The Oculus Rift CV1 Setup Guide for Dummies

Everything you need to know on setting up the Oculus CV1

Hi everyone, I have just received my 40th Birthday present in the form of the Oculus Rift CV1. I have now successfully set it up and put it in use. There were some hurdles on the way, a few really dumb but in searching forums and threads in Google I noticed others were having the same problems. Therefore I am writing this FAQ guide to help others, such as yourself if you are reading this.

 

The DK1 and DK2 models had their own issues but the CV1 is a different kettle of fish. So here starts the guide with all hurdles I have experienced so far.

Do I Need a DVI Adaptor for the Oculus Rift CV1?

So after almost a 4 month wait, including the production delay, I finally got my CV1. I opened it up and discovered the beautiful carry case with everything neatly packed inside. I unpacked it all and noticed the headset had a USB 3.0 cable (marked with the USB 3 blue colour as a circle) and a HDMI plug. Suddenly my excitement turned to fear, as I knew my GTX 980ti only has one HDMI port – Which I am using for my monitor! First question was Can I use the CV1 without a monitor? The answer is NO as you need to install and launch software during use. Which led me to the perceived fear of waiting another 2-3 days for a HDMI to DVI adapter. I spent the next 20 minutes or so ransacking the house for the DVI adapter I knew I had from an old PC. All seemed lost until I thought about how Motherboards have on-board graphics with some including a HDMI port. I checked and it did so I plugged the monitor in there (it worked) and plugged the rift into the GTX HDMI. If you do not have a HDMI port other than on your graphics card then sorry but yes you will need a DVI Adapter as unlike the DK2 there is none provided.

How Do I Install The Oculus Rift CV1?

If, like me, you cannot find a quick setup guide in the CV1 box then you won’t have a clue what to do. A quick Google search found that by visiting oculus.com/setup is all you need to do and I’m sure you can figure it out from there. Be warned though as the initial setup is 30 minutes or more.

How Do I Adjust the headset to fit my head?

There are two Velcro strips on the sides which are adjustable.

How do I Lower the Head Phones?

Remember how you adjusted the headset? Well there is another Velcro strip on the top. Adjust it and the headset fits lower down along with the head phones.

How Do I Redeem my Free Copy of EVE Valkyrie?

If you qualified for a free copy of EVE: Valkyrie then you will have a redemption code in your Oculus accounts sales page. To use it, open Oculus home then click the settings menu (gear icon in top right) and there is an option there to redeem a code.

Where is My Free Copy of Lucky’s Tale?

It’s already waiting in your account. Just download it in the Oculus App.

How to Play Steam Rift Games on CV1?

This first bit of information may not be necessary but this is the procedure I took. Install Steam VR, right click it and select properties then opt into the beta (all that may not be required). The second stage is as follows and may be all you need to do. Make sure you are logged into Oculus Home and then right click the Rift game in your steam library and select what says, Play in Oculus Rift mode or something along those lines.

Don’t forget to UPDATE JUNE 12th 2016, the above method is no longer applicable please read on.

Make sure that you have set your Rift to be allowed to run external apps (Done from the General settings tab when the Oculus service is running).

Now some games need Steam VR to be installed while others only work on launch without Steam VR loaded but both ways require Oculus Home to be running in the background as far as I’m aware.

To set up Steam VR to work with your Oculus Rift CV1, download, install and launch the Steam VR tool. Complete the room setup then use the back button on your Xbox one controller (the little button below and left of the power button) to load the Steam VR Menu. From there you can launch Virtual Reality Games that are compatible with the Rift. If a game doesn’t work through that method then try closing steam VR and launching the game normally. I have had success with the Observatories and Boogie Man using the second method.

Update 6th June 2016

How to get ADR1FT on Steam Working On Oculus Rift CV1?

Going back to the first question is these FAQ regarding using the on board graphics for the monitor and connecting the rift to your graphics card. Well this setup causes certain compatible steam games to crash on the rift. I fixed this issue by buying a DVI to HDMI and having both the monitor and rift plugged into the main graphics card.

How to get Project Cars on Steam Working On Oculus Rift CV1?

If like me, the game keeps crashing on the white loading page then find out how I fixed it by following the method in the Adrift question above.

Ok I think that’s everything I’ve experienced so far. If you have anything to add then please leave it in the comments.

Thanks for reading and I hope I’ve helped.