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Author Topic: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?  (Read 36571 times)

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BadMouth

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #80 on: January 14, 2019, 07:01:03 am »
Tried to install it on my laptop (GT555M) last night.  I didn't plug it in beforehand and followed the instructions to the letter.

No dice. It's still stuck at the compositor error and holowview assist also crashes.  Was hoping to learn something useful that could be shared.  No such luck.  This thing is random.

Howard_Casto

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #81 on: January 14, 2019, 02:03:22 pm »
Hopefully the firmware update will fix the issue.  I can't get it to run on my laptop either.  It seems like there should be a way to manually start the compositor.... it's just a process running in the background according to task manager. 

Something of note that may or may not be useful is the fact that if you turn direct mode off, the headset shows up as a secondary monitor again and the compositor error returns.  I doubt that will be useful for getting it working, but it means that you can, for example run a virtual boy emulator on the second screen and if it's positioned properly You'll get stereoscopic 3d.  With some effort I could probably get some older games to work that way as well.  Steam VR is supposed to have a "desktop theater" mode, but I haven't been able to find it.  I think some of the features in steam vr are tied to the vive controllers. 


Btw I couldn't get the oculus stuff to install.  It throws up a random error or something when it's 99% done with the install. 

Howard_Casto

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #82 on: January 25, 2019, 11:52:25 pm »
If you guys are still interested in these the update today seemed to have made the goggles more stable.  HomeVR now works right, no crashing.... and even a slight performance boost.  I'm going to try installing on my laptop when I feel better. 

BadMouth

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #83 on: January 26, 2019, 07:52:34 am »
Thanks for the heads up.  I'm still messing around with it.  I gave up on trying to get it to work on my laptop.
The compositor error went away on my desktop after updating the video card drivers.  I think the reason it is still there on the laptop is that the 555M just doesn't support it.

I bought the "Android" version to tinker with.  It sucks bad.  The "android based" OS is called Nibiru and it cannot access the google play store.
It has a built in app store, but all the games remind me of the crappy knockoff games that come with the "250 games included" handheld or mini arcade toys at walmart or target.
You basically move your head to steer or aim in all the ones I tried.  But the character or shot doesn't line up with where you are looking, you basically use your head as an analog joystick.  :censored:
I think there is some way to get actual android apps through a website called Aptoid, but it's a shady mess that I haven't worked my way through.
One review I found of the Nibiru OS said that most android apps they tried didn't work well anyway because they require a touchscreen to put them into VR mode.
There is a mouse peripheral available, but I'm not buying it.
The menus are low-res and jaggy when angled.  The built in browser resembles a cell phone browser from 15 years ago, when cell phone screens were square and low res.
Its only saving grace is that Kodi is available on the included app store.  It's missing options for screen adjustments and such, but I was able to install add-ons and it all works well.

I tried to play 4k video from microsd, USB(using a USB3 drive), and internal memory.  Same freezing and audio issues across the board.  1440 plays fine, which is the stated native resolution.
Drift is really bad and it will only let you reset the position to a place far enough away from the current position that the menu won't overlap.
So you end up having to move the menu way far in some other direction and then back to where you wanted it.
Luckily Kodi just stays locked in position.
Last gripe is that you can't leave headphones plugged into it or they won't work when it boots up.  They must be plugged in after it has already booted up.
Overall, I do not recommend unless the price goes down and the primary purpose you want it for is Kodi.

« Last Edit: January 26, 2019, 01:37:30 pm by BadMouth »

Howard_Casto

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #84 on: January 26, 2019, 01:09:09 pm »
I figured out what my problem was on my particular laptop, but I haven't tried to fix it yet.  You know where it draws power from the usb port?  My laptop doesn't supply enough, even when plugged in.  I'll have to try it with a powered hub. 

Loafmeister

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #85 on: February 22, 2019, 03:22:32 pm »
Have you guys tried 'Big Screen" yet?  Some stereoscopic games are really cool in a theatre style screen.  Can't remember the game but there's a hang on style 2D racing game that really looks good in big screen in vr).  Also Netflix and movies are cool too ;)

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #86 on: February 22, 2019, 11:22:24 pm »
I recall Dolphin being fun in Big Screen on my Rift. Haven't tried it on this headset yet though.

Howard_Casto

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #87 on: February 27, 2019, 07:56:40 pm »
They are on sale again.  10 bucks higher, but they come with the $20 gift card now.  I'm tempted to get another.

https://slickdeals.net/f/12879139-vr-tek-virtual-reality-headset-and-bt-controller-with-bonus-20-steam-gift-card-29-99-44-99-fs?src=catpagev2_catnav_games

mimic

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #88 on: February 28, 2019, 10:59:40 pm »
Are these the units you're talking about? https://uploadvr.com/cheap-walmart-vr-headsets/
If so pay special attention to the last sentence:

Quote
Hopefully people who do buy them realize that they don’t represent what VR truly has to offer.


Is it still a gimmick to you or you finding there is more to it?

Howard_Casto

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #89 on: February 28, 2019, 11:45:37 pm »
It's already expired, sorry.

It's fair to say that they aren't great quality compared to more expensive sets, but they are definitely $20-30 worth of fun.  They work great for limited use. 

JDFan

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #90 on: March 01, 2019, 03:23:58 pm »
It's already expired, sorry.

It's fair to say that they aren't great quality compared to more expensive sets, but they are definitely $20-30 worth of fun.  They work great for limited use.

Seems to be Live again but it's only $19.99 with the $20 Steam card - so basically free if you buy the $20 steam card !

https://www.walmart.com/co/VR-Tek-Virtual-Reality-Headset-with-BONUS-20-Steam-Gift-Card-Save-20-Total/903059996?u1=cb3490983c5f11e994d5266c2775f9cb0INT&oid=223073.1&wmlspartner=lw9MynSeamY&sourceid=03885643131897186521&affillinktype=10&veh=aff

Howard_Casto

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #91 on: March 01, 2019, 03:59:52 pm »
Yeah the 1440 per eye version was the one I was wanting.  Still a great deal.  Keep in mind that without drivers these show up as a 4k, 5 inch monitor, so if nothing else you have a small screen to hack for projects.....Tempted to get one to tear apart and use as a digital dash on my racing rig. 

BadMouth

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #92 on: March 02, 2019, 10:38:06 am »
Tempted to get one to tear apart and use as a digital dash on my racing rig.

...because THAT needs to be 4K.  :lol


Howard_Casto

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #93 on: March 02, 2019, 02:40:42 pm »
No, but it needs to be small and easily connected to a pc.  Other than as add-ons for Arduino/pi related projects, small inexpensive screens can be hard to find. 

BadMouth

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #94 on: March 03, 2019, 06:39:22 am »
No, but it needs to be small and easily connected to a pc.  Other than as add-ons for Arduino/pi related projects, small inexpensive screens can be hard to find.
No kidding. I shelved a pi zero mini arcade project because of the cost of 2.5" (IIRC) screens.  The more common bigger sizes are actually cheaper.

Howard_Casto

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #95 on: March 03, 2019, 01:22:08 pm »
Yeah I actually found a recent article over at hackaday where a relatively inexpensive motorcycle tacho/speedo combo was controlled via an Arduino and the source was actually included.  Might be worth looking into. 

I know I'm starting over from scratch with my racing rig.... it turned out pretty ok, but it looks ugly, having the pc in the bottom makes it hard to work on and overall it sits too high for me to use my tv as a monitor.  I'll put up a post mortem eventually.... learned a lot and a lot of the ideas I tried actually worked quite well.... I just need to take all of that and put it on a better chassis. 

BadMouth

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #96 on: April 18, 2019, 04:26:14 pm »
Elite Dangerous is on sale.  Has anyone tried it with one of these cheap VR sets and gamepad?

Bought Thumper on sale and was disappointed.  It's another one where the gameplay requires you to stare forward, so the VR effect isn't much.

BadMouth

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #97 on: April 19, 2019, 09:14:13 pm »
Elite Dangerous is on sale.  Has anyone tried it with one of these cheap VR sets and gamepad?

Bought Thumper on sale and was disappointed.  It's another one where the gameplay requires you to stare forward, so the VR effect isn't much.

I gave it a shot.  It requires you to register with the developer's site, provide more information than I wanted to, and link accounts.
After going through that BS, it launches in desktop mode despite clicking to launch it in VR.
After messing with it for an hour and still being stuck in desktop mode, I requested a refund.  :angry:
 

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #98 on: April 20, 2019, 12:27:50 am »
Sorry, been working on other things lately.  Honestly my pc is barely powerful enough to run some of the more basic games, so I haven't messed with it much.  Still think it was worth the puny asking price of $20 though.  Gonna pickup the basic Vr kit for labo later as well... it's getting surprisingly good reviews for what it is and it appears that Nintendo wants to add VR modes to most of it's first party games. 

BadMouth

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #99 on: May 28, 2019, 10:54:25 am »
For anyone who bought this thing:
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice VR edition works well on it.  (using the controller that came with the headset)
The Oculus software launches with it, but I'm not sure if it's being used or not.  You may have to install it as well.

I picked it up on sale for $15 a few weeks ago and just got around to playing it yesterday.
Game is enjoyable but aside from the fighting, it is thin on actual gameplay.  Character can't wander off the assigned walking paths or interact with anything out of order.
Although VR, it is still third person from a perspective behind the character.  Being able to look around by moving your head is pretty cool though.
It supposed to be fairly short, taking around 8 hours to complete.

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #100 on: May 22, 2021, 05:34:19 pm »
Hey so I'm resurrecting this one as I finally decided to hook mine up to my new gaming pc.  Now I can actually play stuff with it!  Steam VR has been updated and it is much improved.   A little dialog box pops up with the launcher and all the basic stuff you'd need (setup, a vr media player, ect) is right in there you you don't have to bother with the virtual environment unless you are actually playing a game.

Anyway I have a problem..... there seems to be dust BEHIND the right lens.   Has anyone had this issue and did you manage to fix it?

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #101 on: June 30, 2021, 10:16:56 am »
Anyway I have a problem..... there seems to be dust BEHIND the right lens.   Has anyone had this issue and did you manage to fix it?

I don't know if you've ever remedied this, but the only way would be to open up the unit in a nearly clean-room environment, and popping the lens out or opening up the unit.  Some are easier than others when it comes to this.  Then use one of those puffer brush tools you see use by photography folks for cleaning SLR cameras.  But the catch is, you can actually make the problem much worse if the environment and tools are not very clean and dust-free.  Most recommend doing this kind of thing in a high humidity environment, like a bathroom after running hot water through a shower head for a few minutes.  Keeps the dust down.

I sometimes see folks hanging their headsets by the headband, with the lenses up and exposed.  This allows dust to settle on the lenses and greatly increases the odds that some of it will find it's way inside.  I absolutely never do this with mine.  I'm too lazy to pack them up when not in use (ideal), so I have a hook system which holds them with the lenses facing the floor.  Seems to keep the lenses clean and protected.   

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #102 on: June 30, 2021, 06:32:24 pm »
I managed to get it apart.   I still haven't gotten all the particles out of if but I cleaned it and it's a vast improvement.   They are two specs of dirt still left and unfortunately they are too tiny for me to see easily.... I'm going to have to sit down with a magnifying lens or something.

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #103 on: July 10, 2021, 03:36:45 am »
Cheaper going to Best Buy and getting the original Oculus Quest.  This thing rocks now with the latest update and plays Alyx really well.  Not bad for $200.

The other unit from Walmart (I got the 1080P version) doesn't have the drivers available for it anymore and is now something to stick on the shelf with the Samsung VR.

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #104 on: July 10, 2021, 03:51:06 pm »
How is $200 cheaper than $20 ??

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #105 on: July 12, 2021, 11:43:09 am »
How is $200 cheaper than $20 ??

It's not, but you do get what you pay for.  If it's just something to play around with, no point in spending real money.  But if it's something you expect to use seriously, there's no comparison between the cheap toys and a real unit.

Just off hand, the major difference is the pretty bad smearing on the LCD when things are moving, as well as the lack of motion controllers.  The cheap ones are ok for seated controller based experiences with slow activity.  But that's pretty much it.  As much as I don't like FB, the original Quest is probably 50-100x better than the cheap unit, at 10x the price.

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #106 on: July 12, 2021, 12:13:14 pm »
I don't care what the differences are and I'm well aware from most of them.   I just found it baffling that we bought these things as a toy and somebody chimes in and says a $200 unit is cheaper.   Now could it be a better bang for your buck?   I guess you could argue that, but that's not what he said.

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #107 on: July 12, 2021, 01:44:25 pm »
I don't care what the differences are and I'm well aware from most of them.   I just found it baffling that we bought these things as a toy and somebody chimes in and says a $200 unit is cheaper.   Now could it be a better bang for your buck?   I guess you could argue that, but that's not what he said.

I think he was factoring in your time ;)

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #108 on: July 15, 2021, 01:58:57 am »
I don't care what the differences are and I'm well aware from most of them.   I just found it baffling that we bought these things as a toy and somebody chimes in and says a $200 unit is cheaper.   Now could it be a better bang for your buck?   I guess you could argue that, but that's not what he said.

I think he was factoring in your time ;)

Exactly. 

Thanks Randy.  :cheers:

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #109 on: July 15, 2021, 06:55:22 am »
This site is full of old guys tinkering with old junk.
Our time is obviously worth nothing.

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #110 on: July 15, 2021, 02:57:03 pm »
Exactly...any time "wasted" is kind of the point of getting it in the first place. 

That being said this thing has worked fine since day one.   Mind you it isn't super great but for my purposes it works fine.   I've got a psvr for the serious stuff.

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #111 on: July 15, 2021, 03:18:13 pm »
...I've got a psvr for the serious stuff.

Well, if you are into wasting time and have a PSVR, you might want to check out TrinusVR and/or iVRy so you can use it on the PC.  :)  Still probably a better option than the Walmart set.

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Re: Highly Discounted VR toy... what do you guys make of it?
« Reply #112 on: July 19, 2021, 05:21:56 am »
...I've got a psvr for the serious stuff.

Well, if you are into wasting time and have a PSVR, you might want to check out TrinusVR and/or iVRy so you can use it on the PC.  :)  Still probably a better option than the Walmart set.

Samsung VR and a Note 5 is better than the Walmart set.  The drawback is it gets too hot,