IPD Range

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While the Oculus Rift DK1 and DK2 have both supported software-based adjustments, neither headset was designed to physically change the distance between the lenses in order to match a given user’s interpupillary distance (IPD), the distance between each eye.

Ensuring that a VR headset’s lenses are lined up with the center of the eye is important for achieving the best view and for comfort. Although a large portion of the population falls around the ~63mm mark, human IPD can vary by some 20mm. If a VR headset has a static IPD of 63mm, those on the periphery of the IPD range could wind up with an uncomfortable view, possibly making it more difficult to fuse the pair of images into a single view. Even if your IPD is close to the headset’s, being able to match it exactly can enhance the resulting image, as any software-based adjustments to the view (like pre-distortion and chromatic aberration correction) assume that the lens is directly aligned with the eye.

It was recently revealed that the consumer version of the Rift would have a physical IPD adjustment, allowing users to fine tune their view through the lenses. The physical adjustment will move both the lenses and the screens behind them in tandem. However, Oculus hasn’t said the minimum and maximum IPD that the adjustment will support.

Pre-order Date

Oculus confirmed back in May that the consumer Rift headset would begin pre-orders sometime in 2015, but that still leaves us with a six month window as to when it will actually happen. With what we learned about the price potential above, it might be a good idea to keep at least $500 set aside to keep your place in line for the Rift, should the pre-order pop up without warning!

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Release Date

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“Months not years” used about as specific as Oculus ever got regarding a release date for the Oculus Rift consumer version. After mounting pressure from Valve’s HTC Vive and Sony’s Morpheus headsets, which announced their release targets as Q4 2015 and Q2 2016 respectively, Oculus recently revealed that they’re aiming to ship smack dab in the middle of the two: Q1 2016.

While it was exciting to finally have something on the board for the headset’s release, we’re still looking at a fairly large three month window, and the company has yet to be any more specific.
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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • kalqlate

    Oculus Rift won’t be the first out of the gate, and they probably won’t be the best. However, being the recommended device to experience Facebook VR services (whatever those will happen to be) will assure that the Rift will eventually be the top seller BY FAR.

  • Don Gateley

    With the recent announcement that there will be no in-house content developed for it and the statement that content distribution will be unrestricted one has to wonder exactly how they will make any money on it if sold remotely close to cost. Too much double talk for continued credibility.

    • Don Gateley

      When I click the box “Notify me of follow-up comments by email” and post a comment I am sent an annoyance email that I must respond to titled “[Subscribe] Comments on Road to VR – please confirm.” I must click on a link which takes me to https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?option=comments&update=activated which responds with considerable delay and eventually tells me “Your subscription has been activated!”

      Please find a way to stop sending that annoyance email which simply disrupts work flow with no useful purpose and activate automatically instead. Checking the box should suffice as it does with all other sites I use which have such a box.

      • Ben Lang

        We’re working on it! Sorry for the annoyance, Don.

    • kalqlate

      Please point me to a link to that announcement, Don. All that I’m seeing is stuff like this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2927073/Facebooks-Oculus-forms-house-virtual-reality-film-studio.html. Besides content, to doubt that Facebook would not endeavor to create a realtime telepresence app for its billion users is to doubt that Facebook is a communications company. With such, Facebook will be the king of VR ad placement. THAT’s one way that they’ll make money.

      • Don Gateley

        http://vrfocus.com/archives/18459/oculus-favouring-funding-developers-over-owning-them-for-rift-launch-ceo-suggests/

        No more in-house development. Providing funds to outside companies is not in-house. You may interpret it otherwise but that’s what I get from it.

        Exactly what I fear is that Oculus is going to become a Facebook content channel and that’s about all. Indeed, it could make them money (or they wouldn’t have put it in their pocket) but Facebook being Facebook and Zuckerberg being Zuckerberg they will want and they will get complete control over it. If not immediately, certainly eventually.

        • kalqlate

          Thanks, Don. That’s definitely contrary to prior news. Still, I’ve often commented that real-time telepresence, which encompasses all live broadcasts from intimate two-party VR chat to live VRogging to thousands of onlookers to live sporting events and concerts for a few fans or millions at a time, is the killer app for VR. It, more than any play-at-your-leisure content, is what will fuel high adoption rates for VR. Controlling the ad space of Facebook Telepresence will eventually be a gold mine for Facebook.

          • kalqlate

            Live online gaming is itself, in a way, interactive telepresence. However, even excluding live gaming, I project telepresence will be the most used app… as soon as 360 capture and live streaming is perfected and cheapened, and Whatsapp and other chat services make it an available option.