The tech-gasm that is CES ended on Friday, and Razer’s new laptop wowed. The tech event is a big one for television manufacturers to show off new things, and 2016 was no exception. But we’ll start with virtual reality and end with a nod to David Bowie.

Things to consider before pre-ordering an Oculus Rift VR headset

You can now pre-order an Oculus Rift, the virtual reality headset that started off as a Kickstarter campaign before being acquired by Facebook for $2 billion.

Those who were first to get in their pre-orders will be getting their headsets at the end of March. Within a few hours, enough units had been ordered that the shipping dates people were getting had slipped to the end of May.

If you were a backer of the original Oculus Rift Kickstarter, before the company was purchased by Facebook, you’ll be getting one for free.

But if you weren’t, and you’re thinking about getting in the line, here are four important things you should consider:

1. It’s expensive. The headset costs Cdn$849, plus $65 for shipping. The headset is equipped with built-in headphones. It also comes with a mic, an Xbox One wireless controller, and two games, Lucky’s Tale and the space fighter simulation EVE: Valkyrie. But for the same price, you can get a PS4 and an Xbox One and a few top games.
2. You need a top-end computer to run the system. The Rift requires a minimum of 8 GB of RAM, an HDMI output, four USB ports (three USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0), and a graphics card that is as good or better than the NVIDIA GTX 970 (which is only 15 months old and itself costs in the neighbourhood of $500). Oculus is partnering with some manufacturers to provide discounted systems with the purchase of a Rift, but those systems start at US$1,000.
3. The experience can make you nauseous. There are two reasons this can happen. It can be caused by simulation sickness, which is caused by the dissonance between what your brain is perceiving in the VR and the incongruous signals it gets from the body. It can also be a result of a truly immersive experience in which you’d expect a response in your body. It’s reasonable to assume that if you are engaged in a dogfight in space while flying a fighter that your stomach might lurch a bit.
4. Other VR headsets are coming. The Vive, from HTC and Valve, is expected in April (pre-orders begin on Feb. 29). And Sony is expected to have its PS VR ready this year, too.

It’s early days for the immersive entertainment experience that is virtual reality. It will mature quickly. I’m not sure about rushing to be an early adopter at this point.

Making sense of TV tech terms at CES

There were a couple of cool TV tech things in Vegas.

• LG has an OLED screen that was so thin it could be rolled up. OLED is still, to my eyes, the best picture you can get in a TV. But they ain’t cheap.
• Samsung’s Smart TV operating system has been simplified, and ostensibly will automatically detect other hardware in your entertainment set-up and enable the remote to control them.

The manufacturers do their best to differentiate themselves from the competition, and sometimes they use fancy words and acronyms to do so. It can be damn confusing.

What’s with the curved screens?

They do not improve the viewing experience. Full stop.

What happened to 3-D?

Virtually all TVs being made have the ability to display 3-D, but it’s no longer a selling feature. It’s still there. Nobody’s talking about it.

What’s the difference between 4K and UHD?

None. They both refer to the resolution of the display, which has four times the resolution of standard HD (1080p).

What is HDR and why should you care?

HDR stands for “high dynamic range” and it’s the latest technical innovation in televisions.

In very simplistic terms, HDR televisions are able to deliver more detail in images because they are brighter, darker, and can display more levels of contrast within images. The goal is to provide images that are more true to life, by showing more of the detail that might get blown out in bright images, or lost in the shadows with darker ones.

While good in principle, not all TVs with HDR look better than non-HDR screens. And there’s something of a standards/format war brewing with HDR, with competing technology and methods of delivering. TV manufacturers can’t even agree on what makes HDR, with some saying brightness is the key, and others saying colour is more important.

Bottom line: You don’t need to worry about getting an HDR TV right now. If the set you want to purchase has it, and looks good to your eyes, that’s fine. But don’t go out of your way to get something with HDR.

Razer Blade Stealth laptop is stunning

For a few years, Razer has been at the top of gaming hardware and peripherals. The company walked away from CES last week with another “Best of CES” award, its sixth in a row.

Winning the award was the Razer Blade Stealth ultrabook, a thin, light laptop with plenty of power for modern gaming. The laptop begins shipping this month, and starts at only Cdn$1,600.

The Stealth was designed to work with the Razer Core, a housing for a graphics processing unit (GPU) that can be used to provide desktop-type performance. It’s akin to a docking station for a laptop, but one that turns your portable computer into as powerful a gaming machine as you want it to be.

The Razer Core will be shipping later this year. Pricing on the hardware was not announced.

Rest in peace, Ziggy Stardust

The Internet and social media were an interesting place earlier this week as the world responded to the death of David Bowie.

Beats1 DJ Zane Lowe used his show on Monday to play music from his every era. Just one reason I’m loving my Apple Music subscription.

Did you know there is an asteroid named for the creative talent? The asteroid named “Davidbowie” orbits between Mars and Jupiter.

The last video Bowie made, for his new album Blackstar, was for the track, “Lazarus”. If only.