What is the price of the Oculus Rift and is it worth your investment?
The world has upgraded to the latest technology developed for fun and gaming. And that is Virtual Reality Headset designed a few years back. The growth of the virtual reality headset is rapid. It implements several optics, controllers, motion sensors, and other minute smart elements to enhance the user experience.
The first ugly virtual reality headset was created in 1968 by Ivan Sutherland and Bob Sproull. It was big, bulky, and uncomfortable, and they named it the sword of Damocles. This Virtual Reality Headset was suspended from the ceiling. Virtual Reality Headsets kept on continually evolving along the time, and today it is one of the fastest-growing sectors. The rift was first proposed by Luckey and they tried to raise funds through the Kickstarter campaign. In addition, it was a successful campaign and raised ten times more funds than the actual requirement by the Oculus.
The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset for the desktop that was released back in 2016. In addition, the Oculus was acquired by Facebook Inc. What mad the Oculus so special? Well, the Oculus Rift was the first reality headset manufactured by Facebook Inc. So, the high price-tag was high.
The Oculus Rift S was released in 2019 with a comparatively low-price tag. The original Oculus Rift was the first model in the series. The Oculus Rift S has improved comfort, improved light blocking, and a single cable connection. The weight of the original Oculus rift was 470 grams. In contrast, the new version has a perfect weight distribution to enhance the comfort level. Let’s hop-in to see the specifications of both the versions.
Pixel Density
The pixel density of the Oculus Rift was 456ppi, which means it could display 456 pixels in one inch. The pixel density of the Oculus Rift S is approximately 600ppi. It implies that Oculus Rift S has a more precise display as compared to the original Oculus Rift.
Resolution
The resolution of Oculus Rift was 2160 x 1200, i.e., 1080 x 1200 per eye. The Oculus is now upgraded to 2560 x 1440, i.e., 1280 x 1440 per eye in the Oculus Rift S. This enables a high definition vision as compared to the traditional version. It also helps to reduce the strain on the eyes
Screen Hardware
The Oculus Rift S has an LCD screen. The original version had a Pentile AMOLED screen. Pentile AMOLED screen are energy efficient and cheaper than the LCD. Furethermore, it is also thin when compared to the LCD.
Refresh Rate
The refresh rate of the screen was 90 Hz for the original Oculus Rift, and now it is 80 Hz.
Degree of Visibility
The degree of visibility for the original Oculus rift was 110 degrees. The degree of visibility is upgraded to 115 degrees. Manufacturers have implemented the second-generation hybrid Fresnel lens. The original Oculus Rift had the first-generation hybrid Fresnel lens, which is outdated.
Optics
The optics implemented in the original version was a first-generation hybrid Fresnel lens. It is now upgraded to a second-generation hybrid Fresnel lens. The god rays and screen door effects are decreased in this generation of the lens. There were distortions in the original Oculus Rift due to excessive god rays and screen door effects.
Interpupillary distance (IPD)
The IPD in the traditional version was variable between 58mm to 71mm. It is now fixed at 64mm in the Oculus Rift S.
Sensors
The sensors are consistent across both models. Both have an accelerometer and gyroscope. The accelerometer is used to identify the orientation of the device. Additionally, the gyroscope adds an extra dimension of twist and rotation. Furthermore, gyroscopes are usually implemented to track the movements of the device.
Tracking
The tracking in Oculus Rift S is upgraded to an integrated room-scale. It has 6DoF inside out oculus insight, and five-camera monitoring. The original Oculus rift had a non-room scale. It also accommodated the 6DoF external constellation camera.
Mixed Reality
The traditional model was installed with Passthrough (Stereo less-correct viewer). The Oculus Rift S is upgraded to Passthrough+ (true stereo-correct viewer) for a better-mixed reality
Headphones
The sound specifications of Oculus Rift S include Oculus Go/Quest near ear speakers, a headphone jack, and a Halo strap by Lenovo. In contrast, the original Oculus Rift had three-dimensional headphones and a headphone jack only.
Connectivity
The original Oculus Rift had HDMI 1.3m USB 3.0 and USB 2.0. The Oculus Rift S has a standard display port 1.2 and a USB 3.0 port. The Oculus Rift S does not have an HDMI port.
Controllers
The controllers of Oculus Rift S is upgraded to 360-degree tracking support by Oculus Touch. The original Oculus Rift had 180-degree front-facing tracking support.
System Requirements
The system requirements of the Oculus Rift S is the same as that of the original Oculus Rift. It requires 8GB RAM, i3-6100, or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 processor. The GPU needed is Nvidia GTX 1050Ti or AMD Radeon RX 470.
Price?
The price tag of the Oculus Rift is $349, and the price of Oculus Rift S is $399.
Which one Should I Buy?
The original Oculus Rift was released on 28 March 2016. The Oculus Rift S was released in 2019. It’s the Oculus Rift S for now, but I'd rather wait for Oculus Rift. The current upgrade doesn't seem like the new version. It gives me a feeling of minor updates only.
Conclusion
We can note that the upgrades in the new version are done at such cheap rates. The difference is a no-brain amount of $40. The expansion of the virtual reality headset in the market is notable. It is ideal to wait for the new version of the Oculus Rift for a better upgrade.
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