HP's Reverb VR Pro Headset

[Secoda]

Too bad the Valve Index didn't go to 2160 x 2160. I think it would rule VR across all uses. It could always be set down for lessor hardware. I am not crazy about external tracking and base stations but would live with it. I still think the Reverb gets the edge for a resolution sensitive sit-down sim app like DCS but the Valve Index is better in other ways. The controllers should be good for what it cost. I guess 4K panels would have kicked the price up even higher.

 

I was just flying the Huey around Dubai in a mission. The Reverb is really amazing compared to my Lenovo Explorer. I put one of the custom Uncle Sam skins on it and I think in VR the colors look great. I keep reading that there may be a file missing in SteamVR Tools if you are seeing washed out colors and to do some kind of an integrity file check on SteamVR. Anyone know any specifics on that? It's not really Reverb specific but does seem to have a big effect on LCD panels.

 

It really looks the same in the Reverb

Edited June 29, 2019 by Secoda

[imacken]

Too bad the Valve Index didn't go to 2160 x 2160. I think it would rule VR across all uses. It could always be set down for lessor hardware. I am not crazy about external tracking and base stations but would live with it. I still think the Reverb gets the edge for a resolution sensitive sit-down sim app like DCS but the Valve Index is better in other ways. The controllers should be good for what it cost. I guess 4K panels would have kicked the price up even higher.

Resolution isn't everything.

[Secoda]

Yes - that was just my preference. I personally was hoping for a huge boost in spotting planes and targets at great distances (also lights at night like the carriers) besides being able to read all of the gauges and fine print, and that is exactly what I got with the Reverb. The large boost in resolution basically eliminated the distracting SDE. That may not be as important as other things to many. There are other preferences or requirements folks may have like an adjustable IPD or HDR colors from OLED or a larger FOV. Folks may be using their headsets for things other than DCS much of the time. It just depends on what you want and need.

 

Resolution isn't everything.

Edited June 29, 2019 by Secoda

[Tinkickef]

Yes - that was just my preference. I personally was hoping for a huge boost in spotting planes and targets at great distances (also lights at night like the carriers) besides being able to read all of the gauges and fine print, and that is exactly what I got with the Reverb. The large boost in resolution basically eliminated the distracting SDE. That may not be as important as other things to many. There are other preferences or requirements folks may have like an adjustable IPD or HDR colors from OLED or a larger FOV. Folks may be using their headsets for things other than DCS much of the time. It just depends on what you want and need.

 

 

Landing on the carriers, the few times I attempted it was always by eyeballing it in Rift. Approach looks ok, landing deck picture looks ok, land and pray. I'm a landlubber, my navy birds have marine skins, not webbed feet skins

 

Then this afternoon I tried a carrier land with f14 and reverb for the first time after Rift... Hmm. Two green lines on the left, that must be the Fresnel lens. Seem to be a little high so chop a little power.... hang on,what's that red thing that just appeared above the green lines?

 

Its dropping towards the green lines, is that the ball I read about so many times?

 

Jeeze I think it is... try to get it between the two green lines and it'll be peachy..

 

Red ball between green lines. .. trap first time.

 

Never, ever saw the ball in Rift.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Tinkickef

[sohei]

Well I thought all my WMR problems were ironed out but I'm still getting issues. I've noticed that when the headset blacks out and DCS crashes, I bounce back to the cliff house, but now I have TWO instances of WMR running. So it seems there is some brief disconnect causing it to then fire up WMR in a second instance. I'll keep investigating but it may be worth getting HP to ship me a replacement.

[YoYo]

Resolution isn't everything.

 

For sure, they are personal preferences but I also prefer better resolution than FOV. So for example Pimax 5k+ is a lost for me compared Reverb.

[Baldrick33]

For sure, they are personal preferences but I also prefer better resolution than FOV. So for example Pimax 5k+ is a lost for me compared Reverb.

I went from a 5k+ to a Reverb, I rediscovered my interest in DCS using it due to the increased clarity which has cost me a fortune in the Steam sale!

[Secoda]

I posted this under the Index. Compares all of the headsets on clarity.

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3966115&postcount=359

[Tinkickef]

Well I have now had the Reverb for three weeks, albeit, for one of those weeks I was out of the country.

It's certainly been a rollercoaster ride, mainly on the software side, much of which those who already had WMR headsets would have avoided.

At one point I seriously considered sending it back, but perseverance finally paid off.

 

So the hurdles.

 

I had to spend days downloading and updating large pieces of software on a poor net connection.

I had to come to grips with this unwieldy and totally unfamiliar software and get it set up with much help from this thread.

 

Then the constant disconnects. I had to come up with a modification to stress relieve the cable connector in order to cure it.

 

Then fighting for hours and hours with an audio mirroring system that just would not work, no matter how I set things up.

 

Then finally removing the earphones completely and using an in ear solution - this is the single most, biggest improvement to comfort I have ever made. The difference is staggering. Junk those phones, the sound quality does not justify keeping them.

 

Then having tracking jumping around occasionally, maybe every 15 minutes, hearing USB disconnect sounds and losing my rudder pedals and getting them back again. Thought it was some sort of Reverb /WMR USB issue as so many reported...

Tracked that one down to Windows USB power management settings being reset by an update, then further discovering that the windows power plan USB power saving disable setting does not actually work across the board.

I had to go into device manager /usb root hubs/properties and once again uncheck many of the "allow the PC to switch off power to these usb ports" check boxes. Again, that update had reset everything and the advanced usb power setting had failed to disable them.

That cured the tracking.

 

Then the comfort again, the nose gasket rested heavily on the bridge of my nose and it hurt after 30 mins or so, I thought it was my glasses, then tried it without glasses and it still rested on my nose. Just like the Rift, you have to wear the strap ring low down on the back of the head. This cured the weight on my schnozzle, and thankfully I was still in the sweet spot.

 

Then performance issues. People were reporting 90fps and performance I could not match no matter what I did, then I realised that people were reporting fps, but not what aircraft or what map. Penny dropped, I was using the Tomcat in Persion Gulf, taxying on the ground in a very static object populated Al Dhafra.

Probably the most performance demanding, worst case scenario there is at present. So solved that one. NTTR is very much better.

 

So the upshot of all this?

 

I now pretty much have a Rift CV2, but made by HP in a Windows environment. I fire up DCS, put on the headset, the headset comes alive after about 20 seconds and it all just works - every time pretty much.

 

Its been an arduous journey, but finally I can say I'm happy with it.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Tinkickef

[sohei]

Well I have now had the Reverb for three weeks, albeit, for one of those weeks I was out of the country.

It's certainly been a rollercoaster ride, mainly on the software side, much of which those who already had WMR headsets would have avoided.

At one point I seriously considered sending it back, but perseverance finally paid off.

 

So the hurdles.

 

I had to spend days downloading and updating large pieces of software on a poor net connection.

I had to come to grips with this unwieldy and totally unfamiliar software and get it set up with much help from this thread.

 

Then the constant disconnects. I had to come up with a modification to stress relieve the cable connector in order to cure it.

 

Then fighting for hours and hours with an audio mirroring system that just would not work, no matter how I set things up.

 

Then finally removing the earphones completely and using an in ear solution - this is the single most, biggest improvement to comfort I have ever made. The difference is staggering. Junk those phones, the sound quality does not justify keeping them.

 

Then having tracking jumping around occasionally, maybe every 15 minutes, hearing USB disconnect sounds and losing my rudder pedals and getting them back again. Thought it was some sort of Reverb /WMR USB issue as so many reported...

Tracked that one down to Windows USB power management settings being reset by an update, then further discovering that the windows power plan USB power saving disable setting does not actually work across the board.

I had to go into device manager /usb root hubs/properties and once again uncheck many of the "allow the PC to switch off power to these usb ports" check boxes. Again, that update had reset everything and the advanced usb power setting had failed to disable them.

That cured the tracking.

 

Then the comfort again, the nose gasket rested heavily on the bridge of my nose and it hurt after 30 mins or so, I thought it was my glasses, then tried it without glasses and it still rested on my nose. Just like the Rift, you have to wear the strap ring low down on the back of the head. This cured the weight on my schnozzle, and thankfully I was still in the sweet spot.

 

Then performance issues. People were reporting 90fps and performance I could not match no matter what I did, then I realised that people were reporting fps, but not what aircraft or what map. Penny dropped, I was using the Tomcat in Persion Gulf, taxying on the ground in a very static object populated Al Dhafra.

Probably the most performance demanding, worst case scenario there is at present. So solved that one. NTTR is very much better.

 

So the upshot of all this?

 

I now pretty much have a Rift CV2, but made by HP in a Windows environment. I fire up DCS, put on the headset, the headset comes alive after about 20 seconds and it all just works - every time pretty much.

 

Its been an arduous journey, but finally I can say I'm happy with it.

 

 

Thanks for the tip on usb root hub power management. I've changed that setting and will retest.

 

By playing 'Trover saves the universe' for a bit ¬_¬

[Secoda]

Good point. I had read about the power management switches somewhere early on and had changed those (including the Reverb itself under Mixed Reality Devices) before even using it much. Maybe that is why my experience with the Reverb was so smooth.

 

 

Then having tracking jumping around occasionally, maybe every 15 minutes, hearing USB disconnect sounds and losing my rudder pedals and getting them back again. Thought it was some sort of Reverb /WMR USB issue as so many reported...

Tracked that one down to Windows USB power management settings being reset by an update, then further discovering that the windows power plan USB power saving disable setting does not actually work across the board.

I had to go into device manager /usb root hubs/properties and once again uncheck many of the "allow the PC to switch off power to these usb ports" check boxes. Again, that update had reset everything and the advanced usb power setting had failed to disable them.

That cured the tracking.

 

Edited June 30, 2019 by Secoda

[sohei]

Good point. I had read about the power management switches somewhere early on and had changed those (including the Reverb itself under Mixed Reality Devices) before even using it much. Maybe that is why my experience with the Reverb was so smooth.

 

Yeah I had it disabled in SteamVR and that improved things but there were still some issues. I've just done about 40 minutes with no issues, so I reckon the USB root hub thing may have fully fixed the problem, fingers crossed!

[Hammer1-1]

Anyone know where to buy one of these??

[yellow_jacket]

Anyone know where to buy one of these??

 

Looking at Bestbuy.com and waiting patiently until order button works.

[Secoda]

Looks like Best Buy has the Consumer version coming or is it. It says one cable but the picture looks like the Pro with the leather padding. Since it is near my birthday (and I am an Elite Plus Best Buy member) in July they offered it to me for for $539 through July 31 but there just aren't any. Just a Notify Me button which I pressed. I could return the Pro version and get the BB version and save $110. Of course a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Also, only one year warranty through BB and no initial setup help. (I think I will stick with the 3 year warranty on the Pro from HP direct plus the two day turnaround guarantee). Their customer services so far seems pretty good on the VR headsets. I added a review for 25 BB Reward points.

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-reverb-virtual-reality-headset-for-compatible-windows-pcs/6346254.p?skuId=6346254#

 

 

Amazon has never relisted it although I have the link to where it is - you can't find it on a Search.

Edited July 1, 2019 by Secoda

[wormeaten]

I now pretty much have a Rift CV2, but made by HP in a Windows environment. I fire up DCS, put on the headset, the headset comes alive after about 20 seconds and it all just works - every time pretty much.

 

Its been an arduous journey, but finally I can say I'm happy with it.

 

 

:thumbup:

[sohei]

 

I now pretty much have a Rift CV2, but made by HP in a Windows environment. I fire up DCS, put on the headset, the headset comes alive after about 20 seconds and it all just works - every time pretty much.

 

Its been an arduous journey, but finally I can say I'm happy with it.

 

Sigh, I thought at was at that point after following your suggestion re the usb root hub and power management. Still getting some disconnects though. I've found a few more USB type objects under device manager with power settings which I have now also adjusted so I'll keep experimenting.

I still love this damn thing though. When it works it's just awesome.

[Tinkickef]

Sigh, I thought at was at that point after following your suggestion re the usb root hub and power management. Still getting some disconnects though. I've found a few more USB type objects under device manager with power settings which I have now also adjusted so I'll keep experimenting.

I still love this damn thing though. When it works it's just awesome.

 

Yep, you have to go through every usb selection you have. Some have a power management tab under properties and some do not. Despite USB power management supposedly switched off, I still had to uncheck half a dozen devices.

 

Windows power management is the work if the devil. It will try to stymie you at every turn, I hate it. The nanny state in action. Bit like your TV soundbar that will suddenly switch itself off mid way through watching a movie, just in case you fell asleep. Nanny knows best....

[backspace340]

I posted this under the Index. Compares all of the headsets on clarity.

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3966115&postcount=359

 

The Index numbers are wrong btw - it has a rendered FOV of around 110. The '130' number came from a misunderstanding. PPD should be comparable to the Vive Pro/Odyssey, but sub-pixels per degree should be around 23.

[wormeaten]

The Index numbers are wrong btw - it has a rendered FOV of around 110. The '130' number came from a misunderstanding. PPD should be comparable to the Vive Pro/Odyssey, but sub-pixels per degree should be around 23.

 

There is one more possible problem with Index during index design and the way how they increasing FOV. This issue is noticed by MRTV in live stream when he reports some strange artifacts in the center of the screen.

That is probably the effect of reduced 3D FOV. Added FOV is made by a larger spread of displays part of the picture which is overlapping and creates a real 3D effect. This overlapping part of the picture is reduced resulting with reduced FOV with real 3D and picture in the center goes in 2D.

 

An index is using same size displays as SO+, Vive PRO or Quest. They have 110 FOV and Index 130. For this additional 20° general FOV is reduced 3D FOV.

 

To better understand that just measure FOV per eye separately not all together.

[wormeaten]

There is one other interesting happening right now. WMR! it is possible how HP Reverb is actually one of the first WMR 2 HMD.

ACER announced Ojo as well with 2160x2160 displays. WMR first introduced 1440x1440 displays as WMR standard. So this 2160x2160 could be new WMR standard.

 

More or less all WMR is sold out. Now we have just some SO+ and just a few other WMR. All rest are sold out. I doubt how Microsoft is abandoned VR especially when other VR imbracing WMR inside out tracking technology introduced by WMR. Actually, Rift S, Quest, HTC Cosmos, and Focus are advanced WMR in essence.

Samsung is announcing new HMD as well so I believe this Reverb is actually the first WMR2.

[sze5003]

Looks like Best Buy has the Consumer version coming or is it. It says one cable but the picture looks like the Pro with the leather padding. Since it is near my birthday (and I am an Elite Plus Best Buy member) in July they offered it to me for for $539 through July 31 but there just aren't any. Just a Notify Me button which I pressed. I could return the Pro version and get the BB version and save $110. Of course a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Also, only one year warranty through BB and no initial setup help. (I think I will stick with the 3 year warranty on the Pro from HP direct plus the two day turnaround guarantee). Their customer services so far seems pretty good on the VR headsets. I added a review for 25 BB Reward points.

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-reverb-virtual-reality-headset-for-compatible-windows-pcs/6346254.p?skuId=6346254#

 

 

Amazon has never relisted it although I have the link to where it is - you can't find it on a Search.

It looks like consumer version. If the leather padding is more comfortable, i rather get the pro version. I also have not seen it on Amazon either. It's just much easier to return to a store or Amazon if something goes wrong. I bought my original Odyssey and Microcenter, but they don't have the reverb listed either.

[sohei]

Yep, you have to go through every usb selection you have. Some have a power management tab under properties and some do not. Despite USB power management supposedly switched off, I still had to uncheck half a dozen devices.

 

Windows power management is the work if the devil. It will try to stymie you at every turn, I hate it. The nanny state in action. Bit like your TV soundbar that will suddenly switch itself off mid way through watching a movie, just in case you fell asleep. Nanny knows best....

 

 

Yeah I think this was the main in issue. I went through everything related to the reverb and unchecked any power saver settings. No more disconnects so far.

[boedha68]

Big news. HP contacted me unasked to swap the Reverb with a new Reverb without all the issues from the first wave! Well done HP, thanks for the heigh grade customer service, and offcourse i gonna swap to the new version! :D

[sze5003]

Big news. HP contacted me unasked to swap the Reverb with a new Reverb without all the issues from the first wave! Well done HP, thanks for the heigh grade customer service, and offcourse i gonna swap to the new version! :D

Do you think it's safe to say we can order from HP now and get the newer ones?

 

Still HP US is not in stock though.