Oculus Rift release date?

[dbawel]

So, Oculus finally released their release date for the release of the Oculus Rift release.  And, it's a 3 month window -  they just say first quarter 2016.  Does anybody care anymore?  I certainly don't, and why wait for the release of a crappy outdated VR goggle display?  The display has been in developer's hands now for most of this year.  I just don't get it - but I suppose when you receive 2 Billion "with a capital B" dollars from Zuckerberg, you really don't have to do anything else.  And there will be much better displays released this year - in 2015.  Don't wait for Oculus and don't give them your money as they have a plenty a dollars - and it will be outdated when it's FINALLY released.  Did I say release enough times?

 

Dare I say "Magic Leap?"

[JCPalmer]

And there will be much better displays released this year - in 2015.  ...Dare I say "Magic Leap?"

Really?  Or are you talking about MS's or Sony's new toys?  Probably under NDA, so not going to respond,   #@*$ bastard.

 

Personally, if I am going to wear something on my head, would also like to be able to see other things.  I also count 3D TVs, since I have one.  As a developer, as long as I can hit them with the same code base, I am a fanguy.  Think there is a temptation by MS & Sony to tie their stuff to their game consoles.

[dbawel]

Hey Jeff,

 

Actually, Magic Leap is much farther off for release than Oculus.  And Sony and Microsoft is pairing their headmounted displays to their gaming consoles, however, they will both accept native video and convert to 3D in real-time.  And Microsoft is developing more non game applications than Sony - tied to the Windows OS and Windows graphic and other applications.  So the Hololens will be a bit more versatile and robust - as well as to offer a better AR experience which is what you appear to be more interested in as most people are.  AR is a far better experience that straight VR in my opinion.  And of course, Magic Leap does AR like no one else.

 

As for the Oculus Rift, the Samsung Gear VR is available now for $200, and is basically an Oculus Rift without the tracking camera on the device - and is actually licensed from Oculus.  Also keep in mind that the Samsung Gear requires a Galaxy Note 4 which will set you back $700 on top of the price of the Gear headset.  So when it comes to VR and AR, never budget what you read on Amazon - always consider that most of these displays require additional hardware.

 

Sony's project Morpheus looks promising as it runs natively with the PS4.  It should be out this Christmas, and would be one of two headsets that would probably get my vote over the Oculus Rift - since they've taken the time to get the displays right using the best Sony display technology - which is a big difference compared to the Rift for color, contrast, and true resolution.

 

But the winner this year may very well be the Microsoft Hololens, which looks really impressive.  In a perfect world, I'd love for the Hololens to license Sony's displays, but of course, these are the two companies in direct competition to own the home - and it will be difficult to pick a winner - it there ever is one.  I generally buy both Microsoft and Sony gaming and consumer hardware as they both are pretty awesome.  I'm glad there isn't a clear winner, as it just gives me more games and toys to play with.  I still have a couple of Sony Aibo's running around my house, and they've been living with me so long, you might actually believe they are alive as they are trained so well.

 

But back to VR displays, there is already the first direct retina projection system on the market, and I've not been able to test this, but I've heard really good reviews. Unfortunately, this probably won't be the winner in the headmounted display market as it's a private company, and they don't have anywhere near the resources Oculus, Sony, Microsoft, and Samsung have - unfortunately.  This is the Avegant Glyph.  And as you hinted in your post above, I can't divulge specifics about the Magic Leap device, but this provides a glimpse of what's on the horizon as the technology behind the Glyph is similar in application to Magic Leap - but "similar" is as far as it goes. It might be comparable to comparing a glider to a spaceship. The Glyph is the lightest and smallest of all of the headmounted displays, and does have the advantages of a direct retina projection system such as being a far more natural physicalogically accurate display, which more closely mirrors the way natural light enters the human eye.  So there is far less eye strain, it's much less prone to creating nausea, and the imagery is far more believable by the human brain.  However, the similarities with Magic Leap pretty much end there.

 

The proprietary technology behind the Magic Leap display is straight out of a Star Trek world beyond anything that has yet to be invented in the real world.  As I've hinted at, the Magic Leap device is more similar to a plug directly into your brain than it is a display device.  That's all I can say for now, but as those of you who have heard me hint at such things before, the day the Magic Leap device is released to the public is the day the world literally changes.

 

In the meantime, most of the 2D displays will be novel toys to play with, and certainly have their place and time in entertainment media and gaming for now.  I'll certainly buy one or more of these devices, and it probably won't be Oculus - not because of any reason except that it's already dated technology.  I will most likely pick up both the Sony Morpheus and the Microsoft Hololens as they will be fully integrated into the PS4 and Xbox One respectively.  I would like to own the Avegant Glyph, but I doubt that there will be much content unquely developed for this device, so it will basically be used as an interpolated 3D headmounted display.  It's a shame, as it's all about money and not quality.  Look at Oculus - there will be loads of games and apps supporting the Oculus Rift - but it's interpolated display and averaged resoution won't be anywhwere near the quality of other devices on the market.  And for those of you who simply want an inexpensive headmounted display of reasonable quality, there's always the Razer OSVR which is on the market now for $200 retail - and the quality is decent.  But as with other independant companies, there won't be much or any unique content available for these displays.  And as I previously mentioned, remember that most displays coming on the market require an Android device or other additional hardware and software for video and audio processing.  So be sure to add to your headset budget approximately $500 to $800 in aditional monies to go VR and/or AR - on top of the cost of the headmounted display.

 

As promised, I'll do my best to keep you up to date on Magic Leap, and as time progresses, I am even more excited about the device than ever before.  However, someone needs to start a Magic Leap addiction helpline and support group now - as people won't want to leave their homes once this is released - seriously.

 

Cheers.