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Samsung Gear VR : Consumer Edition Thread: Goodbye, real world.

T

TerryLee81

Member
What's the best game or app that doesn't need a controller?

I've tried the Jurassic Park demo which is nice but short, and the Cirque du soleil thing.
 
C

Charles Alan Ratliff

Member
TerryLee81 said:
What's the best game or app that doesn't need a controller?

I've tried the Jurassic Park demo which is nice but short, and the Cirque du soleil thing.
Click to expand...

If you're looking for free multiplayer, the new Social Trivia app is fun. Just know that you have to have headphones in or you'll be automatically muted from voice chat. And if you want something cool and short like the Jurassic World demo, you can try out the Battle for Avengers Tower. You can pretend that you're Iron Man while looking in the reflection of the window. Other recommendations for games I see (that cost money) are Land's End and Dead Secret. I started playing Gunjack recently, but not enough to recommend it yet. You just look and shoot at waves of ships. I'm about a fourth way done with it and will see how much it actually changes throughout.

Here's a video just released about the new profile/friends system for the Gear VR, and what improvements/features I would like to see. I didn't realize just how barebones the system actually was. I hope they update it with at least the ability to send game invites soon. I wonder if there will be more updates around the launch of the Oculus Rift.
 
C

Chorazin

Member
One great thing about this is how easy it makes finding dead pixels. Have three tiny ones that look MASSIVE on the VR. Back to the store it goes tomorrow!

EDIT: That VR porn tho! o_O Crazy, crazy, crazy!
 
C

CrashPrime

Member
DavidDesu said:
Yeah I was a little disappointed too. The minute I saw how small the lenses were I knew it would be quite "tunnel vision" like. My main issue though is how blurry the screen is just off the centre, and this blurry area is really sensitive to movement of the headset. Constantly makes me feel like my vision is gone, like having a big smudge on my glasses just off to the side. Looking at PSVR images of the lenses they look significantly bigger than Gear VR so I'm hoping the experience there is broader with a much broader area where the clarity is always there. Rift and Vive must be likewise. Gear VR does disappoint on this matter.
Click to expand...

I just got my Gear VR yesterday. The resolution in my opinion is totally acceptable. I am not sensitive to the pixel density at all (i see it, but it is not bothersome at all).

I tried this out in Best Buy for a little bit and was blown away. Now that I have a few games and movies under my belt, this blurriness is something I didn't really hear a whole lot about.

It is to the point where I am watching netflix in the regular livingroom setting and the corners are blurry. My wife tried playing with it and she was super impressed for about 15min into a netflix movie until she said "i dont think this is good with my contacts". We figured out it was that off center blurriness ruining her experience as well.

Is this something present on the Vive or Oculus Rift? It really is a deal breaker to being one of my favorite tech purchases ever.

Videos would be 100% acceptable for me without the edge blur.
 
rbanke

rbanke

Member
my S7 finally came in and I picked it up today. Messed around with the Gear VR for about 30 minutes and it was my first ever VR experience. Some of it was better than I was expecting, but some was way worse so as someone very interested in VR I'm trying to figure out how representative the Gear VR is to the big 3. Is there a good comparison write up of what to expect out of Sony or Oculus or Vive if you've seen Gear VR?

just some thoughts
-I was worried about the FOV when I saw the lenses but it didn't actually bother me while using it which was nice.
-The first time a seal put his face very close on the underwater thing, there was a split second of feeling totally immersed it was cool.
-Didn't throw up or even feel nauseous and that is totally unexpected for me, I get nauseous fairly often in games.
-Everything was fairly blurry regardless of how I adjusted the dial especially anything that isn't directly in the center. This may be a deal breaker for me if that's a thing on big 3.
-Seeing all the pixels, while distracting, wasn't the end of the world but I could totally see how looking back people will wonder how they could stand it.
-The biggest concern to me I'd say is with the 'games' that were free with the S7, I already had my fill after just a handful of minutes despite feeling amazed in the first minute or two. Didn't play Keep Talking yet, and didn't have a controller setup to play the other game that I forget its name (which ridiculously, doesn't let you quit if you don't have a controller attached)

I now wonder if everyone has hyped VR up too much or if this is just so base level that it's hard to be impressed with (it IS impressive, but the flaws are plainly visible and sully the experience so far). Gonna take some time to get a handle on this thread to see what I should be looking at.



CrashPrime said:
I just got my Gear VR yesterday. The resolution in my opinion is totally acceptable. I am not sensitive to the pixel density at all (i see it, but it is not bothersome at all).

I tried this out in Best Buy for a little bit and was blown away. Now that I have a few games and movies under my belt, this blurriness is something I didn't really hear a whole lot about.

It is to the point where I am watching netflix in the regular livingroom setting and the corners are blurry. My wife tried playing with it and she was super impressed for about 15min into a netflix movie until she said "i dont think this is good with my contacts". We figured out it was that off center blurriness ruining her experience as well.

Is this something present on the Vive or Oculus Rift? It really is a deal breaker to being one of my favorite tech purchases ever.

Videos would be 100% acceptable for me without the edge blur.
Click to expand...

I also wear contacts have the same experience as you/your wife
 
C

Chorazin

Member
Got a replacement S7E, and wow the immersion is so much better without dead pixels breaking it. My gf and I are really loving this thing now. Oculus 360 Photos is a must have when you're showing it off to people!

Played the first three levels of Land's End, that's so much fun!!
 
C

Charles Alan Ratliff

Member
Chorazin said:
Got a replacement S7E, and wow the immersion is so much better without dead pixels breaking it. My gf and I are really loving this thing now. Oculus 360 Photos is a must have when you're showing it off to people!
Click to expand...

Yeah, it only takes one dead pixel or speck to dampen the experience, especially if in a spot where you'll be focusing a lot. Glad to hear you got a replacement so quickly!
 
BFIB

BFIB

Member
Gaffers, I have a walk through on how to rip your BluRays and load them into the Oculus Cinema app. Due to possible ban hammer reasons, I'd feel better sending via PM.
 
O

olitheoblong

Neo Member
I have already pre ordered PSVR have never tried any VR, im looking at getting s7 next week with gear VR or do you think I should wait for PSVR? Ive heard some mixed opinions with screen door, pixels, tunnel vision, blurry ect but also alot of people blown away by it. Id love to try virtual theatre but will I be turned off by the quality?
 
C

Chorazin

Member
Charles Alan Ratliff said:
Yeah, it only takes one dead pixel or speck to dampen the experience, especially if in a spot where you'll be focusing a lot. Glad to hear you got a replacement so quickly!
Click to expand...

It was right in the middle, you could see it on the circle in the main menu, with another beside it. 😱

Thanks man! I had to drive about an hour away to find it but this one is perfect.
 
C

Clydebink

Neo Member
It kinda drives me nuts that what is by far, the coolest thing I can do on the GearVR is also the hottest. Every time I go into AltspaceVR I end up overheating within a few minutes. I've only managed to play about three holes of frisbee-golf before my S6 overheats. That was bad enough. But tonight I went into a room where someone was hosting a game of pictionary in a night club. He asks us to draw an enemy that was introduced in Super Mario 2 and then started playing a Shinee song and dancing while everyone worked at their easel. I was watching the person at team 6's easel start to work and I get a notification that my phone needs to cool down. These are the early days of VR.


olitheoblong said:
I have already pre ordered PSVR have never tried any VR, im looking at getting s7 next week with gear VR or do you think I should wait for PSVR? Ive heard some mixed opinions with screen door, pixels, tunnel vision, blurry ect but also alot of people blown away by it. Id love to try virtual theatre but will I be turned off by the quality?
Click to expand...

Do you want to spend $100 on a very portable (and somewhat uncomfortable) device that will likely be the first VR experience for your friends and family? To me, that is the biggest benefit of it. The resolution is actually pretty impressive. It can't handle much fidelity, it overheats a lot and it doesn't have positional tracking but it's not a shabby intro to VR at all.
 
P

plagiarize

Banned
DGVR is funky. But still kind of fun. Head aiming is really effective... but it's sort of a 2D window into the world, and everything looks distorted when you turn... like you're looking at a forced perspective and the floor is slanting upwards slightly. With a few tweaks (this is after all only V1 and V1 of QGVR had some major bugs that are already fixed) this will be more comfortable for people.

But for my VR sick resilient brain, it's already clearly the best way to play Doom on a mobile device.
 
D

DavidDesu

Member
CrashPrime said:
I just got my Gear VR yesterday. The resolution in my opinion is totally acceptable. I am not sensitive to the pixel density at all (i see it, but it is not bothersome at all).

I tried this out in Best Buy for a little bit and was blown away. Now that I have a few games and movies under my belt, this blurriness is something I didn't really hear a whole lot about.

It is to the point where I am watching netflix in the regular livingroom setting and the corners are blurry. My wife tried playing with it and she was super impressed for about 15min into a netflix movie until she said "i dont think this is good with my contacts". We figured out it was that off center blurriness ruining her experience as well.

Is this something present on the Vive or Oculus Rift? It really is a deal breaker to being one of my favorite tech purchases ever.

Videos would be 100% acceptable for me without the edge blur.
Click to expand...

Same for me. Well that and the odd issues with dark colours. Some apps and videos have great dynamic range, others feel like they have really crushed muddy dark tones. The OLED should and in some cases does give fantastic range, really deep colours, vibrant and detailed, but in many cases it is NOT like this, to the point it looks truly awful, indeed glitchy like they've messed it up. I don't get it. Even in the Netflix app when the lights are dimmed and you look around the room in the shadowy areas it looks pretty bad.

But yeah, that blurriness off centre I think/hope is an issue with Gear VR's optics that the other headsets don't suffer from. I certainly hope so but need to hear definitive evidence form someone with hands on experience. I'm taking that it's not an issue that's ever talked about as soft confirmation that they don't. Screen door/pixel resolution isn't an issue in apps that are rendered well. Some are aliased pixellated messes but it must just be them as other apps and games look pretty sharp and clear.
 
C

Charles Alan Ratliff

Member
I released a video earlier tonight covering the new screen capture function that was added to the Universal Menu recently. It works on Android 5.0 or later and on apps built on the Mobile SDK 1.0.0 or later, meaning it won't work with games like Adventure Time: Magic Man's Head Games unless they are updated. The biggest issue for video is that audio isn't recorded, requiring either an external recording device, or, if you want the best quality, a 3.5mm male-to-male stereo cable running from your phone to your computer. Oculus says it is a complication with Android, but they are working on potential solutions. I cover all this and more and show recordings from different apps. They look pretty good!

Here are the screens I took:

4dPFv90.jpg


zcfzOtj.jpg


sbOPezN.jpg


SZgMWvc.jpg


7XVC5HT.jpg
Click to expand...


Everything is captured at 1024x1024.

So, in order to record some apps or things like Social Trivia where you can't access the Universal Menu, you'll still need to use weird workarounds, but it's a good feature to have that I hope they can improve upon soon.
 
D

DavidDesu

Member
Charles Alan Ratliff said:
SNIP

Here are the screens I took:

Everything is captured at 1024x1024.
SNIP
Click to expand...


Hope you don't mind I took one of your images and added a gaussian blur just to try and get across that blurriness issue being discussed for those that haven't had a chance to try VR yet. The image you see includes the extremities of your view.



In VR the Netflix screen really fills your vision almost entirely. I'm not even sure you can see everything in your vision that is captured in that screenshot! The blur I've put on is around where I see blur in the headset, so in Netflix for instance you can never see the entire virtual screen edge to edge without blur in the corners (at least). It looks pretty good and would be watchable were this blurry area kept to the further out edges of the screen. It just encroaches a bit too much in for my liking.
 
S

SMattera

Member
Glorious Ownage said:
I've also been on apples eco system forever. How does one go about the iCloud transferring of photos? I have thousands and thousands of pictures and videos from over 8 years
Click to expand...

Google Photos will store an unlimited number of photos and videos to the cloud. The photos can't be more than 16MP though, and the videos 1080p.

Download the app on your iPhone, let it sync. Alternatively, put everything on your PC/Mac and upload to Google Photos through the browser.

Your Galaxy S7 will ship with it preinstalled, just open the app and set it up to auto backup.
 
W

Water

Member
Any way to stream the picture live or with slight lag to a TV while playing? I'm getting into using GearVR with my students in class, and it would be very useful if it was possible to show others in real time what the person wearing the GVR is seeing. Doesn't have to be high quality, even low quality stream would do. Audio would be a bonus. I have a Chromecast, would that work?
 
A

Arttemis

Member
I couldn't find a Staples in time to order the S7 and S7 Edge... and I won't be able to get them until Monday. I'm so bummed I missed out on the free Gear VR. =(
 
N

Ninja Sharingan

Banned
olitheoblong said:
I have already pre ordered PSVR have never tried any VR, im looking at getting s7 next week with gear VR or do you think I should wait for PSVR? Ive heard some mixed opinions with screen door, pixels, tunnel vision, blurry ect but also alot of people blown away by it. Id love to try virtual theatre but will I be turned off by the quality?
Click to expand...


I have an s7 edge and gear vr. I have a dk2 abd I am getting a vive next month. I think gear vr is a great way to witness vr for the first time. It will also allow you to check the pixel size etc as I found out last week that PSVR will be a lower resolution and dpi than your s7 so Its a good way for you test it you can get a feel of it.

I am personally in 2 minds over PSVR now due to that.
 
C

Chorazin

Member
Brought my GearVR into work today since I'm taking it to my board game night, so i figured I'd let my coworkers have a look. It's really awesome to see people's reactions to VR, even when I just showed them the 360 Photos app.
 
C

CrashPrime

Member
DavidDesu said:
Hope you don't mind I took one of your images and added a gaussian blur just to try and get across that blurriness issue being discussed for those that haven't had a chance to try VR yet. The image you see includes the extremities of your view.

h9UhZht.jpg


In VR the Netflix screen really fills your vision almost entirely. I'm not even sure you can see everything in your vision that is captured in that screenshot! The blur I've put on is around where I see blur in the headset, so in Netflix for instance you can never see the entire virtual screen edge to edge without blur in the corners (at least). It looks pretty good and would be watchable were this blurry area kept to the further out edges of the screen. It just encroaches a bit too much in for my liking.
Click to expand...

The thing is if you stare straight forward everything is for the most part nice and crisp.

The trouble is, your eyes move to different parts of the screen (character is off to the left) and that is what ultimately causes that blurring. For whatever reason 180 and 360 degree videos seem to suffer less from this phenomenon.

I really am hoping this is fixed in the luxury models (Vive/Rift/PSVR).
 
C

Charles Alan Ratliff

Member
Water said:
Any way to stream the picture live or with slight lag to a TV while playing? I'm getting into using GearVR with my students in class, and it would be very useful if it was possible to show others in real time what the person wearing the GVR is seeing. Doesn't have to be high quality, even low quality stream would do. Audio would be a bonus. I have a Chromecast, would that work?
Click to expand...

Yep! Here is how you do it. It's also the method I use to record my videos (though if you want to record you'll need an HDCP stripper and capture device like an Elgato, but I think you only need to stream).

Find the build number of your phone under the device info in the settings, and then rapidly tap it several times. This will enable Developer options on the main settings menu. Go to that, and then, under the "Drawing" section, select "Simulate secondary displays" and choose the "720x480 mdpi (secure)" option. After doing this, use the "Chromecast" app to cast your screen. It works pretty well, but you'll take a slight performance hit inside the Gear VR itself which will be seen on stream, but probably nothing too major. It will have the audio too.

If possible, let people use the Gear VR without streaming first so they can get the proper experience. The performance hit varies depending on the app. I'm not very prone to motion sickness but it might affect others. This is the best solution at the moment.
 
R

Rodney McKay

Member
I really want some kind of large scale exploration type game for the Gear VR, something like Morrowind.

I know Minecraft is supposed to be coming to Gear VR eventually, so that might actually scratch that itch a little bit (I've never actually gotten into Minecraft, but doing it in VR definitely appeals to me). This article had some pretty good impressions of it recently from GDC, so hopefully it will be releasing fairly soon (and hopefully it'll be compatible back to the Note 4 version of Gear VR since that's the one I'm still using!).
 
S

Specialmias

Member
Rodney McKay said:
I really want some kind of large scale exploration type game for the Gear VR, something like Morrowind.
Click to expand...

You might actually get something like that if subbautica ever gets their shit together with VR. Right now they've got a pretty ambitious roadmap planned. But that game with a story could be a VR killer app.

Edit am dumb. Forget thread I was in. Disregard. Lol gearVR subnautica
 
R

Rodney McKay

Member
Specialmias said:
You might actually get something like that if subbautica ever gets their shit together with VR. Right now they've got a pretty ambitious roadmap planned. But that game with a story could be a VR killer app.

Edit am dumb. Forget thread I was in. Disregard. Lol gearVR subnautica
Click to expand...
Haha, yeah that would be AMAZING to see on Gear VR. Hell, bump the graphics down to Minecraft level and I'd still love to see it on mobile VR!
 
W

weshes195

Member
Did anyone do the deal of purchasing as galaxy s7 or s7 edge for the free Gear Vr?

I was just wondering how long it takes to get an e-mail back from them. It has been about two weeks and no e-mail...

How soon did y'all get an e-mail is what I am wondering.
 
MR ARCADE FOREVER

MR ARCADE FOREVER

Member
weshes195 said:
Did anyone do the deal of purchasing as galaxy s7 or s7 edge for the free Gear Vr?

I was just wondering how long it takes to get an e-mail back from them. It has been about two weeks and no e-mail...

How soon did y'all get an e-mail is what I am wondering.
Click to expand...
I registered on the 11th and got the approval email yesterday 3/22. According to the email they will ship it on April 18
 
B

Bio-Frost

Member
Mine isnt going to ship till May 8th so I just went head and ordered one on amazon. Just keep the free one as a backup or something
 
U

UrbanRats

Member
THEBONDIGTY said:
I registered on the 11th and got the approval email yesterday 3/22. According to the email they will ship it on April 18
Click to expand...

I got my registered on the 3rd of February, and i still ain't got no email.
I've messaged them incessantly, but they're clearly dicking me around, so i got fed up and caved in, getting a used one from Amazon.
At this point i just expect their free GearVR offer to be a half scam or something, at least over here, maybe they were short on supplies or whatever.

Oh well, at least i'm enjoying VR now, mine (the one i bought on my own) got here today.
 
Ozzy Onya A2Z

Ozzy Onya A2Z

Member
So Gear VR arrived today and all I get when trying to run Oculus/Gear VR is "Oculus home closed unexpectedly". I've reinstalled the app, updated the app, rebooted the phone and tried anything I can think of...any help?

Oculus forums are down at the moment so no help there. No google search results I can see on this one either.
 
X

xenorevlis

Member
Ozzy Onya A2Z said:
So Gear VR arrived today and all I get when trying to run Oculus/Gear VR is "Oculus home closed unexpectedly". I've reinstalled the app, updated the app, rebooted the phone and tried anything I can think of...any help?

Oculus forums are down at the moment so no help there. No google search results I can see on this one either.
Click to expand...
You installed it all before ever receiving the headset? When you plug your phone into the headset for the first time it goes through and downloads some special stuff.

EDIT - Also tried an Ouya controller recently, and while it works in the menus it gets stuck as if the stick is pushed either to either left or right once I was in the Eve game.
 
Ozzy Onya A2Z

Ozzy Onya A2Z

Member
xenorevlis said:
You installed it all before ever receiving the headset? When you plug your phone into the headset for the first time it goes through and downloads some special stuff.

EDIT - Also tried an Ouya controller recently, and while it works in the menus it gets stuck as if the stick is pushed either to either left or right once I was in the Eve game.
Click to expand...

Yes I did, just reinstalled everything and all good now. Cheers.

I've got to get a controller now. I wonder if I can connect a third party Wii U controller or X1? Fairly impressive actually, clear and smooth motion for the demos. The left and right borders of the phone itself are a minor distraction on first use, I imagine they'll soon be forgotten. Having Netflix and your own movies etc is quite cool.

What's the best cleaning method for the lenses, standard monitor/tv cloth only?
 
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