[Dragon]

Well, it's got a full image processing suite and display suite, headtracker, plus it has to fit well over your eyes. If you look at Smartphone-based "DIY VR googles" that a few people were making, the frames are also quite bulky, even though they're little more than fancy smartphone holders+eyeglasses set. The actual device seems to be the size of a HD smartphone, a lot of bulk you see is probably eye clearance and shroud to block external light out.

[Phantom Hoover]

A bigger device means the screens are further from the eye means you can get the same resolution with a lower pixel density means cheaper hardware that poses less engineering challenges.

[Dragon]

Well, that, and the fact that the eye can't reliably focus on something that is very very close, meaning plenty of clearance is needed to ensure you can see the screen properly.

[Colonol Dekker]

I'd hope they have diopter control as we're all different.

[666maslo666]

Well, that, and the fact that the eye can't reliably focus on something that is very very close, meaning plenty of clearance is needed to ensure you can see the screen properly.

The Rift is focused at infinity because of the lenses.

[Colonol Dekker]

Every lens has a minimum focal distance though. Aka standoff.

[Mika]

No, I meant that the display is ridiculously large for it's purpose, and this actually drives the size of the thing. That and the field of view of the eye-piece actually.

It would be possible to make this considerably smaller device with two separate displays, but I suppose the single large display was used due to money reasons. However, it will not work in the future if the apparent resolution needs to be increased (which seems to be the case).

The other thing I've been wondering is have they considered the user ergonomics; the more one-sided load you apply to head, the more problems might occur over long term usage.

[Nuke]

as for me i have one eye that is really good, and one eye that is really bad (i thought about getting a monocle. then i realized it would cost money, and require medical insurance, of which i have neither). i have doubts that im even capable of viewing stereo.

[torc]

guys regarding oculus rift impressions posted here:
I can assure you that if you haven't test it you can't judge anything.
-Never had an eyestrain in 1 year of Rift use
-Never had neck problems since is very comfortable and light
-Mask ergonomic is very good.
And this is just the Devkit 1 with all his limits and problems,but i can assure you i'm very happy with it and i'll wait the Consumer version for sure,i'll not buy the DK2 despite is a very good improvement from what i got...but seryously i don't feel the need to upgrade right now.

@Nuke: if in RL you see depth despite your bad eye,you'll see 3d with oculus rift too, since the device uses the more natural way your brain and eyes see stereo.

[Dragon]

I thought about buying DK2, but then I've read consumer version is supposed to start shipping in July. I think I can wait a few months.

[Nuke]

@Nuke: if in RL you see depth despite your bad eye,you'll see 3d with oculus rift too, since the device uses the more natural way your brain and eyes see stereo.

seemed to work ok when i watched gravity in 3d but still, but that was all pre rendered movie grade effects with all the visual cues thrown in there for the best possible experience. games are going to have fewer of those visual cues. i suspect it will work great in some games, and be horrible in others.

[Mika]

Never had neck problems since is very comfortable and light

I'm not talking about problems you'll find out in one year scope. The time frame I'm looking at is more like five to ten years. Think of sitting at work and what it does to you spine in a ten year time frame if little exercise is applied.

However, the center of gravity of the device is located slightly in front of one's nose, leading to lesser moment than -ahem- some other systems. Perhaps that will indeed help. However, I still remain a bit suspicious about this; the device is not exactly featherweight at 380 grams.

[Mika]

In the unlikely case of somebody getting interested in what I'm saying, I refer to this. You can google more yourselves, this type of information is luckily available for general public.

Please note that in the linked article, the personnel are pilots. However, they were helicopter pilots, who also do not encounter high long term G-forces. Granted there is always turbulence, but for example the USAF AN/AVS-6 binocular weight is around 590 grams. Monocular device is probably around half of it, and that's what the ground forces typically use. The cause of neck problems typically is the uninterrupted contraction of the back of the neck muscles who are continuously working against the one-sided load. This in the long term, can lead to misalignment of vertebra.

Yeah it's not an apples to apples comparison and so on, and I don't believe that there is a significant cause of concern, but I do believe this is something that Rift users should at least be aware of. The weight of the thing is close to those things that reportedly do cause problems, and its center of gravity is close to those devices which have caused problems.

And yes, I have carried an NVG myself.

[Dragon]

I think that a solution could be doing something akin to what some bigger head-mounted flashlights do. Put the electronics (and battery, in case of a wireless device) in the compartment on the back of your head, while the heavy display goes in front, resulting in a more balanced device. It also gets the cable out of the way. It might be harder to do for OR than for multi-kilo military helmets (in which you just need to shift some mass around to compensate the COM offset), but should be doable.

[666maslo666]

I thought about buying DK2, but then I've read consumer version is supposed to start shipping in July. I think I can wait a few months.

Source? as far as I know devkit 2 will ship in July and consumer version will ship like, next year.

[Dragon]

One of the articles in this thread even mentions it. Though they might've meant DK2 by "Oculus Rift starts shipping in july". Well, in that case, I'll go with DK2. Do you know if it's gonna be any cheaper on release?

[MesoTroniK]

"...There might be advertisement..."

[666maslo666]

One of the articles in this thread even mentions it. Though they might've meant DK2 by "Oculus Rift starts shipping in july". Well, in that case, I'll go with DK2. Do you know if it's gonna be any cheaper on release?

Devkit 2 will be $350. As for consumer version, Palmer said that FB money allows them the greatly lower the price of the Rift. If I had to guess, consumer version  will be around  $250.

[Dragon]

Well, I guess that would be nice. I wonder what'll win out. Wanting to check out the OR or being a cheapskate... Well, I guess I've still got some time to decide.

[SypheDMar]

"...There might be advertisement..."

that's really cute.