Gear VR: Intriguing, exciting, disappointing, expensive, immature?

S

silent-circuit

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
16,136
Click-bait title, maybe, but it's how I'm feeling after about 2 hours screwing around with a Samsung Gear VR and a Galaxy S7 Edge. Mind you this is the original model which I found on clearance locally for $25; at that price I figured why not? The S7 Edge isn't on the officially supported list, but I figured it would probably work... and it did, though I suspect some of the intended viewable area may be getting cut off -- the Oculus loading logo that appears in the top right is frequently cut off, at least.

It's neat -- I've found myself watching things more intently and getting drawn in to scenes in videos, and even simplistic games hold a degree of wonder (at least for now -- again, this is all very new) that I'm drawn in. It's neat, and I'm definitely left with a desire to see and do more. I have some misgivings, however.

Resolution is... shit. Everything looks like I'm watching it through an old screen door. Initially I thought maybe it was because they were limiting true 3D scenes due to power limits on the phone, but every video I've seen so far is similarly bad. Then I thought "wait, my glasses are torn to shit, I bet a lot of it is on them!" Turns out the focus adjustment can /nearly/ make up for my insane degree of nearsightedness, and it's still... shit. Slightly clearer shit, even. As in, the screen door effect is even more pronounced. Things also glitch around from time to time, due to inconsistent framerates I guess?

I like this -- or more accurately I /want/ to like this -- but the quality of the current presentation is so disappointing that I'm hesitant to move forward with something (vastly) more expensive. The fact that the area used on my phone screen is probably comparable to the resolution of the Rift and Vive leaves me... nonplussed.


Those of you who've seen a Gear VR and now own a Rift of Vive, is is a /vast/ improvement in perceived clarity? Do you see the screen door thing? Do I need to sit out this generation of hardware or should I be saving up?
 
Last edited:
No they still look like shit.
But most people would argue the experience makes up for shit in your eye, and I would agree.

If you arnt drawn in by the feeling of being in a video game instead of playing it on a monitor, and really just want better graphics then its best to sit this one out. You have to put up for the N64 level of graphics for now.

But IMO, once you start playing a real game (and not a shitty cell phone game), I mean a game like robo recall, onward, or a simulation then you forget about resolution and just enjoy the game.
 
Nah, I know myself better than that. I'll have to wait for better displays. From minute one all I could think was "this is really cool but I feel like this shit is running at 800x600 after years of playing nothing below 1600x1200" (to go back to the old days). I found it way more jarring than going back to 1080P after moving to 4K... and I can't go back to 1080P after moving to 4K.

So in short, fuck that noise, these companies should be ashamed of themselves for sitting on their hands this long, and thanks for saving me $600 for Rift+Touch. I refuse to play anything these days where I can see the pixels unless it's intentional. (i.e. pixel art)

The video quallity at times looks lilke 640x480 or worse. I was looking around in one BBC produced 360 degree setup (and one would assume they can afford good cameras)... people maybe 10 feet away were so blurry I could barely make out their faces and expressions. Part of me can't believe this shit ever went to market in its current form. Even at $25 I feel ripped off, and it's even worse knowing some poor bastards paid $100 for this hardware not too long ago.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Savoy
like this
I bought a 40" 4k monitor for my oc and it might of been 2 weeks later i picked up the oculus rift + touch for my first ever vr experiance.

Figured if i didnt like it i'd return it since i got it at bestbuy and am a elite plus member and have 45 days to decide it i like it enough before i go all out and grab a 3rd sensor and extension cables.

Lets just say i was totally blown away durring the setup and the first contact demo the followed!!! I was on board and sold with that alone!

Then the free game that was included with the touch controllers.. robo recall. A AAA game that sealed the deal!!

Graphics that blew me away and game play that was awesome!

Yes going from a 2560x1440 165hz monitor to a 4k screen was really wow.. but nothing like the total package of vr!! Your in the game and it feels real! Haha

I would not judge vr from a phone. Graphics would depend on the quality of the game or demo but even still is great with n64 graphics haha.. though i have not played anything that looked that bad.

My wife freaked out on vr.. didnt get past the opening screen demo showing you how to use the touch controllers.. didnt even experiance an environment!! Said nope.. too freaky. My 2 young kids aged 8 and 12 love it and think its the coolest thing ever!

The rift is nice as the headset is comfortable and light weight.. the touch controllers are sweet and light as well.. senses your hands and fingers and you see your hands in the game and it makes it that much more real like with grabbing stuff. You can play at your desk or large room scale.. some say 2 sensors are fine but others say go with 3 for large room scale use or even 4 sensors.. you have to buy the extra 3rd and 4th sensors from oculus directly bit they ship fast and free.. got mine in 2 days!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: noko
like this
silent-circuit said:
Click-bait title, maybe, but it's how I'm feeling after about 2 hours screwing around with a Samsung Gear VR and a Galaxy S7 Edge. Mind you this is the original model which I found on clearance locally for $25; at that price I figured why not? The S7 Edge isn't on the officially supported list, but I figured it would probably work... and it did, though I suspect some of the intended viewable area may be getting cut off -- the Oculus loading logo that appears in the top right is frequently cut off, at least.

It's neat -- I've found myself watching things more intently and getting drawn in to scenes in videos, and even simplistic games hold a degree of wonder (at least for now -- again, this is all very new) that I'm drawn in. It's neat, and I'm definitely left with a desire to see and do more. I have some misgivings, however.

Resolution is... shit. Everything looks like I'm watching it through an old screen door. Initially I thought maybe it was because they were limiting true 3D scenes due to power limits on the phone, but every video I've seen so far is similarly bad. Then I thought "wait, my glasses are torn to shit, I bet a lot of it is on them!" Turns out the focus adjustment can /nearly/ make up for my insane degree of nearsightedness, and it's still... shit. Slightly clearer shit, even. As in, the screen door effect is even more pronounced. Things also glitch around from time to time, due to inconsistent framerates I guess?

I like this -- or more accurately I /want/ to like this -- but the quality of the current presentation is so disappointing that I'm hesitant to move forward with something (vastly) more expensive. The fact that the area used on my phone screen is probably comparable to the resolution of the Rift and Vive leaves me... nonplussed.


Those of you who've seen a Gear VR and now own a Rift of Vive, is is a /vast/ improvement in perceived clarity? Do you see the screen door thing? Do I need to sit out this generation of hardware or should I be saving up?
Click to expand...
You should try a Rift and Vive to see. I have not touched a 2d game in 6 months at least. I love the immersion! I was just playing rec room paintball with people from all over and was very fun.
I have finished several games and use it for exercise on some games.
 
I bought the gear vr with my now gone note 7. I was like you, where I saw the potential but wanted the real thing. That phone thing didnt cut it.

I now own a Vive. It is the real thing. graphics are way better. A galaxy is a nice phone but no pc. The res is still an issue but the poly count, ss, and better lenses minimize the issue. For me the immersion erases the rest.

That is for the better games, there is a lot of simple stuff out there as well. I notice the inherent short coming much more there, like with the gear vr.

The big kicker is room scale. To me, that IS vr, the gear vr was just fancy 3d glasses. No more avatars, i'm not controlling something doing things. I am doing things. Some of that old wii magic.
 
But do you see individual pixels? Does it look like you're watching old 640x480 or 800x600 videos? I can't go back to that.

Sadly there's nowhere around here I can demo a Vive or Rift; the local Best Buys (yes, both of them) had units but fucktards broke them and they've yet to be repaired or replaced, months later.
 
silent-circuit said:
But do you see individual pixels? Does it look like you're watching old 640x480 or 800x600 videos? I can't go back to that.

Sadly there's nowhere around here I can demo a Vive or Rift; the local Best Buys (yes, both of them) had units but fucktards broke them and they've yet to be repaired or replaced, months later.
Click to expand...

You can see pixels if you look for them. But when you're lost in immersion, you mostly forget.
I'm waiting for next res bump and associated gpu hardware. It'll make a nice difference and better balance of pixel size vs immersion in all scenes.
>Tried an htc on a dual xeon\dual titan rig.
 
I'm in the same situation. I have Samsung VR and S7 Edge and it's just nothing special. I own a 4k 48" tv and games look fantastic on it.
1080Ti can run most games at 60 fps. Now, 2080Ti or Volta Titan will probably be able to easily reach 90 fps at 4k. Probably even more. So 4k VR is not unrealistic next year. There is already 4k set (but I heard it's crap, although reviews say it's good enough) and 8k on the way.
Also it doesn't help that some people claim it's the next best thing while others are very "meh". I guess the only way to know is to try yourself.
 
silent-circuit said:
But do you see individual pixels? Does it look like you're watching old 640x480 or 800x600 videos? I can't go back to that.
Click to expand...
Games like raw data, no it does not look like that. It is a 1440 res game. Nothing like the phone games.
 
Id say hit up a store that has a demo of a rift and vive and see for yourself.

Ive heared theres also microsoft stores that also demo it.

Check online.
 
I'm getting conflicting reports now -- some are saying screen door effect is obvious with the Rift and Vive, others are saying it's not present at all, or at least not noticable.
 
Grab a rift and touch at bb.. if you see it return it.

I've yet to see anything wong with what ive played and i have 20/20+ vision.
 
silent-circuit said:
I'm getting conflicting reports now -- some are saying screen door effect is obvious with the Rift and Vive, others are saying it's not present at all, or at least not noticable.
Click to expand...

It's definitely there on rift but Its not bad at all. I don't notice it while I'm playing unless I'm looking for it.

This seems to be a somewhat subjective thing, but losing the third dimension is way more immersion breaking than some sde. It's the difference between playing a game vs being in the game.
 
Bobzdar is right, the screen door effect is there, but your brain ignores it when you're immersed and you get so much else out of it. It's like watching your favorite movie in SD, as opposed to some shitty cheap action flick in HD. I just got my rift earlier this week, after playing Arizona Sunshine and Onward, I'm ordering my third sensor to get the 360 thing going, and I don't think I'm ever going back to 2D games. And this is coming from someone who bought it expecting it to be meh, because I've heard all of the complaints including this one before hand.
 
Video is not the best showcase for VR. The bitrates you need just for decent 180 degree video are insane. I downloaded a 6 GB, 180 degree, "adult" VR video on PC that looks pretty good but it is only 20 minutes long. Mobile VR video is usually much lower quality due to perf limits, space limits, bandwidth limits, etc.


The lack of resolution is there on PC VR, but in immersive games you see through it and forget about it almost instantly
 
Just find a demo or a friend that has a REAL VR headset like the Vive or Rift. That's the only way to know. All these people talking about "omg if I see a pixel my brain will implode" are mostly full of shit and haven't actually tried a good Vive or Oculus setup.

I thought I'd hate it, too, but after I tried my friend's DK2, I knew it was amazing and here to stay.

Seriously, don't listen to haters who haven't even used Rift and Vive and are judging it based on experience with a fucking Virtua Boy 20 years ago or a lame ass phone setup. You have to try it for yourself. I cannot emphasize strongly enough that if you aren't trying a Vive or Rift (NOT PHONES OR CHEAP CHINESE KNOCKOFFS) you're going to get a shit experience.
 
silent-circuit said:
Click-bait title, maybe, but it's how I'm feeling after about 2 hours screwing around with a Samsung Gear VR and a Galaxy S7 Edge.
Click to expand...

Changed that title for you.

Gear VR is far and away from "real VR."
 
silent-circuit said:
I'm getting conflicting reports now -- some are saying screen door effect is obvious with the Rift and Vive, others are saying it's not present at all, or at least not noticable.
Click to expand...
It is noticeable if you stop and look for it. Does not bother me, or do I even see it when gaming, but I don't stand around trying to smell farts either.
 
prtzlboy said:
All these people talking about "omg if I see a pixel my brain will implode" are mostly full of shit and haven't actually tried a good Vive or Oculus setup.
Click to expand...
And there you have it. We have been running people through our React Lab out in Cali shooting footage for Inside VR, and we have yet to have any users, mention the graphics quality.
 
The resolution is a lot less than my three 30 inch monitors running at 5200x2560. There's a slight screen door effect. There are Godrays in the black menus with white lettering. I'm sitting in my fighting chair with heated scuba goggles on my face. Who cares! Yesterday I was a German Ace flying over Moscow in a ME109 mixing it up with lendlease P40's and Russian Yak's. I was there, it was real. Bullets were flying, blood spattering on the windscreen. I bumped my head on the canopy while turning around in my seat to check my six. I'm a 53 year old commercial pilot but yesterday, for 90 minutes, I was an Ace!


With the right software the current hardware is where it needs to be. Il2 Battle of Stalingrad and Moscow is that software. People that are into combat flight sims will get the hardware. Once you go VR with this software there's no way back. VR as a whole may fail because of movement issues but for flight and space sims, where you sit in a cockpit, it's a game changer. Rift user myself but the Vive guys seem to be having a blast as well.
 
Last edited:
IMO with the Gear VR, its more fun to play a mobile game on a headset than a mobile display. Its also great for some content consuming, such as 3D movies, particularly while mobile like on a long flight compared to the alternative of watching on a tablet or phone. If those are your expectations, IMO you will absolutely love the Gear VR.

Its just a matter of time though that we see the LCD pixel density and refresh that we need, and really what we should be doing IMO is not investing in a redundant display but using our inevitable 4K powerful phones to pair to our even more powerful desktop GPUs to stream the game to the headset. I mean, the thing has gyroscope sensors, crazy high resolution cameras, 16 core processors, and everything already... why not use that? Its a no-brainer.
 
There are several versions of the Gear VR S-RM 320, 321, 322, and the latest RM-323.
Each version has been and improvement. The latest is actually pretty good. Considering the price and also the price of the APPS it is even better than that. I have had each version with several different phones. I also have an HTC Vive.
The Vive is unquestionably better overall. But for $45 (international version - Amazon) and a Samsung S7 the Gear VR is a great way to try VR. With the phone resolution set to 2560x1440 the quality is acceptable to me. The apps vary from free to only a few $. For the Vive, it is easy to get several hundred $ in software. The RM323 says compatibility with Galaxy S7 phones, but it will work with previous versions but not nearly as well. The S6's seem to have an overheating problem. I tried it with a Note 4 which fit very tightly, but worked, slower due to lesser processing and graphics power but not bad.

The Gear does have some real advantages over the Vive or Riff. It is completely wireless. Dealing with wires is a real pain even with ceiling mounted tether systems. It also doesn't require an involved set up process every time you use it. I love the Vive but the cost of the headset and required computing power are a bunch. Until I got a 1080Ti, performance was not really that good (from a 980Ti). Letting someone try VR for the first time is easy with the Gear and haven't found anyone who didn't think it was cool. I have had no problems running the Gear from an S7 Edge (which I already had). I have had no overheating that some claim to experience.

It is not the best but it is sure best of the entry level, price level. I think it's a nice product. If you already have a usable phone it's really cheap. Many free apps.
 
I also have an S7 Edge and RM-323 Gear VR (and a 1080 Ti / Vive coincidentally) and can attest to everything Cardio just said. The Gear VR is a fantastic product right now. I personally won an S7 Edge demo phone on eBay for a little over $200. It's great for Netflix, movies, and sit-down vr gaming. I actually prefer it over the Vive for those things.

Really the only differences between it and my Vive setup-aside from the room-scale capability and motion controllers-are the slightly less impressive 3d graphics in games (due to less processing power in the phone vs my computer), the slightly smaller field of view, and the 60hz refresh rate. It actually has a slightly higher resolution than the Vive and is overall better to use for watching videos imo. I would especially recommend it to those with limited mobility. While recovering from a bad accident I found it a godsend.
 
Maybe my issue is that I got the old version of the Gear VR? Might have to get the international newer version from Amazon.
 
I have the OG version with my s7 edge and love the shit out of this thing. Using a controller makes life much easier
 
Dan said:
I have the OG version with my s7 edge and love the shit out of this thing. Using a controller makes life much easier
Click to expand...

That's unfortunate. I was really hoping at least some of the screen door effect I was seeing was due to the old version.
 
I have S7 Edge and Gear VR (the new version). I don't like it. The games are quite ugly because it's a mobile device. It just doesn't have the horsepower.
 
I thought Herobound Spirit Champion (free game), Drop Dead, Gunship Battle 2, Dreadhalls and some other games had pretty decent graphics. You can also get the full game of Quake to run on the phone with HD textures, and it looks fantastic. There really isn't as great of a contrast as some might suggest imo in regards to graphical fidelity. And this is coming from someone who owns a Vive and GTX 1080 Ti. I'm not denying the graphics are worse, but it was not enough to make me feel any less immersed in VR. The lack of positional tracking and motion controllers, on the other hand, did detract from the immersion level with certain games.
 
I have pre-ordered the new controller from Best Buy, $40, it may be an improvement to the 3rd party ones without motion tracking. I understand that this one has "limited" tracking so we will see Even a $6 eBay Bluetooth controller is an improvement to the headset controls.
Supposed to be available today, the 21st. Will report on my experience. Amber Annie is a good intro app IMHO.
 
Please do let us know how you like the new controller. I use a SteelSeries Stratus XL with my S7 Edge, and it has always worked great. I will probably pickup the new tracking controller at some point when it's readily available. I still like to jump into my Gear VR now and then to see how things have changed. The increase in resolution we just had in Oculus Home was a nice improvement.
 
I really didn't know the resolution had changed. I did notice that it looked really good , the last time I logged on.
The controller was supposed to be available yesterday but If they shipped it there was no indication sent. One of the Houston Best Buy stores shows the controller in stock but it is way across town and that may be an error anyway. The Gulfgate store, if anyone is interested. I would call but y previous efforts to get any information by phone have been, shall we say. disappointing.
 
Their good to get you started but thats about it.

Want real VR gotta go Rift or Vive

I know nothing of PSVR
 
Got the new Gear VR controller this morning. Came in 1 day from Best Buy preordered.
It is smaller than I was expecting but fits your hand nicely. Appears better quality than the eBay controller I had. That controller was not good. It dropped connection often and some times just did not work,
The Samsung controller came with 2 AAA batteries a lanyard and a holder that can attach to the headset. Also the required "manual" but without the necessary magnifying glass to read it.

The instructions did not work for me. It said to insert the phone (they called it a Mobile Devise) in the head set and then remove the phone when a voice message instructed to do so. I did this 3 times and no voice message.

I removed the phone, opened the oculus app, turned on the Bluetooth scan and it found the controller and paired it. No paring code. It asked if I wanted to use my right or left hand. That worked, put the phone back in the headset and the controller was visible on, the right side, and followed my hand movement.
You can't change hands with the controller it is just on the side you have selected in the software.
There is a white line projected from the controller. All the buttons work well. Has volume control which is a nice addition. Not all apps support the controller and Oculus has a list. More added every day.

Do I like it? Very much! I hated the headset controls and a couple of 3rd party controllers were somewhat better but were poor quality and unreliable.
To me, this controller makes the VR many times more useable. Before you couldn't see your hand movement and couldn't tell where you were on the headset controls.

Came with my favorite brand of battery - "BIXLER". A name we all know and trust!
The plastic container was taped with the strongest tape I have ever seen. Wish I could buy some.

I enjoy the Gear VR a lot. It is so easy to pick up and use for a few minutes when I don't want to fire up everything necessary to use my Vive and fight with the wires.
 
Last edited:
The new controller has taken 2 automatic updates since I got it. No idea What they did but would guess it was to fix the installation procedure that really didn.t work.
Like the controller a lot.
 
I've owned a Rift for about a week, and the pixels still kind of jump out at me. The screen door effect is definitely noticeable. But at the same time, once I'm into it, I tend to forget, or at least not forget, but it bothers much less once I'm having fun. Because the head tracking and controls are so great, I can forgive that as a consumer first generation product, I have to look at the Unreal 4 Engine through what looks like a giant SDTV stretched out around me. I think the two biggest upgrades we could ask for in CV2 are 4K resolution and wireless tracking.
 
No way I'm paying for current generation pc side hardware given what I've read here and elsewhere.
 
Hagrid said:
Please elaborate!
Click to expand...

I'm a picky bastard, I've spent thousands and thousands over the years on GPUs and displays, and basically... Fuck screen door effect. Not okay. Not at $500+. Not even at $300. I'll wait for things to not be shit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top