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I haven't really had the blocked off issue. With the Rift I can hear things outside the headset and I can pop up one ear to talk more easily. The games are mirr

I haven't really had the blocked off issue. With the Rift I can hear things outside the headset and I can pop up one ear to talk more easily. The games are mirrored to our 65" TV so my spouse can see what I see and enjoy games vicariously the way she usually does. They enjoy when I play horror games and let loose with the color commentary. I actually pulled her into the game and play Elite with her now. I'm in VR and she is on a screen. I do agree there is a temptation to use a screen just for comfort and ease of context switching. I think a solid forward facing camera with stellar software support is table stakes for a VR headset. Not PiP, I am talking about always available full screen pass through that can activate and deactivate lightning quick. Heck give me a hardware button on the set. And wireless. I can dream right?

irq 10y ago
The HTC Vive has this (instantly available full screen pass through of a camera mounted on the headset).
- arielweisberg 10y ago
  That's great. Hopefully Oculus moves towards feature parity. Can you activate it using the wands or an Xbox controller? Does it work well if you are in game?
  - lfowles 10y ago
    Wands only (I think it may even be a beta feature or something I had to specifically activate in developer settings). Here are some screenshots of the various front camera uses: http://media.bestofmicro.com/P/6/571146/original/room-view-comparison.jpg http://media.bestofmicro.com/P/6/571146/original/room-view-c... - This view is overlaid on the game when you doubletap the system button on the wand. Edit: It can also be overlaid automatically when you approach chaperone bounds, but it's incredibly distracting when set up that way. http://cdn.makeuseof.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/mini-camera-640x446.png?b34c28 http://cdn.makeuseof.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/mini-cam... - This view is available when in the "pause menu" when the front camera is enabled. It's a little weird, because the view is attached to the wand but the camera is attached to your head.
  - irq 10y ago
    I haven't played with an xbox controller on my Vive yet, but yes you can activate it with the wands, you double press the lowest button. This feature isn't enabled by default though, you have to turn it on in the SteamVR settings (it's easy to find).
- raptorpark 10y ago
  It's not a clear camera though like we were led to believe. Unlike your phone camera, it draws the room in weird wiggles in black and white. It also creates a performance impact so most people prefer to brave without it.
  - hatsunearu 10y ago
    There is also a PIP version, when you press the home button and your other hand should show a PIP that follows your controller.

irq 10y ago

The HTC Vive has this (instantly available full screen pass through of a camera mounted on the headset).

arielweisberg 10y ago
That's great. Hopefully Oculus moves towards feature parity. Can you activate it using the wands or an Xbox controller? Does it work well if you are in game?
- lfowles 10y ago
  Wands only (I think it may even be a beta feature or something I had to specifically activate in developer settings). Here are some screenshots of the various front camera uses: http://media.bestofmicro.com/P/6/571146/original/room-view-comparison.jpg http://media.bestofmicro.com/P/6/571146/original/room-view-c... - This view is overlaid on the game when you doubletap the system button on the wand. Edit: It can also be overlaid automatically when you approach chaperone bounds, but it's incredibly distracting when set up that way. http://cdn.makeuseof.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/mini-camera-640x446.png?b34c28 http://cdn.makeuseof.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/mini-cam... - This view is available when in the "pause menu" when the front camera is enabled. It's a little weird, because the view is attached to the wand but the camera is attached to your head.
- irq 10y ago
  I haven't played with an xbox controller on my Vive yet, but yes you can activate it with the wands, you double press the lowest button. This feature isn't enabled by default though, you have to turn it on in the SteamVR settings (it's easy to find).
raptorpark 10y ago
It's not a clear camera though like we were led to believe. Unlike your phone camera, it draws the room in weird wiggles in black and white. It also creates a performance impact so most people prefer to brave without it.
- hatsunearu 10y ago
  There is also a PIP version, when you press the home button and your other hand should show a PIP that follows your controller.