Valve index VR headset

Atmos

Hopefully Index will have zero distortion and perfect clarity and a huge sweet spot. With Pimax you have to get your eyeballs exactly lined up in x,y and z axis. But once you get it right Pimax is amazing. I would be happy with the Pimax for the next 2 years regardless of Index. Index is a bonus.

MikeKay1976

IF oculus had partnered with pimax it would have had oculus' expertise on lens tech which from what i read (still not tried it) is one of the main issues with the pimax, distortion in the lenses... however a headset which needs a top of the line gpu to get the most out of it is not something oculus are interested in so it was never gonna happen imo.

a FOV of 135 i think is a more realistic target and i am hoping there will be no distortion with the valve HMD, if there is i will have to try that before buying as i believe this will be an issue for me.

if OLED is such an issue for you, were you not tempted to pay a bit more and take that headset (iirc all pimax 8k backers had the option to exchange for the OLED HMD didnt they?)

huxley

I don't think these are aimed at the same markets. the RiftS is a simply plug and play system for people looking to get into VR. The index is aimed more at PC & VR savvy users who want to expand. Either way I expect them to both sell very well. While I`m sure a lot of Rift users may upgrade I think its safe to assume the HTC user percentages will be going off a cliff on the steam survey in coming months. Is HTC still going to proceed with the Cosmos?

thesnowdog

How the Index and Cosmos do in the Steam Survey will come down to the price of the things I think. Now that HTC are abandoning Lighthouse tracking and have switched to inside out tracking and are ditching OLED in favour of LCD displays we'll probably see the Cosmos being competitive in terms of pricing.

And you also have to remember that Valve need to attract people to their store because Rift, WVR and HTC headset owners all have alternative stores to use. If they price themselves out of the market then people will be attracted to the stores belonging to their headsets more than Steam.

If the Index is over 600 quid for the full bundle then I won't be going anywhere near it and will upgrade to the Rift S I think.

huxley

Does anyone use Viveport? out of my circle of a dozen or so VR buddies only a few are using it as they got a free sub, I know a few of the Rify users gave it a try and left after a month. with all the stuff HTC is doing with the Focus and the Vive Pro. I would of thought their focus would be more directed towards the business end of the VR market.

Time will tell, but I guess ultimately it will all come down to price.

MikeKay1976

I had a viveport 3 month sub. Used it once for 45 mins for a tour of solar system. There is nothing wrong with it it is just subs do not work for me as I go months without using games (this is true of all subs for me not just viveport).
I hope there is a market for it however

Nivek TT

Never really used Viveport. As I understand it's all educational stuff and experiences

Also agree with @MikeKay1976, a subscription service does not work for me.

Good on them for trying to find their niche... But bring me the games

Johnmcl7

I've had a brief look at Viveport but would rather pay for a few really good VR experiences I really want as I didn't think it was worth a monthly subscription.

MikeKay1976

There are a bunch of games on there as well, some decent ones too.
IF you game a lot but are new to VR i think the subs are a good fit, it is a way of getting immediate access to a fairly decent library.  There are also some very good special offers for people who subscribe so if you want to buy some of the games to keep for ever you can with a substantial discount.

however if you are time limited and already have a list as long as your arm of unfinished titles (like most PC gamers who have had their account for more than a few years) then it is less true.)

it is also worth keeping an eye on offers.  For instance There was a special offer where there was a bunch of games for £1 each.. on top of that you got £8 off any purchase.  This could be combined with a 3 month sub for £19.99 AND came with a free copy of fallout VR.

So, for £3 i got 3 games - decent ones as well not dross - which are locked to viveport
I then got 3 months sub for £19.99, less the £8 discount i was given for buying the 3x1£ games, and got a  fallout VR steam key from them for free

so fallout VR steam key, 3 x quality viveport titles AND 3 months vive port subscription for £15

hard not to bite at that price (even though i have not even installed any of the 4 games and only used my 3 month sub for 45 mins! )

Atmos

Could Index have built in eye tracking?

Take a look at this Valve patent. A camera and mirror built into the lens tube itself.

http://pdf.sumobrain.com/US20180068449A1.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIBOKHYOLP4MBMRGQ&Expires=1554856626&Signature=vecd1DOAVTUQSdy4dQ9e3xhvJOY=#view=FitH