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Up and Coming
March 16, 2017
Question

Received Virtuix Omni, strange turn of events as Oculus died same day so purchased Vive.

March 10th I received my Virtuix Omni I had Kickstarted nearly 4 YEARS AGO!   Assembled it, tested it, worked fine and planned on doing in depth reviews the following day after work.  Next day turn it on, Oculus says not connected and has orange light inside.  trouble shot for next few days, tried every remedy there is, cannot get rift to display an image.  So I pondered my dilemma of waiting weeks to get a new Rift from Oculus and stare at my Omni that I waited years for, or go to the Microsoft store and purchase am HTC Vive which they had in stock.  Obviously I threw down the $850 on the Vive and ran home to test Omni. 

     Now I have used Oculus for years from all the dev kits to the CV1 since release day, over 6 months now.  I was very pleased with my Oculus and the performance of the touch controllers as they blew me away.  I was anxious to done a Vive on my face however, as I had never tried one.  Everyone in the house had these exact same reactions:

1.) The vive is a little bit brighter, maybe 10% but noticeable.
2.) Oculus has a better image, screen is wider, clearer on edges, and I will gladly take the occasional god rays to get the clarity the rift has, it is hard to read on Vive unless you are looking right at the the word you are reading.
3.) Vive is heavy and unnatural, moving your head causes it to shift and move you out of the sweet spot and everything is blurry.
4.) The tracking....OMG.... I loved my touch controllers, they tracked well in a play area over 15 square feet.  But the Vive light house tracking is a new level.  I didn't realize the touch tracking was a problem till I used the vive, it tracks perfect all the time.
5.) Touch controllers however, way easier to use, way more comfortable and way more immersive.  Vive wands are awkward at best to hold.

Conclusion:
    The Oculus has WAAAAYYY better optics hands down.  Oculus Touch controllers WAAAYYY more immersive and comfortable in design.  Oculus' lighter headset is WAAAAYYY better than Vive, I really miss how comfortable it was.  But....

The lighthouse tracking is so much better than Oculus optical is it insane.  It feels like your hands are moving 20 FPS in Oculus and 120 in Vive.  My brain really knows the Vive wands are my hands, where the touch controllers were a best guess by a computer where my hands were.  An issue I didn't even realize until I used the Vive. 

I was having issues running 3.0 extensions to pc from Oculus cameras in a room 18x18, but the Vive lightboxes need no connection to pc and solved all these issues.  Overall the future of VR is in the lightbox design, Optical tracking needs to be dropped.  That being said, Oculus has beaten Vive in every other aspect no question. I really miss my Oculus and hope I get a replacement soon, cause the Vive is killing the Bridge of my nose.  Will be interesting to see where these companies chose to go for next generation, but if they each combine strengths from the other we will all win..  Overall I am glad I purchased both and feel excited for the future of VR.

As for the Omni.... I need more time to give an accurate review.  It is a thousand times better than moving with a joystick, but is nothing like actually running and has a steep learning curve.  Am having several friends over tomorrow to try it and get all their feedback and suggestions and then will do a formal review.  I must say though, running full speed, when you hit the corner right, shooting behind you, while looking for next target, is the most exhilarating thing I have ever done in VR.

    38 replies

    Up and Coming
    March 31, 2017
    Had some friends over that have never used VR before, let alone the Virtuix Omni, and shot some video.  First time reactions are hilarious, and it shows the usability of the Omni for a first time user:


    https://youtu.be/YyTOXLuv9ik

    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWombatCave Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vrcave/ CV1 | HTC Vive | Virtuix Omni | Logitech G25 Racing
    Up and Coming
    March 31, 2017
    Great videos and the best presentation I've seen of actual units in use by consumers.  I have to say I'm impressed with the evident build quality with players leaning into the hardware and changing directions - it hardly moves!  And the exercise involved looks like a bonus.  Wow - I really wish this company was larger or would get bought out so productions could ramp up. I'd definately get one.  
    Rift-S, Quest 128GB, GO 64GB.
    Up and Coming
    April 1, 2017

    kevink808 said:

    Great videos and the best presentation I've seen of actual units in use by consumers.  I have to say I'm impressed with the evident build quality with players leaning into the hardware and changing directions - it hardly moves!  And the exercise involved looks like a bonus.  Wow - I really wish this company was larger or would get bought out so productions could ramp up. I'd definately get one.  


    The entire unit is solid steel coated in plastic.  It is 260 lbs and takes 2 people to move it.  I don't think you could break it while running on it if you tried.  The build quality is really incredible, especially for something I was able to purchase for $400.
    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWombatCave Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vrcave/ CV1 | HTC Vive | Virtuix Omni | Logitech G25 Racing
    Up and Coming
    April 2, 2017
    Testing the keyboard emulation of Virtuix software in older games.  I just tried it out with Doom 2 on the Oculus.  Took very little setup, pretty much just worked, I was very impressed.

    https://youtu.be/56yWypA7iNY
    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWombatCave Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vrcave/ CV1 | HTC Vive | Virtuix Omni | Logitech G25 Racing
    Inspiring
    April 11, 2017
    I received an email yesterday that my Omni is ready to ship!

    Shipping costs seem outrageous according to the estimates but I don't care at this point.

    @TheWombatCave Do you recommend the Omni in something like a basement since it's so heavy or do you think anywhere in the house is ok? I was thinking of putting mine upstairs where I have my office and all my computer equipment but I also have a heavy treadmill desk up there.
    Up and Coming
    April 11, 2017

    kcampbell said:

    I received an email yesterday that my Omni is ready to ship!

    Shipping costs seem outrageous according to the estimates but I don't care at this point.

    @TheWombatCave Do you recommend the Omni in something like a basement since it's so heavy or do you think anywhere in the house is ok? I was thinking of putting mine upstairs where I have my office and all my computer equipment but I also have a heavy treadmill desk up there.


    Shipping is high but it is pallet dropped at your door, can't complain.  As for where to place Omni, that is a tough one.  It really takes 2 people to move and unless you have some kind of closet or unused corner to place it in, it does take a lot of space.  I run all my computers in the living room for my home theater so it is easy.  If I had pc in a small bedroom it would be a no go.
    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWombatCave Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vrcave/ CV1 | HTC Vive | Virtuix Omni | Logitech G25 Racing
    Up and Coming
    April 11, 2017
    The Bellows just added official Omni support, works much better than emulation like Doom 2.

    https://youtu.be/C5OI34iYhkE
    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWombatCave Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vrcave/ CV1 | HTC Vive | Virtuix Omni | Logitech G25 Racing
    Inspiring
    May 15, 2017
    @TheWombatCave I finally got the Omni!!! It's bigger than I expected and I definitely could not put that in my office upstairs so I put it in my basement/gym. I didn't really want to put it there but didn't really have a choice. 

    I haven't used it yet because I have to rearrange things and bring my computer downstairs, another thing I really didn't want to do. 

    Since you've had it for a while, what do you think is the best setup for the sensor placement, Omni, and cable suspension for Oculus/Vive? 

    I'll have it move the Omni every time I use it and found the mat that it came with the easiest to slide it on. Do you have to move yours and if so do you have any suggestions on the best way to do it? I'm searching for similar mats that are bigger but haven't found any yet. 

    Thanks in advance for any help!