Quick questions for Vive owners

tetris42

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I'd like to get a consumer VR solution at some point (I currently only have the DK2) and I've noticed the software end of things of the Rift definitely pisses me off. The thing is, I have no idea if it's any better on the Vive. I was hoping some Vive owners could answer these questions:

1. Are automatic updates MANDATORY for the software?

2. Does it display a potential health warning every single time you use it with a program?

3. Assuming you downloaded the software ahead of time, is it possible to install and use the Vive COMPLETELY offline?


Thanks in advance.
 
1. I imagine it's the same as any steam program update. Turn off auto updates. But like steam updates. You can't install old version

2. No it displays the steam vr launch display or the white area display

3. Yes - it's steam based so yes offline all you want after initial setup

I had a dk2 and you can't really compare too much. The vive software update isn't going to break game compatability like they did with the dk2
 
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Just to point out one thing, SteamVR is considered just another steam program, so while you can turn off auto updates, when you launch steamVR, steam auto updates it to the latest version if available before it will run. So automatic updates to the latest version are mandatory. I don't remember offhand if SteamVR has the ability to use older versions like how some games use the "beta/version" option to let you use older/newer builds of games like DeusEx. If it doesn't use that mechanism there is no way of staying at the current version of an application that uses steam as a delivery system/launcher.
 
You can roll back to the previous version of SteamVR as a developer, but other than that automatic updates are enforced if you are running Steam in Online Mode. You always have the option to run in Offline Mode, postponing all updates.

From a software standpoint the Vive is much better than the Rift, doubly so if you already use Steam heavily.
 
Is OP referring to Steam/SteamVR, or the Vive software?

Honestly I wouldn't even install the Vive software, all you need is Steam and SteamVR.
 
Get a Rift regardless.
Its by "far" the better headset, image quality, audio solution/quality and controllers.
You will probably need an extra base station if you want room scale larger than 2mx2m.

The only thing that annoys me about Oculus is Faceplant.
So I installed it on an OS I dont use for normal tasks :)
(oh and the lack of ability to control your installed programs, but thats minor compared to the difference in experience)
 
You need a third camera if you want to do room scale at all with the Rift since it loses tracking if you rotate 360 degrees even if you're stationary. Even then, you won't be able to play titles like Climbey since the polling rate of the Rift isn't good enough even with three cameras.

If you're interested in room scale at all, the Vive is definitely what you want. If you plan to sit and play sims with a HOTAS or wheel, you may find the Rift marginally more comfortable to wear.
 
I covered the extra base station.
The lack of need for that on the Vive doesnt make up for the much poorer experience unfortunately. I recommend paying for another one if you need it.
The Climb woks perfectly on the Rift.
I used it to demo Rift over the weekend with my family, they loved it.
 
I covered the extra base station.
The lack of need for that on the Vive doesnt make up for the much poorer experience unfortunately. I recommend paying for another one if you need it.
The Climb woks perfectly on the Rift.
I used it to demo Rift over the weekend with my family, they loved it.
How is the Vive a much poorer experience?

I wish an objective comparison was done here, too late now for me since I bought a Vive.
 
I covered the extra base station.
The lack of need for that on the Vive doesnt make up for the much poorer experience unfortunately. I recommend paying for another one if you need it.
The Climb woks perfectly on the Rift.
I used it to demo Rift over the weekend with my family, they loved it.
He is talking Climbey not The Climb and the issue with the rift is mentioned in this post : https://hardforum.com/threads/oculus-touch-controllers-review.1919182/#post-1042709371

You need fast accurate motion controls with Climbey or you'll have issues making the jumps.
 
He is talking Climbey not The Climb and the issue with the rift is mentioned in this post : https://hardforum.com/threads/oculus-touch-controllers-review.1919182/#post-1042709371

You need fast accurate motion controls with Climbey or you'll have issues making the jumps.
Unfortunate for that game.
Although it could be because he mounted his sensors high up.
I found low down works much better.

How is the Vive a much poorer experience?

I wish an objective comparison was done here, too late now for me since I bought a Vive.
I have the Vive and the Rift.

The Vives display is spread over a larger area making the pixels and gaps between them larger.
Rift uses shaped lenses to put more pixels in the centre of the display.
Both of these make Rift look quite a bit higher res.
The Vive looks very low res, the Rift is so much better I find it easily acceptable.

The very centre of the Vives display is focused, outside that it is quite blurry and streaky.
There are also fresnel rings that seem to make it look more streaky.
There are streaks on the Rit with very bright objects on dark scenes but I can easily forgive it.

Rift keeps the horizontal centre line in focus, not just the very centre.
It is also much less blurred outside the focused area.
To read things on the Vive I had to look directly at the text with my eyes dead centre and move my head to get the words in focus. It literally was a pain in the neck and eyes.
With the Rift I can read most things pretty much anywhere and with the focused area being larger much less head movement is needed to get the perfect image for tiny text.

The Vive is quite front heavy and feels a lot heavier overall.
Its not an imbalance I like but I would have put up with it if I could have resolved the image quality issues. You can build up muscle to cope.
But I got zero support, absolutely none at all.
The only thing I ever got were automated responses saying someone would respond but it didnt happen.
At first I didnt even get that.
I even tried phoning their premium support line and nobody picked up after 20 minutes so I gave up.
I later realised thats what it is. Perhaps thats why I got no help, there isnt any.

Because the Vive is heavier and front heavy it has to be strapped on much tighter.
I couldnt wear it for long.
The cable is a lot fatter and heavier, it drags more. I suspect this is actually needed to offset some of the front heavy aspect.
The Rift is a breeze to wear in comparison, its so light.
I wear mine almost loose and can use it for hours. The only thing that stopped me was tired arms.

I didnt get on at all well with the Vives earphones.
Even the smallest size slipped out because they were too tight and ended up being painful to insert and wear.
Couple hygiene issues sharing these, they arent something I want to have. I ended up ordering some headphones (which I later cancelled when I realised I wouldnt use it again).
And the sound quality is not that good.
Rift again is a breeze to wear.
The headphones can be clipped back by simply moving them and even when in place its easy to fit the headset.
They are simple to get in place, are never uncomfortable and sound pretty good. And I'm a hifi enthusiast!

The headset has a spring loaded arm system so no matter how you set it up, it is simple to remove and refit.
And the spring isnt so tight to cause most others to need adjustment for a demo.
If adjustment is needed, the adjusters on the rift are simpler/easier to adjust right too.

I was so sad that I had the Vive and didnt even want to get it out of the box.
I asked for an automated refund but didnt get told the return address.
They gave a new email address for further enquiries so I asked many times for help, there was none.
So ended up asking the bank for a refund.
They contacted them by mail and got no reply so I got a refund and a Vive still in its box.
Still not one bit of human support, they didnt even want it back!


Then Oculus brought out the Touch controllers which a friend bought.
I tried it on his Rift and was sold.
They are much nicer than the Vives controllers.

The only thing I really dislike about Rift is the Faceplant link.
Everything else ...
:D
 
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^^ Pretty much what Nenu said, only I find the perceived resolution between the two more or less identical, minus the pro/cons with each concerning overall focus and god rays. I have both as well - a full room scale setup with the Vive and the Rift+Touch and a 3 sensor/camera setup) Each has its particular quirks, but the Rift + touch + 3rd sensor is to me the better of the two overall when it come to the complete package. Not to knock the Vive too hard, it still does very well, I just find the Rift easier to take on/off, a bit lighter and more comfortable to wear, has a much better integrated audio solution, superior hand controllers and is a bit better focused across the field of view. I kept both though - kids play with the Vive more, I with the Rift.
 
Sounds like I should never put on a Rift so that I can think the Vive is good :D. I've heard others pointing that the Vive was better bla bla bla. Interested in what Kyle comes up with and if it really such a big difference between them. Not planning on buying a Rift unless the Vive is totally messed up when I receive it. Figure I keep it for a year and by then next generation and others will be out by then.
 
If you are happy with it, thats all that matters :)
No point in having buyers remorse if you have no issues.
My perspective is just that.

Its possible my Vive is a bad example, I dont know, and am pretty pissed I dont know.
If I had some support I might have found out. That debacle was incredible!
There was no inconsistency between the lenses/what each eye saw and the very centre did focus so it appears to have been set up as well as possible.
Who knows if they changed something since then?
All I can do is report what I saw.
Both Rifts I used are identical performers fwiw, an early CV1 and mine mid December.
 
Nenu has seemingly had a uniquely bad experience with the vive. Obviously not everyone feels that way or vive would have a 100% return rate. I love mine and am excited for what 2017 will bring with new controllers, wireless adapters, and whatever crazy stuff 3rd parties can think up. Most media sites that have used both slightly prefer the rift/touch, mostly due to ergonomics. Optics is not a clear win for rift because you trade vive's smaller sweet spot, fresnel rings, and more SDE for god rays, pupil swim, inferior stereo overlap, and a smaller FOV on the rift.

He is talking Climbey not The Climb and the issue with the rift is mentioned in this post : https://hardforum.com/threads/oculus-touch-controllers-review.1919182/#post-1042709371

You need fast accurate motion controls with Climbey or you'll have issues making the jumps.

If you'll notice the last post in that thread, it turns out the problem was with the game, not some limitation of Touch tracking.
 
Unfortunate for that game.
Although it could be because he mounted his sensors high up.
I found low down works much better.


I have the Vive and the Rift.

The Vives display is spread over a larger area making the pixels and gaps between them larger.
Rift uses shaped lenses to put more pixels in the centre of the display.
Both of these make Rift look quite a bit higher res.
The Vive looks very low res, the Rift is so much better I find it easily acceptable.

The very centre of the Vives display is focused, outside that it is quite blurry and streaky.
There are also fresnel rings that seem to make it look more streaky.
There are streaks on the Rit with very bright objects on dark scenes but I can easily forgive it.

Rift keeps the horizontal centre line in focus, not just the very centre.
It is also much less blurred outside the focused area.
To read things on the Vive I had to look directly at the text with my eyes dead centre and move my head to get the words in focus. It literally was a pain in the neck and eyes.
With the Rift I can read most things pretty much anywhere and with the focused area being larger much less head movement is needed to get the perfect image for tiny text.

The Vive is quite front heavy and feels a lot heavier overall.
Its not an imbalance I like but I would have put up with it if I could have resolved the image quality issues. You can build up muscle to cope.
But I got zero support, absolutely none at all.
The only thing I ever got were automated responses saying someone would respond but it didnt happen.
At first I didnt even get that.
I even tried phoning their premium support line and nobody picked up after 20 minutes so I gave up.
I later realised thats what it is. Perhaps thats why I got no help, there isnt any.

Because the Vive is heavier and front heavy it has to be strapped on much tighter.
I couldnt wear it for long.
The cable is a lot fatter and heavier, it drags more. I suspect this is actually needed to offset some of the front heavy aspect.
The Rift is a breeze to wear in comparison, its so light.
I wear mine almost loose and can use it for hours. The only thing that stopped me was tired arms.

I didnt get on at all well with the Vives earphones.
Even the smallest size slipped out because they were too tight and ended up being painful to insert and wear.
Couple hygiene issues sharing these, they arent something I want to have. I ended up ordering some headphones (which I later cancelled when I realised I wouldnt use it again).
And the sound quality is not that good.
Rift again is a breeze to wear.
The headphones can be clipped back by simply moving them and even when in place its easy to fit the headset.
They are simple to get in place, are never uncomfortable and sound pretty good. And I'm a hifi enthusiast!

The headset has a spring loaded arm system so no matter how you set it up, it is simple to remove and refit.
And the spring isnt so tight to cause most others to need adjustment for a demo.
If adjustment is needed, the adjusters on the rift are simpler/easier to adjust right too.

I was so sad that I had the Vive and didnt even want to get it out of the box.
I asked for an automated refund but didnt get told the return address.
They gave a new email address for further enquiries so I asked many times for help, there was none.
So ended up asking the bank for a refund.
They contacted them by mail and got no reply so I got a refund and a Vive still in its box.
Still not one bit of human support, they didnt even want it back!


Then Oculus brought out the Touch controllers which a friend bought.
I tried it on his Rift and was sold.
They are much nicer than the Vives controllers.

The only thing I really dislike about Rift is the Faceplant link.
Everything else ...
:D

I have a question, since you have both. I tried on a Vive at Fry's yesterday, and I was really, really disappointed by how screen-doorey the image is, but also by how much loss there is in peripheral vision. It was like I was wearing a welding hood with the UV filter open. For $800, I guess I was expecting more.

I think I could have gotten over the screen door effect if I took it home and used it for a while, but the loss of peripheral vision really ruined it for me. Is that better with the Rift? Do you eventually just stop noticing it and enjoy it anyway?
 
When you are actually immersed in a title, you stop noticing the screen door. It's hard to get immersed in a title in any meaningful way at a store demo.

The lack of peripheral vision and eye-tracking is something you get used to over time. Eventually you stop trying to look to the side by moving your eyes and just turn your head instead. It always feels like you are looking at the world through a porthole of some sort, but it stops mattering when you are immersed in an experience.
 
I have a question, since you have both. I tried on a Vive at Fry's yesterday, and I was really, really disappointed by how screen-doorey the image is, but also by how much loss there is in peripheral vision. It was like I was wearing a welding hood with the UV filter open. For $800, I guess I was expecting more.

I think I could have gotten over the screen door effect if I took it home and used it for a while, but the loss of peripheral vision really ruined it for me. Is that better with the Rift? Do you eventually just stop noticing it and enjoy it anyway?
You can improve on the peripheral vision by moving the foam to allow your face to get closer.
But that makes the screen door a little worse and pixels bigger.
Theres no real way around this without a resolution increase, except for the Rift solution.

The Rift is a little worse with regard to peripheral vision.
At first I felt like I was looking through very wide goggles but after seconds I didnt care. It is so much better image quality.
The pixels are slightly smaller and screen door effect less on the Rift.
The lenses are shaped to push more pixels into the image centre such that it looks higher res.
 
Is OP referring to Steam/SteamVR, or the Vive software?

Honestly I wouldn't even install the Vive software, all you need is Steam and SteamVR.
I meant the Vive itself, for things like drivers and for non-steam programs.

A lot of the posts are making me reconsider getting either though, what with the lower fidelity on the Vive and the godrays on the Rift.

In any event, thanks for the info posted here.
 
A lot of the posts are making me reconsider getting either though, what with the lower fidelity on the Vive and the godrays on the Rift.

Was in the same delima a while back - planned on getting both and offloading the one I liked least... But ended up keeping both for "Maximum VR" :D
 
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