replacing my Rift CV1.

However, I bought it without controllers, with the expectation to use my Rift CV1 controllers in a custom mixed VR setup (where I would still have the Rift plugged in). Since firmware v42, Meta stopped the ability to turn on developer mode. So now I had to buy controllers, and the total cost has been $280 (nearly the old price of new).

Despite this and despite everything else about the Quest 2 being locked down by Meta, I still would recommend the Quest 2 if you're looking for a general upgrade, mainly since there isn't any good or reliable alternative. The resolution is better and you can do wireless PCVR (if you have a good router; you can buy a cheaper Wifi 6 router to use as a switch). Losing the cable is such a game changer it is insane, plus the Quest 2 is the only budget option. I would buy it new, unless you find a good option on eBay from a reputable seller (with the silicone face cover).

Everything else is $1,000+ and wired, often needing base stations. If the Pico 4 is in your country (not available in the US), it may be a good alternative, but it still needs the test of time and currently has some issues that the Quest 2 doesn't have.

The other headsets like the Vive Pro, Valve Index, Vive Focus 3, Quest Pro (I think Quest Pro is overpriced), etc. all have different features, so you'd need to look into their features and reviews to really understand if they are a good ugprade for you. But the Quest 2 is really unparalleled in terms of budget and features.

[Criticalmeadow]

I think I am probably gonna try to get a quest, due to its cheapness compared to the other headsets out in the market. Even though, it has privacy issues, nowadays, data gathering, from what I have heard is also being preformed by other businesses. While I would prefer to avoid privacy concerns, this system seems like the best option for the price

[DarkSwordsman]

Yeah. Unfortunately there's really no other economical option.

I will say, just today I finally got my controllers for the Quest 2 and got it setup. With wireless PCVR, the video quality is pretty decent, though I notice a slight delay (probably due to the bitrate/video decoding/network connection).

However, audio doesn't work at all. Apparently there is a way to reinstall drivers for the oculus virtual audio device, but I haven't tried it yet. So it's pretty okay, but just doesn't work for audio right now.

[Holmes108]

3 hours ago, DarkSwordsman said:

Yeah. Unfortunately there's really no other economical option.

I will say, just today I finally got my controllers for the Quest 2 and got it setup. With wireless PCVR, the video quality is pretty decent, though I notice a slight delay (probably due to the bitrate/video decoding/network connection).

However, audio doesn't work at all. Apparently there is a way to reinstall drivers for the oculus virtual audio device, but I haven't tried it yet. So it's pretty okay, but just doesn't work for audio right now.

 

Interesting, haven't had that issue. I use air link through the Oculus app often, but more often use Virtual Desktop for my wireless connection and both worke great right off the bat, sound included. So I'm sure if you play with it, you'll get it going.

[Criticalmeadow]

3 hours ago, Holmes108 said:

 

Interesting, haven't had that issue. I use air link through the Oculus app often, but more often use Virtual Desktop for my wireless connection and both worke great right off the bat, sound included. So I'm sure if you play with it, you'll get it going.

I personally don’t understand why the Quest does not have off the ear headphones like the oculus rift. I am personally confused as to how audio could reach your ear, without turning the quest into a small speaker and allowing everyone else in the room to hear the device audio

[Holmes108]

On 1/10/2023 at 12:11 PM, Criticalmeadow said:

I personally don’t understand why the Quest does not have off the ear headphones like the oculus rift. I am personally confused as to how audio could reach your ear, without turning the quest into a small speaker and allowing everyone else in the room to hear the device audio

You'd be surprised how directional they seem to be. I don't disagree with you that having that feature would be nice. But I'll also say that the person using the headset in my living room seems to be able to hear quite well, while observers often have to have them turn it up to hear the action.