Rift S R.I.P.

[Ravenger]

Looks like the Rift S will be the last Oculus dedicated PC VR headset.

Oculus is pushing the Quest 2 with link cable (which will be 90hz at some point) as a replacement and better solution than Rift S.

How that stacks up with latency and image fidelity remains to be seen.

 

[rossiboy001]

That ok Facebook Rift S is a dead platform to me now I got Indexz and G2 coming along with a 3090 im guessing in October.

 

[niggyg]

What are the differences to using a quest 2 with link cable vs a dedicated headset?

 

[Ravenger]

What are the differences to using a quest 2 with link cable vs a dedicated headset?

The image is compressed when using the link cable, unlike a PC headset which sends raw uncompressed video data. That not only affects video quality (the picture is noticably softer) it adds a bit of latency.

Also currently Quest link is 72hz, vs 80hz on the Rift S, and 90hz+ on other PC headsets, which makes a difference in fast paced games.

I've used link (with the official cable) on the original Quest and it was much sharper than the original CV1, but nowhere near as sharp as my Go or Index. I imagine it'll be sharper on the Quest 2, and Facebook are continually improving it. It will never be as good as a dedicated PC VR headset, but it is perfectly acceptable.

 

[Zefan]

The image is compressed when using the link cable, unlike a PC headset which sends raw uncompressed video data. That not only affects video quality (the picture is noticably softer) it adds a bit of latency.

Also currently Quest link is 72hz, vs 80hz on the Rift S, and 90hz+ on other PC headsets, which makes a difference in fast paced games.

I've used link (with the official cable) on the original Quest and it was much sharper than the original CV1, but nowhere near as sharp as my CV1. I imagine it'll be sharper on the Quest 2, and Facebook are continually improving it. It will never be as good as a dedicated PC VR headset, but it is perfectly acceptable.

Are you 100% the overall softness isn't down to the screen type? Pentile matrix (quest 1) vs RGB stripe ( Rift S) is not a trivial difference is it? Worth noting that the Quest 2 is moving to stripe.

 

[danoliver1]

So is quest 2 a viable replacement for my rift s?

 

[Ravenger]

Are you 100% the overall softness isn't down to the screen type? Pentile matrix (quest 1) vs RGB stripe ( Rift S) is not a trivial difference is it? Worth noting that the Quest 2 is moving to stripe.

No, it's a noticably softer image, not due to more SDE or pentile fringing. Now the image quality may be better on Quest 2 as the resolution is higher, and the compression may be better. As I said, Facebook will be improving this over time. Link works noticiably better now than it did on release.

So is quest 2 a viable replacement for my rift s?

Possibly. Norm from Tested said it wasn't as good a PC image as his Index, but I'm betting it'll be an improvement over the Rift S.

 

[Ravenger]

I guess we'll have to wait for reviews and see how link works on the Quest 2 first.

 

[Lokken86]

I was afraid of this. Comon Oculus some of us don't need a mobile gpu and battery pack installed into it, adding to the price. What's the point of PC owners paying for all this redundant material.

 

[Ravenger]

I was afraid of this. Comon Oculus some of us don't need a mobile gpu and battery pack installed into it, adding to the price. What's the point of PC owners paying for all this redundant material.

The big thing though is the possibility of upgraded wireless PC VR. The Virtual Desktop developer is excited about the possibilities.

 

[Zefan]

I was afraid of this. Comon Oculus some of us don't need a mobile gpu and battery pack installed into it, adding to the price. What's the point of PC owners paying for all this redundant material.

I think it actually wouldn't be so cheap if it wasn't for the built in hardware making it such a capable standalone. FB are a service company not a product company, so they aren't aiming to make money through selling you a product for profit so you then plug it in to your PC and never enter their ecosystem. To me, this is obviously a loss leader to get the product in people's homes and the people in their ecosystem.

 

[Lokken86]

The big thing though is the possibility of upgraded wireless PC VR. The Virtual Desktop developer is excited about the possibilities.

I'm all for wireless don't get me wrong I'd just like to see an alternative for PC only users at a reduced price.

 

[Ravenger]

I'm all for wireless don't get me wrong I'd just like to see an alternative for PC only users at a reduced price.

Agreed, unfortunately there's currently no decent competition at the lower price point of the VR market. No-one can compete at that price point.

 

[Ravenger]

Mike from Virtual Reality Oasis says the PC VR experience is very good, and the FOV is better than the Rift S, and it should get very good when the link improvements come through.

 

[aoaaron]

I said this a couple of years ago but its very obviously Facebook want social media domination.
They're not interested in Bob with his RTX 3080 and Skyrim fully modded VR 4k dream. They know he won't play with their long term vision and engage.
But the kids with their apple iphones and ipads playing candy crush, hell yeah will they get a Quest, log into facebook, post about it and willingly share all their information.

 

[aoaaron]

Oculus have even let the Medal of Honor devs release their game on Steam. They clearly don't care anymore. Lone Echo 2 will probably be their swan-song in PCVR before they leave it in terms of dedicated games. How many cutting edge new PCVR titles did Oculus mentiont his direct? Is it zero? Seemed to be very quest-centric from hardware to software.

Is up to Sony and Valve now to push VR gaming forwards as I just don't think its profitable for Oculus to ever come back to us. If VR does boom, they'll continue riding the casual wave. No need to return to PCVR.

 

[danlightbulb]

It doesn't really matter if Oculus/Facebook themselves don't bother with PCVR content as long as the device still works with the likes of Steam VR. There will still be a ton of content especially sims available provided the device itself works.

 

[aoaaron]

It doesn't really matter if Oculus/Facebook themselves don't bother with PCVR content as long as the device still works with the likes of Steam VR. There will still be a ton of content especially sims available provided the device itself works.

Its sad for the direction of PCVR because the majority of cutting edge PCVR games were Oculus funded.

With Oculus taking a step back from PCVR, we're going to see little competition to Valve, who already are extremely slow, to push the envelope further.

If Oculus's aim is to have every single title Quest-compatible in standalone mode, then we're in trouble in terms of getting another game like Stormland or Asgard's Wrath.

Oculus also have the best VR tech locked behind closed doors, as evidenced by every single Oculus Connect except this one. They normally showcase some pretty awesome cutting edge technology. Now they aren't at the high-end of PCVR, we'll likely not see their technological advances for a decade or two as they seem to like being locked into the <£399 price point.

 

[Zeeflyboy]

True, but with what appears to be a high quality VR experience for $299 you are going to see a lot more users in VR over the next year or two I would wager.

Quest is already in the top 5 headsets on steam, currently comprising 11%... more Quest 2s will equal more steamVR users and that subsequently makes PCVR games more viable investments for larger studios.

The Facebook investment in top tier PCVR games will naturally become less necessary as the platform becomes more self sustaining... it was really just aimed to kickstart the nascent VR market.

 

[Perfect_Chaos]

Yeah I saw a review on youtube where he talks about compression, so Quest 2 would not look as good as a dedicated PCVR headset when plugged in.

Why didn't they just allow direct connection and use our PC hardware? Seems like a missed opportunity