Odyssey VR vs Oculus Rift

FrejkiChodak · Jan 21, 2019

Ive got a Rift right now and I sometimes switch back to monitor because the screen-door effect and low res in general is not nice. Is the Samsung HMD Odyssey a big step up? I'm reading 1.78x higher res, so that should be good.

How is the Odyssey with playing in DiRT Rally, AC, R3E, etc? Just as easy to setup?

edit: going from
https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/7cvhwc/ordered_a_samsung_odyssey_to_compare_with_the/
and
https://forums.oculusvr.com/communi...s-rift-after-extended-time-w-each-impressions

it seems the higher res is not that noticable :/

Turk · Jan 21, 2019

I think there's much of a muchness between all the head sets. The Rift and vive should still have the best overall experience with slightly better (more dependable tracking). I don't know that I'd upgrade from any headset to another because the differences are small.

If your new to VR the Odyssey is a great budget option to have and may be all that a sim racer will need. I have the touch controllers for the rift and rarely, if ever use them. The extra sensor is the only thing that was useful to me, the extra sensor did improve my tracking.

Then of course you have to bare in mind the extra overhead that comes with a slightly higher resolution.

I don't see any headset that's head and shoulders above the rest, all differences seem pretty marginal to me.. It's a really difficult time for VR, even if they did bring out a better resolution headset none of us could run it.

Start saving money now for when the next real upgraded VR headsets start coming out, because you're going to need a hardware upgrade to go with them.

Deleted member 197115 · Jan 22, 2019

We won't see another PC HMD for at least a year, I am afraid. The closest thing to real is Vive Cosmos and they didn't even announce spec, neither Facebook for Oculus S which is not on the top of their priorities list with focus on standalone/mobile experience.

Dan Costa · Jan 22, 2019

Odyssey is in my opinion the obvious choice for sim racing as of today. I sold the rift for it, and what bothered you in the rift will continue to bother you in the Odyssey but a lot less (A LOT LESS in some areas). I dont miss the rift one bit.

Depending on your head format, you may need customizations on the odyssey to feel comfortable such as using soft spongy clothing or do-it-yourself head strap to even the pressure on the head.

Soulstoner · Jan 23, 2019

I love the optics on the ODYSSEY+, but the comfort is terrible. I get a burning sensation on my forehead with the pad rested on it. It's unbearable.

Also, now the screens on mine fail to come online, staying black.

Deleted member 197115 · Jan 23, 2019

Soulstoner said:
I love the optics on the ODYSSEY+, but the comfort is terrible. I get a burning sensation on my forehead with the pad rested on it. It's unbearable.

Also, now the screens on mine fail to come online, staying black.

Something like this helps a lot
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019F1XRKE/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

anton_Chez · Jan 24, 2019

Appreciate the sentiment Andrew, but do VR users really want more things attached to their head? God I did 3 x 15 minute races tonight after today was 44C and I couldn't bear the thought of wrapping my head in a beanie!

With a portable refrigerated air conditioner combined with a huge fan my sim room was more than bearable but no way am I wearing a beanie in summer.

But for folk in cooler climates it might be an acceptable solution to discomfort. I'd hate to be thinking about the HMD while driving. It sucks when it fogs on occasion for me.

Turk · Jan 24, 2019

Amazon had a load of cover options for the rift and vive. I'd guess they have them for odyssey too, they probably have different materials that would avoid the itch you get from the standard material.

Deleted member 197115 · Jan 24, 2019

It"s breathable thermal fabric, it's does not produce extra heat. People are using it in cold and hot for excercising.
Anyway, works wonder for me in So Cal, if anyone have better options, please share.

From amazon user review
"I have run in 5 degree weather and in 50 degree weather with this same hat and it keeps my head and ears perfectly comfortable. I don't understand how that works, but it does."

anton_Chez · Jan 24, 2019

Awesome if that's the case then. I'd say you have decent experience with warm weather then

Always good to have options.

gemming · Jan 25, 2019

i have the odyssey+ and i like it, previous i've an oculus dk2 (also tried the cv1) but i don't like SDE in that. For the confort the Odyssey+ is not so good, i bought two foam replacer for vive to take the place of the original and now is all ok.
For me Odyssey+ is now a must for a sim racer, no SDE and beautiful graphics, but you must deal with wmr/steamvr problems. I spend a lot of time to configure/optimize my setting, but the result now are wonderful.

anton_Chez · Jan 25, 2019

Rift users have the open composite .dll option to get around Steam VR. Not sure how WMR devices work but I don't think it will be compatible with it.

Deleted member 197115 · Jan 25, 2019

Speaking of WMR, one of the recent Mixed Reality for Steam updates added hefty performance overhead to reprojection. You beter of just turning it off.

RCHeliguy · Jan 29, 2019

I was really hoping StarVR was going to do well. They checked all the right buttons. Great field of view(210 degrees), leading class optics, support for foviated rendering and non-bayer pattern display. Probably too good to hope that it actually caught on, but Acer delisted them after their profits were down 90% and they are very much in limbo right now. They also released a price of $3200 for the headset alone without hand controllers or base stations.

I'm sticking with my Rift until there is a big improvement to be had. It's comfortable and reliable. NVidia's last video cards don't have the power to run an 8K headset. Until we get real foveated rendering support there won't be any hardware that could support much of an increase in resolution.

I think 2020 will be the next big upgrade year. Both NVidia and Intel should be on 7nm by then and we should actually see enough of a performance increase to support a jump in headset capabilities. Oculus and Steam should have new HMD's out hopefully with at least 140 degrees FOV. Hopefully the Knuckles will be out for those who care about room scale games.

Basically not enough money is being spent in VR for the hardware companies to invest heavily.

Deleted member 197115 · Jan 29, 2019

Looks like we can get something interesting from Samsung, and probably soon.
https://uploadvr.com/samsung-wide-fov-patent/

Turvey · Jan 30, 2019

Andrew_WOT said:
Looks like we can get something interesting from Samsung, and probably soon.
https://uploadvr.com/samsung-wide-fov-patent/

Interesting

RCHeliguy · Jan 30, 2019

Pimax has wide FOV available too, but are apparently having some reliability issues. Samsung is a big company with deep pockets and they are getting the display technology down, but they still have to work on the ergonomics of both the HMD and performance of their controllers. As a big fan of "In Death" I couldn't deal with the Odyssey's inside out tracking which is very frustrating for games like that where you hold a controller in close to your face. Their accelerometer approach to guessing where the controllers are when they go out of view of their sensors gets derailed pretty quickly.

The idea of inside out tracking is great because it simplifies setup quite a bit and if all you are using it for is the HMD for driving, that's fine. I still consider the Rift more polished and even the Rift can easily max out my 1080Ti in driving games.

I'm not suggesting that the Rift's tracking is perfect, but it's very usable. The Steam VR 2.0 tracking is still the best tracking system out there and once the Steam Knuckles arrive it's possible that another SteamVR compatible headset possibly even one by Steam will be something worth getting.

I still consider the light weight and comfort of the Rift headset along with its best in class Touch controllers to be the best choice for gaming. Vive has the best tracking, but the controllers aren't as good as the Touches and the headset is bulkier and heavier.

It's important to realize that VR is still getting off the ground and all of these will be eclipsed as soon as VR gains more market share.

I applaud Samsung's efforts. It is great to have a BIG player making VR equipment. As shown by the Odyssey+ they are evolving their product, but it's still not refined, yet.

Deleted member 197115 · Jan 30, 2019

Inside out tracking was WMR thing and looks like all upcoming HMDs copying that idea.
Head tracking, I can't complain, controllers tracking is getting lousy when they get out of sight, hopefully that can be improved with new models and software, tracking setup with separate stations is quickly becoming the thing from the past.

RCHeliguy · Jan 30, 2019

I think Oculus is embracing inside out because of their stand alone Go and Cruz headsets. This is a smart move to help bring VR to the masses by keeping things simple. Oculus claims that their next Rift 1.5 headset will also have inside out tracking, BUT they claim that they will address the tracking issues other products have. Time will tell. Also expected is 140 degree FOV but at the same pixel pitch, so more pixels, but spread out.

My guess is that we will see a divide in the future. The SteamVR 2.0 platform we be the high end and keeping their passive base stations. Just stick them in the corners of your room and give them power. No USB cables, still pretty simple, supports multiplayer and excellent tracking. My guess is that the Knuckles controllers will be expensive and will end up being the new best in class hand controllers. StarVR would have fit into this new high end well. Pimax is also on SteamVR along with Vive and Steam may release their own headset.

Keep in mind that SteamVR is an open system and there is an ecosystem of peripherals because of that. It supports tracking devices and other 3rd party hardware that Oculus, WMR and others have no provisions for.

So while Oculus is currently in the lead (for PC VR), they are a closed system. PSVR has the overall VR lead by a margin, unless you include the cardboard headsets that were being given out with smart phones.

This makes me think that the bottom end of VR will end up on Consoles and stand alone devices, and Oculus will end up focusing completely on stand alone devices and abandon the high end leaving it to SteamVR with it's base stations. Just a guess

Mascot · Jan 30, 2019

I'm just about to add SFX-100 full chassis motion to my NLRv3 seat mover so inside-out tracking sounds like a good solution to any potential tracking issues when things get violent. I'd need to try an O+ to check the ergonomics but they simply aren't available in the UK so I'll be sticking with my Rift for the foreseeable.