Oculus Rift DK2 Virtual Reality glasses need fine-tuning

The creatures came to take souls.

They were hovering very close, in a virtual reality demo - formally called "Into the Further 4D Virtual Reality Experience" - that opened for scary business over the weekend on Second Street near South.

Piggybacking on the South Street Spring Festival, this traveling virtual fun house presentation was sponsored by a major movie studio (Focus Features) and provided a sophisticated/sneaky way to get you interested in its freaky June 5 release, Insidious Chapter 3.

The movie theme is pretty typical - teenage girl is threatened with ghostly creatures craving to feed on her pure, innocent essence.

But the special thrill in visiting this traveling (double-tractor-trailer-stocked) "fun house" was trying out the Oculus Rift DK2 Virtual Reality glasses (and surround-sound headphones) used to heighten the drama.

In maybe the first public demo in Philadelphia of Oculus Rift technology, for which Facebook paid $2 billion a year ago, the strap-on glasses live up to their reputation - as the first VR simulator that doesn't get you reaching for a barf bag.

As in comedy, the secret is all about the timing. When you, the VR-wearing subject, move your head up and down, left and right to check out the simulated room environment and creatures therein, the image shifts in perfect synchronization. There's none of the image lag time and picture smearing that disoriented and nauseated users with previous generation VR glasses. (The mad scientists have been working on this stuff for decades, first for flight-simulator purposes.)

The 10-minute production, designed to be walked and sat through, also engaged senses with vibration, wind, and scent effects. VR Philly meetup group cofounder Tyler Roach called the experience "immersive" and unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. (You can exchange notes at meetup.com/vrphilly.)

The bad news for Gizmo Guy was that the screen resolution on the DK2 glasses, though "high definition," isn't high enough. Small 1080p stereoscopic panels magnified with optic lenses still suffer from that looking-through-a-screen-door effect. That is, you see the distinct grid of picture pixels. So even with extra "4D" effects being piled on in this demo - making your seat vibrate and ghostly winds howl - you never forget this is a show.

The maker has previewed but not yet shipped a still-higher resolution version of the glasses, Oculus Rift Crescent Bay, which also pack onboard stereo headphones. But like the DK2s, the Crescent Bay model must be hardwired to a computer. Going wireless is another ingredient needed to create the sense of an untethered, roam-anywhere, lose-yourself-in-the-moment adventure.

Ironically, the scariest part of the presentation happened even before I entered the new-age fun house, when I was obligated to read and sign a waiver that eliminated rights to sue the movie company should I suffer traumas or die from the VR experience. Yipes!