angrydraconequus
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$8 VR Animations Tier is now officially open and a review of Cardboard VR headset
🕑 Added 2022-09-01 00:14:05 +0000 UTCVR Animations are now available for as little as $8. Second VR animation coming soon.
Also I tested the Cardboard VR goggles and I'm positively surprised! They're not "Google Cardboard" - I'm not sure if those are even being sold anymore as I couldn't find them. What I got is called "Legato Cardboard 2" which I think is some Polish off-brand clone of Google Cardboard.
Pros:
- The image quality is actually better than on the original 2016 HTC Vive. I'd imagine it's worse when compared to newer headsets like Oculus Quest 2 or HTC Vive Pro 2. Still really surprised by how clear the image is though.
- The tracking is quite adequate. It drifts a little bit over time if you look around too much but it's not a problem when watching 180° videos.
- The 3D effect is as good as on the Vive, the scale of the objects is correct. It's a solid experience.
- It's dirt cheap provided you already have a compatible phone. I paid for it $3.55 WITH shipping so I bet most of you would be able to find one under $5.
- At least on my phone the 4K 60FPS video plays smoothly without any problems.
Cons:
- The image has noticeably more chromatic aberration on the edges of the image than on the Vive - when looking straight in the middle it's okay.
- The field of view is smaller than on the Vive. The Vive is 110° and I would say this is around 90-100°. So you simply can't see as much at once as you can on the Vive.
- There is no strap included so you need to hold the cardboard headset with your hand against your eyes. There are holes for the strap but I wouldn't recommend using it anyway - you need to hold the headset closed or otherwise you're risking your phone falling out. The 'mechanism' holding the headset closed is very iffy.
- The headset doesn't really lie on your face - it rests on the middle of your forehead - the front piece of the headset is perfectly straight and doesn't follow the head's natural curve. It's not uncomfortable though, it doesn't hurt or anything. It's good for watching a couple minutes long video, nothing more.
- While the video itself plays smoothly at 60FPS, the head turning lags a bit and is lower FPS - probably around 20. It's not a deal breaker while watching a video where you're not going to be doing much looking around anyway though.
- Requires a compatible phone. By that I would say 4.5" - 6" screen, 1080p resolution or greater. Apparently works on both Android and iOS.
To sum it up: I recommend Cardboard VR if you already have a compatible phone and want to try watching some VR videos. Make sure your phone will fit inside before buying though.
Also tested a bunch of android VR video players and "VaR's VR Video Player" was the only one that does the job right - as in doesn't apply weird fisheye effect on the video unless you want to - it has a lot of customization in terms of zoom, distance between the eyes and lens distortion correction. It's just good.
