The Orion S1 VR Goggles for smartphones offer users a three-dimensional, 360-degree viewing experience, writes Hanna Sheikh Mokhtar
THERE are several ways to experience virtual reality but the easiest one is through a VR headset, where you can virtually tour the city of Tokyo, hike the Grand Canyon, explore the Mines of Moria or have a thrilling ride on the Valravn at Cedar Point, US — the tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster in the world!
GOOD ON AESTHETICS AND FEEL
The Orion S1 VR headset that I tested looks much better than many of those available in the market right now. Out of the box, the black and white headset is a little bit bulky but still manages to look pretty cool when worn. Unlike the Google cardboard, the Orion S1 VR headset comes with elastic adjustable straps to suit different face shapes and sizes. The adjustable straps also help to lessen the pressure on the forehead when worn, greatly reducing tiredness and making it ideal for longer usage.
The hatch for users to slot in their smartphones opens at a 35-degree angle. This is to make sure the smartphone doesn’t slide off.
COMFORT AND EASE OF USE
While the headset itself is made of stainless steel material, the protective frame is made from a soft elastic material, ensuring that the smartphone screen is constantly protected as well as giving a comfortable feel to the users’ skin. The high elastic support inside the hatch helps to spread the heat immediately and prevents the smartphone from overheating while in use.
The headset has built-in headphones with bass and is also sound-proof. All you need to do is plug in the audio jack into the audio slot of your phone and you’ll be able to feel the surround sound of the video.
The design of the goggles is said to ensure sufficient ventilation to prevent heat build-up and fogging. However, I did feel some heat building up while using the headset after more than 20 minutes.
The headset itself (without the smartphone) is weighs only 400g.
DIFFERENT VIEW AND FEEL
What’s interesting about the Orion S1 VR headset is that it has built-in control buttons for users to get a sharper view of the video images. Should there be fuzziness and double image, all one needs to do is to fiddle with the control buttons at the top (called the PD Pupils Distance) and sides (called the Focal Length Rotary Knob).It has a 35mm focal distance, so users can enjoy a larger visual field of up to 120° — a field of view that is closer to the context of the human visual angle.
While watching the VR Cave 360 virtual reality video by Virtualware, I felt I was in a real cave. After putting on the headset, I turned slowly around and I could see the vast cave walls closing in all around me, even on top. The rock walls looked so real that I felt I could touch them if I held out my hand and walked forward. I then moved forward towards the far side of the cave, and my movements accelerated as the ground sloped downwards at a steep incline. I felt my stomach lurching at the sensation that I was falling and gritted my teeth. I broke out in cold sweat as the sensation overwhelmed me.
Next, I let my children watch The Conjuring 2 - Experience Enfield VR 360 in HD by Warner Bros Pictures. Judging by their screams and their body movements at certain points in the video, I could only imagine how horrifying the scenes are.
According to my teen children, Valak the demon suddenly appeared in their faces and scared them no end.
AS EASY AS ABC
The Orion S1 VR headset is very easy to use. All you need to do is either download a 360 VR video onto your smartphone (from Google Playstore for Android phone or App Store for iOS phones) or find a 360 VR video on YouTube. Make sure the video is already in VR mode before inserting your phone in the front hatch of headset. You will know the video is in VR mode if it is showing in two frames (called the right-and-left dual-screen interface). Hook up the audio jack and close the hatch cover.
You can now fit the headset on your head. Adjust the tension of the three headbands so that you have the most comfortable fit. Once the headband is on well, adjust the image quality by tweaking the button at the top as well as the knob by the sides. If you are myopic, you should keep your glasses on.
A word of caution, though — as exciting as it is to be able to experience 360-degree virtual reality easily with the Orion S1 VR Goggles, there are some who will suffer from the side effects of virtual reality technology, which is motion sickness. Some users might become disoriented in a purely virtual environment, causing balance issues and also nausea.
There are two variants of the Orion VR headsets to choose from: the Orion S1 that I tested, with a built-in earphone, is priced at RM288, while the Orion V1 is priced at RM188. Both VR goggles are able to fit 4.6- to 6.2-inch smartphones.
WIN
We are giving away five units of Orion S1 VR Goggles worth RM288 each, sponsored by ECS Astar Sdn. Bhd to lucky readers. Details at www.facebook.com/technst