My first post, this will be going on my social media pages too by way of a review but I thought I'd share my thoughts.
I've just got my first VR headset (a Samsung Gear VR by Occulus).. and I have to say I am extremely impressed. I do find sometimes the weight of the headset presses on my nose making breathing through it a bit tricky and sometimes it's a bit uncomfortable but I'm sure the more I use it the more I'll get that sorted.
Now I have to admit that I'm completely new to this topic, my want to try a VR headset out was primarily because I've moved to a much smaller house and have no where to put my projector! So watching movies on the headset, is far and away the best compromise and it means I can watch 3d movies again! Unfortunately my Galaxy S7 has to sacrifice itself and that is a bit of a pain. I also wonder how long the connector will last with me keep disconnecting and reconnecting it.
Other small annoyances are for example I have a pair of Bose Bluetooth over ear headphones which take a bit of positioning around the headset straps, I note the Occulus go has built in headphones and yes perhaps a smaller pair of earbuds might be better used but I have what I have.
Video playback, sometimes can be a bit blotchy, pauses a bit, then goes again etc. I use Plex VR media player to play my movies as I have about 5TB of NAS storage and why fill up my phone with movies etc when I don't need to. Again this is almost certainly to do with the limitations of the phone I've connected to the headset, but it does affect the experience and makes it not quite as good as it should be.
Don't get me wrong I've only scratched the surface and the experience is brilliant but not quite as super brilliant as it could be!
The other purpose of this post is really to pose a question to Occulus and any one else, about the future of their VR headsets. The Occulus Go immediately caught my eye as I thought "finally a headset with all the electronics built in" but it would seem not... the mention in #1 at the bottom in small print that you need an iPhone or Android device clearly means that you can't just stick this baby on your face, no you have to sacrifice your mobile phone to the cause, which sort of leaves me with where I am with the Gear VR, impressed by what it can do but slightly disappointed that I have to keep connecting my phone to it. What happens if I decided to go and buy a non supported phone... oh well I suppose that's the point of the Occulus Go.
It would imho, be a whole different ball game though if the headset came with a built in android / ios / other device, i.e. that wasn't detachable a self contained unit no less. It would also be nice to not feel like the front of my face was falling off at various points (again I accept I may have to get used to wearing it). It would also be nice to have some augmented reality apps and the ability to read email / txts / WhatsApp messages without having to take the headset off would also be a nice addition...
I'll give it a qualified 7.8/10 at the moment, though I expect that number to improve the more I use.
Welcome to the VR family and thanks for the review. With regards to Oculus Go and phone, you only need it for the initial setup, you can then use the headset without the need for a phone ever again. You don't have to be even near it.
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thanks for coming back to me, It wasn't altogether clear from the advert and as I say I noticed the little #1 perhaps someone should modify that and make it obvious. Thanks again. If anyone would like me to review the Occulus go for them I'd be happy to, so long as they sent me a free unit !! 🙂
