An invite went out today beckoning its recipients to “Step into the Rift” on the 11th of June, 2015 in San Francisco—just a few days before E3 begins in LA. We want to step in. Oh yes, we do.

Many suspect that the consumer version of the Oculus Rift, announced earlier this month for a Q1 2016 release, would be getting its grand unveiling at E3—but now it appears that those with invites will be able to get a glimpse of the VR headset a little sooner than anticipated.

rift

After months of radio silence, Oculus only recently published a general announcement of the Rift’s coming availability. Together with some high-res images, we surmised that the new headset would be lighter and more comfortable based on the near cloth-like textures used in the images.oculus-rift-cv1-material-closeup (enhanced)

The very same day Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell found himself in the hot seat at TechCrunch 2015, an interview that revealed that users would need a “nice gaming rig” to run the consumer Rift.

And while the internet was ablaze with speculation over input and physical specs of the VR headset, we received confirmation that indeed “…the Rift runs at 2160×1200 at 90Hz split over dual displays, consuming 233 million pixels per second,” a statement that went along with a list of system recommendations to run it.

This is a developing story, so check back for more information on this pre-E3 event.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • davo01

    Step in but watch you dont knock your head on those 1200p pixels

  • Don Gateley

    Saw the Crescent Bay at SVVR 2015 on Monday and gotta say that in all but one regard the experience was simply stunning. The exception being resolution/FOV which remains laughable. So it does everything well except look good.

    • Sven Viking

      So you’re holding out for the Horizon V, I take it? [Disclaimer: Sarcasm. Do not buy the Horizon V.]

    • davo01

      You sure cant polish a turd and at 1200p were sure not getting any breakthrough. Its impossible for a low res panel to look good through magnified lenses

    • peateargryphon

      Hey Don,
      Is there a VR HMD that you recommend over this? Oculus and HTC both appear to be using the exact same 1080×1200 OLED’s. FOVE is the only legitimate HMD that I have seen coming out within the first half of 2016 with a higher resolution–granted, not by much @2560×1440. I expect the big players end up with higher overall visuals due to eye-tracking being the real focus for FOVE though.
      Don’t take that the wrong way, but you seem to be pretty pessimistic compared to most commenters about CB.

      • peateargryphon

        I guess you could point out that the Galaxy Note 5 might release with a 3840 x 2160 in August/September 2016 and that it likely is accompanied by a consumer GearVR? (but that’s technically a [likely] rumor atm) And I know you said it was “simply stunning” as well as “laughable”, so don’t think I was trying to be too harsh. It just seems to me that every legitimate company in the VR HMD space has said that there are too many tradeoffs going to the 4K so early in the game. It will happen eventually, of course, as the technology catches up, but it seems a bit odd to criticize on this generation. Super valid complaint if they don’t have 4K+ in five years from now, of course.

      • Don Gateley

        Not yet. We really don’t know what effective resolution the Hololens or the Magic Leap will have but there remains some hope there. As you point out the Note 5 with another res doubling is a possibility on the horizon but so far that’s just rumor. I frankly don’t think only one doubling will be enough to satisfy other than gamers. Until cinematic resolution is available at least for cinema and for experiential apps, like Google Street View or travel apps, it will remain in a gamer niche.

        I’m not a gamer if that makes my POV clearer. I want to tour things like the temple in Jerusalem or better a VR reconstruction of what it was back when and I want to see at least as much detail as what I get from my TV. I’m 70 so I wish they’d damn well hurry. :-)

  • Crax

    This has probably been mentioned before, but anyone think the Rift may actually be textile (cloth) on the outside? It would make a lot of sense from a weight and breathability standpoint to tension cloth over some nice curved edges, with plastic skeleton right below the textile surface where the user could handle the device.

    • crim3

      I think it’s a brilliant solution. I’m really looking forward to feel the texture of the fabric in my hands as I put them on.

  • Curtrock

    Oculus has paved the way to this pivotal point. We are about to enter the era of VR. We will be able to purchase a fully functional VR HMD, in less than a year. Anyone who was old enough to see Lawnmower Man in 1992, knows that the realization of the dream of consumer VR in our lifetime is a tech blessing. Of course, I’m sure that petty bitching about negligible “perceived” shortcomings of this 1st generation consumer HMD must be quite satisfying too.