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Yet another CV1 review!

Anonymous
Not applicable
There have been a lot of reviews lately of the CV1, and I see a lot of mixed feelings about it. I'm writing this review in a way that I hope helps people take away/confirm some concerns and answer some general questions.

I'm going to write the review in bullet points because that way people will probably find the answers they are looking for more quickly.

I have very little VR background. I have used a DK2 once, but only for 5 minutes and it wasn't properly set up. I have used the CV1 for a total of 10 hours now with a few games, interactive experiences, and 360 panoramic videos.

Here we go.

SETUP

Setup is very straight forward. The setup tool guides you through every step and you'd have to be pretty daft to be able to screw this up. You plug in three cables and the XBox wireless adapter, synch the remote and controller, and update the firmware. After that you have to place the camera on your desk, calibrate the Rift, and you're basically done. Adjusting the headstraps took some time to get right, but when you realise what you're doing it'll work out fine. Make sure the straps are even on both sides, otherwise you 'll feel the headphones are not symmetrically placed. EDIT: a tip for making sure the straps are symmetrical: after adjusting the side straps, measure how much of the velcro is visible on both sides. Mine was at 36mm on the right and 28mm on the left. If you add both measurements to each other and divide by two you'll end up with the amount you'll need to get it even on both sides. In my case I had to adjust both straps to 32mm to get them even. This also greatly helps with avoiding eye strain.

IPD adjustment is a bit weird, my IPD is apparantly the widest option the Rift allows, which is 70mm. At this setting the vertical green lines are perfectly clear, but I get the feeling that I am straining my eye muscles as if I'm looking cross-eyed. Also, if you really force it you can push the IPD slider past its physical limit, and the screen will show it is at 71mm. I'm not sure how this affects the rest of the calibration when you slide it back, perhaps software and hardware IPD are now mismatched?

USER FRIENDLINESS

User friendliness is top notch. All you have to do is strap on the Oculus Remote so it is within reach when you need it, and keep the XBox controller within reach as well. You don't have to start any software before you put on the headset, because Oculus Home automatically starts when you put on the headset. From there you can start any app you like, there rarely is the need to exit Oculus Home or take off your headset. Once you figure out all the icons in Oculus home and find out what every button does on the Oculus Remote the experience becomes very smooth. The user interface is very streamlined and you'll feel at home very soon. Pun intended.

There was a lot of criticism directed to Oculus for the inclusion of the Oculus remote and the XBox controller, but I must say they are both very intuitive and comfortable input methods. The Oculus remote especially is very simple in its design, but it provides all the functionality you need from it.

LENS QUALITY

Another hotly-debated topic. Some people think it is excellent, some people are disgusted by it. Personally, I think both sides have things going for them. 

The lenses are really clear, by this I mean they don't dim the light/color that shines through it. This is due to the Fresnel design that makes the lenses considerably thinner. The downside to this technology however is that there is some noticable lens glare and "God Rays". The amount of these effects depends completely on the scene that is displayed. Some scenes are completely fine, some show a bloom effect and God Rays. When a scene shows them it looks as if there are greasy fingerprints all over the lens. The effect is slightly annoying, but it never becomes a dealbreaker. If there is enough going on in your VR app you won't even have time to notice it, but when you're on a loading screen you automatically focus on it.

There is a very narrow sweetspot. You'll regularly be going back and forth to the IPD adjustment screen to try and get the best result possible, but this is only a minor annoyance since the menu is very easy to reach.

FOV is decent. It would be very cool to have it cover a bit more of your periferal vision, but even the current FOV is very servicable. It looks like you're wearing swimming goggles but the effect isn't bad at all. You tend to automatically just turn your head instead of looking at the edges anyway because of the specific sweetspot the lenses have. 

As a sidenote: Make sure to regularly remove dust and grease from the lenses using the provided cleaning cloth, and make sure you put the cloth somewhere clean and safe so no particles can contaminate it. Also, when you first remove the lens protectors, there is already some residue from them on the lenses, you should clean them even before the first use!

SCREEN QUALITY

There are some concerns people have concerning the screens. These concerns include things like Screen Door Effect, resolution, and seeing a red tint on the screens when they are supposed to be completely black.

Concerning screen door effect: Yes, it's definitely there. However, the lines between the pixels are really fine, and the pixels are oriented in a diagonal pattern instead of a horizontal/vertical pattern. This is another factor that is completely dependant on the scene that is being played. Sometimes you hardly notice it, and sometimes it is very apparant. You can really see it when only a single color from the RGB spectrum is being displayed. With a mostly blue screen you can see that the red and green lines are off and show up as black dots between the blue dots.

The resolution is good enough that you can usually read any text just fine, and make out most details in game. However, it doesn't allow for crystal clear scenes. You'll always notice scenes are ever so slightly blurred because the resolution is low compared to the size of the FOV. This may also be dependant on the resolution that is used by the app, some apps use a lower resolution than native, which decreases image quality. Some apps allow the graphics settings to be changed, but most don't allow tweaking of specific settings.

Some users report seeing a red tint when the screens are supposed to be black. In a poll here on the forum the results seem to show a 50/50 split between people who see it and people who don't. I personally see it ever so slightly, but the effect is different between both screens. My right screen shows the effect a bit brighter than the left screen, which causes slight discomfort as my eyes try to even out the brightness difference. In normal scenes this effect is almost unnoticable though, you'll have to try real hard and look past the Lens Glare/God Rays before you'll even catch a hint of it.

OVERALL BUILD QUALITY

I'm very impressed by the quality of every item that Oculus sent me.

The black cardboard box that serves as the transport case is very nicely finished and can serve as a travel case for your rift. It does scratch easily however, I would have liked a plastic box for this, but you can't have it all and in the end most users won't need it.

The Oculus camera looks really sleek and the finish looks very good. The materials are high quality, and the rubber on the base is very grippy. The stand and camera housing are mostly made of metal, the front of the camera appears to be glass or acrylic, and the back is plastic.

The Oculus remote is a very simple yet genius design. It has every button that you need, in the smallest, most comfortable format you can imagine. It would be very difficult to accidentally damage this thing, you'll really have to intentionally try and damage it, and even then you'll have a difficult time. The only thing I'm slightly confused about is that I assumed the black disc and select button would be touch-capacitive, but apparently they aren't.

The XBox controller isn't that interesting to most people, but I will say that I am impressed by it. I had the X360 controller for my PC but the XOne controller is a lot more comfortable and higher quality. Very nice controller, and that is coming from a Playstation fanboy.


Now, on to the headset itself.
VERY impressed by it. When you first pick it up it may feel a bit fragile because of its relatively low weight ( although I expected it to be even lighter), but you'll soon find out it is a pretty solid device. The back sensor triangle is non-flexible, but the bent arms that connect it to the front are spring loaded to allow for adjustment, and are made of a rubber that can bend to allow for most headshapes. The headphones are very good, but judging by how positive most reviews were about them I expected them to be even better. This might be due to them never fully seating properly on my ears, no matter how I adjust them. They always leave a little gap because of the way they are angled. They are still good enough that I don't want to switch to a pair of external headphones though. Be aware that the headphones can be a bit annoying when putting on the headset, but they are nowhere near as annoying as putting on separate headphones over the rift.

EDIT: I have now found out you can angle the speakers on the arms in any direction as well. I assumed they were fixed on the arms, but they are actually mounted on ball-joints. I am now able to seat them fully on my ears and the sound is much better!



TRACKING QUALITY

Tracking quality is really good. Tracking is 1 to 1, and especially with Apps that show miniature items you can really lean in and take a look at all the small details without losing immersion. Most of the times you won't notice any issues, but in rare occasions tracking may show some microstutter which can make you feel ill. This is very rare however.

COMFORT

The headset is mostly very comfortable. After prolonged use it can push on your forehead a little, but this depends on your headshape. It is ever so slightly front heavy, which is noticable but if you're playing a very immersive game you'll forget about it very quickly. I have ordered a VR cover to see if it helps create even more comfort, will report when it gets here.

With prolonged use I do suffer from some eyestrain, as if I have been constantly looking cross-eyed. I don't know what causes this ( wrong IPD?), but it does negatively influence comfort.


OVERALL GAMING/IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

For some games VR is just a gimmick. A very fun gimmick, but a gimmick nonetheless. An example of this is Lucky's tale. Very cool game ( highly recommended!) but it would have been playable just fine without VR. Games like EVE: Valkyrie, Elite: Dangerous and War Thunder on the other hand thrive in VR. Once you experience those games in VR you'll never want to go back. The added benefit of being able to naturally look around and spot targets blows any other view control mechanism out of the water. VR is absolutely here to stay for those types of games.

As far as immersion goes, I've had some instances where I was fully immersed. Examples include Henry, Lost, the central hub in EVE: Valkyrie, and just chilling in Farlands. I recommend trying those experiences.

VR SICKNESS

This is the reason I now have the time to write this review. I am mostly fine when playing the Rift, and don't get sick very easily in real life. I can take most real life rollercoasters just fine and most games in the Rift as well. However, Windlands screwed my senses so hard that I had to quit immediately, and I decided to recover by writing this review.

Most games are very comfortable, but titles that seemingly alter gravity need some practice before you can comfortably play them. Examples are Windlands, EVE: Valkyrie, and Elite: Dangerous. If you move your ship or character but are looking sideways you can get ill very easily and VERY quickly. I used to think people were overreacting when they mentioned VR sickness, but it is a very real thing. Coupled with the rare tracking jitter it can be vomit-inducing. And I suspect the weird IPD situation I'm experiencing might be a factor here as well.

Not all is bad though. Most apps are very comfortable, and it takes time to adjust to VR, so I'm not worried about the more intense ones.

CONCLUSION

Overall I'm very impressed by the CV1. There is definitely room for improvement, but seeing as this is a first generation device I am impressed by how polished it feels. It is worth every hard-earned Euro I spent on it, and am looking forward to the bright VR future ahead!

I hope to have answered some of your questions and taken away some of your concerns, but if you have any other questions or if you think I have forgotten to mention something feel free to ask!
17 REPLIES 17

brantlew
Adventurer
Concerned that you feel cross-eyed at your configured IAD (IPD).  Generally the correct lens separation should feel non eye-straining as well as clear and I would choose natural comfort over clarity given the choice.  I would continue playing with it if I were you.

Hanover
Rising Star
How far did you get into Lucky's Tale?  I kind of thought, "WHY?" at the beginning, but it has a few VR tricks up it's sleeve later in the game.

Good review @DannyMNL, let us know what your thoughts are in a week or 2's time.. it'll be interesting to compare notes on how we get used to some things... or if we don't!

Arock387
Heroic Explorer
I know that feeling you are getting in windlands.  It happens especially when falling. And man do I LOVE it.  you get the tight gut feeling when falling.  Sometimes when I'm falling I have to let out an audible "uughhh" On the stomach but its never enough to make me sick.  Its just gut wrenching for a second but slightly addicting?  I don't know.  I played the game when it was on the Oculus share lists.  I have not played the steam or Oculus Store editions yet.

All in all good review.  I'm looking to July for mine to ship even though it was originally slated for June

brantlew
Adventurer
I have an unhealthy addiction to Windlands.  Never played it until CV1 and glad I didn't because standing is awesome if you can handle it.  Only problem is that it has ruined me against other VR experiences because very few can match the same sense of exhilaration.  It's the pinnacle of VR height-induced adrenaline and I'm numb to it in other experiences now.

blanes
Rising Star
Nice rounded review, makes the wait feel more worthwhile, though no less difficult ! thanks mate  😉

GenetixStudio
Superstar
Great and detailed review. Thank you - it helps make the wait go by just a bit better.

LV426
Protege
Very nice review. Thank you!
Intel Core I7-3770K OC 4.2ghz Intel® High Performance Liquid Cooling MSI Z77A-GD65 Crucial DDR3 BallistiX 16GB Kingston HyperX SSD MSI GTX 980 Twin Frozr. DK2

Anonymous
Not applicable
Thanks everyone, and you guys are welcome!

@Hanover
I played a few levels and it surely is fun, but most of the tricks I have encountered thus far are just visual novelty instead of really helping with the gameplay. Will play some more to see if anything spectacularly game-changing occurs. It's a very fun game nonetheless so it's not as if I'm reluctant to play it.


Concerning Windlands and other games that play with gravity: I seem to have worded my experience wrong. I said games that play with gravity make me sick, but this should have been games that mess with inertia. Altering gravity is just fine because this usually smoothes out everything. Messing with inertia however really throws off your sense of balance. Walking around in Windlands and rapidly turning your spaceship in other games totally throws off your inner ear and can make you feel very ill. I was feeling sick for at least 5 hours after... I think I'll have to take it very slow and it'll grow on me.

Anyway, will report back in a week or two to let you guys know if I'm still happy with the Rift and if I have conquered my VR sickness. I will also post a small review of the VR cover as soon as it arrives and I have had a chance to test it. Lastly, I will try and adjust IPD to where it feels more comfortable instead of focussing on clarity, and see if that makes my eyes feel less strained.