Where do I start ?

Omega74

Hi all,
The title above says it all!
As with most hobbies and interests, Forums are a great place to get some info from people that know a lot on the subject! Thank you in advance to all that reply.

So, I know very little about VR, but I would love to try it out.
I'm not a gamer at all and would like VR for the chance to go to places I might not normally get to.
Example a 3d VR tour of Times Square in NYC or a Cockpit of a landing Jet liner.
I'm prepared to spend around €300 or €400 ($350 - $450) on the Headset.
I'd like to know is it better to buy a VR Headset that is fully standalone (no PC required) or should I buy one that connects to my PC Laptop (Note I have a HP Ultrabook I7 with no fancy graphics card)

Also, where is the best resource online for VR movies once I have the headset?

So, thanks for reading and I'm looking forward to getting started!

B

Nivek TT

If you've already got a gaming PC sporting at least a GTX 970 then get a Rift S. Its the best you'll do for your budget. If you haven't got the PC muscle then get a Quest for a stand alone experience in budget without having to spend £800  on a PC.

Not sure we have a one-stop shop for VR movies yet. Youtube is a good place to start and Google have made some cracking but short movies. A couple of my favourites:

                               
                               
Virtual Desktop seems to be the favourite app for playing these movies:

Virtual Desktop on Steam (also available from the Oculus store)

There are also some free VR movies on Steam:

Steam Search

One of my favourites:

LEGO® Batman 'The Batmersive Experience' on Steam

There is also masses of... uh... "specialist interest" VR movies out there.

Omega74

Hi Nivek,

Thanks for your reply.
I think the Quest is a good place to start.
Is there much of a difference in the experience between a Quest and a Gaming PC with a Rift S?

Thanks again.
B

aoaaron

Get a Quest if you're interested in consuming media comfortably (films, adult VR content, big screen steaming ur PC) because the wire is a big hassle.

Get a Rift S if your main interest is Skyrim, Fallout 4.

Basically the Quest has a defined set of use cases which not having a wire, and being able to play it anywhere makes it unbeatable.

However look at the games selection. Some games just aren't ever going to be possible on the Quest and if the reason you want to play VR is for those games, then get a Rift S but you'll need a good graphics card which your laptop sounds like it doesn't have.

Nivek TT

Having not tried either (I own a Vive and I've ordered an Index) I'm not really in a position to cast a solid judgement... But I'll have a go

We could talk about resolution, refresh rates, fov and processor muscle. I'm gonna consider 1200 quid of gear vs 400 quid of gear and conclude that the Quest will fall short of offering the fidelity of experience of the Rift. That doesn't mean the Quest won't offer a great VR experience though.

thesnowdog

It all depends on what sort of games you want to play. The bigger and better games can be found on the Rift S but you'll need a decent GPU to run one.

There's a couple of compatibility test apps that you can run to see how compatible your laptop is.

Oculus one is here:

https://ocul.us/compat-tool

Steam one is here:

SteamVR Performance Test on Steam

But it sounds like unless you want to upgrade your laptop that the Quest would be your best bet I reckon.

bilbosmeggins

Given that you said you are not a gamer, then I would say it’s a no brainer.  A Quest hands down.  It will offer all you ask for.  Like others have said regarding movies, you will have to do a bit of digging around, as they don’t just pop up in the menus.  That said, it’s a breeze to watch Netflix on a huge screen, YouTube, including all of their 360 videos and Bigscreen, where users get to host films etc, and invite members of the public.  Beware though, the latter is a very creepy experience.

Regarding fidelity, I own a Rift CV1, a Rift S and a Quest.  For films etc, the Quest is easily on par.  For games, there is a drop in texture quality, and refresh rate, but this is more than made up for with ease of use, and no wires.  For simpler stand-up games, the Quest cannot be beaten.

To bring your laptop up to scratch you will probably have to spend at least the price of a Quest, and then a HMD on top of that.  Unless you’re a hardcore gamer, that might be a bitter pill to swallow.

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There is also the Oculus Go which is more aimed at media consumption rather than games. You could get a 2nd hand one for about £130. It's only 3DoF though so while you can look around, you can't move around (physically).

With the Quest you get 6DoF and 2 controllers. It's only just been released but it is being marketed as their "all-in-one gaming headset".

Personally I'd go with the Quest. To my mind, portability is king. You can take it with you anywhere and within 20 seconds you can be in a game/app etc.

Omega74

Thanks to all for your replys..
The Quest it is!
However all retailers and online stores seem to be out of stock at the moment.
Oculus say tey will have the Quest for shipping at the end of June.

Cant wait.

Thanks again all.

B

PRESSTOG

Dont overlook the Go if its mainly media consumption and VR Place experieces rather than gaming

There are some stonkingly cheap GOs on Gumtree,   Picked up a couple of lightly used ones last week (One still had its wrapping on for £70 and £90 respectively)..

So may be worth the outlay to see if its something you want to persure, and for media consumption the screen on the GO is better than the Quest IMHO