How real is the perspective of depth in the rift?

[Category5x]

I've always been a fan of 3D, and i'm one of the few who loves watching 3D movies even at home, but it's clear the effect is somewhat a novelty where depth seems to only go back several feet.  in other words, objects far in the backgrouns appear to be maybe 4-5 feet within the 3D frame.  The depth is there, and awesome, but it's very compressed and un-natural.

I was just wondering if the rift manages to simulate real-world depth rather than this compressed approximation.  For instance, If you look at at road stretching out in front of you, do it feel like it goes hundreds of feet into the distance, or is the vanishing point much closer than in reality?

Seems immersion will be limited if the illusion of depth is limited.

Still waiting to try VR.  My Rift ships July 17-27!  😞

[Category5x]

Yeah.  For me it was always going to be the rift because of the size/weight issues, the fact that they forged the market for VR and widespread compatibility.  Glad to hear the experience is up there too.  I'm sure this time next year we'll be experiencing some amazing things...if we've gotten our Rifts yet.  

[Category5x]

CardinalStorm said:

sbushman18 said:

Yeah.  For me it was always going to be the rift because of the size/weight issues...

Yep, the lighter, more comfortable, i.e. more enjoyable to wear for longer periods of time, HMD - along with the best available IQ - was the reason I opted for the Rift. Although I'm only bothered about P3D, ED, ETS, PCARS, etc, so my choice was an easy one.

What bothers you about them?  I'm a huge racing fan and was looking forward to project cars.  What are the other titles?

[Revelation78]

sbushman18 said:

I've always been a fan of 3D, and i'm one of the few who loves watching 3D movies even at home, but it's clear the effect is somewhat a novelty where depth seems to only go back several feet.  in other words, objects far in the backgrouns appear to be maybe 4-5 feet within the 3D frame.  The depth is there, and awesome, but it's very compressed and un-natural.

The 3D effect you see in movies / TV is nothing compared to true stereoscopic 3D you find with the Rift. What you see in movies are sections of the frame / image appearing to hover over the rest of the frame. 

With the Rift you get true depth perception for all objects that are 3D objects. Most of my experience with the Rift has been with DCS. If you aren't familiar with it, it's a flight simulator. When sitting in the virtual cockpit while wearing the Rift, you fell like you are really there. You feel like you can reach out and touch the buttons and flip the switches.

Back before I received my DK2, I often thought that the extent of the 3D image would be like wearing 3D glasses while watching movies. I can assure you that it is far more "real" than that. 

When flying in DCS with the Rift, the sensation of flight is greatly enhanced. It's hard to go back to TrackIR and a "flat image" on a monitor after the Rift. 

[jyoun]

Ricktor_Black said:

so everything in a scene of Avatar is fully 3d because that is how it was filmed

IMO all of these stereoscopic techniques are not "fully 3d". We don't have proper convergence outside the sweetspot (center of lens/screen) and no DOF... these things probably won't come until we have retinal projection and eye-tracking... and that'll be a nice jump up from this current generation of VR... but still not enough to be considered "fully 3d"... just a little closer to it, not as fake...

in other words, there is room for improvement, so don't use such black/white terms, it confuses people...

the distinction between post-production "layers", stereo cameras used in films/video, and real-time VR content is important to understand though

[SD-777]

sbushman18 said:

I've always been a fan of 3D, and i'm one of the few who loves watching 3D movies even at home, but it's clear the effect is somewhat a novelty where depth seems to only go back several feet.  in other words, objects far in the backgrouns appear to be maybe 4-5 feet within the 3D frame.  The depth is there, and awesome, but it's very compressed and un-natural.

I was just wondering if the rift manages to simulate real-world depth rather than this compressed approximation.  For instance, If you look at at road stretching out in front of you, do it feel like it goes hundreds of feet into the distance, or is the vanishing point much closer than in reality?

Seems immersion will be limited if the illusion of depth is limited.

Still waiting to try VR.  My Rift ships July 17-27!  😞

I think VR accomplishes something more important, depth of objects.  The one thing that strikes me about 3d movies is that objects such as people look very flat and one dimensional, but are layered in the z axis through 3d.  It looks like one of the dioramas I used to make when I was a kid where you would put alternating layers of clear plastic and each layer would get a different part, lets say an arm at a more proximal layer to simulate it coming out at you.  With VR it really feels like the objects have depth, like they are really there instead of just looking like a poster.

But the illusion of depth is nice as well.  In Vanishing Realms the first time you walk out of the dungeon into an outside scene with mountains, skies high above with birds flying overhead, clouds, and things in the distance, your mouth drops open because you feel very immersed.  The weak link IMO is the graphics for VR games is pretty bad right now, I'm not sure why.  If you play a game like Spell Fighter VR you notice it has much better graphics, yet it's not a mass market high production game, it's just a demo.

[DaVinster]

I had the opportunity to accrue some hours in a CAE 737-700 simulator about ten years ago. It's basically a room on 8 hydraulic stilts. The visual system comprised of three overlapped projectors that projected on a curved screen outside of the windows giving an almost Fresnel lens effect.  While the visuals weren't stereoscopic the fact that you were flying in a 'space' gave all the buildings and objects a 'mass' and in different locations your brain filled in the blanks and it felt 3d stereoscopic.

I now have a 3DOF motion sim at home with three monitors. Driving or flying while using trackir and a true stereoscopic display really added to the realism.  Since using my DK2 though I have sold my TrackIR and seldom use my triple screens anymore.  I just have no interest in being 'restricted' to ~ 180 - 270 degrees anymore.  Anyone not familiar with VR and REAL stereoscopic 3D is in for a real treat! :smiley:

[Thug]

The depth into the distance is very impressive, but I find even better is the way things appear close to you.
For instance, in Project Cars if you drive a F1 car and look around you see the body of the car literally an inch or 2 away from your face, making you feel as though you are there.
Monitors can never do that because the image you see will only be as close as what the monitors are from your eyes. Where the Rift screens are an inch or 2 away so things can be rendered that close.

[DaVinster]

I find that Adrift and Radial G demonstrates that well also.

[Zenbane]

A few days a go a buddy of mine who Rock Climbs regularly (and games very little) tried the Rift. I don't have "The Climb" but I did show him the Oculus Dreamdeck where he was placed on the edge of a 1,000 foot platform. And yep, he grabbed on to desk as he slowly leaned forward to look over the edge.

Even when the depths are digitial or cartoonish, all that happens is your brain thinks you're about to fall in cartoon land.

[edmg]

Yes. I don't have my Rift yet, but the Lab mountain scene looks pretty realistic in my Vive, allowing for the limited resolution of the headset displays. I spent a while one day just sitting on the edge of the mountain and looking out over the valley beyond.