Virtual Reality

[Asura]

https://uploadvr.com/facebook-respon...t-paperweights

Ew.

But I want to point out this is very common – Google, Apple, Xbox, pick a favorite. They make you sign in with an account and there’s a reason for that.

I hate it when FB staff say this; I'm not sure if they know they're talking at cross-purposes of if, after working there for years, they start to believe their own PR.

If this was all it was about, they would never have moved away from how the headsets worked 6 months ago. They already had a system analogous to Sony/MS/Nintendo/Apple/Google.

[MartyG]

It's the only big downside of Quest 2 (and Oculus VR generally now) - currently there is no difference with the experience other than who is authenticating the sign in - we'll see how that changes moving forward.

The situation is, if you don't want to have to use your Facebook account, don't buy a Quest 2 - the only thing I use my facebook account for is posting a photo a few times a month with as little personal info as possible and everything set to max privacy. I'd prefer if it was still using the Oculus account. but in my case it doesn't make a huge amount of difference - they were still collecting usage data on Quest 1 with an Oculus login.

Unfortunately there aren't currently any standalone VR alternatives at this price point, HTC Vive Focus might be something to wait for though.

[Brad]

Still logging in with oculus account til 2023. At that point I’ll see what’s going on but probably there’ll be better headsets by then and I’ll just get one of those instead. Or maybe the openvr platform will be viable by then

[MartyG]

With any luck OpenVR will become the dominant force in the VR world. Until then, if you aren't bothered by the Facebook aspect of Quest 2, I can recommend it without hesitation.

Beat Saber has now been hacked for custom songs (so didn't take long) and I do think having played a number of the custom maps natively rather than via PC-BS that the controller tracking has been improved over Quest 1.

I have since notice some very slight chromatic aberrations at the far extremes of the screen at the bottom on high contrast small text, but it's a minor niggle on an otherwise great bit of tech.

If you have the cash, I'd still recommend an Index over Quest 2, but if you don't want to spend that much, it's a very good buy at £300. Once I have my Elite strap, I'll update on comfort improvements - even with the included strap it's wearable for longer than the original.

I haven't had a look in the last week, but a pre-owned Quest 1 might be worth a look in they're still going for under £250.

[Brad]

The Rift S is decent kit. They haven’t added the AMD 5600 gpu to their whitelist (the 5500 is on there!) so I have to make an empty, read only config file in their temp folder to stop them popping up a dialog telling me my pc is too crap for oculus but apart from that it’s excellent. The built in hmd speakers aren’t as good as headphones obviously (you can plug headphones in easy enough) but the convenience is great and it means you don’t totally isolate yourself from the real world.

[MartyG]

Elite headstrap has turned up now and it definitely improves comfort levels. I don't think it's an absolutely essential purchase but if you're intending to use the headset for extended periods then it'd be at the top of my accessory list.

It's pretty easy to remove the old one and put the new one on, it doesn't need a lot of force to remove them, so go easy. It makes it a little bit more of a faff to put on and off as you have to tighten and loosen the dial at the back, you can't just set it to the right adjustment and leave it at that.

Also, if you step on it should you leave it lying on the floor for some reason, I'd think you're going to snap it - it's not got the same kind of rigidity the Valve Index has.

[Asura]

Elite headstrap has turned up now and it definitely improves comfort levels. I don't think it's an absolutely essential purchase but if you're intending to use the headset for extended periods then it'd be at the top of my accessory list.

Cool; if I did go for the Q2 I'd definitely be ordering the battery pack strap. Not just because of the battery life, but because my experience with the Q1 improved massively after I strapped a powerbank to the back to equalise the weight.

[MartyG]

Q2 is no where near as heavy as Q1 - there's a massive difference even with the included strap.

Given the design of the headband arms, there are going to be third party headstraps for this, so there maybe quite a bit more choice in the coming months.

[QualityChimp]

A friend of mine made this and it looks mint:

[MartyG]

Quest 2 firmware has been updated recently and with the Oculus Link you're now getting 90Hz refresh which is great. Also, plugged into a 10Gb USB 3.2, the visual fidelity has definitely improved, it looks a lot less compressed now, almost matching the clarity of Index. There still are the halos on high constrast text at the viewport edges (which isn't something I get with Index), but given this is a bonus feature to the otherwise PC free Quest, it works very well given the overall costs involved.

The only thing to be aware of with using Quest 2 (or Quest 1) in this way, is that you're adding an additional layer that runs on top of Steam VR and that does add to the CPU work load (something my change from i7 6700K to Ryzen 7 3700X helped with).

[Asura]

Quest 2 firmware has been updated recently and with the Oculus Link you're now getting 90Hz refresh which is great. Also, plugged into a 10Gb USB 3.2, the visual fidelity has definitely improved, it looks a lot less compressed now, almost matching the clarity of Index. There still are the halos on high constrast text at the viewport edges (which isn't something I get with Index), but given this is a bonus feature to the otherwise PC free Quest, it works very well given the overall costs involved.

The only thing to be aware of with using Quest 2 (or Quest 1) in this way, is that you're adding an additional layer that runs on top of Steam VR and that does add to the CPU work load (something my change from i7 6700K to Ryzen 7 3700X helped with).

Do they have an official wireless solution yet? Back on the Quest 1, that's what I used mostly, once I'd had the headset for a while.

If they do, it'll encourage me a bit more to get a Quest 2, as I could use the headset wirelessly with games that aren't tied to an FB account.

[MartyG]

No, but there are a number of third party solutions. Virtual Desktop works decently over Wifi 5, there's likely to be less latency over Wifi 6 too, but it's definitely at a lower IQ than with the cable.

[Asura]

No, but there are a number of third party solutions. Virtual Desktop works decently over Wifi 5, there's likely to be less latency over Wifi 6 too, but it's definitely at a lower IQ than with the cable.

That was the solution I was using; I was pretty happy with it once I got the wifi kit.

[huxley]

Do they have an official wireless solution yet? Back on the Quest 1, that's what I used mostly, once I'd had the headset for a while.

If they do, it'll encourage me a bit more to get a Quest 2, as I could use the headset wirelessly with games that aren't tied to an FB account.

Not yet, but you need to have it linked to a Facebook account regardless I`m afraid.

[MartyG]

Not yet, but you need to have it linked to a Facebook account regardless I`m afraid.

https://www.techradar.com/news/hackers-seemingly-jailbreak-oculus-quest-2-vr-headsets-facebook-log-in

Jail breaking is not ideal, but if you have an issue having to use a Facebook account then Quest 2 isn't for you.