$8 VR Animations Tier is now officially open and a review of Cardboard VR headset
VR Animations are now available for as little as $8. Second VR animation coming soon.
Also I tested the Cardboard VR goggles and I'm positively surprised! They're not "Google Cardboard" - I'm not sure if those are even being sold anymore as I couldn't find them. What I got is called "Legato Cardboard 2" which I think is some Polish off-brand clone of Google Cardboard.
Pros:
The image quality is actually better than on the original 2016 HTC Vive. I'd imagine it's worse when compared to newer headsets like Oculus Quest 2 or HTC Vive Pro 2. Still really surprised by how clear the image is though.
The tracking is quite adequate. It drifts a little bit over time if you look around too much but it's not a problem when watching 180° videos.
The 3D effect is as good as on the Vive, the scale of the objects is correct. It's a solid experience.
It's dirt cheap provided you already have a compatible phone. I paid for it $3.55 WITH shipping so I bet most of you would be able to find one under $5.
At least on my phone the 4K 60FPS video plays smoothly without any problems.
Cons:
The image has noticeably more chromatic aberration on the edges of the image than on the Vive - when looking straight in the middle it's okay.
The field of view is smaller than on the Vive. The Vive is 110° and I would say this is around 90-100°. So you simply can't see as much at once as you can on the Vive.
There is no strap included so you need to hold the cardboard headset with your hand against your eyes. There are holes for the strap but I wouldn't recommend using it anyway - you need to hold the headset closed or otherwise you're risking your phone falling out. The 'mechanism' holding the headset closed is very iffy.
The headset doesn't really lie on your face - it rests on the middle of your forehead - the front piece of the headset is perfectly straight and doesn't follow the head's natural curve. It's not uncomfortable though, it doesn't hurt or anything. It's good for watching a couple minutes long video, nothing more.
While the video itself plays smoothly at 60FPS, the head turning lags a bit and is lower FPS - probably around 20. It's not a deal breaker while watching a video where you're not going to be doing much looking around anyway though.
Requires a compatible phone. By that I would say 4.5" - 6" screen, 1080p resolution or greater. Apparently works on both Android and iOS.
To sum it up: I recommend Cardboard VR if you already have a compatible phone and want to try watching some VR videos. Make sure your phone will fit inside before buying though.
Also tested a bunch of android VR video players and "VaR's VR Video Player" was the only one that does the job right - as in doesn't apply weird fisheye effect on the video unless you want to - it has a lot of customization in terms of zoom, distance between the eyes and lens distortion correction. It's just good.