
Open Source Release of Rift DK2 - Ajedi32
https://developer.oculus.com/blog/open-source-release-of-rift-dk2/
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spdustin
I have the DK2 and a rMBP, and for my kids and I, it was just fine. Then Mac
support was dropped.

I assume there's been no change there? Nobody working on cool experiences that
are Mac compatible? Is there a market for selling this thing? I'm not
interested in developing with it (I thought I would be when I bought it).

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fjksksvdjsjd
Yikes, that killed my interest with a bullet. Do people only game with it?

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Fej
Vive and Rift are pushed almost exclusively as gaming platforms. Hence, Mac
support is meaningless.

~~~
janoc
They are also widely used for non-gaming stuff, it is just less visible.

Concerning Mac the main problem is lack of any meaningful driver and hardware
support from Apple. And without that there is little point in trying to port
the SDKs.

On PCs both Nvidia a AMD are actively working with both Valve & Oculus and
integrating support for things like the asynchronous time warping in their
drivers. However, on Macs only Apple can really do that.

The other problem is that no current Mac on the market has a GPU that will
work well with a Vive/Rift. The solution used in the laptops which switch
between the integrated and discrete GPU is not supported and Apple doesn't
offer anything else. And their desktop Macs haven't really been updated in
ages, with GPUs being below the minimal spec required.

So while this may be a convenient excuse why not to support Mac, until Apple
gets their stuff together it is technically not doable.

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fulafel
Can you clarify what you mean by "The solution used in the laptops which
switch between the integrated and discrete GPU is not supported"?

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hackerfromthefu
The issue is caused by the way the Nvidia Optimus works - there's a physical
connection which _always_ goes to the onboard intel video, then the Nvidia
video card outputs to the onboard video, which outputs to the physical
connection.

The extra step of routing the 3d video through the onboard video adds very
minor latency, but it's still enough to kill the VR experience and induce
nausea etc so it's deliberately not supported.

And because the connection is physical it can not be changed with existing
hardware. Next generation :)

I'm unsure about the AMD specifics but I expect it's exactly the same issue.

~~~
fulafel
But this same issue is present on non-mac laptops too, right? Except some
niche gaming/VR laptops that use desktop GPUs. It's waiting for GPU and laptop
chipset vendors whto get their acts together (and hope they care about VR).

Meanwhile eGPUs seem the way to go, and Apple is already shpping it:
[https://www.imore.com/apples-vr-dev-kit-egpu-enclosure-
ultim...](https://www.imore.com/apples-vr-dev-kit-egpu-enclosure-ultimate-
guide)

~~~
hackerfromthefu
Yes this applies to all laptops using nvidia optimus, PC, Mac etc, the issue
is the hardware, it's physically wired to the igpu to enable minimal power
usage scenarios.

Agreed eGPUs are the near term future, although cloud gpus are also a
possibility ..

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zitterbewegung
Note that the firmware is released under BSD + PATENTS license .

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cbuq
While I don't anticipate the firmware to be used as much as Facebook's React
and other previous BSD + PATENTS libraries, but an excellent reason to look
towards Valve if you were interested in manufacturing a VR headset.

As an Oculus Rift owner, I'm sad to see Facebook's influence creep this far.

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kbumsik
The firmware includes calibration algorithms for a 6-DOF gyroscope sensor.
Might be useful for robotics.

[1]:
[https://github.com/facebookarchive/RiftDK2/blob/master/Heads...](https://github.com/facebookarchive/RiftDK2/blob/master/Headset/Firmware/src/calibrate.c)

[2]:
[https://github.com/facebookarchive/RiftDK2/blob/master/Heads...](https://github.com/facebookarchive/RiftDK2/blob/master/Headset/Firmware/src/autocalibrate.c)

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taejavu
Does anyone here know how to get DK2 working in Windows 10? I tried via the
Rift CV 1.0 installer and it didn't seem to work at all.

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monofuel
I use the DK2 on Windows 10, it still works. When it asks you to setup the CV1
sensors, you can skip that step. Oculus home will display a warning that your
headset is not officially supported, but some games still work fine. EVE:
Valkyrie works great on the DK2.

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whamlastxmas
Are they supposed to announce new hardware any time soon?

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Ajedi32
I haven't heard any rumors, but Oculus Connect 4 is tomorrow. If there's going
to be new hardware, that'll probably be when they'll announce it.

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dushyantk
One comment on the page, with wrong English!

