We’re gonna be taking a look at the latest improvement to the oculus family this being the Oculus Rift S. So there are two improvements already to Oculus Rift S that I’m excited to take a look at.
Overview
You might notice there are no sensors in this because this uses inside-out tracking. The headset is tracking its movement and communicating that back to the computer.
The original unit was using an OLED pentile. Which was 1080 by 1200 resolution in a portrait mode per eye. This is using an RGB LCD and it has a resolution of 1280 by 1400. So we’ve got a greater resolution and a different display type that coupled with the lens improvements. It means fewer god rays and hopefully less screen door effect.
You’ve got cameras on the front on the sides and the top. That is so that why you’re wearing this
It can track it wherever it goes. Because again the headset is responsible for all of the tracking now not only of the hmd.
Connectivity
The oculus rift connected to your computer via HDMI cable and a USB 3.0 this is very similar. Although now because of the higher resolution we are using a full-size DisplayPort and USB 3.0. These are the only connections. You don’t have to go to a sort of a breakout box.
If you don’t have a full side or if you don’t have a full-size DisplayPort adapter on your laptop or your computer or your graphics card. They do include a mini DisplayPort adapter. So that’s kind of nice to see
Build
So you have a single velcro strap on the top which supports the weight. Then you have a knob on the back which supports or adjust the inside-out.
The headsets definitely lightweight and after about an hour of me wearing it and screwing around. Doing the setup and doing the flight sim and playing around I didn’t feel any sort of neck fatigue.
The actual padding on here feels very thick. It feels very much like memory foam. If you’re not using headphones. There are the speakers right above your ears. So they’re gonna down fire right to your ear but again like I said you’re not isolated from the ambient environment.
So you, if you’re playing like some sort of a scary game or some sort of a horror game. Which is very ambient based where it’s the ambiance, is just as scary as the game itself. Then you would lose some of that effect by being able to hear the ambient sounds around you. So I would recommend probably using headphones with this or at least try it.
We only stepped up from 1080 by 1200 to 1280 by 1440. We saw a massive difference in terms of sharpness and with text now.
Controller
The controllers are nice they have the same basic functionality as the originals. But the first thing I did when I put it on is. I had the kind of going the wrong way. The hoop is in a completely different location from the original oculus rift.
Tracking
So this is about being a more optimal view for the cameras and the tracking of the hmd rather than comfort.
The tracking on this is good, the sound is a little lacking and as you’d expect given the speaker size. So I would certainly recommend your headphones which at least plug right into the side.
What else is there to say, I mean inside out tracking is is gonna be a step forward. Because one of the things that made it just cumbersome and kind of a put off to new people. When it comes to VR although it’s becoming a lot more affordable. The setup on this was extremely simple plugged in the headset DisplayPort cable plugged in the USB. And downloaded the Oculus home software and it guides you 100% from start to finish.
Lens
An evolutionary upgrade in terms of lens quality the display and although we went from an OLED to an LCD. I didn’t notice any difference in terms of blotchy blacks or anything like that. There was no sort of ghosting when you moved your head. The frame rate, although we went from 90 down to 80, I didn’t notice it. To be honest, as long as you can keep a consistent frame rate then the 80 hertz is not gonna be a problem.
Speaker
You have a built-in ambient speaker system that gets the job done. If you just want to go in there and kind of mess around to be not to worry about plugging in headphones.
“The oculus rift s is a definite improvement over the standard oculus rift”
