Finally got my rift from Amazon. The Rift showed up Friday and touch controllers showed up today.
My first impressions weren't great. First of all, I could not get the headset to work. I connected the sensor, the headset USB, and the HDMI. The two USB connections were detected, but it would not detect the HDMI connection. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling video drivers, moving around usb ports, starting/restarting, on and on. Finally read that someone simply used an HDMI to Displayport adapter and it worked.
So, I ran to Best Buy on Saturday and bought an overpriced HDMI->Displayport adapter. Sure enough, worked immediately using that. Can't explain why it won't work just plugged into the regular HDMI port, but if you are having issues with that, try using a displayport adapter.
Second bad impression was how unaccommodating it is to glasses-wearers. Glasses weren't particularly comfortable in my Daydream headset, but it worked. I assumed this would be about the same, but the space for glasses is even more cramped than that. I was afraid to put the headset on with glasses, thinking it would crush them. I tried without glasses, but it was a blurry mess. So, I found my old backup pair of glasses to wear while trying it, so if something happened to them, I wouldn't be too worried. It was awkward, but I finally figured out how to put it on over the glasses. It's definitely not comfortable at all, but it is working for me. If they had put a facial interface that added a little extra space between your face and the lenses, it would have gone a long way toward helping users with glasses. I'll probably be buying the prescription lens inserts once I have my next eye exam.
After all of that, I finally got going (Rift-only at that point). The fidelity of the image was definitely far better than the Gear VR or Daydream (obviously), which made me not care as much about the remaining screendoor effect. Lucky's Tale was interesting. Kind of cool doing a third person platformer, but being able to look around the level with head tracking. I had already played Anshar 2 on Gear VR and this was basically the same with better graphics, not too interesting. Unfortunately for me that day, most of the apps I was most interested in trying required Oculus Touch. So far, it was interesting, but not mind-blowing.
Today, Oculus Touch showed up (a day earlier than expected). Now this was the game changer. It's amazing how much more immersive it feels with the hand tracking. I was very impressed with how it can detected your fingers and thumb being open or closed. The 1:1 tracking was near perfect. The tutorial alone was mind-blowing. Honestly, Rift shouldn't have launched without touch controllers. If I only had the Rift and the Xbox controller, it would probably sit idle after the first couple days. The touch controller really completes the experience
The two main experiences I've had since are Google Earth and Robo Recall. It was fun finding places I knew in Google Earth and looking at a little 3D models of them. I then fired up Robo Recall. This is definitely the kind of experience to sell someone on VR. Really made me feel kind of bad-ass, pulling my guns out of their holsters, pointing each a different way, shooting, dodging, ripping robot heads off. I will be playing a lot of this.
Haven't tried the other free games yet, but already debating my first purchase. I'm thinking about SportsBar VR. Playing some shuffleboard and pool sounds kind of cool and relaxing. Superhot seems pretty great, too, but I think it may overlap a bit with what I'm getting from Robo Recall.
tl/dr - You may need to use a displayport adapter. Glasses are a pain, but I got them to work, finally. The experience is way better once the touch controllers are in the mix. I'm very happy with it after all that.
960x1080 per eye, because it was a single 1080p screen shared between both eyes, but a lot of that wasnt visible. The optics in the CV1 are far better, aside from the lens-flare effect.