The latest prototype for Oculus Rift has made an attention-grabbing appearance on the CES 2014 show floor. Its two major improvements over the last iteration, which wowed us at E3 2013, are monumental.
Its greatest enhancement comes from the introduction of two 1080p OLED displays. This addition tackles one of the original Oculus Rift’s greatest weaknesses: its image latency. I know I experienced plenty of blur when using the device a few months back, and have seen some others complain about headaches when using it for a long period of time. However, Crystal Cove’s OLED marks an end to this with its 13 to 35 millisecond pixel refresh.
The last Oculus Rift iteration had two 720P LCD displays, which appears antiquated by the new standard set by Crystal Cove. The jump from 720P to 1080p has doubled the amount of pixels seen by each eye. This, coupled with the OLED, means you get a much more defined image. For a virtual reality headset that’s everything.
Crystal Cove doesn’t stop there, either. Motion tracking has been added, allowing for full motion control. Essentially, your head is now a PlayStation Move. When playing shooters, for example, you can peak around a corner to check for enemies by tilting your head. In strategy games, you can zoom in and out of the combat field by leaning in and out. How developer choose to use this is up to their discretion. If carefully implemented it can have a profound impact on gameplay.
The last version of Oculus Rift is now available for purchase on the official site, but at this point you’re much better off waiting for Crystal Cove to be become publicly available. What’s particularly exciting is that we’re still several months from release. There are sure to be even more noteworthy improvements made during the coming months.
