Do you want to know what VR Markiplier uses?
Let’s find out.
What VR Does Markiplier Use?
Meriplier uses Oculus Rift S.
Oculus Rift S Review
If you want the best virtual reality experience available today, then the Oculus Rift S is the one for you. However, if you already own an Oculus Go or GearVR, there are better options available.
To learn more about how the new Oculus Rift S works, read our review of the Oculus Quest 2 here.
Price and Availability
The Oculus Quest is available now and costs approximately $399 / £399 / AU$599.
It’s considerably cheaper (though not by much) than the price that the first Oculus Rift originally launched at – but if you’re looking to get one right away, you might want to consider picking up the new version instead.
It’ll be significantly cheaper than the HTC VIVE, Vive PRO, and upcoming Valve Index, which all require external trackers to function.
Despite having not conducted a final review of the SteamVR headset, its “no-holds-barred” approach to quality makes it look like the most well-rounded VR experience available today.
What is the Oculus Rift S? And what’s VR?
Like the original Oculus Rift, the new Oculus Rift S uses a computer to provide a virtual reality experience.
Working
It connects to your computer via a USB 3.0 connector and a DisplayPort connection and is tethered by a long cable that’s enough to handle the room-scale experiences that Oculus Quest is capable of delivering.
Lenses
Like other VR headsets, the Rift S puts two goggle-like screens in front of your eyes. These screens create a stereoscopic 3D image for you to see.
Sensors
Combining sensors then calculating your real-life movements and translating them into game actions.
For instance, when you turn your head left (or right), the digital environment moves with it, crouching, and the in-virtual-reality floor gets closer, in real-life.
It’s a wonderful, almost sci-fi kind of experience, especially if the virtual reality surrounding you proves to be an intriguing one.
Industrial Design
However, once you get beyond the general “wear it on your head” similarity, the Rift S’ industrial design is significantly different than its predecessor, the original Oculus Rift.
If you’re not sure whether you need to buy an Oculus Rift, then consider buying one anyway.
Oculus Rift S: Design, Fit, and Comfort
The Oculus Go uses a thin rubber band that goes over your crown and around the back of the neck to two firmer points on either side of your ear. It has a plastic curved mold for your face and the base of the neck.
They’re still two straps for securing the headset, but they’re now mainly secured by a dial on the headrest.
Weight Distribution
It’s not uncomfortable at all, but it’s definitely heavier than the original Oculus Rift.
External Motion Tracking Sensors
There’s one big reason why the Oculus Quest doesn’t require an external sensor – because it has built-in camera technology.
They’re used to keep tabs on where you are in the room and the movement of the Oculus Touch Controllers in your hands.
Touch Controllers
Touch Controler (TCC) ships with the Oculus Rift S. These are slightly different from their predecessors.
They’re lightweight and easy to use, and they use one AA cell per unit, rather than being rechargeables.
The only difference is that their tracking ring sits on the top, instead of the bottom with the original Rift, but it does mean the two generations of controllers are no longer compatible with each other.
Over-Ear Earphones
However, not all of the changes are necessary for improvement. First, the Rift S has replaced its over-ears headphones with directional speakers in the headset itself.
On the one hand, they provide a reasonable sense of direction in terms of sound coming from where things are actually going, while also allowing your ears to hear sounds from outside the headset.
Sound Leak
They’re loud, but they don’t produce any deep bass sounds, so they might not be ideal if you want to play games in a shared room.
If you want to use your own headphones for VR, you can connect them to a 3.5 millimeter (3.5 M) jack on the side of the device. However, having fewer wires to deal with makes things easier.
Release Button
You can now slide the headset forward and back off and onto your head by pressing a button on its underside. However, it feels slightly tighter around the front than in previous models, making it harder to slip on your eyewear.
IPD (Interpupillary Distance)
Additionally, the IPD (InterPupillary Distance) sliders from the original Rift are no longer available.
This used to be done by shifting the lens closer to your face when using VR headsets with two screens, but now there’s just a single display so there’s no need to adjust the distance between your eyes.
We personally didn’t have any issues with the default positioning but it’s difficult to imagine a solution that would provide the same level of performance without affecting the overall sharpness of the image in the viewfinder.
We’re not sure if Lenovo’s involvement had an impact on the design of the headset.
Oculus Rift S: Screen specs
OLED Screens
The Rift S replaces the first Rift’s dual OLED displays with a single LCD display increasing its resolution from 2160 x 1080 to 2560 x 1440.
Refresh Rate
However, it also lowers the refresh rate from 90 Hz to 80 Hz. This is done so that the price could be kept low and the minimum specifications remain the same as that of Oculus Rift, allowing more people to buy into VR without having to upgrade their computer equipment.
However, it also has the potential to cause motion sickness for people who experience it, because the screen doesn’t update at a speed your brain perceives to be normal.
Set Up and Insight
It’d be hard to argue against the improved usability of the headset after adding those cameras. We’ve made it easier than ever to start using VR.
External Sensors
Whereas the Rift would require you to struggle to place external sensors to accurately detect where you are and what you’re doing, the Oculus Quest simply plugs into your computer and you’re ready to go.
Insight System
The aforementioned camera-based Insight system is elegantly straightforward.
- You’ve successfully downloaded the Oculus software
- You’ve plugged the headphones into the controller, inserted the batteries into the controllers, and turned them on.
- Put the headset on
- Then the Rift S shows you a black-&-white picture of the real world around you, as seen by the camera.
Once you’ve done that, all you then have to do is use the controller to point at the ground, and create an empty play area for your kids to run around in. It takes just a few minutes to set up.
Conclusion
So, is the Oculus Rift S worth buying?
Absolutely! If you’re interested in jumping into VR without investing in a whole new set, the Oculus Rift S is definitely the best option.
It’s much easier to set up, so you get a better VR experience than when using the original Oculus Rift.
While it doesn’t offer quite the same degree of immersive experience as the HTC Vive Pro, it still offers an excellent alternative for those who want a less expensive option for trying out VR.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please leave them below.