Thought I'd share my initial conclusions after using the CV1 for a day or 2. I have bought the DK1 (Kickstarter), DK2 and the Gear VR with standard Galaxy S7, so have some prior VR experience.
Bottom line, compared to DK2: - FOV seems slightly bigger - SDE has noticably been reduced, but is still there - Resolution 'appears' higher but is still quite low. However, allows for acceptable experiences in Project Cars, EVE etc. - Scope of positional tracking camera is much bigger - Unit is lighter, more comfortable - the product, setup and software appear very polished
But: - Experience is not fundamentally different. I had expected a "wow" effect, in view of the significant hype regarding Crescent Bay etc. But I did not experience it. I do not fully understand the hype in the media that I have read in the last year (however, I was also slightly dissapointed going from DK1 to DK2 which I also thought was hyped prior to release) - The halo/flare effect is very noticeable and present on many occasions. To me, it seems unacceptable and can significantly distract. It does not ruin the experience, but it is a noticeable issue. It also means that for watching video (e.g. Netflix) I like the Gear VR more. Gear VR has slightly more SDE, but the screen looks better because it lacks the halo/flare effect.
On the whole, I am still happy with my purchase but slightly dissapointed. Reverse engineering my own psychology/expectations, I think that when using the DK1/DK2/Gear VR, I was always able to ignore any issues on the basis of the reasoning that it was still a prototype and a much better consumer version would be just around the corner. Hence, you were witnissing a "process" which was very exciting. However, now that I have the consumer version in my hands, it may be more difficult to ignore the still persistent issues. I also have some trouble mentally accepting that this is the state of play for the next 2-3 years, as no new version will be just around the corner.
It seems to me that the only way to up the game in the next few months is to move to Oculus Touch and potentially the room scale experience offered by Vive (and Touch?). I find the current seating experiences offered by the CV1 not so exciting anymore, after having seen the "wow" responses in the various online Vive reviews which use the room scale approach. However, it is perfectly possible that when I get the Vive (which I have also ordered) that I may be slightly dissapointed again.
To caveat the above: now that my high expectations have been put into perspective, I think I will start to appreciate the product more in the next weeks/months, as more content becomes available. The magic may also return with Oculus Touch. In the long haul, I am just as enthuastic about VR and Oculus as I was when backing the Kickstarter. For previous DK2 owners, it may however be helpful to manage expectations of the CV1 a bit. The small but meaningfull and numerous improvements offered by the CV1 compared to DK2 amount to a completely subjective 30% better experience for me, although this is of course difficult to quantify.
...one correction: I did not "purchase" the CV1 as I got at for free being a Kickstarter backer. Otherwise I would have certainly purchased it though (and still would have, also after using it for 2 days)
Good honest review from someone who has had all three headsets. To be honest though as soon as I saw they hadn't increased the resolution by much, I didn't think it would be a massive leap up from the DK2 display. I even posted a thread asking if it was the lenses that made such a hugh difference, because the media was saying it was so much better then the DK2 display. I'm still looking forward to getting mine for all the other reasons though, like weight, earphones and slight increase in resolution etc. I'm just not expecting to see a massive improvement over DK2 for viewing.
Thanks I was already expecting this though. Someone once posted a chart that I can’t find showing what The DK1, DK2, CV1 And 4K look like threw the rift. I was still not happy with that the CV1 resolution looked like. 4K looked good on the other hand. I think that is why I am so pro Vive it looks like on a whole new level, Cv1 is just small upgrades. Small upgrade are what you come to expect from products that are mostly perfect, but there is so much room for VR to grow that waiting years for small upgrades just does not cut it.
Good review. The other difference that I never see mentioned is 90 vs 75 Hz. Not noticable? Would it have been better to trade perhaps a bit more resolution for a bit less fps?
Thanks I was already expecting this though. Someone once posted a chart that I can’t find showing what The DK1, DK2, CV1 And 4K look like threw the rift. I was still not happy with that the CV1 resolution looked like. 4K looked good on the other hand. I think that is why I am so pro Vive it looks like on a whole new level, Cv1 is just small upgrades. Small upgrade are what you come to expect from products that are mostly perfect, but there is so much room for VR to grow that waiting years for small upgrades just does not cut it
There will be little difference between the vive or cv1 on visuals. Room scale will add to the experience but i'm guessing that the best optic experience will be with the cv1.
