Samsung Gear VR Released to Best Buy on Friday

If you were shopping in Best Buy yesterday, you might have stumbled on Samsung’s virtual reality headset, already on the shelves for consumer purchase. Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition went on sale yesterday at 100 select Best Buy locations across the US.

So are there lenses inside that thing? Because unless you are pretty nearsighted there's no way you could focus on the screen that close to your eye.

Innovator edition? What does that mean? Curious to see if they have a demo unit, or what their return policy is so I can try it out.

That looks horribly uncomfortable.

amdgamer said:

That looks horribly uncomfortable.

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It does! I will have to go into bestbuy to check one out one of these days.

Yes, there are lenses which basically force you to focus to infinity. There seems to be enough room for most people to wear your normal glasses.

Yes, you'll be able to try it out at the store before buying it. Innovator Edition basically means they are still lacking some key features they feel are needed before mass adoption, such as content and resolution. Motion/body tracking is also a big thing most people really want in VR, and that is obviously not in this product.

No, it's not horribly uncomfortable. Many people seem to enjoy watching full length movies. Beyond that, like anything strapped to your head (headphones), there may be an issue.

Youn said:

Yes, there are lenses which basically force you to focus to infinity. There seems to be enough room for most people to wear your normal glasses.

Yes, you'll be able to try it out at the store before buying it. Innovator Edition basically means they are still lacking some key features they feel are needed before mass adoption, such as content and resolution. Motion/body tracking is also a big thing most people really want in VR, and that is obviously not in this product.

No, it's not horribly uncomfortable. Many people seem to enjoy watching full length movies. Beyond that, like anything strapped to your head (headphones), there may be an issue.

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Thanks for the report! Would you say it would still be comfortable to me if I can't stand over the ear headphones at all?(not comfortable to me)

Well, maybe the VR experience will be a good enough distraction to warrant use longer than 5 seconds... that's what I'm hoping for myself anyways, as I even hate wearing sun glasses or hats!

sfsuphysics said:

So are there lenses inside that thing? Because unless you are pretty nearsighted there's no way you could focus on the screen that close to your eye.

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I was wondering about that, because I put my phone 6" away from eyes and it was all a blur

Any media built to take advantage of it yet? I hope its more than just a few demos. Otherwise, what's the point? I've seen too many hardware products launch with no software and then die.

steakman1971 said:

Any media built to take advantage of it yet? I hope its more than just a few demos. Otherwise, what's the point? I've seen too many hardware products launch with no software and then die.

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There's some kind of VR appstore with content, perhaps on Google Play itself. There's like 5 games and the rest are just 360 videos on youtube. My concern is in this advert the videos look kind of choppy, like the headset is taxing the Note 4 too hard. I cant imagine the device could sell like this but hmm.. Still torn on what to get. While I firmly believe a fully untethered device is the most practical, PC's are the only systems with enough horsepower to provide good content, and have the only companies interested in doing so. The MoCap dots on the new Rift and HTC device will be pretty instrumental as well. Your ability to sit in a Mech suit and actually lean about the cockpit looking at things will really double the immersion factor by blending in one final crucial element.

I have an Oculus DK2 and I got to play with a GearVR last weekend.

My main issue with the DK2 is screen resolution. DK2 uses the 1080p screen from the Galaxy S5, while the GearVR obviously uses the 1440p screen of the Note 4 (same as the latest Rift prototype Oculus has shown). The 1440p screen crosses the threshold to what I find to be a usable resolution on the headset, but I really think Oculus needs a 4K screen on the release version of the Rift.

There is an Iceland demo on the GearVR that takes you on a helicopter ride through different areas of the island. Full 360 view - look down and see the land you're flying over; look up and see the chopper; sky, mountains, etc all around. Very cool.

There are also 360 degree 3D stills from the Mars Curiousity rover. Breathtaking. Seeing the stars from the surface of another planet is simply amazing.

The whole time I used the GearVR I either had a grin plastered on my face or my jaw was gaping open in wonder. It's that cool. My wife has a Note 4 and when she put on the GearVR her words to me were, "Why don't we have this? We're going to get this."

My buddy who brought out the GearVR said Carmack uses the phrase "conversion on contact", and that's pretty accurate. Even if a person has no concept of a VR headset, they will see the potential in seconds of using the GearVR.

all that 10fps goodness on a galaxy note 4

That's only for the cinematic effect.

Is there any way to pass PC video input to it?