Virtual reality has come a long way and Oculus continues to be one of the leading brands in the industry. The Oculus Rift S is the latest addition to their lineup and promises an immersive experience that is easy to set up. In this article, we will guide you through the setup process and provide some tips and tricks to make the most of your Oculus Rift S.
First, let’s take a look at what comes in the box. The Oculus Rift S headset itself comes with a 15ft long cable which has a DisplayPort and USB 3.0 to connect to your PC. You also get a pair of AA batteries to power the controllers, the new Oculus touch controllers with the new inverted tracking ring for the Oculus insight inside out tracking system, a Display Port to Mini Display Port adapter, and a quick start guide and warranty manual.
Setting up the Oculus Rift S is a breeze. Ensure you have Oculus Home installed and plug in the Rift S Display Port and USB connector into your PC. Open Oculus Home and you’ll get a notification pop up asking you if you want to set up the new Rift S headset. The system will check to ensure you’ve connected the cables properly and will prompt a quick firmware update. Once the AA batteries are installed, the touch controllers come pre-paired which is really handy and they get a firmware update too.
You then get greeted with a short health and safety video which advises you to keep your place space clear and to set a guardian boundary at limits of your play space. Here you choose your orientation, set the floor level and draw out the edges of your boundary using the new pass through mode so you can see your real room layout through the headset. Once that’s all done which takes no more than 10 minutes, you’ll be presented with the new Oculus First Steps experience where you learn how to use the touch controllers and your virtual hands.
One thing to note is the IPD adjustment. IPD is the distance between your eyes and it’s important to set this correctly for a comfortable VR experience. The Oculus Rift S features software-based IPD adjustment due to its single-panel display. You can adjust it through the Oculus Dash menu and selecting settings or on your desktop. But sadly there’s no IPD calibration tool so we would urge newcomers to try to measure their IPD themselves or get their opticians to do it for them.
Now you’re all set up to experience applications from Oculus Home, but you can also use the Rift S with SteamVR. All you need to do is download and install SteamVR from Steam and once installed click the VR button in the top right corner of the Steam dashboard. Choose the game you want to play and away you go, simple.
After playing around with the Oculus Rift S for a while, there are a couple of things we found that would be useful for those picking up a Rift S. Stick with comfortable games until you get used to VR and then you can experiment with more intense titles. Also, if you want some advice to help with motion sickness, there are plenty of resources available online. Lastly, try to measure your IPD yourself or get your opticians to do it for you to ensure a comfortable VR experience.
In conclusion, the Oculus Rift S is a fantastic addition to the VR market. It’s easy to set up, comfortable to wear, and provides an immersive experience. We hope this guide has been helpful in setting up your Oculus Rift S, and we wish you an enjoyable and fulfilling virtual reality experience.