The Poor mans Steam VR headset.

[+Warwagon MVC]

This week i've been doing quite the VR research. Over the years i've owned quite a few cheap Android VR headsets. 1 was a cheap one I got on clearance for $5 at Walmart. After upgrading on an iPhone SE 2020 I have quite a few Android ones laying around. 

 

2 Essential phones

3 LG V20 (Long live the removable battery)

 

I was looking around online how to play VR videos from my lan on the phone in the VR headset. At first I didn't have much luck as I was looking up android apps. But then I stumbled upon Riftcat. It's an app you run on your phone and on your PC, then, over wifi or over USB tether (which only seems to work with a linage rom on a spare phone as the official version needs cell service) lets you play Steam VR games.

 

Riftcat ($15 for the full version well worth it)

 

 

Now, in Steam VR you can download quite a few video apps which will let you do exactly what I wanted. Play VR Videos stored the on lan.

 

So then I really wanted to try out a game in VR. A couple months ago Epic game store gave a way Alien Isolation as their free game of the week and that game always looked like a blast in VR. But it was on epic and not steam. Turns out, you can get the VR DLL, put it in the game directory, open it up select VR in the option menu and tell it to use Steam VR. Next open Steam VR, then launch the game. BOOM the game played in the Android VR headset on my V20. I really must say... it wasn't bad, not bad at all.

 

This is someone who came from an oculus quest 2 but had to return it because the lens got quickly scratched from my glasses (even after putting custom amazon lens spacers on, will have to order custom lens covers for the next one). I must say this headset experience was really good, above and beyond what i had expected.

 

So then the other day I ordered another VR headset, because the one I had been using (the $5 one) had one of the most uncomfortable head straps known to man kind. It arrived yesterday and is a really good headset. It was $35.

 

 

DESTEK V5

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B085VFR448/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1   <--- I got this one and it was terrible .. Avoid.

 

I also ordered a Gear VR controller for $13 on amazon (which will be here tomorrow) which should give me better control in steam vr, rather than binding steam controller to the xbox one controller. Though I don't know, might buy a steam vr controller.

 

Gear VR controller

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XHXRXP1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

So if you have a computer capable of playing steamVR games, give it a try, you may be surprised and have a lot of fun.