Well that’s pretty compelling!
Ever since the failure of Windows mixed reality, there hasn’t been many non-Meta HMD’s worth buying. At least with inside out tracking.
Maybe this will finally pressure Valve to lower the price on the venerable Index? Probably not. But one can hope!
The fact that the grossly outdated (spec wise) valve index is still $1k, 4 years after release, is fucking outrageous. That thing should be like at least half the price by now. Valve is out of their minds…
It’s still one of the, if not the, best headsets available. PSVR 2 is the only headset I know of that is better in a lot of areas than the Index but the Index definitely still has the best controllers by far.
Huh? As much as i don’t like standalone headsets, all of the current standalone headsets easily vastly outspec the index…you should look at the specs…
I.e. index is missing:
-
oled screen
-
pancake lenses
-
eye tracking
Most of the newer headsets have this and are cheaper than the index…
The Index by itself is 500 dollars, not 1k.
LCD screen was a feature of the Index over the OLED screen in the Vive. On the Vive, the OLED has a visible pattern and some of the image is lost because there aren’t an even number of red green and blue subpixels (similar to PSVR2). The Beyond is screen is micro OLED with a more regular subpixel pattern.
PSVR might be the only headset available with these features for cheaper, but not much cheaper, and it doesn’t have the headphones.
Yeah that pattern is called “Pentile” or RGBG. Very annoying indeed on screens where you look right up to the pixels. And it reduces the number of subpixels by 1/3 so the resolution really suffers.
The PSVR1 had a real RGB panel but sadly the PSVR2 moved to pentile.
- Inside-out tracking so you don’t need expensive lighthouses
- Wireless connection
Inside out tracking sucks and is the main reason I still use my index. While I see the advantages of wireless, personally find it much more important to not have to charge it.
I have FBT using an old phone connected as a camera and some cardboard with QR tags printed on them. Works damn near flawlessly vs the built-in inside-out-tracking on the Q3. Now if I can just get a small little pen camera inside the headset to use eye tracking software I’d be set… 😅
Oh it works great for me. In fact a lot better than the Rift did with its dedicated trackers.
It’s also handy to just pop it on and not have to set it up. I often bring it to the office and I’ve given a demo for friends, it’s much harder with lighthouses.
And the cost of them is just insane. If they were 100 bucks for a couple it’s fine.
-
Maybe, but it’s still one of the best headsets.
It’s outspeced by any headset made in the past few years…i.e. missing oled screen. No pancake lenses.
edit: spelling
Aren’t there still tons of headsets? Besides multiple HTC sets, pico, and then all the tethered ones…
Aren’t there still tons of headsets?
Definitely not on Linux.
Linux compatibility will be my question as well. If I’m forced to sign up with PSN I’m out LOL
Hopefully it just functions as a standalone headset and doesn’t need any proprietary software…
I’m encouraged by the facts that Sony’s game controller linux driver works with no signup, and that this announcement mentions needing a Steam account but says nothing about a PSN account.
This is disappointing, though:
some key features, like HDR, headset feedback, eye tracking, adaptive triggers, and haptic feedback (other than rumble), are not available when playing on PC.
Ah so this one will be?
Probably not until the Deckard comes out. Would be cool if Sony added Linux drivers for the adapter.
I have a feeling there will be no Deckard. Why bother when Meta is investing billions into headset tech and then selling them for $500?
I really don’t believe they are actively developing another headset. I think thelat at one point they may have filed a patent for a design, but I really wouldn’t bank on this. Still more likely than Half Life 3 though.
Doesn’t have HDR, and doesn’t have eye tracking? Those are two of its biggest selling points! What were they thinking?
Sweet! I kept saying I’d consider getting this if it had PC support, soooo maybe I’m saving up now 👀
Fyi on PCVR, this headset will NOT have HDR, Eye tracking, and other features. Kind of an important call out…
Does it require a PSN account to use the adaptor?
