There is a raft of inaccurate information posted here so I just wanted to address some of the points made by people either misinformed or uneducated on the subject, no offence intended to anyone...


-There a no apps or they are poor – False: The apps intended for use with this are published on the oculus store not the play store, they have strict acceptance criteria with regards to quality and the many of the apps are far beyond what’s on offer for Google cardboard on the play store. I believe there are around 120+ games/apps/experiences and not all are paid, there are many demos and free games despite what's been said here. They seem to drop at least 5 or 6 new apps/games every week.

A handful of app/game reviews can be found here: http://vrgiant.com/ here: http://www.vrsuperstars.com/ and here: http://www.roadtovr.com/category/samsung-gear-vr-applications/

-Buying a plastic Chinese headset for 10-20 will bring the same experience – False: This headset is far superior to the cheaper plastic Google cardboard headsets with sensors incorporated that are beyond what any phone has built in. I do agree that those are a good intro into VR but this is something else completely and far more immersive and polished. You cannot play the Oculus store games/apps or use the gear VR sensors without one of the supported phones.

-There is an S5 version – False: no this is not the case unfortunately, supported phones are only S6/Note 5 and their edge/+ variations (and the note 4 for an older innovator version of this headset).

-Overheating means you cannot use it for more than 10 mins – Partial Truth: While some users experience overheating this can be negated with a few setting adjustments (screen brightness/flightmode/close apps/etc.) and/or running from a powerbank so the battery does not generate heat (my S6 has never overheated even after 1-2hr play sessions or watching a movie in the cinema). The key one seems to be adjusting the brightness in the headset settings menu and closing any background apps.

-VR is a fad like 3D tellies: Big Nope.

-Wait for Rift/Vive/other: There will always be something better in the pipeline (nature of technology), I would argue that this is available now and is also aimed at a slightly different audience or to compliment those other systems. The support for GearVR will not be dropped once the Rift is released, Oculus is committed to both, think about it like this:
Google cardboard = Gameboy
Samsung Gear VR = PlayStation Portable
Rift/Vive = Playstation/Xbox

If you already have a compatible phone why not drop £80 for a Gear VR and then still get your gamming Rig/PS4 headset when finally released? You can take the Gear VR with you to share experiences with friends/watch movies on a large cinema screen when traveling, the social experiences available are also really impressive. I’ve had good times with mine at parties/down the pub with many friends, some buying one soon after experiencing it.

You really do have to experience this to understand it, if you’ve only tried cardboard then I don’t think it’s fair for you to be offering advice in my opinion (it’s like telling me not to buy a car because you’ve got a bike :o)).

This really is the best VR experience you can have that is available commercially today.

Oh and there is lots of VR adult content for it! ;o)

Comments from an Amazon customer:

Here is why this is better than cardboard:
This has sensors built into the actual device that are an order of magnitude more accurate, and more responsive than what you have in your phone. This means that when you turn your head, there is no noticeable delay before the image updates on the screen. What you see matches 1-to-1 with how you move your head in real life. I've had the innovator edition for quite some time now, and the experiences are pretty fantastic. I watch netflix in a beautiful ski chalet on a giant TV all the time. The other day I watched my favorite twitch stream with 5 other people at a movie theater on the moon. They are sitting around you and when someone talks it sounds as if they are actually sitting to your left or your right. Their avatars look like cartoons but it doesn't matter. You can see where they're looking, you can see them nod their head in response to a question. It's like you're really together. And this is just the very, very beginning. One other big difference is the oculus store. It's like the App store for VR content. Lots of great stuff on there already."
"Additionally:
Touchpad and back button on the side of the headset
Proximity sensor to detect whether the headset is on your face
Focus dial to adjust for nearsightedness
High quality optics matched to the screen/distortion mesh, providing a much wider field of view than Cardboards I've tried
Better ergonomics/more comfortable, with some attention given to ventilation to avoid lens fogging etc.
When used with Gear VR, the supported phones' hardware and firmware also provide VR features not available with Cardboard:
Low persistence display (no screen blur when looking around)
Asynchronous TimeWarp (considerably reduced perceived latency, fills in for dropped frames to prevent judder)
Special control over the CPU and GPU for more consistent performance
Optional chromatic aberration correction (often disabled for performance reasons)

Because this is an order of magnitude cheaper and is very effective, nothing compares to it at this price point. An Oculus Rift consumer edition requires a PC costing nearer £1,000 as well as the Oculus itself which as of yet doesn't have a price, but it won't be £80 that's for certain.

can get one from primark for £16 it's just like Google cardboard put your phone in the end of it but works quite well just to get a taste of vr on the cheap

can get one from primark for £16 it's just like Google cardboard put your phone in the end of it but works quite well just to get a taste of vr on the cheap

Comments from an Amazon customer:

Here is why this is better than cardboard:
This has sensors built into the actual device that are an order of magnitude more accurate, and more responsive than what you have in your phone. This means that when you turn your head, there is no noticeable delay before the image updates on the screen. What you see matches 1-to-1 with how you move your head in real life. I've had the innovator edition for quite some time now, and the experiences are pretty fantastic. I watch netflix in a beautiful ski chalet on a giant TV all the time. The other day I watched my favorite twitch stream with 5 other people at a movie theater on the moon. They are sitting around you and when someone talks it sounds as if they are actually sitting to your left or your right. Their avatars look like cartoons but it doesn't matter. You can see where they're looking, you can see them nod their head in response to a question. It's like you're really together. And this is just the very, very beginning. One other big difference is the oculus store. It's like the App store for VR content. Lots of great stuff on there already."
"Additionally:
Touchpad and back button on the side of the headset
Proximity sensor to detect whether the headset is on your face
Focus dial to adjust for nearsightedness
High quality optics matched to the screen/distortion mesh, providing a much wider field of view than Cardboards I've tried
Better ergonomics/more comfortable, with some attention given to ventilation to avoid lens fogging etc.
When used with Gear VR, the supported phones' hardware and firmware also provide VR features not available with Cardboard:
Low persistence display (no screen blur when looking around)
Asynchronous TimeWarp (considerably reduced perceived latency, fills in for dropped frames to prevent judder)
Special control over the CPU and GPU for more consistent performance
Optional chromatic aberration correction (often disabled for performance reasons)

If you really want to try vr on the cheap, then you can get the cardboard version for a couple of quid or theses ones for £7 from Gearbest, or the dreaded DX do then as well... http://m.gearbest.com/home-gadgets/pp_198408.html?currency=GBP&gclid=CjwKEAiA8K20BRDetNv3p6DNhXwSJADSwa3t6K3PQM3k_aIPgfpCohCRBB7OXpmrPb8NwePRF28gohoCr9Lw_wcB

Is there a game pad to go with this, and would you recommend getting one to get the best out if games?

I picked up a good one.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RITECH-II-VR-Virtual-Reality-Video-3D-Glasses-for-Phones-Bluetooth-Gamepad-87WS-/111798027741?hash=item1a07ae85dd:g:aiQAAOSwo0JWH06B

much cheaper £11.69 and fits any phone. took time to come but arrived. The kids loved it, but still not much you can do with them after the initial fun. I initially tried the cardboard one, but you have to keep opening it up and touching the screen. This one has a blutooth controller so makes things easier.

so you need to take the phone out of its case to fit in?

link to £80 on Samsung site anyone? had a look could only find innov edt at £179

Can the original gear vr still be bought for the note 4 ?

I have a set of these and they are much better than the cardboard type ones. Obviously so they should be at £80.


Some good apps you can get that give a great experiance of VR. The tech is still relatively new, so lots of room for improvement.

This site gives you an idea of some of the apps/games available.....

http://www.wareable.com/vr/best-samsung-gear-vr-apps-the-games-demos-and-experiences-to-download-first-816

It's a little difficult appreciating the actual experiance just from reading up or watching YT videos about it. Once you have tried it though you can see that there will be a big future in this type of tech.

​ya

This has been £80 on Samsung website since it was released, definitely isn't a deal..

As mentioned before, it is miles better than a "cardboard" solution though.. Much lower latency and a better app store

3% quidco too

Will this only work on Samsung phone?

Not to be rude but why waste your money on this half-baked rubbish when Oculus Rift is just around the corner?.

What if you already have a gaming PC?

Wow VR welcome back to 1994 baby

Oculus Rift in all honesty requires a high end gaming PC. I have had a DK2 for over a year.
Don't believe the rubbish that they say a 970 will do. you really need a 980ti nothing less for a smooth experience.The consumer rift will require even more GPU power.

For £80 quid the Samsung Gear is a deal.

Still around 4 times more expensive.

Probably will be a better experiance, but like most things, cost plays a part. Why doesn't everyone buy the best most expensive phone, TV, car.....

Well the Oculus will cost £300-£350 as it's reputed to cost $350 in the USA. Also the Oculus requires a gaming PC, this requires a Samsung phone, this is cheaper whichever way you look at it. However they will definitely be different experiences. I've never been a fan of kickstarted projects. Look at GlowForge for example, looks amazing, currently it's hopeless, with no fixed timeline on when it will be completed, if ever.

Do the Edge phones work with vr stuff?

Seems good, bought one too. hope it arrives soon :-) thanks.

Been keeping an eye on these at work recently. This hasn't been available or in stock up until today so this is quite possibly the brand new one.

Up until now (or very recently) only the innovator edition versions have been available in the UK... so this is the brand new Consumer edition of GearVR as far as I can tell (inclusion of S6+) - SM-R322

£80 is the standard (and expected) price from all the articles and reviews I've read in the past, so this isn't necessarily a deal or a bargain (so don't all panic buy asap!).

Good spot for noticing it's now available on the samsung site though.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, as I'd like to know if I'm confused by it all!

ZTE, mi, Huawei etc will soon spoil the market with capable VR headsets at a quarter the price. But if anyone thinks this is expensive, wait for the almighty apple to release and put a £1000 price on it. The fan boys will be all over it

I'm guessing my GTX 970, i5-4460 and 8gb won't be enough for the rift then? Shame I don't own a Samsung phone, voted hot though for the cost offset.

Better than DK2?!?!?

In terms of it being a finished product maybe.

But the software is what makes the device. The phone versions are like a basic demo compared to what you can get on a PC. Friend has DK1 & 2. I have a Google Cardboard type device. I almost ordered a Gear VR but decided (having tried the available apps on a much cheaper version) that PC was the way to go.

Haven't changed my mind.

Although, suspect I may now have to get a Rift and a Vive if software doesn't work on both.

Looks like it's finally time to upgrade the main PC ....

Never really liked Lollipop to be honest, I always preferred KitKat, ICS and Jellybean for the look and UI.

Fingers crossed, I thought I would be future proofing on my budget CPU but with a more powerful GFX card :smiley:

You Tube do some 360 videos which give you an idea of the sort of experience these things are going to be capable of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gjR60TSn8Q

Indeed, however the S6 will get Marshmallow, but since I'm with EE and want the EE carrier functions Wifi Calling and HD calling, I'm at the mercy of EE releasing Marshmallow, which will almost certainly be beyond the release of the S7. The S7 should be an S6 which works properly, with some added functions. I will still have a year left on my contract as well so stuck with the S6 for now. Anyway I'm tempted by this so if it's any good I'll probably just use the S6 for this and get an S7. Samsung internal storage still has the fastest I/O performance, the camera on the S7 will drop to 12Mp from 16Mp but have a larger sensor and better low light performance. also it's supposed to have an SD card slot, which is the only bad thing, that I don't agree with on the S7.

I've always liked the idea of virtual reality since Tron came out all those years ago and I remember the Firefox handheld game where you looked through those lenses....however is it really such a good idea having a screen so close to our eyes for such a long time. This will cause myopia (short sightedness) and perhaps these consumers desire for such products will just accept in the next 10 years most people will wear glasses?

Or is the technology cleverer than this? And makes your eyes focus at different distances in order to stop you getting myopia?

I remember how long it took Vodafone to release Jellybean for the S2! Not the fastest release. Totally different story with the Nexus 4 though.

Wait until the Oculus is actually released and read reviews when it's released, anything else is speculation currently. Although with Kickstarter projects expect the experience to not live up to the hype.

I have just bought an S6 for me and the girlfriend, but still waiting for our cases to arrive in the post before we get them up and running. (seems a very slippy phone)
When is marshmallow available? I have it on my Nexus 5 that I'm hoping S6 is an upgrade from and nexus has marshmallow

I have one, great bit of kit, its not far behind the dk2 at all, Eve gun jack has impressive graphics, once again showing its not just hardware but what you do with it.

There is no comparison with cardboard for a few reasons.

You can alter the focus on this to make the image sharp. Cardboard has a set of dodgy cheap lenses. The gear has a strap and can be worn for an hour two, cardboard can only be used for a few minutes at a time. You also get a usable controller mounted on the display and a better set of motion trackers. Cardboard is like dads home film projector while the Gear VR is like imax in other words.

THATS WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT 3D.

Nexus devices have traditionally been cheap and relatively low spec in comparison to the flagship phones, I had an N4 and didn't go N5, I waited, the N6 was a disaster, so I skipped it and eventually went N4 > S6. The N5X and 6P don't interest me. However you're right they got Marshmallow months ago, so give the best OS experience in terms of purity.

The new Lenovo K4 Note is shipping with a bundled VR headset with total price <$200.

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/lenovo-vibe-k4-note-launched-in-india-price-full-specifications-and-more-785747

VR which includes 3D has a lot more uses other than just movies. So whilst I agree 3D in the consumer sense has been a bit of a failure, it will live on in VR which will be much more successful.

Consumer 3D printing is SLA not SLS, SLS gives you a better finish. SLS is industrial only and likely to stay that way. For now consumer 3D printing is SLA.

Of course you might be talking about 3D video :smiley: Which in that case I agree 3D was a fad, that is dying off.

Never mind the UI, the mess they made of Bluetooth on Lollipop was the killer. Even worse if you have an older or non-Google phone.

It's still not right on my Note 3. Stuck on 5.0. No sign of any sort of official 5.1 update, never mind a 6.0 one.

I'll be switching to a Nexus device (6p most likely) for my next phone. Faster, and probably longer lasting, updates ....

You've obviously never tried it.

3D is not in the same ballpark as VR. Not even close.

Watching a film through this VR headset. What is the equivalent in screen size that you see?
Ie is it the same as going to the cinema or watching a 50inch TV etc?

I'm tempted, but don't want to spend £80 if it is more of a demo unit.
Wonder how much PS4 headset is going to be in and when it releases?

The S6 is in every way a superior phone to the N5, apart from the S6 siblings it is still the most powerful phone that exists. The camera is up there with the LG G4 and possibly bettered by the Xperia Z5, it has the most powerful chipset, Samsung's own Exynos, everyone else had to use Snapdragon 808 or 810. Also the S6 has the fastest internal storage of any phone, including the iPhone 6S. Unfortunately any hardware is only as good as its software, and the software Lollipop 5.1.1 is still crap. Marshmallow is due out this month on the S6, carrier versions EE etc will take a lot longer to emerge.

Thanks for that. My very early impression is only from turning the phone on to activate a sim. Watching a YouTube video, testing I blaster and then turning back off whilst I wait for a case.

My early opinion was how slippy it felt to hold and that it was slightly larger in the hand than my Nexus 5, so regrettably having to make a little bigger with a case (normally never buy cases)

I did notice a slightly yellow tinge when viewing whites and also YouTube compared side by side with HD content had a very slight stutter and wasn't as smooth as my Nexus 5. (this might be just because I need a YouTube update, not sure)

But really looking forward to testing it out! Loved the IR blaster when I tested that part though

My advice here is solid I recommend these two items >

Easy Acc Tempered Screen protector, no bubble easy application and mine's been on since I got the phone in April and is perfect.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EasyAcc-Protector-Tempered-Invisible-Anti-Sharp/dp/B00WG5P3X6/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1451988878&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=easy+acc+screen+protector+s6

Ringke Fusion case >

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=ringke+s6

You will need to clean the phone periodically by removing the case, the case is perfect though. I've never dropped my phone, however this protects the phone and has limited drop protection but does the job for me, the phone will literally slide through your hands if you don't have a case on it and don't grip it well enough. Also neither of these items adds significant bulk to the phone.

This sounds like a toy for the kid......the Riviera Kid!

No

Anybody who has one of these VR units, how is the 'screen door' effect on these from the Sammy phones? I have an S6 and really just would be interested in watching movies and tv shows etc via the VR Cinema.

Its going to be bad, the gtx 970 is about 3 times as powerful as a PS4 and that will struggle.

so the fact you have to have a £600 samsung phone is besides the point, right?

Does anybody know if you can still use this if you wear glasses?

The resolution is QHD so this is already to high for the likes of PS4 and xbox one, it then needs to output at 90 FPS in order for you not to feel sick. So yes this requires a very powerful PC for your standard AAA games.

No. By the time you factor in dinner, drinks and a cab ride, it usually costs more than £80 to have one of those wrapped around your head.

I love my 3D tv. Now with some of the 4k passive ones you get a really clear picture with amazing depth. It's a shame that it's a dying format. I found it to be great.

I have also just bought this headset. tried the cardboard and loved it, so this is the next step really.

Thanks pal. I ordered http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00QU4OJRU/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1451989792&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=spigen+slim+armor+s6&dpPl=1&dpID=41ONl8l-XvL&ref=plSrch
For my black sapphire S6
And for the Mrs white she went with
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00SV63Q4C/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1451989934&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=spigen+mint+s6&dpPl=1&dpID=41HDpdRJTkL&ref=plSrch

Not thought about the front, but for mine I've also got a pouch aswell.

Might get the clear one too.
We both hesitantly decided on 32gb so hopefully won't be too much of a juggle with memory. But for another £80 each thought we would try manage with 32gb

Exaggeration does not make your point for you. A Galaxy S6 does not cost £600, I really think you need to consult these forums for a realistic price, in fact you can use a Galaxy S5 which can be had for even less. There are ways of getting the S6 from between £259 to £349 SIM free. Definitely not £600 or anywhere near that price. Maybe when you've seen S6 deals you've failed to realise that many are contract deals where a significant portion of the price is the tariff per month. Anyway everything considered an S6 costs nowhere near £600 and to suggest it does is a complete falsehood.

Compatible with Note Edge?

32GB is easily enough as long as you don't fill it up with videos and music. I use my S6 for storing photos I've taken with it and for apps.

Yeah, I hit both those price points.
Argos £349 (came with free wireless charger) for the girlfriend.
Then I got envious and impulses bought myself one through O2 for £259 (though still trying to shake off a few O2 administration errors)

If you are unable to see past the fact that google cardboard is cheaper than this and offers a VR experience for the thrifty without the Samsung only phone limitations of the Gear VR then please be assured I have both and the cheaper cardboard option is not comparable. Fine you can still experience VR but it's like comparing an hour long trip in a dogem car to a comfortable cruise in the back of a proper car. I will say that this is very much the infancy of the technology, the main problem I have with it is that the resolution is just not good enough for video (especially 360 video). There are many demos of 360 cams at live music events, football matches etc. and you can't see clearly enough for this to be usable yet. Pixel density and overall resolution (you really need UHD) needs to increase to make this something that the masses will accept. Games work well however as the low res isn't really a problem when playing things like Dreadhalls or Gunjack but anything that requires you to be able tor read text is a bit of an issue. The Samsung Internet Browser app highlights this issue the most as the readable text in webpages is hard to make out. I found the movie player to be quite good, Netflix app as well was decent but I don't think it will do your eyes much good trying to watch an entire movie.

Presumably these would give a whole new edge to watching porn?

I definitely recommend the EasyAcc screen protector, easily the best addition I've made to the phone, it's perfect even 9 months on.

Sweet, getting excited (like a big kid with new technology, that's why I'm looking at this VR, something I don't have) and wanting to charge and fully set up my s6 now ya bigger it up for me :o)

So got a decent link or any must have apps to show off the new device? Just the IR blaster did it for me. Was mint seeing myself selecting a picture of movie and it turning over my Sky box to right channel.

The PS4 is a lot less powerful.

But, in my eyes anyway, the limitation will be the software. There will be so much more indy and home brew stuff on the PC version I suspect. Rather than the endless run of sequels and repeat big releases you tend to get on consoles.

I don't know if the PS4 has an SDK available, but I still think the PC version (with good hardware obviously) will be the killer.

Is the gorilla glass not strong enough? Or just for extra protection? Will take a look though. With Spigen case and that, potentially can carry phone like that and not need to bother with a phone pouch on top

I know too many apps, although they're applicable to any Android phone. If you need a killer app then Airdroid and Pushbullet to a lesser extent are those apps.

These are unbelievably good.

very tempted... but I'm going to wait until it gets in the 40 range before picking one up. It's inevitable, and yes I'll have to wait a few months, but I have plenty else to keep me busy until then

Gorilla glass is nothing special, the only almost indestructible phone I've seen is the Motorola Force X >

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/mobile-phones/1404136/motorola-moto-x-force-review-the-incredible-shatterproof-smartphone

You can throw that phone, drop kick it, it will survive. So no worries ever dropping it. If you do that with your S6 the LCD will smash and the rear glass will as well. You won't regret paying £5.99 for that EasyAcc Tempered screen protector.

I have a DK2 so my comment is based on experience (I blogged about it here), that said, I am anticipating that the higher res consumer Rift will be a step up again.

I will be putting my order in when they make the announcement tomorrow!

I have one of these and a cardboard. The Gear VR is so much better than the cardboard. I agree the cardboard is a great little introduction to VR but these are much more polished with some really good games available.

My favourite games are Keep talking and nobody explodes, Lands end and Esper 2.

But its the same resolution!?

Lol, whatever next!

It's very interesting reading all this. I have no idea if it will truely take off, I feel 3D on TVs are a complete fad, but I hope it will. As for me, personally I play PC and spend a fair amount on it so I'll be buying both the Rift and the Vive. Can't wait :smiley:

Yeah S6 is £350 sim free on Amazon and Argos and I got mine from o2 for £17 per month.

Standard S6, I should really have put that it would be best for each eye to have as much resolution and pixel density as possible so that what you are looking at is free of blocky text, visible pixels and the clarity you would see looking at a 1080p screen from a distance. The technology to do this probably doesn't exist yet but if the market demands this it's only a matter of time before it's a reality.

Amusing thing is people say that to get the latest VR headsets you need to spend £1000 on a pc, but this requires a compatible phone which funnily enough also isn't free!

where is the link?
is this from Samsung.co.UK?

liNK works for me :smiley:
.com/uk

I know there's a lot of talk about the phones screen resolution, but the future of these VR headsets is in non-phone based ones. The tech is still fairly new (from a consumer product view) so eventually the headsets will be cheap enough for more people to get on board. Same with all new emerging techs.

A couple of years down the line most mediocre PC's/phones will be powerful enough to drive these headsets with an acceptable quality and will bring the price right down and hopefully the tech will have matured by then.

The way I see it, the Samsung headset is targeting current Samsung phones users, not particularity trying to entice people over to their phones. They (Samsung) are using the current phones tech to research and develop VR and hopefully, eventually make headsets (and related R&D) available to other manufactures for other phones and/or stand alone headsets. It's all got to start somewhere.

This £80 unit is great, I got mine a few weeks back when it was released over here. The Netflix app is great and free, it's like being in the cinema!

None of the gaming content is free though, games start at £8, no trials as far as I could see

But you need a Note 5 or Samsung S6/edge

I covered that in the comment you just replied to.

i know, what im eluding to is that you need to buy or have a Note5/s6/s6 edge, so it isnt £80 for this setup. Good deal though

VR will bomb just as bad as 3D has.

Thought this was standard price for the Samsung VR kit too?

And Oculus is targeting gaming PC owners. :-)

This is probably a stupid question but here goes, I lost an eye when serving in forces and 3d movies etc do not work on me. Would this issue also be the same with the vr systems mentioned.

Quite possibly not.

It can be VERY disorientating. A couple of friends of mine who get travel sickness are prett much incapable of using it! And if it's your first try, I would recommend sitting down! Standing up tends to increase the disorientation.

I found horizontal movement was fine. Vertical movement (and the two combined) is where the disorientation tends to kick in. For me, grabbing the desk to "ground" me, if it gets a bit much, worked well.


Don't own a DK2 personally. But a good friend does. So I've used it (and the DK1) a fair bit.

As I said, the Gear is more polished product, but the quality of software available was far more "involved" on the PC. Most of the stuff on mobile still felt like tech demo's and wasn't very interactive.

Not looked at mobile VR apps for a while mind you. May have to re-visit them and see whats improved ...

I'm with you though. Will be pre-ordering tomorrow. :smiley:

BTW are oculus happy to ship to the UK?

Truedat - until you've tried it what do you really know. The first time I started up Dreadhalls my jaw hit the floor, there is simply nothing like the immersion of being inside the game. Looking up and seeing a stone ceiling and walls that look like you can just reach out and touch them. It's an incredible experience and that's without posititional head tracking. I think that horror games might be too much for some people to play in VR, it won't be long before the first death due to fright.

I disagree. I only see using one eye, 3D is utterly useless to me, but I tried the Oculus Rift DK1 and was completely blown away despite the poor quality it has. It didn't feel 2D, I could "see" depth.

The parallax effect when you move your head presumably recreates most of what I see in the real world anyway.

Yes of course they are and it cost's a lot more but admittedly it seems like it will be a better experience.

Personally the Oculus (or non-phone) based headsets are more appealing to me, but will wait it out till the tech has developed and costs are a little lower.

That is interesting but it was not stereoscopic 3D you were experiencing as this is impossible with just one eye but you may find this helpful:

http://kotaku.com/playing-occulus-rift-with-only-one-eye-1074765790

Thanks OP, ordered with 3.15% TCB

Thanks guys guess I saved some money.

I'd be tempted if my phone was compatible, unfortunately doesn't seem like this version works with a Galaxy Note 4 >.<

Can I ask what phone you are using yours with? Because I think you are referring to the innovator edition which is more expensive. This is the newer (not necessarily better) model that is cheaper

Yes it has, I paid £80 at the start of December when it was first released, it's just that there's actually more in stock now.
But yes, it is awesome and those uninformed people who say "There's a cheap eBay plastic thing that is just as good" have no idea what they are talking about.

Is this exactly the same as this one? http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B017WA5VI6

That's because you bought the innovator edition, while this is the consumer edition, the regular price for which is £80. I don't know if they still have issues with stock, but this is still basically full price.

Oh I see thanks what is the difference between the 2?

These are just a total waste of money. There is no decent software to use with them and unlikely there ever will be.

Sony Vr headset will be released some time this year. It will be around £300 by all accounts, if you gave a ps4 or even if you haven't (pc requirements are a stupid spec and Facebook are showing very little investment in oculus as regards gaming) it's going to be the best option by far for early adopters. Sony are properly supporting it as as AAA software developers.

My word the amount of misinformed comments on this deal is ridiculous. Google cardboard is not one bit comparable to Gear VR.

anyone know much about the overheating issues with this and the s6?

I have one of these and rarely use it. The handset constantly overheated after ten minutes. Also you cannot use it to view your own downloaded tv shows or movies, but only those from the Oculus store. Fancy buying all your content again? I don't. Really wanted to try the new Lands End game for the Rift, but that's absent from the Oculus UK store.

Very interesting, thanks. Unlike the guy in the article I have nothing to compare it to, my real world vision isn't stereoscopic anyway so its the same inside VR as without.

From something I read a while back there are various ways the brain can create a 3D image, the main one that will probably be missing for me with VR is focal distance. In the real world I must get some sense of distance based upon focus, I can see this now looking past my monitor and out of the window, I can "see" the difference in distance, I dont think VR will provide that.

Either way, as someone who has missed out on the 3D "craze" I'll be buying either a Rift or HTC Vive once they firm up on the details of each.

I usually plug the headset in if I am going to be using it for any length of time (it passes through to the phone).
It overheats if in heavy use for over an hour in my experience.

Are you sure? All of the reviews I have read talk about watching your own content, e.g.

First you should enter MicroSD card file directory and then manage to Oculus > Movies > Your Movies. Inside “Your Movies” file you should create a new one named “3D”. In this folder you should place your side-by-side 3D videos.

After creating your 3D folder and placing proper video files, put your MicroSD card in Galaxy Note 4. Prepared smartphone slide in Gear VR, and put the device on.

Edit - direct from the Oculus support pages:
https://support.oculus.com/hc/en-us/articles/205453088-Watching-your-videos-in-Oculus-Video

Sorry - being lazy - can you watch your own content on s6?

Nobody knows what it's going to cost yet. you'd know that if you followed it.

Well done for analysing what I said and then responding with a pointless comment. I'd go read what I said again. I never quoted a definitive price, I stated that it will likely cost £300-£350 if the price is what Oculus themselves quoted as likely being which is $350. I'm fully aware the real price hasn't been officially released. Read comment #20 before you attempt to pointlessly debate this with me.

I did. you were wrong.

Read comment #20 then stop debating this with me.

VR - another passing fad re-awakened for a generation that didn't experience or forgot how bad it was last time around.
Like 3D cinema.

Just to repeat. £80 is the going price for these. They've JUST been released as a consumer edition and this is their RRP. Don't all go mad buying for the sake of it. Not really a hot deal, but a good spot for it's release (been talking about it for ages)

Well I pulled you up on this most recent post, not that one. I see you've edited it now.

Which post are you replying to that I've edited? I always edit posts, and I 100% have not edited any in reference to this pointless debate in order to make myself out to be correct. I was already correct in that I was surmising what had already been said. Why do you even have to debate this? I haven't stated I know the price of the Oculus Rift, never have I stated that as a fact.

Read the small print. No content with DRM Is viewable in the Oculus app. I was talking about paid-for content which usually comes with DRM, specifically in my case the last series of GoT.

Other stuff , like the Oculus stuff it comes with, looks great. I did keep the handset and helmet plugged into power because the Oculus hammers the battery. Overheating did occur however after 15 minutes and I haven't tried it since so I don't know if that would have been an ongoing problem - the S6 itself constantly reports overheating and I have had to stop using it as a consequence. (I did send it off for repair but the problem has come back.) YMMV.

This.

Good VR is all about high res, high framerate GFX. Lose that, and the experience starts to degrade.

PS4 doesn't have that sort of GFX power. Full stop. End of story.

Plus, as I've already said, it's the indy and homebrew stuff which will push boundaries.

Can't wait myself. I've held off buying a dev kit rift for years now!

It would be interesting to see phones with a 4K resolution to see how much of a difference that will make. It might be one reason to actually have a 4K resolution or higher on a phone.

I've done some minor research and even 8K isn't good enough if you want a HD experience >

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/09/virtual-perfection-why-8k-resolution-per-eye-isnt-enough-for-perfect-vr/

You said "Well the Oculus will cost £300-£350" which you've edited. That was wrong.

Anyway, you've been corrected.

Many thanks for posting this. There's a lot of misinformation about VR right now. I've owned both the Oculus Rift DK1 and DK2, and have also tried the Gear VR Innovator Edition, and what I'll say is this - if you have one of the Samsung phones that supports Gear VR, you'd be silly not to buy one of these. This is by far the cheapest and best VR you can experience right now.

The consumer version of the Oculus Rift (CV1) is shipping some time in Q1 with pre-orders opening tomorrow. Oculus have yet to announce the price of it but I can almost guarantee that it will be a minimum of $499 (or £350 - with an extra amount for international shipping and potential customs tax if they don't distribute it from the UK). This is based on what Palmer Luckey (the Oculus founder) has been tweeting and commenting on recently. On top of this, the specs required for the CV1 are an NVIDIA GTX 970 or AMD 290 (another £270 on top) - and that's not including the processor, memory and 2 USB 3.0 ports you'll require to run the thing. In short - only the more dedicated PC gamers will be the early adopters this.

The Gear VR on the other hand provides a surprisingly great experience (even I was surprised at just how good the Innovator Edition was in comparison to the DK2)- I haven't tried this consumer version of Gear VR yet but if the reviews are anything to go by, they sound even better and more polished - http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/25/samsung-gear-vr-review-2015/.

TL;DR - If you have a compatible Samsung phone, BUY THIS.

'Oculus $350' stick that in to Google, it settles things. To make things clear, I don't know the price of the Oculus and if I gave that impression that wasn't intended and my original post #25 is still unedited and the same sentence.

To anyone reading this comments section - If you want to know about Oculus or Vive then visit the /r/roculus or /r/Vive subreddits on Reddit.com. /r/GearVR for samsungs.

Check the recommended specs of your pc against those givin out by Oculus and Vive. Also you'll need a phone that supports GearVr.

Or r/gearvr for all Gear VR related news including my YouTube cinema app which i've just released :smiley:

Ah go on give us a shameless link to it :smiley: pls

Here it is I believe >

https://www.reddit.com/r/GearVR/comments/3zgvmf/just_spent_the_last_hour_watching_3d_youtube/

What development language do you use for it?

I read a recent post on reddit about a bunch of people and some randoms watching a film on the moon and having a great laugh. I think gaming isn't going to be the main usage with Vr as there's too many other possibilities.

I'm going to be a little crazy here and actually talk about the product thats featured in this post. I bought one as soon as it became available in the UK for £80 since thats the RRP by Samsung, so not a special deal just a cheaper RRP than expected. It's definitely better than the cheap cardboard and most of the Chinese rip off. But there is one problem which I have encountered. The lens seems to get condensation of a sort, since theres no fan to extract or intake air, the lens seem to fog up after a while. Not sure if its to do with the fitting maybe. But it does happen every time for me even after adjusting the straps.

Great information to help others out, thank you.

To describe the VR is extremely difficult the best thing I can say is it's something you have to experience to understand and really see its value.

Those are the rubbish ones you can get for a pound or two from China on eBay.

The one in Primark actually looks pretty well made and will be much more comfortable...



Still think it's a pretty pointless purchase unless you've got a 2K or 4K phone, though!

EDIT: This seems to be it on Amazon?

This.

The "it'll be another fad like 3D TV's" brigade have no idea.

3D TV .... yeah. If done well, it can look nice. But it's hardly mindblowing.

VR .... is. It's that simple. Even the most basic, crummy, google cardboard setup will show you the night and day difference between 3D and VR. To even try and compare them is stupid.

The closest thing I can think of, in 2D, to give you some idea, without actually putting on a VR headset, is this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw

(From almost 10 years ago!!!!)

As I say, it gives you some idea. But when you actually try a decent headset, it blows this out of the water. And then blows up the water. And then the seabed beneath it ..... etc etc

http://www.gearbest.com/virtual-reality/pp_217891.html

Own two of these, great to dip your toes into the VR experience and cheap as chips like £6 a pop
but took 4 weeks to arrive

be sure to use the right QR for your phone and headset

http://www.gearbest.com/virtual-reality/pp_217891.html

I used the one in this link for my Meizu M2 Note ie 5.5 inch screen

http://imgur.com/gallery/2bwEBKQ

the right setting is important esp for bigger phone screens

loads of player out there for 3D SBS files, just look on playstore etc

Ah yes much better, was the reference to it being Google Cardboard meant I thought it was the same thing.

Im poor. Will stick to the £10 Cardboard. XD

I do really want one of these. The overheating of the handset is the thing that puts me off. I've got a shiny new S6 Edge + and I don't want excess heat causing battery degradation from too much VR usage.

It's hilarious that this can cost the price is does considering it basically cardboard with a few sensors and needs a pricey Samsung only phone to work.

Buy a cheap 2K phone and a plastic viewer from China and it will be pretty acceptable till something like PlayStation VR comes out.

Google cardboard Only has Symmetric lenses so try and go for asymmetric lenses plastic version and the right QR code

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPD6P0mBwzs

Most people saying that Google carboard etc is pants havent set up properly ,
ie the right setting for the phone size and lenses ,

saw countless people saying the Ritechs II are no good but after Ive informed them of the Qr barcode scan for their particular phone theyve all changed their tune

Oculus Rift is great though and has alot more features and sensors but this tech is still in its infancy so i would wait before spending large lol

Also they are loads of mods to help you use the "samsung phone" only features etc
something as simple as build prop editing and ... your good to go

Google is thy friend Peops

Netflix VR and Oculus... mWahaha gotta love the Modabilty of Android

Also use Trinus VR esp if you are a gamer, I love using it for N64 emulation , GoldenEye is brill

http://trinusvr.com/

Cheap and nasty experience. Its not going to play Arma3 in VR mode and its not going to be used for any games that are worth having VR. But hey I suppose £80 for a weeks worth of entertainment before its put on a shelf.

Written in Unity using c# :smiley:

Ah cool. I'm 45 and I've just started learning Maths as they somehow forgot to teach me it at school. Using Khan Academy so I'll have some useful knowledge. Maths is one language that if you don't know it then you don't have a full understanding of the world I believe. Then I've read a lot about programming on Quora, they suggest if you really want to be a programmer, go low level and learn C, something to do with learning about pointers. Anyway I plan to learn a whole bunch of stuff so I can do penetration testing, as that's something I've always done as a hobby, hacking that is, ethically of course :smiley:

I've had it with these motherf&*&ng movies on this motherf%^&ng plane.

Are there any adult video apps that work with it? The response to this question dictates whether i vote cold or hot.

will Samsung honour a refund for a used device being returned within 14 days?

I bought it but it runs so bad for me that ive never played it again.

This looks amazing..would anyone be so kind, as to point me in the right direction for something to give me an idea of VR?

Sounds quality! What are the "basic" models for VR headsets? I've heard of cardboard but I've also heard that there's better alternatives? I'd happily buy this, unfortunately lumbered with an S5 though!

There is a version that supports the S5 - might be worth looking t the second hand market as it will be a superior experience to a generic device as a result of the work done by Samsung (IMO)

EG http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Virtual-Reality-Glasses-Samsung-Gear-VR-SM-R321-Innovator-Edition-for-S6-/191770706982?hash=item2ca66cc426:g:H8IAAOSwhkRWg-Zc

I ordered this today and the product on my invoice turned into "Samsung Gear VR Lite".
I really hope that's not some lesser version of the product I wanted?

does it work with note 4? I can't see it on list but I swear these first came out for the note 4 then soon as they made a more expensive one for the note 4 they don't advertise it for the note 4. if that makes sense anyone know? ?

Don't worry I think thats what they referred to the consumer edition as when they first put it on the site. The product in the deal is the one you will get.

VR Lite is the consumer edition. It says lite because it's lighter than the others.

Oh, and it's probably been said already (I haven't read the thread) but this isn't really a deal as it's always been £80 on the Samsung store. Still, anything that gets new people to experience VR is a good thing

Silly question but where do you buy the VR apps for this.
Ive ordered but was wanting to have a look whats available before it arrives.

"They" forgot to teach you Maths at school ?.. somehow that doesn't add up

ahahhhahahhhhhhahh

in 2015 we were supposed to have holograms and hoverboards.
Instead were stuck with these bulky VR headsets, and segways with giant wheels which stupid/blind (or both) people keep calling hoverboards.

Wat

OK then Ebay for at least £150 with no warranty

Not compatible with Marshmallow possible in a few months

I got a pair of LR ones from Specsavers for about the same price...

There is a raft of inaccurate information posted here so I just wanted to address some of the points made by people either misinformed or uneducated on the subject, no offence intended to anyone...


-There a no apps or they are poor – False: The apps intended for use with this are published on the oculus store not the play store, they have strict acceptance criteria with regards to quality and the many of the apps are far beyond what’s on offer for Google cardboard on the play store. I believe there are around 120+ games/apps/experiences and not all are paid, there are many demos and free games despite what's been said here. They seem to drop at least 5 or 6 new apps/games every week.

A handful of app/game reviews can be found here: http://vrgiant.com/ here: http://www.vrsuperstars.com/ and here: http://www.roadtovr.com/category/samsung-gear-vr-applications/

-Buying a plastic Chinese headset for 10-20 will bring the same experience – False: This headset is far superior to the cheaper plastic Google cardboard headsets with sensors incorporated that are beyond what any phone has built in. I do agree that those are a good intro into VR but this is something else completely and far more immersive and polished. You cannot play the Oculus store games/apps or use the gear VR sensors without one of the supported phones.

-There is an S5 version – False: no this is not the case unfortunately, supported phones are only S6/Note 5 and their edge/+ variations (and the note 4 for an older innovator version of this headset).

-Overheating means you cannot use it for more than 10 mins – Partial Truth: While some users experience overheating this can be negated with a few setting adjustments (screen brightness/flightmode/close apps/etc.) and/or running from a powerbank so the battery does not generate heat (my S6 has never overheated even after 1-2hr play sessions or watching a movie in the cinema). The key one seems to be adjusting the brightness in the headset settings menu and closing any background apps.

-VR is a fad like 3D tellies: Big Nope.

-Wait for Rift/Vive/other: There will always be something better in the pipeline (nature of technology), I would argue that this is available now and is also aimed at a slightly different audience or to compliment those other systems. The support for GearVR will not be dropped once the Rift is released, Oculus is committed to both, think about it like this:
Google cardboard = Gameboy
Samsung Gear VR = PlayStation Portable
Rift/Vive = Playstation/Xbox

If you already have a compatible phone why not drop £80 for a Gear VR and then still get your gamming Rig/PS4 headset when finally released? You can take the Gear VR with you to share experiences with friends/watch movies on a large cinema screen when traveling, the social experiences available are also really impressive. I’ve had good times with mine at parties/down the pub with many friends, some buying one soon after experiencing it.

You really do have to experience this to understand it, if you’ve only tried cardboard then I don’t think it’s fair for you to be offering advice in my opinion (it’s like telling me not to buy a car because you’ve got a bike :o)).

This really is the best VR experience you can have that is available commercially today.

Oh and there is lots of VR adult content for it! ;o)

Until tomorrow anyway. (Assuming you count pre-order status as "available")

Friend who has was an original kickstarter backer has had the news that he'll be getting a free consumer special edition version now. He's a happy bunny. (Although, he has already sunk around £500 on DK1 & DK2 ...)

Suprised this got so much heat. Its onky for a limited number of phones and has always been this price.

The biggest downside is its onky 2015 that are supported. I have a note four which is a year old and thats not even supported. Shame really otherwise i could have been tempted at this price.

Waste of time, VR is horrible on a phone screen, not realistic at all, cruddy phone graphics etc, sent my VR headset back... I honestly couldn't see how it was any different than watching my tv in 3D... I hope Oculus is good but if it is anything like these things, forget it.

so does it work for Note 4 or not? Your original reply was all over the place

This is totally wrong and just not true. GearVR works fine on Galaxy S6, [email protected] fps and the VR experience is really good.

In terms of raw computing power, PS4 is very roughly 10x faster than S6. This is plenty of power to provide amazing VR experience, even at 90/120Hz - especially with low-level hardware and software optimization.

Can a PS4 handle [email protected] fps though?

Not even all games run 1080p @ 60fps.

And remember, there is way more to a decent console game than there is to a basic tech/GFX demo on a phone.

I guess the PS4 version will be OK. But it won't be as good as a high powered PC version. And I see the PS4 supports some sort of (regulated by Sony) SDK, but it's the indies and homebrew stuff that will throw up the interesting stuff that pushes the boundaries.

On the consoles .... I envisage ...... FIFA 2017 VR .... COD 8 VR .... Forza 9 VR ... etc etc

aka - they'll just churn out and re-hash the same old stuff. Same as consoles always do.

Nope. PC is the way forward for high end VR at the moment.

The R320 is for the note 4 if that helps

Isn't this the standard retail price?

... I wonder how much Samsung are paying HUKD for this featured 'deal'.

But mobile games are incredibly simple. They look alright on a mobile screen, but run them on a TV and they look PS2 standard.

Those saying Sony are the only way to go, assuming triple AAA titles will be VR compatible are going to be in for a rude awakening. I'll bet my bottom dollar that Sony's VR games will be things you buy from the store. Sure, they'll be a bit more intensive than what's on the Android store, but they will not be anywhere near the level the Oculus will be at.

Would be surprised if it's released before March so no I don't count that as "available" :wink: will be getting one when it is though as already upgraded my PC.

I have this, it's great. Only thing is the over heating of the phone after around 45 min. Anyone else have this?

If you wanted to get people to buy it, you could have just posted this and left it at that :stuck_out_tongue:

brought one of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVPTSxAjqC8 only like a £10 almost does the same job

NAH IM GONNA WAIT FOR HTC VIVE

When i tried that at egx i was literally blown away with the experience, it was literally like being in the matrix (with portal thrown in!)

In terms of pure hardware specs, PS4 GPU has ~25 Gigapixels/s filtrate, which means it can theoretically push something close to 500(sic) fps at 1080p. It is purely up to developers how many fps you get. They can for instance target [email protected] or just [email protected] Obviously there will be a difference in terms of graphics quality and complexity between those two. Why you mostly see [email protected] is because it delivers maximum obtainable graphics quality (using hardware available in PS4), at the expense of lower frame rate - and it is easier to sell better looking graphics than higher fps (which is not really visible on screenshoots or youtube videos). Even if PS4 got Titan GPU, you would still see [email protected] games - because it delivers the best graphics possible while still being somewhat 'acceptable' in terms of smoothness.

Games dedicated to VR are designed in a completely different way than 'regular' ones. You don't need really complex, CPU and GPU taxing graphical effects - it is smoothness of the experience and immersion that matters. You can get a very good results with simple, cell-shading graphics, which also hides low resolution limitation of Rift/PSVR/Vive displays pretty well - Windlands demo is a good example.

Probably right :smiley: but really, I'm not saying go buy it if peeps had no interest only don't be put of by all the incorrect information here if you were interested.

I've played 3D games on my Benq monitor and some actually look quite good. A lot are done very poorly. Warthunder looks great. My point being ~3D done correctly makes Google cardboard look rubbish in comparison

Of course VR is miles better than 3D when done right

It really doesn't I'm afraid.

I'd love to get a HTV Vive or Oculus but the Oculus needs a gtx 970 as recommended. And you'd want to go better than that for future proofing. Suppose I should get saving for a new PC!

Yes, they are simple - but still quite impressive when you consider that they run on a puny 5W TDP chip. PS4 is something like 150W TDP, using the comparable manufacturing process to many modern phones - so very roughly you get 15x performance headroom.


You will be surprised. Sony's VR games will look as well (if not better in some cases) than the ones for Oculus/Vive. This is because of:
- smaller render target: 1080p (~2 Mpixels) with full RGB stripe for PSVR vs 2160×1200 (~2.6 Mpixels) for Oculus/Vive (but likely just with pentile subpixel layout - so those extra pixels are 'wasted' anyway)
- low level optimization which possible in PS4, hardware configuration is known and stable and can be dedicated to VR support - experience will be much more consistent than in case of PC (where there are myriads of configuration)
- GPU in PS is not that terrible at all, it is close to AMD HD 7870, which has about 50% performance of GTX 970 which is officially recommended GPU for Oculus Rift. With slightly smaller render target (vs PC) and some low-level optimizations (not to mention 'magic add-on box' distributed with PSVR which is supposed to help with some video processing tasks) this GPU is perfectly capable of delivering PC-level VR experience.

Very true, Tomb Raider was incredible in 3D and showed what the tech was capable of. I still dust off my 3D vision glasses every few months to have a blast. My cardboard headset has sat in the cupboard untouched since my initial play, it was fun but felt a bit gimmicky and you cant really compare it to the full on gaming experience that TR offered.

If you have 3D then give Tomb Raider a blast, it really is jawdropping stuff and makes you wonder what would have happened if 3D vision had taken off.

Slightly off subject but has anyone else heard that Alton towers AIR roller coaster will be using VR headsets as part of a revamp of the ride.

So when you are on the coaster you wear a VR headset and it will simulate you flying in space,that's what I've read anyway.

http://www.attractionsmanagement.com/detail.cfm?pagetype=detail&subject=news&codeID=320363

Samsung, first to market with complete garbage as always.

Hmm read a few reviews of people saying these were good. Now a load of 'garbage' comments.
This could be my worst impulse buy yet!
Anyone who actually owns a pair still use these?
What they like for watching movies?
I'm sat here wondering if I'm actually going to have anything to do with it now and if to cancel my order. I was going to have a look at the cardboard ones for £15 off Amazon.
I can imagine fully fledged games being fun. But can imagine for phones they will be expensive demos. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Will this be worth it for me? I have a S6 edge, and fully intend on getting the Rift or the Vive no matter what. My main reason for wanting VR is to watch movies like you're in the cinema, therefore screen/picture quality is most important. Although I will try the games. If watching films on the this has a superior experience I'll pick this up, though if I'm going to get the same or better by waiting for a few months, I'll wait. Any thoughts?

I'll give that a go. I have tomb raider (the last one)

Good deal, ordered one :smiley: We'll see if there will be any regrets, never tried any kind of VR device so far. But it seems to be a good compromise as I don't trust the £10 ebay ones and at the same time will never pay £300+ for the Oculus Rift, either. Thanks OP

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey has revealed that the Rift could cost more than $350. “I'm going to be perfectly honest with you. We're roughly in that ballpark, but it's going to cost more than that,” said Luckey in the interview with Road to VR.

If you own the right phone, these are a bargain.

in usa they gavve a free one of these if you signed up to samsung pay, maybe they do same here

I just bought the RITECH II VR today- it looks pretty simple to set up so do need to do much to set it up with my iphone6 ?

Trying to save up to move house, this site isn't helping.

I don't get it. which is Better or more recent. this model or the innovator edition? also Amazon are selling the vr2 range. isnt it the same.

Is this one of these devices that allows you to see thru women's clothes?

One step closer to the holodeck I suppose. Bring it on.

You are absolutely wrong.

GearVR uses Oculus tech, with custom kernel/API/GPU pipeline in Galaxy S6 developed by John Carmack (creator of Doom, Quake and PC 3D graphics in general). It is a totally different experience - like comparing broken bicycle to a Ferrari.

you haven't got a clue have you?

To contradict myself ....

I think StreetFighter VR (1st Person - POV) version, with hand (and foot?) controllers ..... could be interesting!

(Something like the Razer Hydra .... think there are quite a few in the pipeline for VR. Friend has the Hydras and they work pretty well with his DK Rifts)

Have you actually used a cardboard VR or are you just assuming?

a good way to **** your eyes up

Besides the VR aspect, I was curious, having a screen so close to the eyes, does it feel both comfortable and convincing? I have never tried something like this, however just holding my 5.5'' phone at such a distance in the dark and focusing my eyes on the screen feels uncomfortable and... wrong.

Also I'm wondering practically how possible is it to find a balance between the picture being large enough so that you see all the details that you'd expect and yet not so large that you have to move your eyes around. And the brightness.. do you not need to dim the screen to the point that the video looks dull, in order to be comfortable?

Basically I don't really care about the VR aspect, I was just thinking if it's honestly a good way to watch a movie, comfortably, without straining your eyes and without undermining the visual experience in any way, compared to a more normal sized screen at a more normal distance.

Im so tempted but I have a Note 4 so getting this would mean getting a new phone....
and for that reason im out!

You can get them for the note 4 but there more expensive

Rebadged Virtual Boys, cold.

I believe these are totally going to catch on :smile:



"No no, computers have come a loooooong way since then!" "Have you actually tried one? You don't know what you're missing, really". I bet you they were saying exactly the same things when the original gimmick came and flopped. Wii motion - that was THE thing wasn't it! For a while. Oh no wait, it was those silly stick things with the PS4. Yeah we're all playing games like that now aren't we!

I'll stifle my giggles out of respect and let my laughter out once these die out. Again.

I've used one but haven't owned one.

I built my PC up to get ready for oculus and Vive because I want the full experience

Would be good to archive posts like these for some delicious crow eating later on :stuck_out_tongue:

PLEASE be my guest! :stuck_out_tongue:

I believe VR will really take off, you can't compare technology from a decade or more ago. I played some Alien Isolation on a DK2 recently and i had to go and lie down, my heart was pounding, it's absolutely amazing. I can't wait to play dedicated games on an Oculus rift. I guarantee you someone will die of a heart attack from one of these Once they make a good Resident Evil style game (Which will undoubtably will happen).

Your PC price is rather inflated. A wise PC owner knows he can build his own very easily and reuse many part from his old unit.

Had to wade through 256 comments and only 50ish were helpful in deciding whether to make a purchase. Why don't people who have no idea just SHUT UP! 1) stick to the damn topic. 2) If you haven't tried it your input on how good/comparing it to other cheap headsets are useless. 3) So what if people are early adopters and spend £80! It's hardly going to put someone in debt for having a bit of fun.

Was the Samsung store having stock issues? I'm surprised Amazon is selling it for more than what the manufacturer itself is charging at full price, pretty dodgy.

This is just like Kinect which probably will run its course and then back to obscurity.

Any retail stores demo the VR?

Samsung cashing in on the stupid consumer once again.
£80 for this junk?!!

You could buy a decent telescope for that, or high quality binoculars.
Basically, this is a plastic box with two lenses given away in the £4.99 google cardboard.

Why bother? As soon as you sell your samsung galaxy it will be useless.
Wait for Oculus rift.

By the same stupid logic I could turn my 40" 4K tv into a 300" 4k tv with nothing more than sticking a pair of binoculars to my face.
There's no 300" TV at this price point.

Take it from someone who has a dev Oculus, these headsets, and anything like them are a waste of money, designed by Samsung to keep people using samsung phones (want a new phone in the future? £80 down the pan).
No, they won't work properly with other mobile handsets.
No, there is not a good selection of good apps - there's not even a good selection of poor apps.
Yes, you will feel like you are sitting 2 feet away from a massive grid of pixels (split your phone resolution in half for each eye).
Yes, you will be able to use google cardboard (£4.99) to achieve the same effect, even enjoy the button on the side of the cardboard allowing you to select things).

Yes - you will regret buying this.

Honestly, they're some of the most stupid, baseless analogies, mindless ranting and misleading garbage I've read in 8 years on this forum.

OK, so you have a "dev Oculus" bid difference between DK1/DK2, in every way, especially in terms of screen door effect. On the DK2 it was noticeable but hardly irritating by any stretch. In any case I believe the S6 has a higher pixel density than the DK2, so the screen door effect should be a little better. To say you feel like you're sitting a few feet away from a grid of pixels is completely misleading, it's an outright lie.

Your ranting about binoculars and 300" TVs and such is frankly bizarre, I'm wondering if that was some drunk posting or if you had a stroke. Also your mini crusade against Samsung "cashing in on the stupid consumer"...well they make decent phones, they charge a lot, but if you don't like them or can't afford one then use a phone box or something. If tech consumer rip offs really bother you then why not get out your quill and parchment and complain to Apple about charging nearly £800 for an iPhone?

On whether people will enjoy this and the selection of apps... Well, your subjective opinion is worthless based on inane the drivel you've already posted.

As for your weird assertion using a £5 piece of cardboard will yield the same results a professionally designed, researched and manufactured Gear VR with it's built in sensors, it kind of just goes neatly along side all the other rubbish you've posted.

Going to go out on a limb here and guess why you have beef with this, you went out and bought a DK1 thinking it was going to load you into the matrix, you got upset when your unrealistic expectations were not met and have been bitter ever since.

Are you the one who purchased the cheapo £40 'HD' projectors and dismissed all projectors as crap?

Guys, need some help here... Is this same as the Samsung VR2 selling for £95.99 on Amazon.co.uk? http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B017WA5VI6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1452066351&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=samsung+vr+2&dpPl=1&dpID=318L4sBRbgL&ref=plSrch

Clearly written by someone who hasn't got a clue and hasn't actually experienced the kit before!

The App Store containing all of the best apps, games and videos for this are on the Oculus Store, which you can't browse until you have synced up your phone and Gear VR which will then automatically begin downloading the Oculus Store.

The best thing to do is take a look online at some of the best rated apps, many review sites offer screenshots along with their review of the apps.

The biggest thing to bear in mind here is the more people that embrace this new technology the greater selection of apps that will become available.

I have a galaxy note 3 :disappointed:

pre-ordering my oculus today :sunglasses: had a go on DK2 rollercoaster sim and was hooked :smiley:... now just need to save for a PC that will run it haha :smile:

Its alot of money for a glorified Google Cardboard, £550 for a phone £80 for the device. The oculus rift wont be that much more extensive with the PC if you build it yourself. The PC that is. You also have to have a Samsung POS phone running touchwiz, frankly i would rather be touched by Rolf Harris. Then just to really kick you in the knackers if you cant change the power connector to a usb type c it will be junk in 12 months.

I know this has been posted many times in here already but to the people who are claiming this is a glorified cardboard you really do now know what you are talking about.

All a cardboard headset is, is a headset with two lenses. It uses all the phone hardware for head tracking. Phones do now have very good accelerometers etc to do accurate or fast head tracking, so when you look around in google cardboard, everything appears slightly jerky.

With the Samsung GearVR which was developed in partnership with Oculus. The GearVR contains its own accelerometers, compas etc. This is then connected to the phone via USB and customer software wirtten by oculus can access this hardware so headtracking is completely smooth and offers a much higher quality experience.

Until you have tried a GearVR you are in no position to comment on the quality of it. You really have no understanding whatsoever about the difference in quality. Just because something looks the same shape from the outside does not make it comparable in any way!

Experience - I am a VR enthusiast, I have owned the PC based Oculus Dev Kit 2 since launch, I build my own VR headset using a 3D printer (files available to download from thingiverse), I also own the Gear VR Innovator edition. I am also a developer for the GearVR and have recently written a YouTube VR Cinema application which can be downloaded from SideloadVR.com

​I wholeheartedly agree. VR tech is definitely now good enough to begin the consumer acceptance that was lacking in the 90s push (anyone remember Lawnmower Man...?). I'm working with 2 companies now that are keen to get on the bandwagon and I guarantee that you'll start seeing people on planes wearing them as the norm this year.

Anyone disagreeing with this, has probably not watched 360 head tracking porn yet. Pornography has always been a driver of technology, and most of the big studios are getting in on this now.

Good deal for a decent item

I'm hoping it will be a little lower than that.

Oculus themselves have said the consumer edition will be priced pretty much in line with the dev kit editions. My friend bought both (so gets a free consumer edition .... jammy bar steward!) and paid around £250 each for them (or so he said on the phone last night).

I'm hoping for around the £300 mark myself.

Although, it doesn't matter. I'll be pre-ordering regardless.

And then spending about another £1k to upgrade my PC as soon as my pre-order is in ..... :laughing::confused:

The old statement from Oculus said they were hoping to cost the same as the dev kits ($350). But recent posts have said they are going to be more expensive due to the amount of hardware in the product (Dual OLED displays etc).

I paid around £320 for the DK2 including Shipping and VAT. I think £400 is a more than reasonable price to expect if not more.

Would love to be proven wrong but I guess we will find out today :-).

Source: http://www.roadtovr.com/oculus-founder-palmer-luckey-explains-oculus-rift-cost-price-350/

wish the innovator version was this price or lower as I have the Note 4

Yeah the Samsung store has been 'no stock' for weeks. Only the day this deal was posted were they suddenly available. We didn't think the one on Amazon was the new one, seeing as as far as we knew it wasn't being shipped to people yet outside of the US, but we needed one for testing at work so ordered it anyway. Surprised me that it's the new one to be honest!

Clearly responded to by an idiot who doesn't know what a dev is..
I'm a VFX artist for TV and film, furthermore my NEC 4k DLP projector and it's 120" screen is a joy! It beats the 1080p 3D screen in the front room hands down! Thanks for your message :smiley:

Just the right QR code in the google cardboard setting, but try it with the default one first that should be fine for iphone6 as its a 4.7inch screen lol

Sounds like you're bitter.

I'm in the same boat. I'll be buying regardless though I'm expecting it to be £350 - £400 would be my guess. I will also be upgrading my PC and likely be spending at least £2000 though as I i feel like going a bit silly with it lol. might even buy a 34inch 1440p curved so add another £1000 to that cost. Elite Dangerous is what I'm looking forward to the most.

I definitely haven't watched 3D head tracking porn ever. Porn signifies weakness to me, if you need that crap in your life then you're missing out on so much more of the world. Anyway I already know there's much better ways of using VR fortunately. If the best thing on VR was Porn then that's a real shame.

How did you know?

Z170 chipset or X99, you should definitely get an M.2 SSD, the read/write and IOPS are awesome. I designed a system for a friend (means I chose the parts) and his boots in around 4 seconds, mentally fast. His system was based on X99 as he got a hex core i7 Intel CPU, as he also does audio production. For gaming a decent i7 quad core is all you need if you're spending a lot, so you can stick with Z170 chipset. He has a straight panel 32" LCD. The curved ones are nice but you can suffer reflections, so check where you are going to position it in the room. Elite Dangerous apparently is awesome in VR. I don't like the Elite Dangerous pay model though, expensive to keep getting addons. Anyway they soon fall in price.

Would this work with my Note4 ?

i sthis for a note 4 too?

For the PC platform my best experiences have been Elite Dangerous (The sense of scale is amazing!), Asseto corsa/Project Cars (Racing games in VR with a gaming steering wheel are to be seen to be believed, I will never be able to play a racing game on a 2D monitor ever again!, being able to sit inside the car and put your face up to the dashboard in a Zonda F to see the carbon fibre weave is so cool!), Some of the social demos are pretty neat like Riftmax Theatre, hanging out in a big cinema with loads of other people watching videos etc was pretty cool.

Another of my favourite demos was New Retro Arcade. It's an 80' arcade environment with darts, bowling and loads of arcade machines which using MAME run the orignal arcade roms. There is also a ghetto blaster busting out 80's music! I have spent hours in there and really got lost in the beauty of the environment.

For the GearVR then Cinemas and Netflix applications are great for watching films. The social applications are ok but need bigger environments (AltSpace VR is the best I have seen so far). One of my favorite games so far is Herobound Spirit Champion, it's a 3rd person game Zelda style and just works really well, you feel kinda of like a god looking down on the world. Dreadhalls is also a great game and shows just how scary even simple graphics can be when you are so deeply immersed in the environment.

I really could go on forever but my advice is get involved. I simply cannot see any way for VR to fail, everyone I have ever shown it to has been blown away by what they see. The biggest obstacle with VR is there is no way of explaining or showing videos of what it like. You have to have the hardware to be able to demo it. When the oculus releases to retail stores and demo units are set up, people will then finally understand what it's all about.

As a VFX artist for video and film you don't appear to have a professional attitude. Rather than an initial rant, if you wished to be taken seriously (that's just a presumption), then you'd have clearly illustrated your points with examples and referenced them to real world examples. Instead you rant then respond immaturely with pictures.

If you are a VFX artist you're probably a nightmare to work with. I've worked in music studio recording, as a guitar teacher, and a world class company in R&D for computer aids for the visually impaired and now I work in I.T. refurbishment, I've worked with all manner of people and the best people to work with are ones which are open minded, open to new ways of thinking, they can keep calm and act in a reasonable manner. In fact I like to work with people that are enthused by new technology and can harness the power of even the weakest technology and utilise its potential and discover new ways of using it.

You Sir sound like an impatient diva. Of course you could start afresh and then the experts/enthusiasts in VR of which there's some viewing this thread can have a proper debate over your issues with current VR. So I suggest you present your issues with real world examples and then a good mannered debate can start.

I am struggling to see what all the fuss is about. Basically all this allows you to do is strap a phone to your head. People seem to be voting it hot on the basis it is cheaper than Oculus Rift. However trying to compare strapping a phone to your head and the Oculus Rift kit make no sense. People need to understand this is not a solution to obtaining an Oculus Rift kit on the cheap. They are different products and the support for them will not be the same.

If you have the money to burn and want to try out VR this is fine if you want to buy a product which is fully supported by the gaming and video industry best to wait awhile yet. Not just for Oculus but Sony and no doubt microsoft will be coming out with their versions as well.

Also keep in mind all the fuss about 3D TV's a few years ago. No doubt it was a great technology but reality was people did not like watching TV with glasses on all the time. VR is a great technology but it remains to be seen if their is a market for the content as yet.

That's it, once people start adopting the technology, it will hit a critical mass whereby it will accelerate the growth and potential of VR. VR will only get better and better. I still think we're quite some way away from real world quality graphics, they keep saying graphics in games are photo realistic, but no it's still a lot way off from exacting reality. It's easy to see the potential in medicine, in surgery and in psychology whereby anxious individuals can be introduced to environments they are unsure of. In fact VR is already being used for this purpose and has been for some time >

http://www.vrphobia.com/aboutus.htm

May have been asked in the 17 pages of comments - but I cant see it :disappointed:

But, does anyone have a link to the Oculus Store, or more importantly (and if it exists) a section/bit of the store for apps that work with this/Samsung S6 Edge (Original)

I'll second this.

As I mentioned previously, I think I spent more time gawping than playing. It's INCREDIBLY immersive.

Although, the rollercoaster demo's are all the more awesome if your friend is holding the chair you're sat on and moving and shaking it in sync with the rollercoaster ... :laughing:

So who got it today then?

You need to have the device and connect it to the phone in order for the store to be installed, however there is a workaround to install the oculus software without the headset: https://www.reddit.com/r/GearVR/comments/3v15s4/want_to_get_a_jump_on_installing_the_gear_vr/

The results are the same with £10,- VR on the net with adjustable lenses.
Why spend so much money for this.

Are you for real dude?

There you have it folks :smiley: Case closed.

I guess he meant the Gear VR, as per the thread :wink:

I commented on this earlier today, the Oculus Store is only available and effectively unlocked when you connect your phone to a Gear VR device.

You can find plenty of information on the apps available with a quick google.

I thought this was a handbag when I looked at the picture :neutral_face:

Do these work with note 4? Can't see it listed

You really have to experience it to understand the difference, the Ritech will not give you anything like what the Gear VR does.It is really not just about the software (which cannot be got elsewhere for the majority). IF you already have a supported phone, this really IS well worth the premium over cardboard/Ritech/other basic headsets.

what effect does it have on your eyes being so close to a screen, fixed on a single point for long periods of time when playing a game or watching a movie?

Got mine from John Lewis over Xmas period...

I have one of these VR units which I picked up over the Christmas break. I already own a Samsung S6 Edge so for a quick bit of VR on the move this ticked a box, whilst waiting for the consumer release of the Oculus Rift.

I have owned the Oculus Rift DK2 unit also so have a fair bit of time invested in messing about with such equipment.

My 2p would be if you have a Samsung S6 (or model that works with it) and have not tried VR yet buy one. They are a good bit of fun. Where else can you sit and watch a film on the moon with some random people from across the globe? There are quite a few games and free demos to keep you busy and overall the experience is quite good. That said to me its a novelty or a phone add on if you will. If you want the best VR experience get a Rift as I certainly will be ordering one today when the pre-order goes live at 4pm.

I know not everyone has a top gaming pc so need to factor this in for a Rift but if you already do then great, the expense is the Rift on its own.

Do you have shares in Samsung? Or did you buy one and now need to somehow justify it to yourself?

I don't have shares in Samsung. I don't own any VR equipment. I don't need to justify anything. What I do know is that you haven't read through this thread. That was my suggestion and it's a reasonable one.

Annoying that there isn't anything for iPhone users yet, Apple need to up their game !

I think considering I don't own a Samsung phone and have a pretty good gaming PC, for me at least I think the Oculus Rift will be a cheaper option.

I'm pretty new to all this VR stuff but having just watched some youtube vids i'm extremely interested in it now.

I'm guessing the Rift when released will be much improved over the DK2...can anyone tell me what the differences will be exactly?

DK2's seem to be around £250 on Ebay - would it be daft to buy one now?


I have a decent PC with a 970 in it so I'm really feeling like getting one ASAP :smile:

I don't have an S6 but will probably be getting an S7 when it comes out next month (although that's only if it has an sd card slot) but was wondering if there really is a difference, I expect most people who are praising this or the Ritech haven't actually tried both, just the one they're praising :smiley:

An interesting article on VR on the BBC website today >

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35239815

The game Adr1ft mentioned in the article above >

http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/11/9880370/adrift-virtual-reality-oculus-rift

There's plenty of comparison articles and video comparison reviews, here's one I picked at random >

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy3Anw8HS7w

I've seen plenty of people mention that the GearVR and Oculus Rift are way better than Google Cardboard and its clones. That's all I want to see in this thread, rather than clueless guessing or comments, but actual evidence.

With regard to the article, it's just a headline, she suffered motion sickness but in only one scenario. Her initial attempts with VR were successful. I suffer motion sickness but not watching 3D or travelling in a car, so I have some immunity to it I guess. As the BBC article says, it's more how the program/app tackles it or presents the world as to whether you'll suffer or not. The journalist didn't suffer until she played Adr1ft. Also just about every real world astronaut suffers motion sickness until their vestibular system becomes attuned to their new environment which can take a few days, however they're fully immersed in that environment with no escape.

Question is will a 970 be good enough? (especially if you need more than 3.5gb vram lol) someone else on here reckons minimum 980ti... Anyone else have views on this?

I would say a 980 min personally although info I have read suggests a 970 will be fine.

I used a 970 with the DK2 and that was fine

Why would i read through everything on here :P Thats like trusting Wiki for your facts.

I couldn't find any because I was looking for a direct comparison so ignored all the ones that said Cardboard lol
If I'm more specific what I really want is someone using an S6 (and the Oculus games) with both the Gear and the Ritech, then I will be happy for a comparison to see if it really is worth spending £70 more...
Will have a look at the youtube articles now.
Thanks

Actually I guarantee that the majority of people vouching for the Gear VR have tried the Ritech or similar (there are many like it - Ritech/colourcross/homido/Zeis One/etc. - they are just plastic shells and lenses that offer no advantage over each other or the cardboard (other than perhaps comfort).

I have two of the above and the Gear VR is in a different ball park completely. This was designed by Oculus (not just Samsung) and is available on Oculus.com alongside the Rift for a reason. I believe the majority of the naysayers have tried cardboard or one of the plastic alternatives and think this is the same without actually trying it or believe this is meant as a replacement for Rift/Vive (it's not).

Ordered thanks OP

A better GPU would result in higher/more stable FPS, not much different to any PC game.

Got mine this morning. wow. just wow. had one of them cheap chinese ones before i used with google cardboard apps and i wasnt that impressed really. This is a massive leap forward - i sat watching the "strangers" video you download and i was so immersed i tried to place my amazon fire controller on the arm of the "virtual" couch i was sitting on........and then laughed hysterically when i heard a loud bang! Herobound is awesome, i can see many more games of that type in this medium as it just works so well. Cant wait to try more apps.

Samsung Gear VR Lite - Is there a higher spec version than Lite anyone?

Not strictly true since the frame rate has to be locked solid at 90fps (Since the panel refreshes at 90hz). So even if you have a faster card you will not be able to run at a higher frame rate. With regards to stability, any game on the oculus store should run at 90fps on a 970 without any drop outs or it won't get approved.

What it does do however is give you the option of supersampling. So you can render the game at a higher than native resolution which the display will they downscale. This actually has quite a large effect in the quality of the graphics you can see in the rift. For example I have ran elite dangerous at 4k resolution on the DK2 and the graphics appear much sharper than wehen rendering at 1080p despite the display only being a 1080p display.

Is there a return policy on these? I'm partially sighted with very low vision in my left eye so not sure how the VR experience will be but I really want to take a punt at this price. Thanks in advance to anyone who knows

Can you actually watch something like the hobbit on this which is around 3 hours?

I have read eye strain starts to kick in on these VR devices after around 30mins..

Games have to be made to be a stable 90FPS no matter what to be allowed a release? I didn't know that :smiley:

I dont know if im being mental but before ordering I wanted to check the apps, on my Galaxy 6 Edge + I can find neither the Oculus store nor Milk VR apps in the Google Play store?

id get one if I didn't have to own a galaxy loaded with nasty bloatware :disappointed:

Thanks for the info!

Ahh I see, ok great thanks for the info.

They can be released but not on the official oculus store. Anything on the oculus store must run on thie recommended spec which is the 970. Will really help people to know that a game they are abut to spend money on will be guaranteed to run :smiley:. Really looking forward to this year!

The 'hack' was listed in this thread in the last couple of pages. My Samsung VR is coming tomorrow, I'm just going to wait anyway, no point exciting myself prematurely lol.

Purchased with TCB making it £77.48

While I might be wrong, but for consistency's sake I believe the frame rate is going to be capped in VR titles. With VR, it's no longer the quicker is better game, at least not the way with PC games. For optimal performance, the refresh rate of the display and the rate the video signal is rendered should be in sync to minimize eyes train/discomfort, means a constant, dead on 90fps on the 90hz is what developers on the Rift are likely going for. Small fluctuation is probably unavoidable, but it is definitely undesirable either way.

Yeah. I wasn't aware there was a 90FPS min/max rule with Occulus Rift.

Just an FYI - you can't use the Marshmallow beta with the Gear VR so don't download it!

Hey, do you think an i5-4460 CPU will be enough? "Recommended" requirements states i5-4590 or greater, but I'm wondering whether there's that much of a difference between the two CPUs. Already meet the other PC requirements...

Just so you know it is cheaper at John Lewis. Here is the link I posted earlier. Still voted though!

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/samsung-gear-vr-with-free-delivery-for-79-95-john-lewis-2368923

Today's the day. Oculus VR on Wednesday opened preorders for the Oculus Rift consumer model, which means we've also learned the device's price point, which had long been a mystery.
The Oculus Rift base preorder package, which comes with an Xbox One controller and free copies of Eve: Valkyrie and Lucky's Tale, will cost $600.

Oculus rift is £499 to ship to the UK :P I take back all that i said. This POS is a bargain :P

Mine arrived today. It's awesome. 20 pages of arguments about whether this is a good product. If you own an s6 just try it if you can afford it. Cardboard doesn't really compare. This thing is smooth, clear and fast. Worth it just to experience watching a film while sat on the moon. I can imagine more and more content arriving all the time.

Some 360 demo's are better quality than others, but the overall wow factor is great.

You'll be fine. Main difference between your and the recommended CPU is the maximum frequency (3.4Ghz vs 3.7Ghz), nothing a bit of overclocking would not cover if it comes to that (which I very much doubt). I'll try to make it work with my aging 3570K, got some liquid nitrogen at hand in case it needs some more juice:)

looks like it as its shipping in the USA in march

Anybody managed to order an O R yet ?

keeps saying there's a problem when trying to pay ...:disappointed:

Product of Oculus and Samsung ? :stuck_out_tongue:

I've used one of these and they are pretty amazing. Very immersive, very comfortable and didn't get any motion sickness, though I wasn't using it for long.

£499?! Blimey..didn't the Reddit AMA say it would be within the ballpark of $350? Was really hoping £300. Guess I'll hold out a bit longer for prices to come down.

It's £529 as the shipping is £30.

http://www.videogamer.com/news/oculus_rift_costs_499_plus_30_shipping.html

Wow. £500.

Playstation VR has the opportunity to become the go to VR brand if they price it right.

https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/3zqde2/rift_is_599_launch_details_released_as_preorders/

The reaction above from Oculus fans says it all.

Few tips for those who bought one:

If you want to use Cardboard apps while the phone is in the headset, download Package Disabler from the play store and disable the Gear VR processes

Also check out SideloadVR, you can download other apps such as Quake VR through it

Best controller is probably the Moga Pro, if you have a Game store near you they may have one in stock for £15, great for playing emulators too.

Is that right as well? €699??

Yh, just read. Really disappointing since they hyped us up with the approximately $350 figure :/

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but you can even change ur seats in the oculus cinema as well but you need a game pad to do it.

Ordered 3 for the kids. Thanks op.

Whilst the Oculus Rift is ridiculously overpriced, considering its a peripheral, the idea of the PC costing nearly a grand isn't close to the truth. In fact, the price of the Rift would be a lot more respectable, should the PC it is intended to be run on cost a grand. In actual fact, you'd be looking at closer to £500 - 600 for a PC that is capable of running the Rift, and I only know this due to the fact I own a rig containing almost identical specs to their recommendation. That's what p***es me off about the Rift. They're wanting almost the same amount of money for their headset as they expect you to spend on what they intend you to use it with.

Can you not achieve a similar effect by sitting really close to the screen with a black cloth over your head and the TV?

They'll all be doing their virtual homework together :smiley:

It's not like a tablet or computer mouse that were invented years before someone found a popular use for them.

I see the OP's point. Virtual Reality did have massive doses of media hype around the late 80s early 90s. there was even an arcade machine.this wasnt technology in a lab that we would discover a decade or so later

Well, i feel very lucky to have owned one of these for my note 4 and to have sold it with a 20 quid loss.

It is spectacular!!

Comments defending this fad are amusing - if only because they're almost exactly the same as the people trying to defend the last 3D fad. "Oh you can't compare 3D now to the 3D in Jaws 3D - that was 20 years ago!". Hmmm and we're all watching everything in 3D now are we...?

http://www.techfly.co.uk/2015/05/3d-tv-is-officially-dead-and-this-is-why-it-failed/

Nope.

Notice also how those defending this fad the most haven't actually been around long enough to see the last VR fad come and go.
Enjoy experimenting if you buy one of these but ultimately, after about 9 titles or so limping out for them, I'll have a look for your ebay listing. :laughing:

Are there any medical concerns using these does it advise how long to wear before taking a break etc

You couldn't actually own any VR equipment in the 90's as a consumer, even if you wanted to, the cost was huge. Now VR is a lot less expensive, a much better product now than it was. I completely stand by what I said. VR was invented decades ago and imagined even further back, it wasn't a feasible product for the consumer until the technology was in place to display the VR images. Red Dwarf even has a 1990s VR machine in one episode. Weight, resolution and performance were nothing compared to what we have now. Again I stand by my comments.

https://killscreen.com/articles/failure-launch/

Check out 3:21 and 8:06 for proof >

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVn3H93Ysag

I stand by my comments, if you wish to have a different opinion that's your prerogative. I wonder is that the type of VR you're expecting in 2016?

The difference now is we have the technology to realise it. Check out the videos I just linked, and cross reference old VR with new VR. Resolution, graphical complexity, weight and design of the headset, all massively improved. In terms of 3D there's polarised and anamorphic, 3D didn't require much technology to improve it, but yes that is a fad and it adds little to films except for say Avatar and Gravity. 3D is a different animal, the source material i.e. Film was always the best resolution and quality you'd get, 3D just adds an effect which you can live without.

Total immersion is something that is totally different. The VR from 1991 was hideous and unbelievable, now we have resolutions in phones that would require an ultra expensive CAD/CAM monitor way back then. Everything about 2016 is leagues ahead of 1991 VR that is a fact. The immersion effect of the VR is excellent now. VR is about immersion. 3D was just an effect whereby there's very limited immersion.

No one absolutely no one believed in 1991 that in that year they would have access to VR in their homes, because it didn't exist. In 2016 it's here.

It's not about having a different opinion, you wrongly compared it to the computer mouse and tablet which were working and useful waiting for someone (Steve jobs) to bring them into popular use and more into public awareness.

VR was already bought into the public awareness in the 80s and 90s, it was massively hyped as what we would soon have, and people have been desperately trying to make it into entertainment since but held back by processing power. It's had its uses in medical and military training but long over due in video games.

Also we've already had these same Virtual 3D worlds on 2d screens as far back as 1980 in the arcades and 5 years later with the first FPS on the Amiga at home, today's VR is a different way of viewing/playing the same games in the same worlds . again its not the same as the computer mouse being invented in the 60s and appearing in the 80s

3D was being rammed down our throats about 5 years ago. The technology was here. 3D is all but dead. Same deal with VR - no matter which way you wish to reword the defence of it as anything that will be setting the world alight.

That's your opinion though, it's not yet fact and I can't see it being fact. Gamers will take up VR in their droves, literally people are saying I can't play a racing game again just looking on a 2D picture on a monitor once I tried the VR version. VR is not simply 3D, it's immersion. It has the ability to trick the brain in to believing what its seeing. The human brain has powerful but limited senses and they can be easily tricked. VR is here to stay.

VR will extend in to our everyday lives, it will become part of our reality, that's perhaps the scary part. It will end up creating applications we haven't even dreamt of yet. 1990s VR was a fad because the technology wasn't good enough. Now it is.

I will state categorically on this thread so it can be referred back to VR is NOT a fad, this is just the beginning :smiley:

Here's a simple Google search I did, which questions is VR a fad? It links you to prominent people that agree with Elevation's position it's a fad and other's that don't. Hopefully then it's not just my opinion versus some one else's, it more opinions which I hope help the debate.

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=is%20vr%20a%20fad

Kids from 3 divorces.

Going to save this post and add it to the HDDVD collection I have. All kidding aside if VR does kick off it's not going to be with oculus, pricing their unit at £500 + add ons.

hmm £529 is a bit steep for OR, £300 I would be tempted..

Do you guys think lg g4 will fit gear vr?

Just some advice needed. I've got a nexus 4 so won't be buying the gearVr. If I want to watch an SBS movie (plenty available) would a ritech II give me a decent experience of 3D or is it poo for this? Reading the comments, it seems the gearVr is all about the the quality of the sensors, but I guess this wouldn't matter so much if watching a movie...

They had these at Bluewater and I had a go, it was a 3d tour of Singapore. While it worked well as a toy I couldn't use it seriously, the resolution was just too low and I could see the individual pixels and the gaps between them very prominently and it soon became all I could focus on.

I agree that VR wont be a fad, it's what the masses have been waiting for as an update to regular 3D gaming experiences, but the things you say about the 90s are wrong.

VR can't be called a fad in the 90s. It turned out to be an idea and demonstration of how things would be, in fact we were told the exact same things you've just stated as how it will be.
it received massive hype and attention but has now turned out to be way ahead of its time, but did find it uses where money was no object..
It was unfortunate in one sense that it was being developed along side the transformation of 2d video gaming to 3D. Sega pioneered the first 3D gaming hardware for it's arcade machines and actually called it VR.

I saw the VR arcade machine in our local Cinema complex and it attracted a lot of attention, but what seemed like the next minute, it was replaced by a big screen Ridge racer running at 60FPS, there was no comparison. Exhilaration won over immersion.
If we had been stuck with small TVs and 2d platformers then maybe VR machines would have stuck around.

Proper VR was and still is an alternative way to view the same 3D worlds we've been used to since 1980 in amusement arcades then later at home.

As for immersion, we've already been tricked into being immersed into a 3D world for decades.
What VR does, it takes away the real word we see out of the corner of our eyes, opens up the 3D world and lets us look around without the need of a mouse or joystick.

These are the arguments against the above poster who claims it will be fad.

For me the most groundbreaking thing, is that we have powerful smart phones that can be dropped into a headset.

Occulus Rift will be great for games and simulations where we have also have the physical controllers to compliment them i.e wheel and pedals, but Keyboard/mouse - joypad feels a bit weird.

I get that it's a lot better, but kinda moot because I don't have a sumsung phone. I was just wondering if a ritech would give me a good experience watching sbs movies

Has anyone preorderd the oculus rift its £530. No way am I posting that as a deal.

Vive will probably cost more since it has to include all the lighthouse stations+controls, plus HTC isn't exactly doing amazing financially right now.

was about to order but OOS.

Can I watch things like netflix and amazin prime video, etc on this?

Or is it restricted to things only on oculus store or whatever it is called?

You can watch Netflix

I would say no, not due to the ritech but the screen resolution on the Nexus 4 is far too low for a decent VR experience I'm afraid, even more so for movies in VR, I think you'd be disappointed.

I can't answer that, I would do a Reddit search in Google see if you can find anything. From what I've read assume that the Ritech is around the same VR experience as Google cardboard, here's a reddit sub regarding SBS movies and Cardboard >

https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleCardboard/comments/3v81yd/just_watched_my_first_movie_on_google_cardboard/

I've ordered a gear VR.

I had a cardboard for my phone and my god it great!

expecting something quite remarkable on my S6

Indeed even the 1440p resolution of the S6 is not that great for VR. The Oculus has a better resolution and the StarVR headset even more than the Oculus. From what I've read/viewed the StarVR is the best VR headset that hasn't yet been released, and it will take an even higher spec of PC to run the StarVR headset.

This is better than cardboard, but only works with Samsung phones, i wanted one when i had a note 4 but only developer edition was available now i have nexus 6P (slow updates on sammys) and this will be useless but rather have lasted os than this which will not be used much by most people whom purchase one.

Got mine today, had a quick play with it and it is brilliant! I've never tried VR before other than a quick go on cardboard, and find it so much more immersive. Felt amazing being in massive rooms when I wasn't really, actually bashed into something lol (sitting down is a plus!).

Not really tried any games as waiting on the bluetooth controller I've bought to arrive tomorrow, good reviews and only ~£22 delivered Amazon prime, hoping it'll be ok.

This thread has intrigued me... I have a S5 but it seems i cant use this with it, is that correct?
What is the best alternative i can get? Google Cardboard? There appear to be some many versions..

General opinion in the community for the best controller is the Moga Pro. Don't be tempted by the cheaper mogo controller as it does not work with the GearVR.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-Controller-Compatible-Smartphones-Including/dp/B00FB5RBJM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452116776&sr=8-1&keywords=moga+pro

I have this controller and it works flawlessly with the GearVR

Mate your PC will give a good constant, smooth framerate with a Rift. Ignore the no-nothings on this thread who are just speculating that a 970 isnt good enough - dude is talking out of his backside. I am a software developer and ive used the rift since its early days - the 970 along with your processor will play very very nicely.

Cheers Croccy

Worth checking if your local Game has stock though, can grab it for £15

I pre ordered one. Whether i keep the pre order i dont know - its obscenely expensive and i still need to replace my graphics card. I had a dk2 and enjoyed it somewhat, but it did make me feel ill after 15 minutes of use. Plus the software just isn't there yet.

And is not as good. (And not just any Samsung phone ... only certain models ... such as not my Note 3 :disappointed: )

You're comparing a Focus RS to a Ferrari here ....

Does anyone know if this will work with the s6 active.?

Not trying to pick a fight, but most people going after a rift will already be avid gamers needing a £200-£300 upgrade tops (inc resale of old components) The PS3 launched at £425, the PS4 isn't worth the upgrade cost at the money IMO. Early adopters were prepared to pay up to £800 for Xbox 360s.

Car comparisons don't work. You can rarely find a road to use a Ferrari to its full potential so a complete waste of money IMO and on a small race track a gearbox go-kart would slaughter it for the price of a service.

Fair enough but if a person in a shop was going to buy a 1080p telly instead of a 4k one are you really going to be justified in telling him its **** and he should pay many times his original budget to watch tv. Its the same thing, however vr is incredibly niche. People who have samsung phones can get a pretty decent vr experience for a modest amount of cash. Also as someone whos owned a dk2 vr isn't a consistent experience and hopefully they have greatly polished the desktop experience but i doubt it and the end user will need a fair amount of trouble shooting to get it right.

As it happens, at the moment I would be more inclined to buy the S6 and goggles for the VR experience