Welcome to the Oasis, my name's Mike and today
were gonna be talking about the Oculus Rift S.
It's been a few months now since it's release
and I've been using this headset alot, I feel
like now's a good time go over what are the
good things and the bad things about this
headset as it is a bit of a mixed bag but
thankfully there's a few accessories that
I've been using that can help improve the
experience.
Hopefully this video helps some of you that
are still on the fence about moving up from
your original Rift or considering this as
your first PCVR headset.
Full disclosure, this headset was provided
by Oculus for free just before the release
however I'm not sponsored or paid by Oculus
and these opinions are completely my own.
So with that out of the way, let's dive in....
So lets start the video up with a positive
point, the Rift S is a comfortable headset.
I was skeptical at first of the halo design
but have come to like it quite a lot.
It's not the most comfortable headset on the
market, In my opinion I would say the Valve
Index is the most comfortable, followed by
the original Oculus Rift and then in third
place is the Rift S.
The headset has a good weight distribution
through the halo design headstrap meaning
using it for prolonged VR gaming sessions
isn't a problem.
My only gripe about the comfort is that the
soft material padding and foam are glued to
the headset itself so they cannot be replaced.
After a few months of use playing games like
Beat Saber and Until You Fall it's getting
a bit gross so the replacement products in
development right now from VR Cover can't
come quickly enough.
Next up, probably one of my least favorite
aspects of the Rift S and that is the audio.
It's just not very good.
The speakers built into the headstrap lack
bass and it's a real step down from the excellent
audio built into the original Oculus Rift.
Even the built in microphone isn't as good
as the original Rift microphone.
Thankfully though, this can be fixed with
some headphones although some brands can be
difficult to get over the rigid halo headstrap
or my personal solution is to use the Bionik
Mantis clip on earphones designed for the
PSVR.
As the headstraps for the PSVR and Rift S
are similar in design, these earphones clip
onto the Rift S just fine.
Sadly they only come in white but some matt
black model paint quickly sorted that out.
They don't sound as good as the original Rift
earphones but are much better than the Rift
S stock solution in my opinion.
I've linked to them in the description below
.
Now lets get onto a huge plus!
The content.
The Rift and Rift S share the Oculus store
so if you're moving from a Rift to Rift S
all the content you've already bought will
work without any issues at all.
As Oculus are investing heavilty in VR game
development they have some excellent Oculus
exclusive titles.
Vader Immortal, Asgards Wrath, Stormland and
an upcoming game from Respawn Entertainment
are just a few to be very excited about.
The Rift S is also fully compatible with SteamVR,
giving you the best of both worlds.
I don't particularly support platform exclusivity
and would prefer an open platform however
it's something that is here to stay and is
present in every corner of the gaming industry.
It's just a shame that the Rift S didn't have
any big games for it's launch mostly relying
on a back catalog of games instead.
While Quest owners were enjoying Vader Immortal,
new Rift S owners had to look on with envy
until it came out a month later.
This also nicely leads my onto the setup.
To use the Rift S you'll need to install Oculus
Home.
This serves as your hub for the headset providing
firmware updates, your game library and your
own virtual home environement.
Although the Rift S had a bit of a rocky start
on the software side, updates over the past
few months have made significant improvements
to tracking and eliminating bugs such as static
flashes in the headset.
Once you have the software installed all you
need to do is plug the headset in using the
Displayport and USB 3 cables and that's it.
You simply trace the outline of your playspace
and the guardian system will pop up when you
get close to the edges to ensure you don't
bump into any furniture or walls.
You can also activate passthrough mode which
is handy to get a glimpse of the real world
around you if you need to.
As the headset uses inside out tracking which
I'll talk more about later you don't need
any external sensors or additional hardware.
This is ideal for those new to virtual reality
making it very accessible by reducing the
friction of setup when compared to using the
original Rift, Vive and Index.
Also Oculus has a great introduction to VR
for newcomers using Oculus First Steps and
Oculus First Contact which act as interactive
tutorials.
Since the Rift S was announced it's caused
a stir of confusion with it's specs.
The headset runs a single LCD panel with a
resolution of 1280x1440 pixels per eye which
runs at 80hz.
And when you look at these specs on paper
this was disappointing to the hardcore Rift
community as it didn't compete with the resolution
or refresh rates of the competition such as
the Vive Pro, Valve Index and some Windows
Mixed Reality headsets.
Even Oculus's own Quest headset offers a higher
resolution.
However despite the specs on paper, in use
it's actually very good.
The drop to 80hz isn't noticeable at all in
my opinion and the display and optics are
actually one of the big advantages of this
headset.
It's sharp and clear making text easier to
read and provides vibrant colours with minimal
screen door effect
Even when compared to the expensive Valve
Index, I prefer the lenses of the Rift S as
they have a much larger sweet spot and provide
less god rays in contrasting scenes.
The benefit of reducing the refresh rate to
80hz is that despite having a higher resolution
than the original Oculus rift they were able
to keep the same minimum hardware specs required
to run the headset.
I've linked to an Oculus system checker tool
in the description so you can see if your
PC is up to scratch.
One of the biggest issues with the Rift S
is the fixed IPD.
IPD is your inter pupilary distance, essentially
the distance between the pupils of your eyes
and everyone is different.
In headsets like the original Oculus Rift,
Oculus Quest, Vive and Valve Index you have
a slider to adjust the spacing of the displays
and lenes to provide optimal comfort and clarity
for your IPD.
With the Rift S however, the displays and
lenses are fixed in place for an optimal IPD
of around 64mm.
These means if you have an IPD above 68 or
lower than 60 you may want to look elsewhere
and I think this is one of the biggest mistakes
Oculus made with this headset essentially
limiting the market for its use.
I have a fairly low IPD of 60mm, I can still
use the headset without issues for long periods
of time but it's not perfect.
I've heard people with higher IPDs have more
issues with the Rift S than lower IPDs so
just bare that in mind.
When you're out of this optimal IPD range
you're more likely to encounter eye strain
and the virtual world will seem a bit off
which can be uncomfortable over time.
You can easily find out your IPD using a free
app on iPhone called Eye Measure which I've
linked to it in the description below or by
physcially measuring using a ruler from the
centre of each pupil in a mirror.
No back onto the postives.
The controllers.
The resigned Oculus touch controllers which
are used for both Quest and Rift S are comfortable
to use and the buttons are well laid out and
will be instantly intuitive to gamers used
to using gamepads.
With rubberised grips and knurled thumbsticks
these controllers offer precise inputs and
feel good in your hand.
The thumbsticks and buttons also have capacitive
touch sensors meaning even resting your thumbs
on the thumbstick or buttons will be represented
in the virtual world.
The controllers use hidden infrared leds discreetly
dotted around the ring so they can be tracked
by the headset.
Each controller takes a single AA battery
and can last up to a few weeks of use before
needing to be replaced.
For the hardcore VR gamer, I'd recommend investing
in some rechargable batteries like the Panasonic
eneloops.
I've linked them in the description below.
My only gripe with the controllers is that
the battery door which is held in place by
magnets can begin to slide off in your hands
when playing intensive games such as beat
saber.
I've opted to use some grips from Mamut which
stops this completely and adds a strap which
attaches the controllers to your hands in
a similar fashion to that of the Valve Index
controllers and will also add some length
to the controller grip if you have larger
hands.
I've also linked to them in the description
below.
Now let's talk about the tracking.
This is achived by using five tracking cameras,
two on the front panel, one of either side
and one on top of the headset.
Oculus call this the Oculus Insight system
and quite frankly it's raised the bar and
set the standard for inside out tracking.
Due to the placement of the cameras it provides
the biggest tracking volume for an inside
out tracked headset available on the market
right now.
It'll be interesting to see if the upcoming
Vive Cosmos does a better job with a 6th camera.
I'd certainly like to see these improvements
in inside out tracking made on the Windows
Mixed Reality range of headsets which are
due for an update.
Inside out tracking isn't perfect but works
in 98% of situations which is going to be
good enough for most.
If you're a hardcore competitive player you'll
probably favour the more precise lighthouse
tracking of the HTC Vive and Valve Index.
So before we get onto my conclusion, here's
a few more tips that I've learnt along the
way.
The Rift S comes with 15ft long cable with
single displayport and usb 3 connections.
I've been able to sucessfully extend these
cables to a further 6ft by using displayport
and Usb 3 extention cables.
I'll put links to the cables I used in the
description below.
As the Rift S uses DisplayPort it can't be
used with laptops with only HDMI ports.
A Displayport to Displayport mini adapter
comes in the box but I've not heard any reports
of people sucessfully using an adapter to
convert Displayport to HDMI so please bare
that in mind.
Whilst on the subject of cables.
I'd also recommend using a velcro strap to
move the cable on the headset to the back
of the headstrap.
Out of the box there's a hook on the side
but this means the cable hangs over your left
shoulder which can get in the way.
Just leave enough slack at the back so the
adjustment mechanism can still freely move.
And my final tip is to download and use the
Oculus Tray Tool.
This is a third party app that I've been using
for years now.
You can increase your super sampling, turn
off usb power management and my favorite feature
the auto audio switcher so when the headset
starts it will automatically use the headsets
audio and mic and then when you close the
oculus software it will automatically revert
to your desktop audio options.
So here's my conclusion, despite it's flaws,
for the price of $399, it's hands down the
best VR headset you can buy right now in this
price bracket.
Personally I completely moved to Rift S over
my original Rift and took down all my Rift
sensors after the Rift S arrived in the office
and I wouldn't go back as I enjoy the slight
upgrade in visuals.
Even though I have an Index here in the office,
I actually favour using the Rift S in some
games.
No Mans Sky is a good example of where I prefer
to use the Rift S mainly due to the controllers
as the Index controllers still have some way
to go and lack content that takes full advantage
of them right now.
If you're a competative player maybe look
at the Index or the Vive Pro or stick with
the original CV1 for now.
However if you're new to VR you really can't
go wrong with this headset.
Alot of people ask if they should get an Oculus
Rift S or Oculus Quest.
The answer is simple.
If you own a VR capable PC go for the Rift
S, if you don't get the Quest.
With Oculus Connect 6 just around the corner,
hopefully we'll get a look at the road map
Oculus have planned for the future and find
out how long we'll have to wait for a true
second generation Rift.
So there we have it, thats the good and bad
points of the Oculus Rift S.
Hopefully this helps you make an informed
desision on whether this is the right headset
for you.
Thankfully most of the flaws other than the
fact it's got a fixed IPD can be fixed with
some accessories and overall I think this
is a solid headset in my opinion.
For the price, right now there's nothing else
on the market that can compete with the things
it does right like the display, optics, content
library, controllers and the excellent oculus
insight tracking system.
But this is of course is just my opinion,
let me know what you think in the comments
down below.
Do you have an Oculus Rift S?
How are you finding it?
Or are you considering other headsets on the
market?
Maybe holding out for the Vive Cosmos?
I'd love to know in the comments below.
Leave a like if you liked the video, make
sure you're subscribed for all my future content
and as always.
I'll see you on the next one.
Cheers.
