HP's Reverb VR Pro Headset

[DthFrmAbv]

Also own both an O+ and a Reverb.

For DCS I would prefer the Reverb.

 

For VR games in general I don't think the Reverb is a "necessary upgrade" when already owning an O+

[DthFrmAbv]

 

Nevertheless, Im a bit worried, since my IPD is 67mm, which might cause some problems.

 

IPD 68mm here. Not an issue.

BUT the Reverb only really is sharp in the center of your view. The farther away from the center, the worse it gets. At with worse im mean worse!

 

However, when owning a Reverb you'll very soon get used to moving your head a little bit instead of your eyes. So the center also moves and you'll be fine.

[rrohde]

Thanks for the feedback so far, guys. Since nobody mentioned it - what about the shift from the O+'s AMOLED screens to LCDs in the Reverb? I believe there will be some downgrade in terms of popping color of the O+, to a more washed-out appearance in the Reverb? Or is this a non-issue?

[S-GERAT]

The colors are poor, specially the blacks, but the visual quality is like night and day in compensation, like looking a desktop monitor, and you can see things a lot farther.

[rrohde]

The colors are poor, specially the blacks, but the visual quality is like night and day in compensation, like looking a desktop monitor, and you can see things a lot farther.

 

Ah yes, that's good to know. So there's the trade-off then: More washed out colors, but greater visual quality - thank you. :thumbup:

[Secoda]

That image is horrible compared to what I see. No other way to describe it. I could read all of those gauges pretty clearly and only see things start to fuzz out a bit at the periphery. Say the far left edge of the two left gauges to the very left edge of the image is where it starts to fuzz out a bit. But that is me with my 64 mm IPD and face shape, etc. It's definitely a negative not to be adjustable (IMO a $600+ VR headset should be adjustable). At least one can add padding to change the distance from the eyes.

 

 

 

 

Can anyone comment on the sweet spot and if the posted pic correctly represents the distribution of clarity of the Reverb?

 

Thx

 

Edited September 2, 2019 by Secoda

[sze5003]

That image is horrible compared to what I see. No other way to describe it. I could read all of those gauges pretty clearly and only see things start to fuzz out a bit at the periphery. Say the far left edge of the two left gauges to the very left edge of the image is where it starts to fuzz out a bit. But that is me with my 64 mm IPD and face shape, etc. It's definitely a negative not to be adjustable (IMO a $600+ VR headset should be adjustable). At least one can add padding to change the distance from the eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

Yea I would not trust that image as not everything is captured properly in a shot like that. It actually seems to look worse than what one may experience looking through it with their own eyes.

 

This image basically makes it look like something someone with cataracts would see. I don't believe it looks like that natively.

[Wali763]

Yea I would not trust that image as not everything is captured properly in a shot like that. It actually seems to look worse than what one may experience looking through it with their own eyes.

 

This image basically makes it look like something someone with cataracts would see. I don't believe it looks like that natively.

 

I know, that the image was bad and not representing the true picture.

 

But still this picture has a considerable degradation in clarity from the middle part to the edges and also the sharp part in the middle is not too big. Thats why I posted it. To get an answer, how big the sharp part in the middle is.

 

But now I know for IPD 68 it seems to be smaller than for IPD 64, which is someting to be exected anyway.

 

The only real way to find out is, to try it for myself.

 

Still Im a bit hesitant to order it right away, since the Vive Cosmos should be around pretty soon, that has IPD-adjustment and inside-out tracking. And Id prefer to get the consumer-Reverb anyway. Bit cheaper and also possibly better facial cusioning. So I guess, its better to wait a bit longer.... more time to think and decide.

[Harlikwin]

Thanks for the feedback so far, guys. Since nobody mentioned it - what about the shift from the O+'s AMOLED screens to LCDs in the Reverb? I believe there will be some downgrade in terms of popping color of the O+, to a more washed-out appearance in the Reverb? Or is this a non-issue?

 

Color is definitely worse than OLED. Comparing to a rift CV1 here. Everything is more washed out. Oddly enough its probably the worst in DCS for some reason. My settings maybe. EliteD looks fine on the black, and the game looks amazing on the reverb. IL2 also not that bad.

[Harlikwin]

I know, that the image was bad and not representing the true picture.

 

But still this picture has a considerable degradation in clarity from the middle part to the edges and also the sharp part in the middle is not too big. Thats why I posted it. To get an answer, how big the sharp part in the middle is.

 

But now I know for IPD 68 it seems to be smaller than for IPD 64, which is someting to be exected anyway.

 

The only real way to find out is, to try it for myself.

 

Still Im a bit hesitant to order it right away, since the Vive Cosmos should be around pretty soon, that has IPD-adjustment and inside-out tracking. And Id prefer to get the consumer-Reverb anyway. Bit cheaper and also possibly better facial cusioning. So I guess, its better to wait a bit longer.... more time to think and decide.

 

Cosmos won't be a 2160 display.

[Harlikwin]

That image is horrible compared to what I see. No other way to describe it. I could read all of those gauges pretty clearly and only see things start to fuzz out a bit at the periphery. Say the far left edge of the two left gauges to the very left edge of the image is where it starts to fuzz out a bit. But that is me with my 64 mm IPD and face shape, etc. It's definitely a negative not to be adjustable (IMO a $600+ VR headset should be adjustable). At least one can add padding to change the distance from the eyes.

 

 

Yeah I'd say the sweet spot where its super clear is 30-50% of the viewable area in the dead center. Then the next band is noticeably less clear, but still far better than a OG rift. The very edges of the FOV suck, but you never really notice that.

[NakedSquirrel]

If only there was a way to mod these lenses for the reverb:

 

[sohei]

Ah yes, that's good to know. So there's the trade-off then: More washed out colors, but greater visual quality - thank you. :thumbup:

 

TBH the slightly washed out colours aren't much of an issue in DCS in my opinion. Too much saturation makes it look a bit cartoonish so I'm ok with that.

 

Or rather I WILL be OK with it when I get my hands on the replacement version 2 of the Reverb. I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms :(

[USA_Recon]

TBH the slightly washed out colours aren't much of an issue in DCS in my opinion. Too much saturation makes it look a bit cartoonish so I'm ok with that.

 

Or rather I WILL be OK with it when I get my hands on the replacement version 2 of the Reverb. I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms :(

 

You will be happy . :)

 

I was 10 days without mine - got a replacement, so far so good. While I was waiting I had to go back to the Odyssey. Huge difference in clarity. Everytime I put the Reverb on I am 'wow'd'.

 

About OLED. This isn't just 'Reverb' - this is all the newer units are LED - Valve Index, Pimax 5k+, Rift S.. And yes, LED isn't as bright and doesn't have the color of OLED. After that though the benefits suffer , as the Samsung units don't come even close to the resolution of the Reverb.

 

I am curious what Samsung will do next, I think if they released a high resolution headset it would definitely be a competitor but for now, Reverb is the King of Resolution :)

 

That video above doesn't give a good demonstration. However, there is a degrading as you goto the edge of the FOV. It's one of those 'are you moving your eyes or head' things - so if I'm looking back and see a bandit behind me on the edge, it's not as clear and I'd have to get a better look - but for the most part it's not really a big deal as it's a peripheral thing.

 

I flew Hornet over weekend after a week of O as well, and the MFD's are clear with Reverb, everything is readable. I can run SA page on bottom MFD with Map on and it's not even close to any other unit I've used (O, O+, Rift S)

[Raz_Specter]

been running the business reverb since release, only thing i dont like is having to have the light on in the room to get perfect tracking, other than that the displays are crisp and the resolution is just wow

[wormeaten]

I just wanted to kind of know, how bad the drop in sharpness towards the edges is.

Have in mind that Reverb picture is without questions most clear and sharp among all others HMD. Every VR HMD have a sweet spot and it is more blurred on peripheral vision. Point is this blurriness is maybe more than optical illusion. Reverb has best sharpness and clarity so this blurriness is more pronounced because of it even it is more clear then comparing to the other HMD.

It is almost impossible to compare such stuff among different HMD because it is based on individual subjective impressions.

 

Every HMD have a sweet spot and it is buried on peripheral and there is no picture which could show it in the way you are experiencing it in VR. Just focus your priority on clarity in general. Do you want it or it is not the biggest priority for your needs in VR. For DCS player practical benefits from Reverb is game-changer in a way you are able to spot and identify your targets, in the air or ground, much more sooner than your opponent on some other VR HMD. In MP or PvP this is a matter of life and death. This is actually goer to all flight combat sims or Racing sims where you can see the move of racers much more in the distance when on other VR HMD on the same distance you just see blurred something in distance but not clear to recognize what exactly it is or even what it is doing.

 

VR FPS such Onward or Pavlov are a little bit different. Clarity is good but tracking of the controllers could be an issue in such games.

Onward is larger-scale FPS so your enemy is on larger distance and this clarity has benefit in Onward and a lot of players are willingly sacrificing this "controllers imperfection" for advantage to spot an enemy in greater distance. With better clarity, your aiming is much deadlier so in Onward we have the trade-off. On other hands, Pavlov is more CQB shooter and there is no practical benefit for higher clarity. Here better tracking of controllers is must-have. For Pavlov, Rift-S, for example, is a clear winner here.

It is not that big difference. You will enjoy in Pavlov and DCS the same no matter which VR you chose, the only question is what is your priority to make a proper choice?

 

In the end, it is all up to your subjective impressions and personal preferences. In the end, you are buying VR for your self so it is all up to you. I was just trying to focus on some aspects of practical VR usage.

[wormeaten]

been running the business reverb since release, only thing i dont like is having to have the light on in the room to get perfect tracking, other than that the displays are crisp and the resolution is just wow

Get some IR LED lightbulb. You will not see IR light, full darkroom, but for tracking, a room will be bright lited.

[Baldrick33]

Have in mind that Reverb picture is without questions most clear and sharp among all others HMD. Every VR HMD have a sweet spot and it is more blurred on peripheral vision. Point is this blurriness is maybe more than optical illusion. Reverb has best sharpness and clarity so this blurriness is more pronounced because of it even it is more clear then comparing to the other HMD.

I think it is a reasonable assumption that not all sweet spots are the same. People have made improvements to Vive Pros using alternative lenses and I wouldn't doubt the same could be done with the Reverb.

 

Regardless of resolution I believe the Index has significantly less degradation from centre to edge. Sure the Reverb is clearer in the centre but the Index is definitely more consistent centre to edge. The amount of degradation is a product of the lenses.

 

Whether that matters is more a matter of personal choice. Personally I would go for the greater clarity of the Reverb and simply move my head more but others may prefer the reverse.

[Hafer]

My settings so far 100% ss on steamvr (beta) which means 2224x2180/eye (close to native). And in DCS PD to 1.1

 

Everything on high

shadows both on flat

no msaa

 

It runs very smooth (enabled reprojection in steamvr)

 

After further testing i stick with:

 

180% ss on steamvr (beta)

DCS PD 1.0

 

Everything on high

visibility on extreme

no msaa

 

no shadows (both off)

 

I have frametimes between 12 and 18 - for me it is smooth.

 

On my opinion high ss on the reverb outperforms all the other settings (shadows, msaa)

[alboon2000]

Hi, I'd like to know if my settings are right, as I'm (too well) surprised to have that much FPS...

I have a i7 4790k + GTX1070, and with a very simple single player mission over Caucasus I get around 40fps average...

 

I followed Thud's VR4DCS advice : I set everything to 100%, enabled reprojection by erasing the "//" on the settings file.

 

I'm astonished to see that even when FPS drop below 20 it's very smooth, I thought my GTX1070 couldn't even start the game...

 

So, my question is : do I have a way to check wether the resolution is around 4320*2160 ?

Other question : eventhough reprojection is enabled, I see it grayed in FPSVR (see attached picture). Why ?

 

Thank you !

[kega76]

Sitting here with my mouse hovering over the HP Reverb checkout button, but still hesitating a little. Can I have some opinion of a Reverb user who switched from an Odyssey +? Was it worth it? If so, what's better?

 

Thanks. :)

 

Hi, I did go from the O+ to the Reverb. It was worth it! The clarity makes up for some of the annoying problems I have. I’m on my second reverb now, just got a new one from HP. The screen problems seems to be gone, and I’m left with some sound issue (due to the faulty cable connection). I will wouldn’t dream of going back to the O+.

[rrohde]

Hi, I did go from the O+ to the Reverb. It was worth it! The clarity makes up for some of the annoying problems I have. I’m on my second reverb now, just got a new one from HP. The screen problems seems to be gone, and I’m left with some sound issue (due to the faulty cable connection). I will wouldn’t dream of going back to the O+.

 

That's good to know - thank you. How do you feel about the colors going from the O+ to the Reverb?

[Harlikwin]

Hi, I'd like to know if my settings are right, as I'm (too well) surprised to have that much FPS...

I have a i7 4790k + GTX1070, and with a very simple single player mission over Caucasus I get around 40fps average...

 

I followed Thud's VR4DCS advice : I set everything to 100%, enabled reprojection by erasing the "//" on the settings file.

 

I'm astonished to see that even when FPS drop below 20 it's very smooth, I thought my GTX1070 couldn't even start the game...

 

So, my question is : do I have a way to check wether the resolution is around 4320*2160 ?

Other question : eventhough reprojection is enabled, I see it grayed in FPSVR (see attached picture). Why ?

 

Thank you !

 

Well your steam 100% settings are setting it higher than 2160 per eye for whatever bizzaro reason.

 

You may need steamVR beta or steamVR for WMR beta to run reprojection. (I don't so I don't know).

[Harlikwin]

TBH the slightly washed out colours aren't much of an issue in DCS in my opinion. Too much saturation makes it look a bit cartoonish so I'm ok with that.

 

Or rather I WILL be OK with it when I get my hands on the replacement version 2 of the Reverb. I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms :(

 

On the color thing, I think where it doesn't look great is on the tree colors which seem really flat/dark vs the OLED, and then the "desert" seems too light. Which is weird to me. But overall its not that big of a deal.

[alboon2000]

Well your steam 100% settings are setting it higher than 2160 per eye for whatever bizzaro reason.

 

You may need steamVR beta or steamVR for WMR beta to run reprojection. (I don't so I don't know).

 

I have both betas already...

Would know why it's like this?

 

I'd add that I had a Lenovo explorer. Uninstalled it then plugged the Reverb...