Oculus VR has opened the doors to pre-orders of their new Oculus Rift DK2. A new video from the company highlights the improvements they’ve made over the DK1 and an official FAQ answers some important questions. Hidden away on a details page, we find that the DK2 includes an integrated latency tester.
Above is Oculus VR’s latest official video to chat us up about the new Oculus Rift DK2. The company still stresses that this is a developer kit and not intended for consumers. When I spoke with Oculus VR at GDC 2014 they seemed extremely confident about knowing what they would need to ship for the consumer version of the Oculus Rift; the DK2 is designed to give developers a platform to begin building content that will be easily ported over to the consumer product.
“DK2 isn’t identical to the consumer Rift, but the fundamental building blocks for great VR are there. All the content developed using DK2 will work with the consumer Rift. And while the overall experience still needs to improve before it’s consumer-ready, we’re getting closer everyday — DK2 is not the Holodeck yet, but it’s a major step in the right direction,” reads the latest update from the Oculus blog.
Integrated Latency Tester for Oculus Rift DK2
The Oculus Rift DK2 now includes an integrated latency tester. This came as a surprise as we didn’t hear Oculus mention it at all during GDC and they made no note of it in their official video.
“We believe so strongly in the importance of low latency that we built a latency testing system into DK2. Real-time microsecond precision measurement of motion-to-photon latency lets you optimize your VR experience,” reads the DK2 details page.
Oculus VR previously made available a standalone latency tester for the Oculus Rift DK1. That tester would plug into a lens slot on the DK1 and, after running a software test, would return a precise readout of game engine latency to the developer. Armed with the latency, the developer could go on to optimize their game to reduce latency. That unit sold separately for $100.
For the DK2, Oculus VR has built the latency tester directly into the unit itself. We’re not sure how it works just yet, but we’ve reached out to Oculus for comment.
Oculus Rift DK2 FAQ
In addition to their new video, the company has posted an F&Q for those interested in ordering the DK2.