Rebuff Reality is planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign this month for its off-ear audio solution that’s said to be compatible with a range of VR headsets.
Rebuff makes accessories for VR headsets including the impressive VR Power battery pack we reviewed recently that solves some of the biggest problems associated with Oculus Quest. Its upcoming VR Ears solution is said to provide a similar kind of audio experience to the Valve Index. Index features powerful off-ear speakers that sit right outside the ears, providing realistic and loud sound that focuses you on a virtual world while still allowing you to hear the occasional interruption from the real world.
Some VR headsets feature earbud solutions that fit inside the ear while others, like Oculus Quest, integrate audio into the strap of the device. Neither approach is ideal and it looks like VR Ears might extend the audio capabilities of many headsets.
The Rebuff Reality website suggests VR Ears will work with at least Oculus Quest, HTC Vive, Pimax 8K, Oculus Rift S, PSVR, and possibly other headsets. We went hands-on with an early version of the solution at CES in January and came away impressed.
According to Rebuff Reality, “To be able to reach the optimum Sound Pressure Level (SPL) at the ear, we made VR Ears active, adding an in a lithium polymer battery (lasts up to 8hrs), high efficiency Digital Amplifier and Digital Signal Processor (DSP).”
Rebuff Reality’s VR Power solution is currently backordered. According to the company, COVID-19 impacted its supply chain and logistics infrastructure.
We’ll provide updates on both VR Power and VR Ears in the coming weeks. Hardware-based Kickstarter projects are generally pretty risky as a lot can go wrong, and even products that do ship after crowdfunding are often delayed.
That’s the longest I’ve ever been able to wear an Oculus Quest before ripping it off my head in pain. If I’m being honest, I hated using my Quest because it was so uncomfortable. It sat next to my bed for months, the controllers and charger tucked away on my headboard shelf. But while I hated the Quest, I did appreciate and love the concept of what it was, and what it meant for VR.
The VR Power is a 10,000mAh battery that weighs 9.7 ounces (roughly 0.61 pounds), providing not only a better battery life, but also acting as a counterweight for the Oculus Quest. Some people have concerns that the battery will “overheat and explode” or “break your neck,” but after extensive testing, I can confirm that never happened. If anything, the VR Power makes the Quest feel like a more appropriate weight, as it doesn’t allow the headset to tip forward on your face.
VR Power: What’s In The Box
The box comes with the battery pack, two cable management clips, and a short USB-C to USB-C cable to connect from the VR Power to the USB-C port on the side of the Quest. The cable management clips are attached with velcro-style fasteners; they fit and fasten perfectly, so there’s no need to worry about it getting caught on your hair. Getting the USB-C cable into the clips requires a bit of force, but once they’re in place, it fits securely. The straps that fasten the VR Power to the bottom of the head strap are also perfectly measured, and never irritated the back of the head, or got caught on my hair.
VR Power’s power button in the center also acts as a battery indicator. Going counterclockwise, quadrants will turn off to signify a loss in 25% of battery life per quadrant respectively. It has three USB-C ports on the top: from left to right, a 1 Amp port that can be used to charge other accessories, a 3 Amp port to charge the Quest, and the charging port for the VR Power itself. By having the shorter cable hooked up in the middle port, you can use your Oculus Quest charger in the far right port to charge both at the same time.The battery pack was delivered with about 75% charge, and my Quest was completelydead, so I charged them overnight before conducting the review.
Nine hours, twenty one minutes, and thirty six seconds.
That’s how long I spent in an Oculus Quest in a single day. I know it was exactly this long because I used multiple timers to record my exact play time. Over nine hours is a long time. Most people don’t even get to sleep for that long. You could fly from London to Boston and still have time to spare. You could watch The Hateful Eight three times. But with a fully charged VR Power and Oculus Quest, I was able to enjoy that much time in virtual reality.
The port covers are each clearly labeled: Output 1 Amp, Output 3 Amp, and Input.
Testing The Battery
I made sure to test it for that long because Rebuff Reality claimed that the VR Power would give users up to eight hours of gaming, and up to ten hours of streaming (if using a fully-charged Quest).
Disclaimer: We do not advise anyone to be in VR for extended periods of time. Moderation is key, as-is taking breaks regularly. If you begin to feel sick in VR, remove the headset and take a break. For more information on how to overcome VR motion sickness, click here.
To test the lofty battery life claims, I decided to do a mixture of both VR gaming and video streaming. I started off with playing A Fisherman’s Tale, which took me roughly three and a half hours. After that, I watched a few episodes of Arrested Development on Netflix, and then dragged our News Writer, Harry Baker, into the experiment for some help. Around the seven hour mark of my testing, Harry set up a custom room in Bigscreen, where we looked through his Spotify playlists via Virtual Desktop, and played a few rounds of Pictionary using Bigscreen’s 3D drawing tool.
After saying goodbye to Harry and being grateful for the brief interaction with another human, I fired up I Expect You To Die. I tried to close out the test with Gun Club VR, but I was so exhausted at that point, I went back to Netflix after 20 minutes.
Analyzing The Effects
While I started to fade mentally from being in VR for that long, I wasn’t in a lot of physical pain. Roughly at the five hour mark was when my forehead started to hurt on one side. I had to readjust the straps a couple times, but was able to get back to it without issue. At the end of the nine and a half hour test, I had a very small headache. Dismissible, even. It went away within half an hour.
For those of you who have the same issues I did with the Oculus Quest (the headset being incredibly front heavy, pinching the nose, squishing the face), the VR Power does a fantastic job of evenly distributing the weight. If anything, I felt my Oculus Quest was lighter. I never felt like it wasn’t secure, either. I stress-tested the stability by skipping around outside, jumping, headbanging, and running. Not once did it feel like it was going to fly off, or have the straps come undone.
To test out how it held up during high motion activity, I played a handful of OhShape rounds. If you’re unfamiliar with OhShape, it’s a fusion of Beat Saber and Tetris (but with your body instead of blocks). I was surprised at how much of a workout it actually was! The game has you lifting your arms, doing squats, moving from side to side, punching, and catching objects. It may seem like an easy concept, but the way the game has you move your body really uses your body’s weight for a good workout. You can check out our full review here.
The VR Power weighs 9.7oz / 275g. The unit was weighed several times on different surfaces to ensure accuracy.
The main issue with the Oculus Quest for me is that the headstrap does not sit low enough on the back of my head. While the VR Power doesn’t drastically fix this, it keeps the headset in place, and the weight is perfect for lifting the pressure off my face. I was a bit worried that playing OhShape would call for me having to adjust the headset several times, but it stayed securely in place. It didn’t slide from side to side, or scoot up on my head. I know I need to be more active and do some exercising. Now that I’ve tried OhShape with the VR Power, I’m actually motivated to do so.
While it’s understandable to assume having a battery pack attached to the back of your skull is going to cause some temperature issues, the VR Power never seemed to get hot. Using it for nearly nine and a half hours straight, I didn’t feel I was in any danger of it exploding, and I never felt its temperature rise. After entirely depleting the battery, I timed the total charge time to full, which is indicated by a solid, lit up circle around the power button.
The charge was rather slow, clocking in at about six hours and five minutes using the Oculus Quest power adapter and charge cable. This may seem frustrating for some, and it was for me at first, but I suspect it charges slow for a specific reason. Although this is just a theory (and I’ve only done a single complete 0% to 100% charge), I feel it charges slow to not build up any unnecessary heat, and preserve the overall life of the battery. Realistically, I’m not sure how many times users would fully deplete to the degree I did for the review and do a complete charge.
VR Power Review: Final Verdict
4/5 Stars | Really Good
The only downside we could find with the VR Power is that it isn’t compatible with Oculus Link. When I asked Rebuff Reality about this, they let me know that, “VR Power is optimized based on Oculus Link charging specifications, however, it is not able to pass through data from your computer to the Oculus Quest.” This means that you can’t use the VR Power as a battery device while you’re using Oculus Link, but you can still keep it attached to use as a counterweight for comfort.
The battery life claims made by Rebuff Reality are true, it’s easy to install, and it makes the Oculus Quest not only wearable for me, but actually comfortable. For people who want more battery life out of the Quest, or want more comfort for long hours of playing and developing, the VR Power is easily one of the best Oculus Quest accessories on the market.
This review was conducted with a VR Power unit provided by Rebuff Reality. For more information about how we arrived at this score, check out our review guidelines.
Hopefully you enjoyed our unboxing video of the VR Power Oculus Quest counterweight and battery pack last week. But maker Rebuff Reality is also releasing a protective cover for your Quest, called VR Shell. Time to take a closer look at that.
The VR Shell is a poly-carbonate casing that goes over the bulk of the Quest unit. It’s designed to keep the kit snug when you’re out and about, making sure it doesn’t suffer any nasty scratches or worse. Plus, it’ll keep Quest safe while you’re using it, though we still wouldn’t advise bumping into a wall all the same. Oh and, yes, it’ll leave space for your inside-out tracking cameras, so there shouldn’t be any glitches there.
In our quick video we’ll show you what you get inside the box and also how snap it into place. As you can see it’s pretty easy to get it all in place. The question is does it work well enough, and does it add any unnecessary weight to the Quest itself? We’ll be looking into those questions and more as we continue using the kit in the coming days and weeks.
VR Shell is shipping now for $39.99. VR Power is also shipping, but it’s heavily backordered at this point in time, so you likely won’t get one until around April at the earliest.
We’ll be bringing you full impressions of VR Power and VR Shell in the near future, so stay tuned. Interested in picking one of these up? Let us know in the comments below!
Rebuff Reality’s VR Power accessory for Oculus Quest has been on my mind since CES in January. Our initial impressions suggested it could make the headset usable for some people who have trouble with the weight and fitting of the headset.
Now we’ve finally got our hands on the counterweight and battery pack for an extended period. We’re working on our product review but, in the meantime, we wanted to give you a sneak peek at the VR Power and how it connects to the Oculus Quest.
If you ordered your VR Power last month, you should be receiving it soon. If you want to order one today, however, the expected delivery date is tentatively pushed out all the way out to April 30, 2020, and they’ve stopped accepting new orders outside North America. Rebuff Reality says they’ve temporarily stopped taking orders from some places due to Coronavirus affecting production and availability. According to Rebuff, they hope to ship again earlier than April 30 but say they don’t want to miss their next ship date and so they set it for a conservative estimate. The Coronavirus is also impacting many VR companies such as Valve and Facebook and also causing big cancellations at upcoming conferences such as the Mobile World Congress and the Game Developers Conference. All of Rebuff Reality’s other products are in stock, and they are planning to launch a Kickstarter for the VR Ears off-ear audio accessory for Quest in March.
In the video embedded above, I go over the contents of the package, as well as installing the VR Power on my Oculus Quest. It took a little bit of work to figure out the wires, but overall, it’s a very easy installation process.
Stay tuned for our full review of the VR Power! Let us know if you’ll be ordering one in the comments below.
The VR Power accessory for Oculus Quest appears to be in high demand and a new email from Rebuff Reality, the company behind the add-on, provides an update on shipping expectations.
Shortly after this year’s CES we ordered the VR Power accessory ourselves to properly review the product after our initial impressions. The accessory attaches to the Oculus Quest strap in the back of the head and connects to the headset to provide backup power and operate as a counterweight with better balance for the headset’s fitting. We placed our order on Jan. 15 and received an email today stating “You should be receiving your order in the next two weeks. If you have placed an order of VR Power in the last week, it is possible you may incur further shipping delays as the first shipment of VR Power from our manufacturer has been completely sold out.”
Article originally published January 22, and updated January 24 with the following email received via email from Sciacchetano: “Essentially the first shipment of VR Power has been completely sold out and people who have placed an order prior to one week ago should be receiving their order before the end of January. For orders placed in the last week we are still working to calculate the shipdate as we have not yet received the shipment from our manufacturer ourselves however it is on the way to us already. Bear in mind there is always the risk it gets stuck in customs or has some other issue however we have updated the website shipdate to February 20th for all new orders and are confident we will hit this date.”
The Oculus Quest made a huge impact in the VR community in less than a year. It gave VR aficionados a standalone solution with great controllers, and helped bring in newcomers with an affordable, accessible headset.
Talking to people at this year’s CES, some even believe the Oculus Quest is the first true sign of Facebook steering away from PC VR headsets for future products. No matter which way you look at it, the Quest changed the VR market forever.
But just like a pair of shoes (or pants, and even glasses), not all headsets fit the same. Personally, I find the Oculus Rift S the most comfortable headset on the market: its halo design gives me optimal comfort, and I can use it fine with or without my glasses. Our Managing Editor, Ian Hamilton, however, swears up and down the Valve Index provides the most comfort, and says he can spend the most time in it. Others on staff also prefer the Rift S, or find the PSVR more comfortable. And our Operations Manager, Kyle Riesenbeck, finds the Samsung Odyssey+ the most comfortable – a headset that I wish I found comfortable, but can’t stand wearing.
The Samsung Odyssey+ and Oculus Quest both give me fitting issues, but from different sides of my head. With the Odyssey+, which was used quite frequently at SXSW 2019, I have to push down the front of the HMD to get clarity, and close the incredibly large gap beneath my eyes which let dreadful amounts of light in. On the Quest, however, the issue starts at the back of the headset: I’ve never been able to get it to rest on the back of my head correctly, resulting in an immense amount of pressure on my face, and the bridge of my nose. I can spend hours adjusting the straps, but nothing ever works. Every experience on the Oculus Quest has been blurry, painful, and disappointing.
Co-workers tried making their own counterweight with battery packs, but nothing seemed to work. As a result, Quest has been collecting dust since I got it last year, and it has made me quite sad. I’d bring it with me on my travels, only to be reminded that it’s too painful for me to use. When I heard about Rebuff Reality’s VR Power, and that it was on the CES showfloor, I had to check it out.
In the animation above on the left the Oculus Quest is equipped with Rebuff Reality’s VR Ears accessory and on the right it is equipped with the company’s VR Power accessory.
I was of course skeptical. The pessimist in me refused to believe a simple battery pack would serve as a counterweight that would make using my Oculus Quest once again desirable. I feared for a variety of things: it would be too heavy, it would somehow fit worse, and that it would make the headset feel incredibly unstable. When I approached the booth, I expressed my concerns to them and they confidently picked up a unit equipped with VR Power and offered it to me to try on.
Trying on an Oculus Quest with VR Power was like a Cinderella moment for me, slipping onto my head perfectly for the first time ever. The Quest no longer pressed down on my cheeks, causing discomfort. My nose wasn’t being pinched. And for the first time, the Oculus Quest’s displays were as clear as could be. The VR Power worked, and it worked without any complicated set up.
A breakdown of the VR Power’s features. Click on the image to enlarge. Photo courtesy of Rebuff Reality.
The VR Power comes with straps that make it easy to put on and remove from the Oculus Quest. It features a sleek power button featuring the company’s logo with a blue ring around it, which signifies the remaining battery life (when it’s fully charged, the whole circle will illuminate, and when half charged, only half will, and so on). The top strap also features cable clips, making sure everything stays out of the way, and secured in place.
To further test the stability the VR Power provides, Rebuff Reality CEO Joe Sciacchetano had me try a level in Pistol Whip. Granted this was my first attempt at Pistol Whip (yes, I had it on easy), but after making the first dodge maneuver, I had complete confidence in VR Power and its stability. I was able to turn my head left and right quickly, while dodging bullets from all angles without grabbing the headset even once. Not only did VR Power help with comfort, it helped me feel more immersed in the experience.
VR Power wasn’t the only accessory I demoed at Rebuff Reality’s booth. Rebuff Reality is also releasing a new accessory called VR Ears, which offer a premium audio solution to all VR headsets. Similar to the Valve Index’s off-ear speakers, VR Ears deliver a high quality, crisp sound to help elevate your experience. While playing Pistol Whip on the Oculus Quest equipped with both accessories,, Sciacchetano would sporadically unplug and plug back in the VR Ears.
How VR Power looks on the Oculus Quest. Photo courtesy of Rebuff Reality.
The difference between the sound with and without the off-ear speakers was night and day — like the difference of something through cheap speakers, and being there live. If you’re sick of wearing earbuds or headphones with your Oculus Quest, VR Ears provide the perfect solution. Currently there is no price or firm release date for VR Ears, but they are expected to ship some time this fall.
VR Power is currently available on Rebuff Reality’s website for $59.99 USD, with an expected delivery date of January 30th, 2020. The battery pack and counterweight combo promises up to eight hours of gameplay, or up to 10 hours of streaming videos on Quest. You can buy one by clicking here.
A new battery pack for the Oculus Quest, the VR Power, aims to increase your play time and give you an ergonomic solution to counter balance the front-heavy weight of the Quest at the same time.
The VR Power is made by Rebuff Reality and just recently became available the preorder. The device is expected to ship in early 2020, with an “expected delivery date” of January 10, 2020.
The kit comes with one battery pack, two cable management clips, one USB-C cable with a L-shaped connector for the Quest port, some “comfort padding” and straps to secure and remove the battery pack from the back of the Quest.
The battery pack sits against the back of your head, in the triangle gap between the straps, as pictured above, The USB C cable then runs up the main strap, secured by the clips, and connects to the Quest with the L-shaped connector. The battery holds 10,000 mAH and Rebuff Reality claim it will provide you with 8 hours of gaming on a fully charged Quest, and 10 hours of video streaming.
Because of the rear position of the battery pack, Rebuff Reality claim it works as a counter-balance to alleviate some of the front-heavy load of the Quest – a common complaint from some users. This idea isn’t a new one – we’ve seen plenty of people online create their own counter-weights by attaching a battery pack in a similar position. However, the unique and custom-designed shape of the VR Power, alongside the straps specifically for securing the battery pack, there’s a chance that this might work a bit better than any of your own MacGyvered solutions. We haven’t tried it for ourselves, though, so no promises.
The VR Power is available to preorder on the Rebuff Reality site now, shipping in 2020.
Erinnert sich noch jemand an Tanzspiele wie Dance Dance Revolution? Das partytaugliche Rhythmusspiel für Fußakrobaten machte erst mit einer Tanzmatte richtig Laune, der Fremdschäm-Faktor rangierte ungefähr auf Augenhöhe mit unbeholfenen Karaoke-Darbietungen. Beim jetzt erschienenen VR-Titel Redfoot Bluefoot Dancing darf man sich die HTC Vive Tracker um die Füße schnallen. Dafür gibt es brandneu den flexiblen TrackStrap, der noch weitere teilweise ungewöhnliche Umschnalloptionen eröffnet.
Redfoot Bluefoot Dancing: Da steppt der Bär
Rhythmus-Spiele sind ja nichts Besonderes, funktionieren aber in VR überraschend gut, wie beispielsweise Audioshield beweist. Fragte der frühe Titel für die HTC Vive noch die Handkoordination ab, geht es jetzt von den Pfoten zu den Tatzen: Für das Spiel Redfoot Bluefoot Dancing lassen sich die HTC Vive Tracker benutzen, die man sich um die Füße schnallen kann. Die Vive Tracker erfassen dann die Fußbewegungen, die hoffentlich elegant und exakt dem Beat folgen.
TrackStrap für Füße, Kettensägen und Hunde
Damit die Operation gelingt, empfiehlt der Hersteller Rebuff Reality wärmstens seine TrackStraps. Der TrackStrap besteht aus elastischem Neopren und soll fast jedem Schuh oder Fuß passen – der Hersteller spricht von 98 Prozent. Der TrackStrap zeigt sich aber noch wesentlich flexibler und verspricht einen sicheren Halt der Tracker beispielsweise mit den Armen, Skateboards, Kettensägen, Baseballschlägern oder Hunde und Katzen.
Günstiges Spiel, anfangs hohe Investition in Hardware
Zur Feier der Veröffentlichung lässt sich Redfoot Bluefoot Dancing – ohne Zubehör – derzeit für etwas über 5 Euro im Steam Store erwerben, was einer Ersparnis von 35 Prozent entspricht. Der reguläre Preis von knapp 8 Euro reißt allerdings auch keine tiefen Löcher in die Geldbörse. Ein wenig mehr kostet der TrackStrap, der auf der Herstellerseite im Zweier-Bundle mit knapp 25 US-Dollar zu Buche schlägt. Hinzu kommen als größter Posten die HTC Vive Tracker mit einem Stückpreis von knapp 100 Dollar. Insgesamt erscheint die Investition dann doch recht hoch und ergibt für die meisten Tanzwütigen erst dann Sinn, wenn man die Tracker auch für weitere VR-Erfahrungen verwenden kann.
The Vive Trackers have been of great interest to developers since they were launched earlier this year as they offered a whole range of new possibilities for body-tracking within videogames. There have already been some innovative experiments using the Trackers, including the guy who fastened a Vive Tracker to his cat. Many people were just waiting for the first developer to incorporate the Vive Trackers into a rhythm game, which is exactly what Rebuff Reality has done with Redfoot Bluefoot Dancing.
Incorporating gameplay mechanics that will be very familiar to players who have played Dance Dance Revolution or Dancing Stage Euromix, Redfoot Bluefoot Dancing involves the player strapping a pair of Vive Trackers to their feet, then following the beat with their feet. Using algorithms to match the music to the dance pad, instead of having specific dance step charts, allowing for a more free-form dancing experience.
The developer also offers a universal adjustable strap for the Vive Trackers called the TrackStrap, which ensures that the Vive Trackers remain firmly on the player’s feet when dancing to the beat. The title is, as you would expect, a HTC Vive exclusive and does require two Vive Trackers in order to play.
To celebrate the launch of Redfoot Bluefoot Dancing, the studio is offering a 35% launch discount, lowering the price to £3.63 (GBP) a reduction on the usual £5.59 retail price. The launch promotion will last until 27th June, 2017. Further information can be found on the Steam Store page, or on Rebuff Reality’s official website.
Redfoot Bluefoot Dancing currently only offers a single-player mode, and it is not clear if the developers are planning to add any form of multiplayer, competitive or cooperative or if there is an intention of adding in an online leaderboard, something which has been a mainstay of Dance Dance Revolution.
VRFocus will bring you updates on Redfoot Bluefoot Dancing and other Vive Tracker titles as it becomes available.
The Rebuff Reality website suggests VR Ears will work with at least Oculus Quest, HTC Vive, Pimax 8K, Oculus Rift S, PSVR, and possibly other headsets. We went hands-on with an early version of the solution at CES in January and came away impressed.
Damit die Operation gelingt, empfiehlt der Hersteller Rebuff Reality wärmstens seine TrackStraps. Der TrackStrap besteht aus elastischem Neopren und soll fast jedem Schuh oder Fuß passen – der Hersteller spricht von 98 Prozent. Der TrackStrap zeigt sich aber noch wesentlich flexibler und verspricht einen sicheren Halt der Tracker beispielsweise mit den Armen, Skateboards, Kettensägen, Baseballschlägern oder Hunde und Katzen.