A very cheap way of getting into VR
So, you want to get into VR, right? Well, I'm not going to talk about the HTC Vive or the Oculus rift. Instead, let's take a slightly different approach.
There happens to be an app on the app store called Intugame vr, which allows you to stream your gaming over wifi into a vr headset. Pretty cool, right?
You may need to turn down the quality to get it to work on slower networks, but the experience is still very enjoyable because it support head tracking.
Before I get started, here is the initial cost, of the smartphone and the vr headset:
Phone (Lg Risio): $20 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-risio-4g-lte-with-8gb-memory-cell-phone-gray/5215601.p?id=bb5215601&skuId=5215601
High Quality VR Headset (Pasonomi VR) : $23.99 https://www.amazon.com/Pasonomi%C2%AE-VR-Virtual-Reality-Smartphones/dp/B0187DR12G/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1468623066&sr=8-9&keywords=Google+Cardboard
Total: $43.99
Now, how can you get a phone for $20, you may ask. However, Best Buy happens to have a sale right now for the locked LG Risio, but it is $20 without signing up for a plan. It is a perfect way to get started with vr. The reason I chose such an expensive VR headset is because it is very customizable, and has a knob for both pupil distance and focal distance, so even though the phone is not very high end, you can still get the best looking result.
Now after purchasing both items and setting them up, you can find Intugame VR here: http://intugame.com/get-intugame-vr/
You will need to set it up both for PC and for the Lg Risio, but simply make sure they are connected to the same wifi network, launch the computer application and the phone application in any order, and you should be good to go!
Please keep in mind, however, that you may need to fiddle around with the settings, but to start, I would suggest setting the resolution setting to low and slowly working your way up, depending on how strong and how fast your wifi network is.
You could do it even cheaper with a google cardboard: https://amzn.to/2MBnPvS
Only 8$ if you already have a phone laying around.
This actually pretty cool. Is there big latency?
Usually, it depends on the maximum speed of the router. With a gigabit router, Medium is playable and low is very smooth, but I used the gear vr version of intugame so it had to transfer to more pixels than what it would have to transfer to the lg risio. If you use low with the Lg Risio, or any other lower-mid end phone, you should be able to easily stream low quality.