The last few months have been kind to VR hardware. With Microsoft’s partners launching a slew of headsets (check out reviews of the Acer and Lenovo incarnations), the Oculus Rift dropping to a more reasonable price point and HTC announcing enhancements to the Vive, it is a good time to dip a toe into the virtual world.

Since the Odyssey is not available in the UK, I took one for a test drive in New York, courtesy of Microsoft.

The Hardware

The headset itself is made of shiny black plastic, with the compulsory twin cameras front and centre. It is light and has a comfortably padded band to hold it in place on the wearers head with a rotary dial at the rear to adjust tightness. While initially pleasant, I did find the padding material became quite warm after a while. As with the other Windows Mixed Reality Headsets I have tried, the plastics themselves seem a bit cheap, which is disappointing on a premium device.

The controllers are nearly identical to every other Windows Mixed Reality device (I had to look hard to spot the difference between the Samsung offering from those of Acer and Lenovo.) They also share the same vaguely cheap feel in terms of build.

Thanks to those cameras on the headset, the Samsung does not require sensors to be scattered around the room for the full 360-degree effect (unlike the Rift and Vive), making set-up simple and adding a degree of freedom only really found in the Microsoft Mixed Reality offering.

The Experience

Unlike much of the rest of the Microsoft range, Samsung have opted to include some impressive spatial headphones, giving a great surround sound experience that, subjectively, improved on that of the Oculus Rift. The party trick, of course, is the display. At a resolution of 1440 x 1600 per eye (up from the 1440 x 1440 of devices like the Acer and considerably better than the 1080 x 1200 of the Oculus Rift) this is very much the state of the art until the HTC Vive Pro appears later in 2018.

Those extra pixels do indeed make a difference – while the screen-door effect of the OLED matrix is still preset, the visuals are considerably sharper, particularly when rendering text or using apps in the Microsoft Cliff Top House. For games I am a little less convinced – I didn’t notice a huge amount of difference in fast-moving titles such as Space Pirate Trainer, although slower games that required examination of the environment definitely benefitted. Watching video was also improved, although I must confess that after a while, I simply removed the headset and looked at the screen instead.

Samsung claim a 110-degree field of view, which would put this on a par with the Oculus Rift. However, having tried both side by side, I would have to say the Oculus still has the edge here. Not that a user would be disappointed with either once accustomed to the ‘looking through a diving mask’ sensation that is shared by all VR headsets.

Conclusion

If you live in the US and are in the market for a Windows Mixed Reality headset, this is the one to go for if money is no object. In the Microsoft store, it is priced at $499 (at time of writing), up from the $399 of the Acer headset. With its wider range of titles (including 6 that come with the headset) and a similar $399 price, the Rift still has the edge overall. However, the Samsung Odyssey is without doubt the superior hardware platform.

To muddy the waters further, at time of writing, some of the Windows Mixed Reality headsets have had some substantial price cuts from retailers such as Amazon with devices such as the Dell down to a bargain $229. It is hard to tell if that is a good or bad sign as far as the future of the platform is concerned but is something to consider when dropping $499 on the Odyssey.

After spending a little more time than I probably should have playing with… er… reviewing Virtual Reality offerings from Microsoft (in the form of the Acer headset) and Oculus, it is time to lay out the pros and cons of these deeply unfashionable items of headwear and consider where best to spend nearly £400.

The Visuals

This should be an easy win for the Acer. A 1440 x 1440-pixel LCD over each eye equates to a 2880 x 1440 display while the Rift can only offer a 1080 x 1200-pixel OLED display, equating to a 2160 x 1200 resolution. Both screens suffer from a ‘screen-door’ effect, where the pixel matrix is visible and can be distracting, but the higher resolution of the Acer’s LCD is offset by the brightness of the Rift’s OLED. The Acer only offers a 100-degree field of view while the Oculus clocks in at 110 degrees, which can make a difference depending on activity (the narrower the view, the more it can feel as though you are staring through a porthole).

Verdict: After a lot of time using both, I would have to say the Rift just edges out the Acer here thanks to the larger field of view and brighter display. Neither would disappoint a user, although both suffer from the screen-door effect.

The Headsets

Again, this should be an easy win for Acer. The Rift is noticeably heavier and so prolonged periods of use might result in discomfort, while the Acer is light enough to not even require a band over the user’s head (also good for anyone with Big Hair). The Acer also has the neat ability to flip the visor up so the user does not have to remove the entire headset to rub a tired eye. However, the Rift features some nifty built-in headphones and a mic, while the Acer expects the user to provide their own. The Acer also feels somewhat ‘brittle’, perhaps being made of lower quality plastics than the sturdier Rift, and the hinge for the visor feels as though it may snap after a few months of use. Ideally, I would like to have the Acer’s lightness and comfort with the Rift’s quality and headphones, but if forced to choose, I would select the Rift.

Verdict: It’s another close-run thing, but I think the Rift wins here by virtue of feeling like a higher quality item that is likely to last a bit longer. But I really would like to see it copying the adjustability and comfort of the Acer.

The Controllers

The controllers follow a similar vein (with the Acer’s looking like larger versions of the Rift’s). Both feel similar, although the Acer does show off a ring of vaguely bling lights while the Rift is a little more discrete, but the feeling of quality is most marked. The Rift’s are simply better.

However, the party trick of the Acer is the fact that it does not need the sensors required by the Rift. Two sensors are included in the Oculus box and you really need a third for full 360-degree movement. The joy of Windows Mixed Reality headsets, such as the Acer, is that the sensors are built into the headset, so no additional hardware is required. I did find this a little hit and miss in practice, with the Rift seeming to be better overall at accurately tracking movement. However, for sheer ease of getting the hardware working and avoiding the cabling nightmare of a potential three Oculus sensors, I prefer the Microsoft solution.

Verdict: The controllers are nearly identical, but not having to set up sensors means I would gamble on the Acer’s tracking improving rather than trying not to trip over excessive USB cable runs. The Acer wins.

The Setup

Microsoft are really good at writing set-up programs, and the Acer benefits from this. Since much of the required software is already built into Windows, set-up is rapid. The subsequent tutorial is quick to follow and doubles as an introduction to the much-hyped Cliff House. The Oculus Rift, on the other hand, requires a download of over 1gb before it even gets running, which would be a disaster on Christmas morning, and a real pain for anyone on a slow internet connection. The tutorial is then workman-like, although ends on a high with a session with a cute robot in a motorhome that was probably inspired by the movie Short Circuit.ouHouse In terms of showing VR capabilities, I preferred this to the more sterile Cliff House.

Verdict: Not having to sit through an epic download, and a well-designed tutorial makes the Acer the device I’d rather set up despite the fun time I spent in the Oculus Rift motorhome flinging rockets around and poking at butterflies.

The Requirements

For all intents and purposes, the requirements of the Acer and the Rift are identical. If you want to play games at 90Hz, you need a relatively powerful gaming rig. The actual formal specs may differ slightly, but I wouldn’t want to run either on less than a recent Intel Core i5 with 8gb RAM and a NVIDIA GTX 1050ti (with a 1060 being a better bet overall). Microsoft regard that as the ‘Ultra’ specification and, unlike the Rift, the Acer will run on a ‘Minimum’ specification that includes Intel HD620 Integrated Graphics, but the experience could well be a poor one once the user tries to move out of the Cliff House to where the games can be found – in the Steam VR Store.

Verdict: The Acer wins again simply because it can run on some lower end hardware. However, a user is likely to want to move to a more powerful rig relatively quickly to get access to some of the more immersive experiences, at which point this would to be a draw.

The Software

Up until recently, the elephant squatting in the corner of Microsoft’s Cliff House was a distinct lack of content compared to other platforms. The range available in the Windows Store was woeful compared to the selection in Oculus’s own software storefront. The addition of support for Steam VR has gone some way to address this, but there is no escaping the fact that the Rift simply has a wider range of quality titles available, of which some of the best are exclusives. In addition, the Rift comes with several really good free games, while the Acer headset features a short Ghostbusters experience.

Microsoft have put a lot of effort into the Cliff House, which is a considerably richer environment than the Rift’s central hub (which is little more than a dashboard). Users can pin Windows applications to the wall and interact with them while in the virtual world (such as using the Edge browser), but as of now this feels a little gimmicky and I’m not sure that many users would do more than use it as a launcher for games. Certainly, even with the higher resolution of the Acer, a user is likely to flip the visor and use a traditional keyboard and monitor rather than write a document in virtual space. The Cliff House is more a pointer to a possible future than a productivity tool for now.

Verdict: As clever as the Cliff House is, the wider range of titles on the Oculus platform means that the Rift wins this one.

The Trust

Which company is more likely to support your new toy? Facebook-backed Oculus or Microsoft? Aside from Xbox, Microsoft has a rich history of abandoning promising hardware (Band, Phone, Media Center and so on) while Facebook has had a few unsuccessful mobile partnerships (do you have a Facebook button on your phone?) Had the Windows Mixed Reality headsets arrived at a lower price point than the Rift, then I might have perhaps taken a gamble. However, having been bitten once too often by Microsoft, I would need to see at least another generation of Mixed Reality headsets and accompanying software support before I would consider parting with my cash.

Verdict: Oculus Rift.

The Conclusion

This was closer than I was expecting. The thoughtfully designed Acer hardware is impressive, and with better LCD panels and some nicer plastics it would outshine the Rift. The Acer headset is certainly more comfortable. However, the Rift simply feels like a more polished product and has a far superior range of software. And with the Rift (at time of writing) retailing at £349 compared to the Acer’s £389, the Rift is the headset I would recommend now unless you really, really want to spend some time in the Cliff House.

Note: I did not include the HTC Vive in this comparison due to the very large cost difference at the time of writing.

Introduction

Launched in March 2016 (although key developers were seeded with kits back in 2014 following a successful Kickstarter campaign) the Rift consists of a headset with twin 1080 x 1200 OLED panels running at 90 Hz, integrated 3D headphones and a 110-degree field of view. Coupled with Constellation tracking sensors and Touch controllers, the Rift allows a user to enter an immersive virtual world.

In The Box

Now down to £399 (perhaps due to competition from the Microsoft contingent or possibly in advance of a new product for 2018) the Rift arrives in an attractive, briefcase-sized box containing the headset, 2 Constellation sensors and 2 Touch controllers. And a polishing cloth for the lenses within the headset. Not included in the box is the PC you will need to run Oculus Rift games and experiences. For that you will need at least an Intel Core i3-6100 with 8GB RAM and a NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti or similar. I repurposed a home theatre PC containing a Core i7, plugged in a low profile and relatively inexpensive Gigabyte GTX 1050Ti card and was good to go.

Setting Up

As with most software over recent years, Oculus requires a substantial download (over 1GB) before installation. Once downloaded, the setup proceeds simply enough, with instructions first to plug in the headset (requiring a full-sized HDMI 1.3 port and a USB 3.0 socket) and then the Constellation sensors (2 more USB 3.0 sockets) before sticking the included batteries into the Touch controllers and checking everything is communicating. This is not something for the cable-phobic, and indeed the headset cables can be an issue in some of the more active VR experiences.

Once the Rift is connected, Oculus’s guardian system must be configured. This consists of pacing out a safe ‘play area’ in front of the sensors, which displays a blue grid over the player’s vision if the controllers are being flailed around toward places where they shouldn’t. This stopped me knocking a hole through the wall during a particularly taxing bit of jet-packery in Lone Echo, but did not prevent me punching the ceiling while leaping for a ledge in The Climb.

Following a successful set-up, the first of the free bits of content fires up. This is where the user is trained in operating the controllers, learning techniques to grip, point and wave with the aid of a cute robot in a virtual motorhome that looks like a cross between Short Circuit (which I think Oculus were going for) and Breaking Bad (which I suspect they were not).

In Use

The headset is easily adjusted and fits well. Even after a few hours of usage, I didn’t feel any discomfort. The distance between the two lenses has some scope for adjustment although wearers of spectacles should exercise a little caution; the Rift is approximately 150mm wide, 60mm tall and 50mm deep at the deepest point from the lens to the face padding. If possible, it would be worth popping out to a retailer to try before you buy.

Once fitted on the user’s head, the Oculus software ‘wakes’ automatically and displays the ‘hub’ environment from where options can be selected. Unfortunately, it is not possible to wander around in the same way as the Microsoft cliff top house, but then interactivity is not really the name of the game at this point. Think of this more as an Xbox dashboard or similar, from where games and experiences can be launched, multiplayer contacts managed, and purchases made. Purchasing new content can occasionally be a little maddening, since some software vendors require the Oculus user to remove the headset and press some buttons in Windows to complete the transaction.

Oculus thoughtfully provides three categories to gauge the likelihood that a title is going to make a player nauseous. These start at Comfort, where there is limited interaction and a player does little more than look around while a scene gently unfolds around them. Moderate, where things move a little faster and there is likely to be more interaction required from the player and finally Intense, which could well upset anyone with a sensitive inner-ear. Personally, I have not experienced any nausea in any of the Rift’s worlds, although a few flying games have left me with an uneasy feeling of vertigo (which, to be fair, may have been the point).

Library

The Rift is well supported with a large library of games ranging from being free to costing £49.99. Demo versions of games don’t really exist, and the price or star rating isn’t a good indicator of quality – I found some expensive games quite inferior to others that were free or nearly so. Fortunately, Oculus has an effective and rapid refund system meaning that downloading something and finding it is terrible is only an inconvenience rather than a wallet-crushing disappointment. It is also important to note the requirements of games in the library – the Rift originally shipped with an Xbox controller and many older games are optimised for this set-up rather than the Touch controllers. In terms of performance, I didn’t notice any problems running with my base-level GTX 1050Ti, even with newer games such as Lone Echo.

It is also worth noting that Oculus has created a number of good quality free titles itself, with supernatural gun slinging game Dead and Buried and the mayhem of Robo Recall worthy of note. The kid-friendly cartoon imagery of Lucky’s Tale should also be a part of every Rift owner’s library.

Just For Games?

While Microsoft’s MR headsets are pitched toward productivity as well as entertainment, the Rift is geared towards gaming and experiences. A few creativity titles such as Quill or Medium are a great introduction to virtual sculpting or 3D painting, but productivity is something the Rift does not do well. There are several Virtual desktop applications, but most (if not all) leave the user feeling as though they would be better removing the headset and switching to a monitor. The same goes for video – recorded 360-degree video is usually of a quality that reminds one of YouTube circa 2008, and while Movie Theatre applications exist, watching a 2D movie through the headset is a dispiriting experience that will leave the user reaching for a TV remote.

Conclusion

If you have a PC with enough horsepower, and the burgeoning VR scene is of interest, then the recent price drop makes the Oculus Rift an attractive option. At £399, it is not yet down to impulse purchase levels and I would suggest taking one for a demonstration spin before parting with cash. Indeed, I was a bit of a VR sceptic myself until I spent some time with the Rift and its nearest competitor, the HTC Vive. If you are looking for a headset with productivity pretensions, then one of the Microsoft devices might be a better bet since the Rift is front and centre entertainment-based, but for VR fun the Rift is hard to beat. Once you’ve swung yourself through a space station in orbit around the virtual Saturn of Lone Echo, going back to ‘normal’ games is a bit of a wrench.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a virtual space station to find. I seem to have floated away…

To Meeting or Not to Meeting

Meetings provide a valuable venue for staff and teams to meet, share information, brainstorm, refine management operations, and resolve problems. When a meeting is well organized and run with a definite agenda, the can even be enjoyable experiences. However, interpersonal dynamics within an organization can be set at about a 7^th grade level, no matter how many degrees and years of experience are present. Exclusivity about who attends from what department, and who speaks on what subject can raise tensions when contractors and other offsite staff are left out because of connectivity concerns. Having a system unable to connect with a different system at another location brings up a whole new set of problems. The throwing up hands and deciding not to hold a meeting at all brings up just as many problems.

A look at Verizon’s whitepaper shows how deeply everyone is conflicted on the subject of meetings.

• 92 percent of meeting attendees believe that meetings offer valuable opportunities for employees to contribute to the success of their organization and projects.
• 73 percent of busy professionals feel significantly stressed by worries about family and loved ones when required to travel to a meeting.
• 64 percent of attendees worry about other work piling up unaddressed in the time that they are attending the meeting.
• 89 percent of the respondents believe that technology will make meetings easier “in the future.”
• 91 percent of regular meeting goers admit to daydreaming during meetings, and 39 percent have actually dozed off.

Considering the same study found that busy professionals are required to attend over 60 meeting per month, the smart money says that there are a lot more sleepyheads in the audience than admitted. Directing attention to the statistic at the top of the list and contrasting it with the one at the bottom, it’s pretty safe to say that some of those 60 meetings can be dispensed with, while at the same time bringing in more of those who have been left out of the process.

The iPad Office

It’s a simple fact that cloud based software and services are changing businesses. When you can access your data anywhere, via any device, you look for apps and services that are adaptable and affordable. Video conferencing has gone the same way with apps like Bluejeans, allowing flexible and scalable solutions via a
Blue Jeans network live meeting. A simple to use app that can be used anywhere from a roomful of participants, to a contractor at your job site, a freelancer at home, or a supplier across the world opens up new possibilities. Sharing information over video and sharing content in app brings up new ways to collaborate, and beings back the value of face time. In a study done by Gigaom, 87 percent of remote users – those usually left out of meetings because of travel constraints or other factors – feel more connected and involved when using video conferencing. That’s a significant statistic, because if you read it the other way, that 87 percent felt disconnected and uninvolved before using video conferencing

Reconnect and Re-engage

You have a highly educated staff with years of experience. Your young blood is technologically adept, forward thinking, and creative. Your older heads are experienced, steady, and savvy. According to Gallup, about 73 percent between the ages of 30 and 64 are emotionally disengaged from work. Connecting with the ones who have disconnected is as important as connecting with your remote location staff. The over scheduled, the micro-managed, the left out of the loop personnel need to be brought in and given ways to communicate that take in the reality of a 21^st century workplace, instead of a bunch of the last century’s moribund business school concepts repackaged and tarted up with new jargon. Innovation should be the watchword of any business, and giving everyone a chance to do so can boost your organization beyond your wildest dreams. After all, in order to think outside of the box, you need to open it up!

Welcome to the 3rd edition of the gaming podcast.  Jack and James are 9 year old twins and they love their Xbox 360, as with most 9 years they don’t have a lot of money so they love trying out the game demos on Xbox Live.

This week James wanted to talk about the update to the Xbox 360 dashboard and Jack talks about Forza Motorsport 4 demo.

Please keep the feedback coming and let us know if there are any demos you want Jack and James to talk about.

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Welcome to the 2nd edition of the Gaming Show. Jack and James are back to talk about two game demos available for free on Xbox Live. This week they are looking at:

• Happy Feet 2 (Xbox 360)
• Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 (Xbox 360)

Thanks for the feedback, let us what you think of the show and let use know which games we should look at in  the future

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Welcome to another pilot show on TDL this one is for kids by kids. Jack and James are 9 year old twins and they love their Xbox 360, as with most 9 years they don’t have a lot of money so they love trying out the game demos on Xbox Live. In the show they are going to review two game demos each week, score them out of ten any then decide whether they would put it on their Christmas list.

This week they chat about:

• Soul Calibur IV (Xbox 360)
• Lego Harry Potter: Episodes 1-4 (Xbox 360)

Let us know what you think we will see about making a regular show (if I can get them of the Xbox)

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