Article HP Reverb VR Headset Review: Windows Mixed Reality Never Looked So Good

[kcarbotte]

HP Reverb is the best Windows Mixed Reality headset, but that may be its biggest downfall. It's impressive, but the included controllers ruin the experience.

HP Reverb VR Headset Review: Windows Mixed Reality Never Looked So Good : Read more

 

[1trillion]

HP Reverb is the best Windows Mixed Reality headset, but that may be its biggest downfall. It's impressive, but the included controllers ruin the experience.

HP Reverb VR Headset Review: Windows Mixed Reality Never Looked So Good : Read more

HP Reverb is the best Windows Mixed Reality headset, but that may be its biggest downfall. It's impressive, but the included controllers ruin the experience.

HP Reverb VR Headset Review: Windows Mixed Reality Never Looked So Good : Read more

I am so frustrated with all the reviews putting down the controllers yet NOT ONE of the Reviews EVER indicates that one could just use the HTC Vive Light house controllers instead of the WMR controllers if the user really wanted better controller accuracy.

It is a super simple fix. Just look on YouTube for simple instructions on how to utilize the Light House controller from the HTC Vive.. (Yes I know it is more expensive to go that route but holy cow people... If the crap controllers from the default WMR equipment bothers you that much then bite the bullet and spend a little more and figure out how to engage the light house controllers from the HTC Vive .... It's super easy to do... and stop your complaining.. )

If you are already into VR that much that you've purchased the high end GPU and CPU combo with a high end VR headset with good resolution then purchasing or 'Using' the light house units from perhaps your previously purchased HTC Vibe should be worth your time and effort (and extra expense if you have to go and purchase them separately )... You've already done 95 percent of the work getting all the other gear setup for a great VR experience why would you stop 'there' and just deal with the crappy WMR controllers.... JUST go the final distance and set up the HTC Vibe light house tracking units with their controllers and have the best of both worlds (great resolution AND great tracking).... ---- Simple enough.....

 

[cryoburner]

The Reverb includes two built-in headphones to enable voice recognition for use with Cortana right out of the box.

You mean "microphones"?

I am so frustrated with all the reviews putting down the controllers yet NOT ONE of the Reviews EVER indicates that one could just use the HTC Vive Light house controllers instead of the WMR controllers if the user really wanted better controller accuracy.

People shouldn't be expected to use alternate controllers. And of course, adding Vive controllers also means buying and setting up lighthouses, which defeats much of the point of the WMR headsets having self-contained tracking.

And in terms of cost, adding a pair of Vive controllers and two lighthouses adds over $500 to the setup, or around $600 if you want the new Index controllers, effectively doubling the cost of the headset. Spending $600 just to get a decent pair of controllers does not seem practical. Likewise it shouldn't be expected that people will already have such equipment on-hand. The majority of existing VR users have headsets that don't use lighthouses, and a lot of the people buying one of these will be first-time VR users, considering how small the existing VR user-base is.

And why shouldn't reviews complain about it? Complaints are likely to lead to the hardware getting improved in future devices, so they should be in your best interest.

 

[1trillion]

You mean "microphones"?


People shouldn't be expected to use alternate controllers. And of course, adding Vive controllers also means buying and setting up lighthouses, which defeats much of the point of the WMR headsets having self-contained tracking.

And in terms of cost, adding a pair of Vive controllers and two lighthouses adds over $500 to the setup, or around $600 if you want the new Index controllers, effectively doubling the cost of the headset. Spending $600 just to get a decent pair of controllers does not seem practical. Likewise it shouldn't be expected that people will already have such equipment on-hand. The majority of existing VR users have headsets that don't use lighthouses, and a lot of the people buying one of these will be first-time VR users, considering how small the existing VR user-base is.

And why shouldn't reviews complain about it? Complaints are likely to lead to the hardware getting improved in future devices, so they should be in your best interest.

Complain about it is ok but at least show there is a possible workaround the problem for those who are willing to go the extra step because many people do not know there IS A workaround solution....

 

[techguy2]

Thank for review and after reading it I am even more looking forward to buying this headset. I do have a few points I disagree with:
"No Flip Visor... HP deleted one of the best features from its first Windows MR headset... You can flip it up slightly, but not enough to clear the proximity sensor that tells the MR Portal to give you mouse and keyboard access on the desktop."

I disagree as this was the first thing that breaks for many people, to they just made more durable headset. In addition it did not work as expected. As a VR apps developer, it should have helped me be able to flip the visor up and see my monitor, but no, I still have to lift my head 45 degrees to see the screen, so even though it is easier than removing the headset completely, unless I have to change just a small thing, it puts too much strain on my neck. With Flashlight features, I can still find my coffee cup without removing the visor.
Proximity sensor capturing cursor was also badly implemented, that at the end I placed piece of masking tape on the sensor so the headset would not constantly turn on, or hijack my mouse/keyboard. This way I can manually switch with win+y to the input mode I need.

 

[mbaranDET]

I'm confused, the article states you need an RX VEGA 64 to power the headset? Does this mean for gaming? For non gaming uses, could you use a lower graphics card to power? Would a RX580 power the headset to use in Virtual Desktop/Virtual Cinema? Not to game just to view high 4k movies and large file VR movies? Thanks

 

[cryoburner]

I suspect they're referring to the hardware that will be needed to run most games well at the headset's native resolution. Some software will undoubtedly be less demanding, and could get away with less powerful graphics hardware.

Once people have the headset, I'm sure we'll hear more about how a wider selection of software performs at its native resolution on various graphics cards. From what I've heard though, the headset missed its planned release date, and still isn't available for sale.

 

[techguy2]

I'm confused, the article states you need an RX VEGA 64 to power the headset? Does this mean for gaming? For non gaming uses, could you use a lower graphics card to power? Would a RX580 power the headset to use in Virtual Desktop/Virtual Cinema? Not to game just to view high 4k movies and large file VR movies? Thanks

You need display port 1.3 or 1.4 to be able to push all those pixels at 90Hz refresh rate, but on lower end GPUs that do support that DP1.3 you may not be able to run something like fallout 4 VR but is should be enough for movies and some less intensitive games