Talk me into the Oculus Quest (1 Viewer)

[Morgan Jolley]

PSVR has the largest install user base of any VR platform, so it's weird to see it criticized this way. Pretty much every hit game on any other platform has made its way to PSVR.

Sony is likely to announce a VR headset to go with the PS5 by next spring/summer so I could see their current-gen efforts winding down a bit. But they did well enough that they will want to stay with it.

Ron - if you still have any interest in VR, I'd recommend looking into some of the better-rated PSVR games before you drop another few hundred bucks on a new headset. You can get a dozen games for PSVR or JUST the Oculus Quest for the same price.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

PSVR has the largest install user base of any VR platform, so it's weird to see it criticized this way. Pretty much every hit game on any other platform has made its way to PSVR.

Sony is likely to announce a VR headset to go with the PS5 by next spring/summer so I could see their current-gen efforts winding down a bit. But they did well enough that they will want to stay with it.

Ron - if you still have any interest in VR, I'd recommend looking into some of the better-rated PSVR games before you drop another few hundred bucks on a new headset. You can get a dozen games for PSVR or JUST the Oculus Quest for the same price.

Morgan,

The only way, at this point, I would buy an Oculus is if it drops to $299 on Black Friday.

I don't quite see that happening.

If you have some recommended PVSR games please let me know

 

[Edwin-S]

PSVR has the largest install user base of any VR platform, so it's weird to see it criticized this way. Pretty much every hit game on any other platform has made its way to PSVR.

Sony is likely to announce a VR headset to go with the PS5 by next spring/summer so I could see their current-gen efforts winding down a bit. But they did well enough that they will want to stay with it.

Ron - if you still have any interest in VR, I'd recommend looking into some of the better-rated PSVR games before you drop another few hundred bucks on a new headset. You can get a dozen games for PSVR or JUST the Oculus Quest for the same price.

I'm criticizing PS VR because it has definite weaknesses. The screen resolution and "screen door" effect is a weakness. The need to use the PS camera is a weakness. The lack of range is a big weakness. Not to mention that a lot of the games are just shovelware.

 

[Edwin-S]

I'd have to say that anything that gets rid of tethers and external cameras for range and recognition processes is a big improvement that may actually be worth the cost.

However, if one easily tires of games then it may not be worth a purchase.

 

[Jeff Cooper]

I'm criticizing PS VR because it has definite weaknesses. The screen resolution and "screen door" effect is a weakness. The need to use the PS camera is a weakness. The lack of range is a big weakness. Not to mention that a lot of the games are just shovelware.

I have owned the PSVR since day 1 and I have never noticed any kind of screen door effect. I will caveat that with the fact that I have only used an occulus for about 30 minutes ever, so I don't have any direct comparison to go off of. But I wouldn't say screen door effect is a weakness.

The PS camera and resolutions are only weaknesses if you compare them to what's available right now. When PSVR was released there was no such thing as a wireless option, every model out there needed cameras. Same with the resolution, that's limited by what kind of horsepower the ps4 could put out. So it was as good as it could possibly be when it came out. Of course it can't stand up to what is available now, but that's true of any 3 year old system.

Shovelware games are only a weakness if someone doesn't realize there are better games out there and bases their impression on a shit game. But the presence of shovelware games doesn't mean there aren't great games. Again this is true for any gaming system, console or PC. A LOT of shit software product out there.

I'd have to say that anything that gets rid of tethers and external cameras for range and recognition processes is a big improvement that may actually be worth the cost.

However, if one easily tires of games then it may not be worth a purchase.

100% agreed on everything said here.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Edwin - have you ever used the PSVR? Any other VR platforms? I'm curious why you think PSVR is covered in shovelware but Quest/Rift/etc. are only home to high-quality stuff.

Frankly, I don't give two shits about screen door effect (EDIT: which, as was point out, doesn't actually exist on PSVR but the Quest does have) or a camera or wires or shovelware when I'm playing Superhot or Arkham VR or I Expect You To Die or Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes or (and so on and so on) from the comfort of my living room. You get it set up (which I already did a couple years ago), you load the game, and then you just...have fun.

If you didn't own a single VR system and you wanted to buy something brand new and you were looking at every option....frankly, I still don't think the Quest is the best one. Yes, it's wireless, but so is Google Cardboard. Yes, it's Oculus, but it doesn't support all Rift games. Yes, you can make it support Rift games...by buying a cable to plug into it, which renders it...no longer wireless. And it costs more than PS VR (which you can buy as a bundle with the headset, camera, controllers, and a couple games for less than just the Quest headset by itself).

And on top of that, when you turn your Quest headset off (which you'll need to do when the battery runs out) and put it down...you don't happen to have a PS4 there with tons of great games.

 

[Edwin-S]

Edwin - have you ever used the PSVR? Any other VR platforms? I'm curious why you think PSVR is covered in shovelware but Quest/Rift/etc. are only home to high-quality stuff.

Frankly, I don't give two shits about screen door effect (EDIT: which, as was point out, doesn't actually exist on PSVR but the Quest does have) or a camera or wires or shovelware when I'm playing Superhot or Arkham VR or I Expect You To Die or Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes or (and so on and so on) from the comfort of my living room. You get it set up (which I already did a couple years ago), you load the game, and then you just...have fun.

If you didn't own a single VR system and you wanted to buy something brand new and you were looking at every option....frankly, I still don't think the Quest is the best one. Yes, it's wireless, but so is Google Cardboard. Yes, it's Oculus, but it doesn't support all Rift games. Yes, you can make it support Rift games...by buying a cable to plug into it, which renders it...no longer wireless. And it costs more than PS VR (which you can buy as a bundle with the headset, camera, controllers, and a couple games for less than just the Quest headset by itself).

And on top of that, when you turn your Quest headset off (which you'll need to do when the battery runs out) and put it down...you don't happen to have a PS4 there with tons of great games.

Yes. I own a PSVR and I disagree with you and the other poster that it does not suffer from screen door effect. If you or the other poster do not see it then you guys can count yourself lucky, because I can see it. Also, I never claimed that Quest, Rift or any other VR system does not have shovelware. I'm going on my experience with PSVR and PSVR games and apps have not impressed me. About the only one I have been impressed with is "Moss".

The biggest thing I dislike about the PSVR is the poor fitting headset and the camera based location system. They are both terrible. I really don't use the system much because I find it uncomfortable and a pain to use. Anyway, that is all I will say about PSVR as I don't want to turn this thread into a discussion on its relative merits any more than I have.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Yes. I own a PSVR and I disagree with you and the other poster that it does not suffer from screen door effect. If you or the other poster do not see it then you guys can count yourself lucky, because I can see it. Also, I never claimed that Quest, Rift or any other VR system does not have shovelware. I'm going on my experience with PSVR and PSVR games and apps have not impressed me. About the only one I have been impressed with is "Moss".

The biggest thing I dislike about the PSVR is the poor fitting headset and the camera based location system. They are both terrible. I really don't use the system much because I find it uncomfortable and a pain to use. Anyway, that is all I will say about PSVR as I don't want to turn this thread into a discussion on its relative merits any more than I have.

I absolutely see the screen door effect. It is very apparent.

However, I knew it would be there going into the experience as I did a lot of prior research.

That does not bother me too much. The immersive experience is still there!

 

[Edwin-S]

I absolutely see the screen door effect. It is very apparent.

However, I knew it would be there going into the experience as I did a lot of prior research.

That does not bother me too much. The immersive experience is still there!

I could live with the screen door effect since PSVR was basically a first generation device. It is the ill-fitting helmet and camera-based location system that I hated the most. SONY claimed a range of 10-11 feet, but it felt more like i had to be no more than 8 from the camera to keep a solid connection. That means that I have to stand or sit literally where my living room coffee table sits. I really didn't want to have constantly move my furniture and bring a chair in from my kitchen table to use it, so it mostly collects dust.

This Oculus Quest system sounds like it would give the best of both worlds if it could be found for a decent Black Friday price. It is usable without an expensive gaming rig, but can also gain expanded usability if one has a gaming PC or decides to buy one in the future.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The screen-door effect is due to the magnification of the pixels and the pitch between them. The PSVR has significantly less SDE than other headsets because of it's OLED screen. You probably aren't seeing SDE but rather just the low-ish resolution being rendered. Either way, my original point was that the Oculus Quest has SDE so that shouldn't be a selling point over the PSVR.

As for the camera-based system, it's not perfect but it works well for me in the room I use it in. A couple tricks (like turning external lights down, covering windows that the camera can see, running through all the cal/setup stuff, try to put the camera up higher) helped when I initially set it up. But again, like Edwin said, this is a system that is a few years old and I'll also point out that the Quest brand new today costs almost double what some PSVR bundles are going for (which include the camera and games). While the tech in the Quest might be newer, the end result (the actual games) is not a big improvement over what you can get on PSVR right now.

Personally, I just don't think the Quest is powerful enough to last very long. I see Facebook positioning it as a platform that you upgrade every year or two, like a smartphone.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Morgan,

Well stated.

For that reason, I am going to wait it out and see what Facebook releases in another year. In the meantime, I am going to spend more time with my Sony PVSR.

 

[Jeff Cooper]

Please let us know what you think of Astrobot Rescue!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Four years later I am on the verge of purchasing the Oculus Quest 3

My nephew got one a few days ago and I got to play with it briefly. Very impressed.

However, my interest is in creating an office, trading my 36" widescreen monitor for the three I can create in my virtual world. From what I understand, the resolution is quite good for that purpose.

 

[Sam Posten]

My experience has not mirrored that. People keep wanting to replace screens with headsets but:
- Fatigue is the real killer
- Resolution doesn’t match up to expectation for long term office use, tho maybe big screen media watching is getting close.
- Mixing VR with the Mac ecosystem is VERY wonky.

Plus:
- I don’t recommend any products run by facebook (tho clearly the 3 is the best product in current consumer level space). I have not bought a 3 simply because I don’t like Fb. YMMV.
- you are going to buy a vision in 2024 we all know it Ron

 

[Ronald Epstein]

My experience has not mirrored that. People keep wanting to replace screens with headsets but:
- Fatigue is the real killer
- Resolution doesn’t match up to expectation for long term office use, tho maybe big screen media watching is getting close.
- Mixing VR with the Mac ecosystem is VERY wonky.

Plus:
- I don’t recommend any products run by facebook (tho clearly the 3 is the best product in current consumer level space). I have not bought a 3 simply because I don’t like Fb. YMMV.
- you are going to buy a vision in 2024 we all know it Ron

A lot of thoughts here.

First, Sam, I share being uncomfortable with buying anything from Meta. I am not a fan of Zuckerberg or any products his company has put out in the past...until now. More on that in a moment.

I have $4k stowed away that I could slap down tomorrow to preorder the Vision Pro. Rumors suggest it's going to start shipping in the next 2-3 weeks and that is VERY exciting.

My hand is twitching. I want this thing.

The problem is, that spending $3,500 (which is closer to $4k when figuring in taxes) is just too pricey for a GEN 1 product. While I realize Vision Pro will become cheaper, it will also be dumbed down from where it is right now.

BUT...

I am waiting for the refresh rate of 90/96 Hz to get to 120 Hz which will be better for 3D. I think that is going to be the big "get" for the Gen 2 release.

It's not heartbreaking to plop down $500 for a Meta Quest 3 and see an incremental update within two years. But plop down 7 times that amount for a Vision Pro and seeing it get a significant bump in two years with a price cut is going to hurt... a lot.

=========================

I have owned the Playstation 4 VR and was very impressed with it. But truth be told, I haven't played with it much lately. I will say there were some fun games I bought and played so I felt it was a worthy purchase. I just grew out of it.

I have been using my nephew's Meta Quest 3 and I am incredibly impressed. The immersive experience is miles ahead of the Playstation VR. The clarity of one's virtual surroundings is razor-sharp. No screen door effect like what I saw on the Playstation.

My nephew downloaded this boxing game and the Quest 3 created a virtual gym and ring that was incredibly spacious where the depth went far beyond the parameters of the room. It was so lifelike that I felt I was in an actual boxing ring. I was amazed at how far VR has come in such a short time.

Me? I fear owning a $4k paperweight in a few short years when Apple gets the price point down to $2k with superior performance.

It's much easier to throw away $500 on a Meta Quest 3 at this point for the short-term enjoyment it will provide.

 

[Sam Posten]

It's much easier to throw away $500 on a Meta Quest 3 at this point for the short-term enjoyment it will provide.

Totally understood, you know I don’t want to take down others excitement and “yuck their yum”. I know you like to be on the cutting edge but this seems like a pretty big gap. Let me ask you this: do you see any mainstream reviewers touting multi hour comfort using this as an office tool?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Totally understood, you know I don’t want to take down others excitement and “yuck their yum”. I know you like to be on the cutting edge but this seems like a pretty big gap. Let me ask you this: do you see any mainstream reviewers touting multi hour comfort using this as an office tool?

No.

I have researched the hell out of the Quest 3. Watched dozens of YouTube videos. Asked questions in forums.

Nobody is buying this as an office tool. That function becomes secondary -- sort of a curiosity for most. However, there are some videos I have seen of people working on coding while wearing the Quest. I'll try to include one below.

Comfort? The Quest 3 is highly uncomfortable out of the box due to Meta including a basic head strap and depending on their buyers to upgrade to a better one. This is sort of understandable given that Meta is just breaking even on their headset to get it down to a $500 price point. I have to shell out another $50 to get a headset rig with a battery to get to a superior comfort level while using it for hours.

Here are some videos I quickly found on YouTube to give you an idea. I think the first is the best and it uses an older model of Quest:

 

[Sam Posten]

Definitely not for me but I wish you well in the experiment

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Definitely not for me but I wish you well in the experiment

Thanks, Sam. I ordered one this morning. Will report back

 

[Sam Posten]

Please let us know what you think! I’m a little bummed to not have the latest and greatest but I think I’m skipping this generation to see how Vision resets the market