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Differences between the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift


Joshua_S

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So I want this to be a thread where people who are interested in VR (Virtual Reality) can go to see the differences between the two VR sets: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift,  and what each VR has going for them.

If you wanna pick up this: 

The working principle of spatial location of the HTC Vive http://www.kynix.com/Blog/441.html

How It Works: The Oculus Rift https://www.popsci.com/oculus-rift-how-it-works

 

So things to talk about with each one is:
1. Price
2. Types of games and how much variety of games
3. Setup
4. How good of hardware you need to run on your pc
5. Assesories
6. Overall feel and comfort
7. How well Customer Support is
8. Pro's
9. Con's
10. Ect.

So it would be nice if people who have either VR could explain their experiences with their version. People who do share, I want to say thank you as it will help out me as well as people in the future who are just having a hard time deciding. 

I will strat with myself first :smileyvery-happy:

1. Oculus Rift is cheaper. You may want to spend another $60 on an Oculus sensor (and possibly also extension cables), but it's still slightly cheaper than the HTC Vive. And if you want the Vive audio headstrap that matches what the Rift comes with, that's $100.

2. Both headsets have access to all the same games. The Rift is officially supported by SteamVR, so the only issue is a few games might have odd keybindings that are designed more for the Vive controllers. The Vive is not officially supported by the Oculus Store, but with the Revive tool you can run that content anyway. It might be a little more awkward because it's not an official solution, but mostly it works fine.

3. For a front-facing setup, the Rift is slightly easier to set up, but for 360-degree or roomscale, the Vive is significantly easier since the base stations plug into power outlets instead of USB ports on the PC. The headset also has a longer cable so you don't need to use extensions (which can be necessary with a Rift).

4. Oculus has the ASW feature which means the Rift can run on weaker systems than the Vive. Minimum requirements for the Rift are a Core i3-6100/FX-4350/Ryzen 3 1200 with a GTX 960/1050Ti/RX470, while the Vive steps that up to Core i5-4590/FX-8350 with a GTX 970/R9 290.

5. You get nickel and dimed a little more on the Vive side, but then it also offers a wireless upgrade kit right now, which the Rift does not. It's expensive though.

6. The Rift is more polished and comfortable to wear, especially compared to a Vive without the deluxe headstrap upgrade. The Oculus Touch controllers also have a really nice feel to them.

7. Both have a really poor reputation. Oculus has just recently finally finished rolling out their automated refund policy on their store, so it matches Steam. So... maybe a draw?

8+9. Built-in headphones is really, really convenient. So that's an advantage for the Rift, or a good reason to buy the deluxe headstrap upgrade for the Vive, since it adds built-in headphones. The front-facing camera on the Vive might be useful at times, I haven't really missed it too much using my Rift though. Maybe others can comment further. The tracking systems for Rift and Vive are basically on par by now (Oculus had some early issues with 360/roomscale tracking), but the Vive more easily covers very large play areas. Some people may also run into USB bandwidth issues with a Rift, depending on the motherboard used.

10. Keep an eye on the Samsung Odyssey headset that launches next month. It has a considerably higher resolution, and inside-out tracking (no need for base stations or sensors). The tracking system does mean your controllers can't be tracked properly if you eg. reach behind yourself, but it otherwise works quite well by all accounts.

 

Anything to be added please? ?

Thank you.

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Hi Joshua.

I would add the optics of both headsets to the comparison.

For me personally, I wear glasses and ended up getting VR Lens Lab prescription inserts for both the Vive and the Rift. I also had the Deluxe Audio Strap for the Vive.

The optics of these headsets are so very different, in the Vive, I had a small sweet spot to see clearly but my problem was that I had to place the Vive on my head in such a way (to see into that sweet spot) that it was incredibly uncomfortable. With the Rift, I just put it on, bigger sweet spot (for me anyways) and was much more comfortable. To the point I bought a 2nd Rift (one upstairs and one in the basement (basement setup has room scale with 3 sensors, works fine)), the 2nd Rift does NOT have prescription lens inserts and I can see fine without wearing glasses, just smaller text will seem a little blurry whereas with the Vive, I had to wear glasses or have my prescription inserts in place otherwise, everything was a blur even in the sweet spot.

The discomfort of the Vive to see into that sweet spot was bad enough that I sold it a few weeks ago, I do love the Vive and it's technology and possibility for expansion but if I have to be that uncomfortable while using it, then I'd rather not have one.

This is just my thoughts and feelings, both headsets offer their own set of pros and cons but for me and my dopey eyes, the Rift won.

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