Virtual Desktop Makes Windows OS Oculus Rift-Capable 47
An anonymous reader writes Virtual Desktop is a free program that makes the Windows operating system compatible with the Oculus Rift VR headset. To the surprise of some, plugging the Oculus Rift into a computer doesn't result in a native view of the OS, meaning that users have to put on and take off the headset as they move from one VR-specific app to the next. If you want to use typical Windows programs—like Photoshop, Firefox, or Microsoft Office—no dice! That's where Virtual Desktop comes in, enabling the entire Windows desktop, and any application that can run on it, to be seen through the Oculus Rift. It also works as a bridge between VR-specific applications, allowing you to move from one to the next without ever taking off the headset. The latest version released today includes voice commands for launching VR games, global monitor mirroring, performance improvements, and is built against the latest Oculus Rift SDK.
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Darrin, you appear a little lost... try the story submission link.
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This kind of post indicates we've got a SlowNewsDay going on... Slashdot would rather post a story that's still current even though it's old news rather than nothing at all.
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I wonder how this would be for software developmen (Score:3, Interesting)
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3D effects only have the screen you're working with... you need a 4K monitor to simulate a bigger 4K screen.
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Light from different directions requires multiple screens.
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Actually, you can get an HDMI emulator like https://www.headlessghost.com/ for way cheaper than an actual display and it'll work.
The real killer is the HMD doesn't have the resolution to display it unless you are inches away from the virtual screen.
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It's rendered in VR so it doesn't really matter what the resolution of the display is the HMD(head mounted device) can show it at any distance. the problem with the low res HMD (more a problem with ppi which is loosely tied to the resolution) is that it wont be rendered very clear and it'll have a lot of SDE (screen door effect, like you're looking at the display through a screen door). I use it to view my 5760x108 triple head display and it works pretty well. you can quickly and easily zoom in and out a
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Since in work I have a couple of 20" monitors. It looks like I could use this with the rift to simulate 50 or 60 inch 4k monitor. (Which would be kick ass for development.)
There is another beta app out there that will create the virtual desktop on a hemi-sphere... But the resolution of the dk2 is still too low to be a monitor replacement. Hopefully the consumer version has hi-def ...
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Not quite yet. Text isn't very legible.
So you'd probably need at least an 8K display to get close to the quality of a monitor.
Re:I wonder how this would be for software develop (Score:4, Interesting)
I think this is a bit misleading. I those numbers are based on linear pixel density divided by FOV (for the DK2, 1080 pixels/100 degrees). That is OK to a first approximation, but the LEEP optics in the rift do not evenly map the pixels. The pixels near the center of the screen are much less stretched than the pixels at the edges. This is appropriate because our eyes have better resolution near the center of our retina. If you are principally looking forward as you are when using your real monitor, the effective pixel density of the HMD is going to be much higher than stated above. If you are looking out of the corner of your eye, it will be much worse. Assuming HMD continue to use flat panels with LEEP optics, a proper 4k panel may be adequate to allow proper desktop representations. Of course, all of this math changes once we start using curved OLEDs, etc.
There is also probably some subpixel rendering improvements that can be done as well. I continue to be amazed at how much readability improves when using ClearType or similar subpixel font rendering even on high DPI monitors. Of course, the same subpixel ideas/antialiasing ideas may need to be applied to the entire windowing system allowing LEEP distortion/viewing angle compensation for borders, widgets, etc. There are lots of opportunities here to design a 3D windowing interface and get all of these things right. I'd love to have the 27" and 30" monitors on my desk to be the last I ever buy.
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I continue to be amazed at how much readability improves when using ClearType or similar subpixel font rendering even on high DPI monitors.
Side story: Pray to God you never buy a BGR monitor. Almost nothing supports it because even though WINDOWS supports BGR, the programs are designed in a way that assumes RGB. So you'll get hodge podges of RGB and BGR all over the same program.
Chrome is abysmal--though they're finally fixing it soon. Steam has issues. The list goes on. My eyes have been bleeding ever since I got a BGR TV.
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I'm doubtful that the first consumer version of the Rift (or the HTC headset that Valve's involved with) will have enough resolution to be useful for coding
...unless you're coding in Scratch.
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Ive done a small amount of coding in the current DK2 with this, mostly just to say I did. It is very possible but at the current res it is not as comfortable as it should be. That said it isn't like it needs an order of magnitude improvement. Double would make it good, triple would make it a replacement.
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Us oldtimers know it was impossible to code on an Apple][ or any other computer from that era. The resolution was just too low (and node.js wasn't done).
pffft (Score:1)
gaming and porn.
We tried this already... (Score:2)
Back in the era of The Screen Savers, they showed a 3D DirectX desktop program... it used a lot of processor power and in general sucked. We're not ready for a new metaphor, can we just get the best 2D Windows possible again?
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The point is, 3D Windows has already been tried... the only new thing here is that it's designed to work with a specific brand of 3D glasses.
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I'm not sure what you're talking about. I wouldn't really describe Virtual Desktop as "3D Windows". It just shows your 2D Windows on a virtual screen (or screens if you're running more than one monitor). It doesn't make any attempt at creating a 3D UI for Windows.
With future versions of the headset, if the internal screens get hi-res enough, something like Virtual Desktop could be useful for simulating multiple large displays for increased productivity even if you don't have multiple physical screens. But a
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However, this 3D GUI is needed if you do not want to take off your glasses anytime between different software. It would be similar to having a dedicated machine for MAME with your joystick and buttons, but that requires a physical keyboard due to missing GUI frontend.
Or a racing car that you need to tow from race track to race track. Most people do that, but it is inconvenient. It would be nice i
Not new (Score:4, Informative)
I've had a rift DK2 for nearly a year now, and this has been around for quite a while. Text is a bit more readable than it typically is in most VR games because the windows are mapped on to a curved surface. Ultimately it's still too awkward and low resolution (due to the DK2 splitting a 1080 display to show an image for each eye) for serious use. it remains a neat novelty that will make your friends go "wow".
Going to have to wait on major improvements (Score:2)
The first-gen Rift headsets are bulky, heavy, and have a low enough resolution and flicker to make most people ill after a short period of use.
Even the second-gen ones aren't really good enough.
I'd say, two, three more solid generations before this is "ready for everyone", mostly meaning early adopter wannabes who can't handle the current paradigm.
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I have a first and second gen rift, and while there is definitely room for improvement, they aren't nearly as bad as you are making out.
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I have a first and second gen rift, and while there is definitely room for improvement, they aren't nearly as bad as you are making out.
Having actually USED both, I can say that yes, they ARE.
The first gen is something I can use for about 20 minutes before I break out in sweats.
Any longer and it's massive headaches and nausea.
The second gen, it's maybe about 30 minutes.
A business partner of mine can't stand more than about 10 minutes on either.
I couldn't use something like this as a workaday desktop. I just can't.
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I skipped the 1st gen but I have both the GearVR and DK2, and most experiences I can do for several hours with no ill effects. Others I can't do for more than a few seconds without my stomach getting queasy. And it's not always the swinging and unrealistic motions that would make the average person puke if they moved like that in real life, but sometimes it's simple movement that can cause it while swinging from tree to tree like spiderman in Windlands doesn't bother me in the least.
Why does resolution matter? (Score:3)
I'm more responding to a lot of the comments on the Oculus's resolution not the article it self. It's a VR Headset... Think out side of the rectangle in front of you. Why does the "Screen" have to have anything to do with the resolution of the headset? Why cant I have a virtual 4K "display" or multiple virtual displays that I only see the VR headsets native resolution against? I don't need to see the whole monitor at one time when I can just look around? Remember, Windows is kinda crap at scaling so this is a good solution to giving more real estate from Windows perspective while maintaining scale.
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With the Rift or any VR headset it isn't quite so much the resolution as the PPI(pixels per inch) of the display. right now they are around ~386ppi. I read somewhere that around 750ppi should make it almost invisible. Sharp just announced 4k 5.5inch displays with greater than 800ppi. Samsung is rumored to also have one nearing release and expected to be in the note 5 along with a new gear vr and in the initial Oculus Consumer version.
Keep that box on your head forevah! (Score:1)
With this software, you can keep the plastic box on your head forever.
Or at least until Mom says dinner is ready.
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Egg carton on your head, get it right.