Rift vs Vive

R

Ryan7968

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
316
$600 vs $800
Rift store vs Vive store
Seated vs 15'x15'

The actual specs on both devices look similar, so I'm thinking these are the biggest three differences. I want to make the plunge but I want to make sure I am plunking down the money on the right one for me.

Is there much else to consider when comparing these two? My gut tells me just spend the extra 200 bucks and get the Vive. Does the Rift have any advantages for a seated experience or does the Vive pretty much perform the same in that area? Will vive users be able to purchase games from the Rift store?
 
That $200 difference is basically the Vive including motion controllers which the Rift doesn't. If you want to interact with stuff in a vaguely natural way, rather than with a regular xbox controller (included with the Rift) then that's a big thing to consider. If you're just doing seated stuff then it may not be an issue. Aiming down the sights of a virtual gun that you're holding in your hand is awesome, though.
Cross-headset compatibility is a big question mark. Of course there's no technical reason you shouldn't be able to use either, like with video cards, it's just marketing.
 
What games look most interesting to you? Don't forget about that..
 
Well, I have a HOTAS for games like Elite, and I have a FFB wheel for racing games and such. I see myself using a VR headset in a seated position for many games where you are in a 'cockpit'. For games like Elite or Project Cars, if both headsets are more or less equal for those types of games then I really think I'd rather pay an extra $200 and have the ability to do the room stuff.

I'm leaning towards the Vive and ordering one tonight. For me personally I don't see why the Rift would be a better option outside of being $200 less, ~3 lbs lighter, and the possibility of the Rift store having some killer app that a Vive owner cannot play.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Youn
like this
The Rift will have motion controllers as well, they just won't be out for a few months. I'm still leaning towards the Rift as it has better FoV and is a lot more comfortable to wear. In 3 or so months when the motion controls come out I can look at what games are available and determine at that point if it's worth dropping another $200. I also like the look of the Rift controllers better.

I highly doubt we will see true exclusives for either headset, especially after the Rifts controls come out.

I do think that eventually movement based VR will be the way to go, I just don't see it leaving the "gimmick" phase in the next 3 years. I think developers are going to perfect the seated experience while in the process of figuring out how to make movement based VR work for real, full fledged games. For me I'll worry about all the movement stuff with the second generation of hardware but right now I just want good 3D, FoV and head tracking.
 
Other considerations are

The Vive weighs more (some reviewers didnt like this) and has more cables hanging off the back of your head.
Vive is slightly higher res and has a slightly wider field of view.
Rift is owned by Facebook and they have declared that you agree to be permanently connected to their servers for data collection on your physical stats and how you use your PC. If you develop anything that uses Rift, they give themselves the right to use it in full for whatever they want without any compensation and you cannot take them to court, only arbitration.

I cancelled my Rift order after finding out that last bit, I cannot agree to spying and being cheated!
I've ordered the Vive but am not sure its worth going for the first gen.
 
Nenu said:
If you develop anything that uses Rift, they give themselves the right to use it in full for whatever they want without any compensation and you cannot take them to court, only arbitration.
Click to expand...
So it's literally identical to the Steam platform's EULA in regards to community created content, right down to the arbitration restriction?
 
Ryan7968 said:
$600 vs $800
Rift store vs Vive store
Seated vs 15'x15'

The actual specs on both devices look similar, so I'm thinking these are the biggest three differences. I want to make the plunge but I want to make sure I am plunking down the money on the right one for me.

Is there much else to consider when comparing these two? My gut tells me just spend the extra 200 bucks and get the Vive. Does the Rift have any advantages for a seated experience or does the Vive pretty much perform the same in that area? Will vive users be able to purchase games from the Rift store?
Click to expand...
Yeah, the Vive apparently has a wider FOV, although it also has this radial glare from the lenses that the Rift doesn't:

Vive-GlareTest-8mm-1-500x500.jpg


Also at launch at least, the Rift will be able to run more games, since aside from the Rift store, it can run SteamVR games also, plus Vorpx and vireio don't work on the Vive, only the Rift. I'm personally holding off until things mature a little more since both seem like flawed launches.
 
I was pretty set on the Rift until I watched some of the Giant Bomb Vive stuff and now I'm completely torn again.
 
I really think that the Rift is a much more practical device. The Vive is over-reaching. I am not setting up a special room for VR. Sure, some people will be more than happy to. I don't want my games confined to the size of my room anyways. Using the type of controller I already use in conjunction with a 3d headset just seems like a much better idea. I read before that these two devices want to be friendly with each other in regards to locking in exclusivity and Valve allowing Oculus games on Steam; is this still true?
 
atom said:
I really think that the Rift is a much more practical device. The Vive is over-reaching. I am not setting up a special room for VR. Sure, some people will be more than happy to. I don't want my games confined to the size of my room anyways. Using the type of controller I already use in conjunction with a 3d headset just seems like a much better idea. I read before that these two devices want to be friendly with each other in regards to locking in exclusivity and Valve allowing Oculus games on Steam; is this still true?
Click to expand...

It appears to be. Games on Steam will actually let you know which headset it's compatible with and it seems most are compatible with both.
 
It really comes down to whether you ever want to do roomscale vr in the future and how you feel about closed ecosystems,. You can make arguments that either hmd is better optically as they both have pros and cons. Personally, I don't like rifts policy on its walled garden or information collection. I have both on order though I will end up keeping only 1.
 
So you cant use the Rift standing up?? I read somewhere that, there is like a "seated" mode for the Vive?? is that true?
 
After two days with the Vive, I can honestly say VR is extremely underwhelming without motion controls. My play area is on the small side (2m x 2m), though I had fun playing most of the games standing still. Unless money is a concern, I really don't understand why someone would buy the Rift over the Vive.
 
I went with the Vive. Order has been placed, not sure when I can expect delivery but probably at least a month out.

I'm sure I'd have been happy with the Rift, but since the specs on the headsets are so similar it really came down to getting room scale and the controllers for 200 more. It's nice that we have options, and with the weight of the companies pushing this tech I am confident it will be getting plenty of love on the software side.
 
s3rvb0t said:
Are you sure about that?
Click to expand...

While the Rift, in fact, does have a slightly smaller FOV compared to the Vive, it isn't quite as big of a difference as that image would lead you to believe. Bottom line, though, is that if the FOV is a huge factor for you then the Vive slightly edges out the Rift.

BTW I received my Vive yesterday and used it for 2-3 hours. Loving it and the room-scale, this coming from someone that thought the Rift was going to be for me. I still have a Rift on the way, but may just sell it. I will say that it is a bit of a pain to use the separate headphones, but I think I can get used to it. Having room-scale and tracked controllers right now is absolutely amazing.

Also, those fresnel ridges disappear when in use. The only time you might see them during normal use is when the bright on dark background situations appear and you get the glare (which is on both Rift and Vive). On the Vive, the glare takes on some of the geometry of the fresnel ridges.
 
s3rvb0t said:
Are you sure about that?

p4le5Vx.jpg
Click to expand...

Yeah, I got my specs mixed up.

I really want to play Eve Valkyrie but the custom launch "games" for the Vive look much better. I think I'll be cancelling my Rift order and save a bit longer for a Vive.
 
tetris42 said:
Yeah, the Vive apparently has a wider FOV, although it also has this radial glare from the lenses that the Rift doesn't:

Vive-GlareTest-8mm-1-500x500.jpg


Also at launch at least, the Rift will be able to run more games, since aside from the Rift store, it can run SteamVR games also, plus Vorpx and vireio don't work on the Vive, only the Rift. I'm personally holding off until things mature a little more since both seem like flawed launches.
Click to expand...

While the vive might have some fresnel glare the rift has some wierd issue with crupescular rays (God rays) on text and high contrast areas that is reported to be highly annoying. Also, there is less tolerance with the rift for vertex distance from your eye, meaning fov gets hit harder the further your eye is from the lens, that's important to someone who wears glasses or has long eyelashes.
 
Chaos Machine said:
While the vive might have some fresnel glare the rift has some wierd issue with crupescular rays (God rays) on text and high contrast areas that is reported to be highly annoying. Also, there is less tolerance with the rift for vertex distance from your eye, meaning fov gets hit harder the further your eye is from the lens, that's important to someone who wears glasses or has long eyelashes.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm waiting for more reports like these. I don't care about motion controls, I care about game compatibility and display quality, so I'd love to see more user comparisons between the two come out.
 
grifter_66 said:
Yeah, I got my specs mixed up.

I really want to play Eve Valkyrie but the custom launch "games" for the Vive look much better. I think I'll be cancelling my Rift order and save a bit longer for a Vive.
Click to expand...

I was in the same boat; you'll be happy with that decision. Good new is that Eve Valkyrie has been confirmed to support the Vive later this year.

tetris42 said:
I don't care about motion controls
Click to expand...

You say that now... =P
 
s3rvb0t said:
After two days with the Vive, I can honestly say VR is extremely underwhelming without motion controls. My play area is on the small side (2m x 2m), though I had fun playing most of the games standing still. Unless money is a concern, I really don't understand why someone would buy the Rift over the Vive.
Click to expand...

This. I have never cared for motion controls before, yet I find them almost essential in VR. Playing games in VR with a gamepad just feels weird to me.

It's mind-boggling to me that Oculus launched without Touch, the stuff I've experienced with the Vive that utilizes the motion controllers is on another level. Shooting a bow and arrow in The Lab for example is so satisfying.
 
TheSmJ said:
It's worth pointing out that these articles came out before the release of both headsets, and their NDAs.
Click to expand...
Wut?

The first article is Feb 29th and compares the hardware and features, both Rift and Vive were already accepting pre-orders.
Nothing was under NDA and even if it was, the info in the article was widely known.

The second is dated 20th March and compares them in use.
Again not under NDA.

Are you saying something has changed or is inaccurate?
 
The first article is a feature list.
If there is anything wrong there, can you point it out?

The second article is from GDC a few weeks ago.
Both were consumer version Headsets.
You are right that an NDA had to be signed before using them, but I cant see how that is relevant to us if they arent lying.
Is anything stated inaccurate?

edit
hmm, the post I am replying to has vanished lol.
 
Just to confirm, there was an NDA for at least the Rift CV1 and at least an embargo on the consumer Vive which expired on their respective launch dates.
 
s3rvb0t said:
I was in the same boat; you'll be happy with that decision. Good new is that Eve Valkyrie has been confirmed to support the Vive later this year.



You say that now... =P
Click to expand...
Half of what I want VR for are driving games. I have a steering wheel. I think I'll manage. I care way more about game compatibility. I think it's crazy Nvidia is remaining quiet on using 3D stereo to bring more existing games to VR, despite saying they would do just that back in 2014.
 
I own a dk2 and plan on getting Vive. I would go as far to say there might be a second rift but there won't be a third. They are going to go full on mobile once they realize they can't compete with steam. I know I'm reaching pretty far into the genie lamp with this one, but the integration with facebook was a nail in the coffin for a lot of people. Steam is already established, and the Vive is superior in multiple ways, even for sitting experiences.
 
I've had the Rift CV1 since the 28th and received my Vive on the 12th. While I may be in the minority I envision myself mostly consuming seated content.

The Vive's roomscale tracking is quite awesome and the controller tracking is pretty darn good. Had some issues with the lighthouse units requiring me to use the sync cable but all is working.

While I do prefer the optics on the Rift CV1 I would like to stress that there is not a large enough difference to merit choosing one over the other on purely optics.

The Rift CV1 is an incredibly well baked product in regards to form and function, easily the most comfortable of all the headsets I have (DK1, DK2, Rift CV1, Vive).

Virtual Desktop is an absolute must buy in my opinion.
 
A friend unboxed his Rift at my house a few days ago.
Its very well made and comfortable.
It was tricky to get the focus right, the headset has to be at a particular height on your head, as well as correctly focused.
The VR experience is excellent, even room scale movement of a few metres.
Reaction time is instantaneous, it felt real and the width of view is easily enough, brilliant.
The demos are very good, they show off its capabilites quite nicely.
Sound is very good in quality and how they made use of sound.
There were lots of WOWs !!
Only one of us got Rift face :p

But we couldnt play any games due to lack of time downloading and the bloody XBox 1 controller driver would not install on my PC.
wtf?
That aside, the only downer is that its very low res and its easy to see pixels and the gaps between them.
I can see how it wont matter so much when enveloped in a game, but it struck all of us just how low res it is.

The Vive will no doubt be just as low res, it remains to be seen whether the inter pixel gaps are as bad.
I'll no doubt have to wait a few months for mine.
 
qwidmeyer said:
I've had the Rift CV1 since the 28th and received my Vive on the 12th. While I may be in the minority I envision myself mostly consuming seated content.

The Vive's roomscale tracking is quite awesome and the controller tracking is pretty darn good. Had some issues with the lighthouse units requiring me to use the sync cable but all is working.

While I do prefer the optics on the Rift CV1 I would like to stress that there is not a large enough difference to merit choosing one over the other on purely optics.

The Rift CV1 is an incredibly well baked product in regards to form and function, easily the most comfortable of all the headsets I have (DK1, DK2, Rift CV1, Vive).

Virtual Desktop is an absolute must buy in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Really this is all that matters. Comfort of the CV1 >>> Vive. Vive needs a rigid head strap with integrated headphones. Watch the tested comparison. Everybody is all gaga about the vive experience but they want it on the rift.

Long term I think either product is a gamble in terms of which ones is going to give you the best experience. Watching the facebook demo with touch controllers was pretty interesting though. While I know it's not gaming, it shows how the touch controllers can be used for hand jestures and more natural interaction than the vive wand design. However, since the touch isn't out yet and the tracking is done via IR instead of laser, who knows how well it will work in non controlled setting.

Because of all this I'm still leaning towards the rift even though I have May estimates for both headsets now. I've already built a custom chair for flight/space sims w/ hotas mounts and I picked up a wheelstand + wheels/pedals for racing sims. That's where I plan on spending most of my initial VR experiences. I'll leave the stand up and move around experiences for later when there are more options. I consider cost to be a non issue, but I know for others it is something to consider. I would just keep both headsets if I thought I would get use out of both, but I suspect 1 would just collect dust.
 
Dawill said:
Really this is all that matters. Comfort of the CV1 >>> Vive. Vive needs a rigid head strap with integrated headphones. Watch the tested comparison. Everybody is all gaga about the vive experience but they want it on the rift.

Long term I think either product is a gamble in terms of which ones is going to give you the best experience. Watching the facebook demo with touch controllers was pretty interesting though. While I know it's not gaming, it shows how the touch controllers can be used for hand jestures and more natural interaction than the vive wand design. However, since the touch isn't out yet and the tracking is done via IR instead of laser, who knows how well it will work in non controlled setting.

Because of all this I'm still leaning towards the rift even though I have May estimates for both headsets now. I've already built a custom chair for flight/space sims w/ hotas mounts and I picked up a wheelstand + wheels/pedals for racing sims. That's where I plan on spending most of my initial VR experiences. I'll leave the stand up and move around experiences for later when there are more options. I consider cost to be a non issue, but I know for others it is something to consider. I would just keep both headsets if I thought I would get use out of both, but I suspect 1 would just collect dust.
Click to expand...

I ended up keeping my Vive for now and my Rift is on eBay, solely due to room scale and motion controllers right now. I will say that the Vive could use some improvements in comfort and the Rift's built-in headphones look sooo convenient. But, the Rift makes me use an XBox controller and no full room-scale. I'll probably end up buying a Rift in the fall with the touch controllers, or possibly see if there are any announcements on other HMDs with improved resolution. Until the fall, Vive > Rift. Once Touch is released, may be a different game.
 
I got to play with a Vive yesterday. I didn't notice anything odd about the screens (resolution, screen door, or otherwise). All of the Valve games were pretty neat though I liked the archery game and the one where you control the ship the best. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes was a lot fun too. I also tried Space Pirate Trainer which was a little fun, but I apparently almost head banged the wall twice according to my friend. Finally, I tried Windlands, which was too awkward to use the Vive controllers with, so I switched to an xbox one controller. That was the only game that came close to making me sick while playing. You tend to fall off cliffs a lot which is not only a little frustrating, but it made me a little woozy.
 
I haven't been able to try a rift other than the crescent bay demo, but I do own a vive so obviously I'm somewhat biased. However I did play Lucky's Tale through the revive port/hack so I can see how the oculus reacts in a way and with controller based gameplay. Lucky's Tale was fun but not anything compared to the gigantic leap in gameplay that games like Audioshield and Final Approach deliver. To put it simply, I'm considering finding a bigger office for my vive even though my current one has a 3.5/3.5 playspace it's that good.
 
Once Oculus Touch releases it'll be the superior platform for comfort and long-term use imo. I am going to stick with Oculus. I like the Touch controllers way better than the remote looking unintuitive ones of the Vive.
 
zamardii12 said:
Once Oculus Touch releases it'll be the superior platform for comfort and long-term use imo. I am going to stick with Oculus. I like the Touch controllers way better than the remote looking unintuitive ones of the Vive.
Click to expand...

Wishful thinking. Oculus Touch is vapor, the whole thing was designed as a quick PR placeholder to buy time to figure out an actual solution, after they were caught off-guard by the Vive's input solution back when first announced.

In the meantime HTC won't be sitting still on input and will continue to innovate and refine. First mover advantage tends to be huge when a new tech emerges.
 
Last edited:
zamardii12 said:
Once Oculus Touch releases it'll be the superior platform for comfort and long-term use imo. I am going to stick with Oculus. I like the Touch controllers way better than the remote looking unintuitive ones of the Vive.
Click to expand...

That oculus home, closed platform, and no roomscale vr is going to handicap it in the long run I'm afraid. The only thing it has going for it is brand recognition and creepy uncle Facebook.
 
I was so on the oculus bandwagon until the last week or so. I just got charged for my vive I ordered April 1st. You can argue that I still don't know when it ships, but I pre-ordered my rift in under 7m after pre-orders opened. I have nothing but a 5/2-5/15 window from them. So i've run out of patience for the most part.

I do see the rift as being more comfortable, but the vive is more capable and modular. You can remove the straps and get something more comfortable for long periods of time. The vive tech for tracking seems to be more robust. I have no idea how people are going to route 30ft usb cables across their room for roomscale with the rift. It will be interesting. I think it's part of the reason they are stress 180 degree gameplay..

Anyhow, I'm expecting to have both headsets in my home in the next 2 weeks. I'll just do a check on the vive and if I like it I'll keep it. If it's not comfortable I'll open the rift and give it a whirl. Otherwise I'll just sell the unopened rift.

Oculus just completely dropped the ball on this and I'm tired of having "hope" that touch will bring this awesome experience. While it might, I can just rebuy the damn headset late when touch actually proves it's worth. Or maybe I'll be perfectly happy with the vive. At this point you are pre-ordering on a promise from oculus. How many times have we been burnt on pre-ordering games? Oculus has done nothing to instill confidence that they can even deliver headsets or touch in a reasonable amount of time.

Maybe i'm being a little over dramatic but at some point in time, you just need to throw in the towel and I'm about to do that with oculus. They've really dissapointed me. I was a march pre-order than a 1-3 week delivery and now we are approaching may and I got jack from them other than more promises for coming soon. Followed by an even farther reaching promise that touch will make us so much better than vive. About the only thing that is going to make me come back to the oculus side is if my vive disappoints me with functionality or comfort. Based on all the reviews I've read, I find that unlikely. So I'm going to put down the oculus koolaid for now.
 
DPI said:
Wishful thinking. Oculus Touch is vapor, the whole thing was designed as a quick PR placeholder to buy time to figure out an actual solution, after they were caught off-guard by the Vive's input solution back when first announced.

In the meantime HTC won't be sitting still on input and will continue to innovate and refine. First mover advantage tends to be huge when a new tech emerges.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I honestly think with the lack of roomscale (and temporarily, motion controls), dumb PR disasters and now manufacturing shortages, things aren't looking great for Occulus.

Even if the Occulus had touch controls, IMHO, it's still worth while to go for the vive for roomscale alone. There is just so much more than can be done with that tech than with a static seated/standing experience. We shall see, hopefully they manage to ride it out. It's a good thing they have a company like Facebook behind them
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top