Oculus Rift Devkit 2.0 now orderable

[Matt]

Hm, maybe i'll order one too. If they start to ship those out in july, i still really can't see how they will release a CV before spring or summer 2015. In any case, there should plenty of time to test this or sell it before they'll even announce the CV (and it should still be possible to sell it even after an announcement, if at a lower price). I would also expect the CV2 to be a more serious upgrade to the CV1 than the CV1 to the DK1 and there might be good reason to just skip the CV1, especially because it should be much harder to sell with a good price, if you don't get accustomed to it and realise that VR just doesn't work for you (there should be plenty of people who will just sell it for these particular reasons alone).

 

Who knows what alternatives there'll be in 2015 and 2016.

 

This year might very well be the only one with no real alternative to the OR at all.

[DD_bongodriver]

To me the biggest clue the CV is coming very soon after DK2 is the fact Oculus are urging consumers not to buy DK2, if everyone blows their budget on DK2 then sales of CV1 could suffer.

 

A genuinely worrying prospect that could make the big launch turn into a damp squib and ruin the hype for VR

Edited March 21, 2014 by DD_bongodriver

[Matt]

Hm, it could also indicate, that the difference between the CV1 and the DK2 will be so minor, that people simply won't upgrade to the CV1. Also i would guess that they are expecting to get some feedback from the "developers" using the DK2 and use that feedback finish up the CV1. If they want to do that, they would need to wait until the majority of the DK2 have been shipped, then wait for the feedback and then evaluate the feedback and then upgrade to the CV1 accordingly and then setup the mass production for the CV1.

 

In any case, i don't think it would make sense economically to release two variants of the same product in one year, as long as the variants are not very noticably different. Especially not if the price is nearly the same.

 

But of course, they might fear the competition coming up and want to get the CV1 out as quickly as possible (again, wether or not the CV1 could then be a big improvement over the DK2 would be questionable in that case).

 

I guess we'll see.

 

And i just preodered the DK2.  

Edited March 21, 2014 by Matt

[DD_bongodriver]

The point of DK2 is to put 'feature complete' hardware in the hands of developers to begin creating software to best utilize it, it has been no secret that the screen requirement for the ultimate 'low persistence' and 'presence' is significantly above the DK2 screen, DK2 on the face of it certainly does look like a polished product but by no means does it look like a consumer product.

 

So, from July when developers start getting the DK2 there will begin to be some fully supporting software hitting the market and that would be the ideal time to release a consumer version.

[VBF-12_Stick-95]

As much as I look forward to this for BOS, I can't help to think of how this could change the lives of those that have little mobility.

 

Imagine linking OR to Google Street View Treks.  http://maps.google.com/maps/about/behind-the-scenes/streetview/treks/

 

 

 

EDIT:  As usual, I bringing up the rear.  Don't know if this works but it looks like some have already connected.

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=17955

Edited March 21, 2014 by VR-Stick

[JG27_Chivas]

The market for VR is so large that selling 50 to 100 thousand plus DK2's will have little effect on the millions of consumer version sales.  There is a reason that some of the brightest minds in the industry have left lucrative jobs in other tech companies to join the Oculus Team, and Oculus had no problem quickly generating a hundred million plus in investment monies.  

 

Serious developers should have no problem getting their DK2 unit before individual buyers.  One of the questions on buying the DK2 asks if your a developer or individual buyer.   Of course some people will lie, but I'm sure Oculus already knows who and where the major content will come from and distribute the first DK2's accordingly. 

 

I will probably cancel my order soon, as I'm starting to think that there is an even better chance the CV1 could be available before the end of this year.  Individuals probably won't be getting their DK2 until well after July,  that said the demand for the CV1 could make the wait for the CV1 a long one, even if it is released this year.

 

Of course anything can happen with so many companies looking to develop their own VR unit.   So far the OR still seems to have the pole position, atleast with the type of hardware and pricepoint I would consider buying.

[VR-DriftaholiC]

I hope we aren't' forced to use integrated audio. I for one have a very expensive pair of headphones and would be dissapointed to have to use some built in garbage

[DD_bongodriver]

I can't even begin to imagine how it could be forced, there hasn't even been suggestion of integrated audio.

Edited March 21, 2014 by DD_bongodriver

[SCG_Neun]

 I'm excited for you guys that are going to take the plunge on this and I am anxiously awaiting your feedback.  For me though, I'm going to watch this thing evolve before I actually purchase something like this. 

[JG27_Chivas]

I hope we aren't' forced to use integrated audio. I for one have a very expensive pair of headphones and would be dissapointed to have to use some built in garbage

 

I doubt very much they would destroy the VR effect by using garbage speakers.  They are looking at different sound developers that are pioneering ways to properly integrate  sound for the best possible VR experience.    If integrated sound makes the first consumer release, I don't see any scenario, that wouldn't allow people to disable it, or turn it down so that they could use their own hardware.

[DD_bongodriver]

I don't know why I missed that

[-JG2-SilencerBF]

Does anybody get the 75+ fps yet?

I only get like 35-50 on high with 60% cpu/gpu usage.

 

Specs: i5 4670k 4ghz, 8GB ram, HD 7870 2GB, 1920x1080

[JG27_Chivas]

Don't confuse 75 hz to 95 hz required for optimial experience with frame rates.   That said the frame rates will have to be high and steady for the best experience.   This will probably be the biggest detriment to running complex combat flight sims with the OR.

[vapor_tales]

Don't confuse 75 hz to 95 hz required for optimial experience with frame rates.   That said the frame rates will have to be high and steady for the best experience.   This will probably be the biggest detriment to running complex combat flight sims with the OR.

Chivas, How is the 75hz refresh rate different from the frame rate? i was under the impression that it was the same thing, and that having the Rift's high refresh rate without a correspondingly high  frame rate would be bad. Please clarify for those of us who think they need to buy a new system capable or running BOS as 75-95 consistent FPS for the rift to work properly.

[HagarTheHorrible]

Chivas, How is the 75hz refresh rate different from the frame rate? i was under the impression that it was the same thing, and that having the Rift's high refresh rate without a correspondingly high  frame rate would be bad. Please clarify for those of us who think they need to buy a new system capable or running BOS as 75-95 consistent FPS for the rift to work properly.

Screen refresh rate helps smooth out the image so there is less blur when looking around.  If you had frame rates of 30 FPS and a refresh rate of 120 hz then each frame would be displayed 4 times (120 divided by 30), this evidently smooths out fast movement transitions.  Presumably it's all tied into their low persistence trickery.

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/371648/info-explanation-of-fps-vs-refresh-rate

 

http://hometheater.about.com/od/televisionbasics/qt/framevsrefresh.htm

Edited March 23, 2014 by HagarTheHorrible

[JG27_Chivas]

Screen refresh rate helps smooth out the image so there is less blur when looking around.  If you had frame rates of 30 FPS and a refresh rate of 120 hz then each frame would be displayed 4 times (120 divided by 30), this evidently smooths out fast movement transitions.  Presumably it's all tied into their low persistence trickery.

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/371648/info-explanation-of-fps-vs-refresh-rate

 

http://hometheater.about.com/od/televisionbasics/qt/framevsrefresh.htm

 

I agree.  That said, we will still need relatively high frame rates, that hold rather steady.  This is something not easily accomplished with complex combat flight sims.  I wonder how Nvidia's  new G-Sync tech will accommodate some of the problem, or is Valve/OR's Low Persistence tech something similar?

[HagarTheHorrible]

Frame rate will be an interesting one.  Obviously the 3D has a detrimental effect which is why I think they suggest a minimum of 60 FPS, 30 per eye ?  Flight sims like BoS however, from what I understand, are constrained as much by the CPU.  Does the 3D effect have any negative effects on the CPU, as it does with the GPU, I can't imagine that it does as it's not being asked to do anything extra ?  It will also be interesting to see, if devices like the Rift become standard, if anything can be done to minimize the GPU overheads needed for producing 3D.

 

One of the things I'm most looking forward to is what I think  they call "presence", the feeling of being in the scene, being in the cockpit.  While BoS will be great, I'm sure, I think it will really make sims like DCS shine in a way that up until now just wasn't possible.

[HagarTheHorrible]

Why do you think 60fps needs to be split to 30per eye!?!

The image is split and isolated by lenses so if you're acheiving 60fps then that will be the same for both eyes.

The rendering isn't going to be as 'costly' as some people think.

The Rift will display a 1920 x 1080 image with the left half showing the scene for the left eye and the right half for the right eye.

It's the equivalent of rendering two 960 x 1080 images side-by-side instead of one 1920 x 1080 image, so the additional load will be minimal.

If you're running BoS, or any other game, at 1920 x 1080 at 60fps now then there's no reason that will be any different if you're outputting to the Rift instead of your monitor.

It would certainly be good if that's the case. I wonder how different the OR's 3D implementation is over the normal blanking off each eye alternately which, if I'm correct, has always been the bug bear of traditional 3D because rendering two scenes has effectively crippled frame rates because it has twice the work load.