HP's Reverb VR Pro Headset

[sohei]

Yeah it's a bit of a shame I agree. But the next round of headsets will cover most bases, I reckon

[Naruto]

From the HP VR Manager:

 

Voodooimaxx

 

I do. I’m the VR Quality Manager. (You can blame me if needed. :P)

 

I wish I could go into details but I’d rather wait for the “official word” before I dive in so as to not anger The Powers that be. (And believe me, I’ve been pushing them to get off their duffs and speak to the people.)

 

Edit: wanted to clarify my position. The title is correct and I help do extensive testing, but I do not work in R&D. My main function will be to monitor the product post launch to catch any quality issues that may have been missed (As somethings can show up, over time, with use and sometimes somethings can unexpectedly go awry, just before launch, and need to be jumped on then. cough.) and drive improvement changes.

 

 

 

As much as I want to just explain everything, I can’t as I’d be worried about repercussions. HP LOVES running all communications through the proper channels, Ike legal, before presenting them..... I personally believe that all that isn’t necessary for this, but this is why I’m not in upper management. :P

 

I can’t go into details as to what was being investigated for the above reasons but there were some minor hardware tweaks that needed to happen to prevent future failures.

 

Edited May 16, 2019 by Naruto

[p1t1o]

Yeah it's a bit of a shame I agree. But the next round of headsets will cover most bases, I reckon

 

 

I cant wait until then, I sold my Vive pro so I could get on this years bandwagon (since the index was announced at about the price I bought my vive for, and the Reverb even lower) before the value of the Vive dropped too far.

 

Im VR-less at the moment and feeling strong withdrawal.

 

 

***

 

From the HP VR Manager:

 

 

 

 

Frankly, I dont take anybody's identity on reddit seriously.

 

I work in a professional, corporate environment too, like a great many people, and would not risk my job just to look cool on a forum.

Which, make no mistake, is what he is doing if he is legit.

Im CERTAINLY not going to "get authorisation" to reveal information, to look cool.

Im not kidding, corporate confidentiality is serious business. I could get myself fired just by typing 3 sentences right here, like insta-fired, and Im not even talking particularly controvertial stuff, or anything that would interest you, I only work in the construction products industry.

If its HP, and confidential stuff about a MAJOR GLOBAL product launch and hes chatting on reddit...well hes faking Im pretty sure.

Or he's an idiot. Either way.

Edited May 16, 2019 by p1t1o

[nibbio]

My thoughts exactly. I actually think HP know exactly what they're doing here, having identified a demand for the highest resolution possible from people who have less interest in using hand controllers i.e. the sim community.

 

 

Lol, the "sim community" is not even a small blip on HP radar... The Reverb is squaredly addressed to the business user, SteamVR compatibility is just an added bonus deriving from WMR compatibility... I wonder if the HP people involved in this project have ever even heard of such a thing as "the sim community" :lol:

[eaglecash867]

Frankly, I dont take anybody's identity on reddit seriously.

 

I work in a professional, corporate environment too, like a great many people, and would not risk my job just to look cool on a forum.

Which, make no mistake, is what he is doing if he is legit.

Im CERTAINLY not going to "get authorisation" to reveal information, to look cool.

Im not kidding, corporate confidentiality is serious business. I could get myself fired just by typing 3 sentences right here, like insta-fired, and Im not even talking particularly controvertial stuff, or anything that would interest you, I only work in the construction products industry.

If its HP, and confidential stuff about a MAJOR GLOBAL product launch and hes chatting on reddit...well hes faking Im pretty sure.

Or he's an idiot. Either way.

 

I completely agree with that assessment. If I made unauthorized statements on behalf of my employer just so I can be the "cool insider" on an internet forum, I'd be fired so fast my head would spin. I'm so cautious about this that I won't even mention who I work for, just out of fear that somebody might copy and paste my post on other forums, and next thing you know its interpreted as an "official statement" from my employer. :doh:

[eaglecash867]

From the HP VR Manager:

 

Voodooimaxx

 

I do. I’m the VR Quality Manager. (You can blame me if needed. :P)

 

I wish I could go into details but I’d rather wait for the “official word” before I dive in so as to not anger The Powers that be. (And believe me, I’ve been pushing them to get off their duffs and speak to the people.)

 

Edit: wanted to clarify my position. The title is correct and I help do extensive testing, but I do not work in R&D. My main function will be to monitor the product post launch to catch any quality issues that may have been missed (As somethings can show up, over time, with use and sometimes somethings can unexpectedly go awry, just before launch, and need to be jumped on then. cough.) and drive improvement changes.

 

 

 

As much as I want to just explain everything, I can’t as I’d be worried about repercussions. HP LOVES running all communications through the proper channels, Ike legal, before presenting them..... I personally believe that all that isn’t necessary for this, but this is why I’m not in upper management. :P

 

I can’t go into details as to what was being investigated for the above reasons but there were some minor hardware tweaks that needed to happen to prevent future failures.

 

 

So, we essentially have a statement about how he can't make a statement. :thumbup:

[Naruto]

So, we essentially have a statement about how he can't make a statement. :thumbup:

 

I find this part informative which I forgot to quote in the reddit post.

 

Voodooimaxx

 

(I’ll probably get my hand slapped for this but...) It was is for the handful of shipment of units that got out and was issued about a week ago in order to get a latent issue fixed.

 

I’m expecting for things to get rolling again within the next week.

 

Also thsi part as well I already posted.

 

I can’t go into details as to what was being investigated for the above reasons but there were some minor hardware tweaks that needed to happen to prevent future failures.

[Naruto]

I completely agree with that assessment. If I made unauthorized statements on behalf of my employer just so I can be the "cool insider" on an internet forum, I'd be fired so fast my head would spin. I'm so cautious about this that I won't even mention who I work for, just out of fear that somebody might copy and paste my post on other forums, and next thing you know its interpreted as an "official statement" from my employer. :doh:

 

I'm pretty sure he is legit, he has made other post stating he was a HP employee if you look at his post history in Reddit but take it with a grain of salt. Up to you. Not sure what it takes to be a Reddit mod but he is a mod for /r/Hewlett_Packard and /r/HPOmenX as well per his Reddit profile.

 

and it says he is a HP employee here under moderators tab:

 

Edited May 16, 2019 by Naruto

[Strikeeagle345]

=6 :D

 

[eaglecash867]

I'm pretty sure he is legit, he has made other post stating he was a HP employee if you look at his post history in Reddit but take it with a grain of salt. Up to you. Not sure what it takes to be a Reddit mod but he is a mod for /r/Hewlett_Packard and /r/HPOmenX as well per his Reddit profile.

 

and it says he is a HP employee here under moderators tab:

 

 

Whatever his role at HP, we're just saying that he's taking a big risk by making statements that he's not authorized to make. I saw his credentials on there about being an HP employee, but that's a pretty broad range of possible job titles. ;)

 

In any case, we know there's a delay. My knowing the details of why there's a delay isn't going to change how quickly things get resolved though. I have my CV1, a Reverb on pre-order, and I'll just wait until they're able to ship it. If its due to an issue with the HMD and they're fixing it before they ship to consumers, I see that as a good thing. :D

[John Hargreaves]

It's a pity they didn't get it out the door before the Rift S pre orders. I may well have cancelled mine in favour of the Reverb, but there are too many question marks for me. Tom's Hardware couldn't get it running with Project CARS, but MRTV could for instance. I'll take the instant hit with the S and then patiently let the rest of them come out this year before deciding which way to go down the line.

[jojo]

My initial assumption was to wait for this summer for things to settle down, and inevitable initial issues be ironed out.

 

So far, things are going as planned :D

 

For HP Reverb, I think they underestimated the interest in their product.

There has been a lot of talk about the price. Some "experts" pretend 400$ is too expensive, even for the Rift S.

Maybe HP believed it and thought that at 600-650$ their headset would not attract gamers.

[boedha68]

My initial assumption was to wait for this summer for things to settle down, and inevitable initial issues be ironed out.

 

So far, things are going as planned :D

 

For HP Reverb, I think they underestimated the interest in their product.

There has been a lot of talk about the price. Some "experts" pretend 400$ is too expensive, even for the Rift S.

Maybe HP believed it and thought that at 600-650$ their headset would not attract gamers.

 

I want it! Bad! :D

 

The vive pro eye is set to E 1650,00. For a E 1000,00 less i have a better resolution! What a Fun! :D

[jojo]

I want it too.

But I would like too know how it runs on DCS first (fps).

Probably not worse that current headset with SS/ PD around 2.0.

Yet I would prefer to be sure, and any optimisation from ED would be welcomed.

[Harlikwin]

I want it too.

But I would like too know how it runs on DCS first (fps).

Probably not worse that current headset with SS/ PD around 2.0.

Yet I would prefer to be sure, and any optimisation from ED would be welcomed.

 

That's the general consensus.

[eaglecash867]

My initial assumption was to wait for this summer for things to settle down, and inevitable initial issues be ironed out.

 

So far, things are going as planned :D

 

Yup. I knew going into this that there would be hiccups and delays, and that I wouldn't see a Reverb for a while. I just looked around for a place with a good return policy, and didn't want money up front. When I found that place (Amazon), I pre-ordered. :D

[Stang]

So is the Reverb considered to have superior imagery over the Pimaxn5k/8k?

 

Stang out

[backspace340]

So is the Reverb considered to have superior imagery over the Pimaxn5k/8k?

 

Stang out

 

It's got significantly higher PPD (pixels per degree) than the Pimax 5k but less FOV, the 8K has less PPD than the Pimax 5k. So yeah, Reverb should look much clearer than either of those for the FOV it has.

[Naruto]

Posted byu/Voodooimaxx

 

 

HP Reverb: The Official Statement. (And my own personal message.)

First, the following needs to be said:

 

The messages posted by staff of HP Inc or Hewlett Packard Enterprise are the views and opinions of their authors and not of HP Inc, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates... blah blah blah.

 

In other words, what I post here are my words, not HP's.

 

Who am I? I'm the Quality Program Manager for HP's VR Team. (No I am not Joanna Popper! :P) I'm the one people dread having in a development meeting as I can put a stop to things if something doesn't meet expectations or I think something will be far worse that others may believe. I'm "That Guy"...

 

(Oh and if you don't hear from me again after this post, I've been fired... (Kidding. :P))

 

-----

 

Ok, so the official word has been drafted up and signed off on and will be going out. I'm not sure exactly how or where it will be posted, but I believe it may be in the "Notify Me" emails that folks signed up for.

 

 

The official statement (These are HP's words):

 

"It's not unusual for delivery dates to shift slightly as we ramp final production. Shipping will kick into high gear this week and we're pleased with the strong demand we're seeing for the product."

 

--drops mic - -exits stage left--

 

--comes back on stage - picks up mic--

 

What does that mean... Well, it's not untrue, but it doesn't answer the questions many have had: (And believe me, my inbox is in pain right now.)

 

What caused the delay?

 

What about this recall stuff?

 

When will it start shipping?

 

Why won't you say anything!!!!!

 

...I am sure there are others...

 

The Delay:

 

Development is a fun game. Everything is going awesomely and at the last minute, something trips ya up. That's what happened here. All prototypes have their issues, (They are expected to...) and the fixes are made and tested again on the next round of proto builds. There can be many phases where this occurs until you get to the proto build that simulates what the finished product looks like... When we got to this phase, and it looked good. So, we started production. (Nothing unusual here.)

 

Production churned away and we tested those units as we would any other development phase, and we found something we didn't like.

 

I won't go into details as to what popped up, and it was something small, and most folks would never have noticed, but it effected enough of our test samples that we decided to put the breaks on things until we got it fixed. (I think it's fair to say there was a bit of panic in there too.) We knew we'd be under the microscope ("HP? Trying to make waves in the VR space?") and wanted this to go out as close to perfect as possible. (We know we can't please everyone. That's just part of the game.)

The "Recall":

 

I want to say it wasn't RECALL recall... like a problem that would cause people to die, but that what its called when you pull product back in. These were a handful of units that were shipped out before we found our gremlin. We have no idea if they were effected, and the math says most would not be, but we didn't want to take that chance... (Remember the microscope?).

 

Shipping Date:

 

They kept changing as we were pushing hard to get things ironed out... we were a bit ambitious, I think. We were eager to get it out but the last minute wrinkle just wouldn't get ironed out. (I truly dunno where the online chat folks are getting some of their dates though. This is also something I am looking into.)

 

As production has just started back up again, I don't have an exact date yet, (Hold the pitch forks.) but they will be shipping out as fast as they can be made. (If the first lot comes off the line tomorrow, that lot will ship out then.) You should start seeing things, as orders are fulfilled, within the coming week. When I start getting dates, I'll post here.

 

Communication:

 

This is where I have to emphasize that all of this is my opinion... I'm gonna call it a screw up, and I will make the apology.

 

The VR team is a small team within a big entity and this team has been moving very fast. Many are not used to this sort of thing happening and when HP makes any sort of communication, it can take a committee to write, re-write, proofread, send off to legal, make changes... and so on... For a product announcement, that fine, but for something like this? It doesn't fly, IMHO. We need to be as agile with communication as we are in product development. It might not mean much, but I have been your advocate and I believe the folks have listened. (I'm still here, aren't I?)

 

So with all that, I do want to thank everyone for their enthusiasm. I did read, and appreciate, all posts and DM's. (Even the really nasty ones. - Was it really necessary to say that about my family?) I did bombard the team with all of your messages, of criticism, excitement, and enthusiasm, and questions. (So much so that I think I may have put a bit too much pressure on... my bad.) For this new team, it has been quite the eye opening experience and your enthusiasm is uplifting and motivating.

 

Are we perfect? No... but we are trying to be as close as we can get. :)

 

That being said, I do apologize for being quiet, and staying away during all this... so I just have one message...

 

 

For those who are interested. Looks like they may be shipping soon.

[sohei]

Posted byu/Voodooimaxx

 

 

HP Reverb: The Official Statement. (And my own personal message.)

First, the following needs to be said:

 

The messages posted by staff of HP Inc or Hewlett Packard Enterprise are the views and opinions of their authors and not of HP Inc, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates... blah blah blah.

 

In other words, what I post here are my words, not HP's.

 

Who am I? I'm the Quality Program Manager for HP's VR Team. (No I am not Joanna Popper! :P) I'm the one people dread having in a development meeting as I can put a stop to things if something doesn't meet expectations or I think something will be far worse that others may believe. I'm "That Guy"...

 

(Oh and if you don't hear from me again after this post, I've been fired... (Kidding. :P))

 

-----

 

Ok, so the official word has been drafted up and signed off on and will be going out. I'm not sure exactly how or where it will be posted, but I believe it may be in the "Notify Me" emails that folks signed up for.

 

 

The official statement (These are HP's words):

 

"It's not unusual for delivery dates to shift slightly as we ramp final production. Shipping will kick into high gear this week and we're pleased with the strong demand we're seeing for the product."

 

--drops mic - -exits stage left--

 

--comes back on stage - picks up mic--

 

What does that mean... Well, it's not untrue, but it doesn't answer the questions many have had: (And believe me, my inbox is in pain right now.)

 

What caused the delay?

 

What about this recall stuff?

 

When will it start shipping?

 

Why won't you say anything!!!!!

 

...I am sure there are others...

 

The Delay:

 

Development is a fun game. Everything is going awesomely and at the last minute, something trips ya up. That's what happened here. All prototypes have their issues, (They are expected to...) and the fixes are made and tested again on the next round of proto builds. There can be many phases where this occurs until you get to the proto build that simulates what the finished product looks like... When we got to this phase, and it looked good. So, we started production. (Nothing unusual here.)

 

Production churned away and we tested those units as we would any other development phase, and we found something we didn't like.

 

I won't go into details as to what popped up, and it was something small, and most folks would never have noticed, but it effected enough of our test samples that we decided to put the breaks on things until we got it fixed. (I think it's fair to say there was a bit of panic in there too.) We knew we'd be under the microscope ("HP? Trying to make waves in the VR space?") and wanted this to go out as close to perfect as possible. (We know we can't please everyone. That's just part of the game.)

The "Recall":

 

I want to say it wasn't RECALL recall... like a problem that would cause people to die, but that what its called when you pull product back in. These were a handful of units that were shipped out before we found our gremlin. We have no idea if they were effected, and the math says most would not be, but we didn't want to take that chance... (Remember the microscope?).

 

Shipping Date:

 

They kept changing as we were pushing hard to get things ironed out... we were a bit ambitious, I think. We were eager to get it out but the last minute wrinkle just wouldn't get ironed out. (I truly dunno where the online chat folks are getting some of their dates though. This is also something I am looking into.)

 

As production has just started back up again, I don't have an exact date yet, (Hold the pitch forks.) but they will be shipping out as fast as they can be made. (If the first lot comes off the line tomorrow, that lot will ship out then.) You should start seeing things, as orders are fulfilled, within the coming week. When I start getting dates, I'll post here.

 

Communication:

 

This is where I have to emphasize that all of this is my opinion... I'm gonna call it a screw up, and I will make the apology.

 

The VR team is a small team within a big entity and this team has been moving very fast. Many are not used to this sort of thing happening and when HP makes any sort of communication, it can take a committee to write, re-write, proofread, send off to legal, make changes... and so on... For a product announcement, that fine, but for something like this? It doesn't fly, IMHO. We need to be as agile with communication as we are in product development. It might not mean much, but I have been your advocate and I believe the folks have listened. (I'm still here, aren't I?)

 

So with all that, I do want to thank everyone for their enthusiasm. I did read, and appreciate, all posts and DM's. (Even the really nasty ones. - Was it really necessary to say that about my family?) I did bombard the team with all of your messages, of criticism, excitement, and enthusiasm, and questions. (So much so that I think I may have put a bit too much pressure on... my bad.) For this new team, it has been quite the eye opening experience and your enthusiasm is uplifting and motivating.

 

Are we perfect? No... but we are trying to be as close as we can get. :)

 

That being said, I do apologize for being quiet, and staying away during all this... so I just have one message...

 

 

For those who are interested. Looks like they may be shipping soon.

 

 

Just take my damn money already!!!!

[IanHx2]

HP UK sales office saying, " not currently available, expected within the next 4 weeks"

[boedha68]

HP UK sales office saying, " not currently available, expected within the next 4 weeks"

 

Strange. Here is a shop that says that it is in stock next week. We will see. I wait till it is in stock. :D

[p1t1o]

I work in regulatory affairs.

 

I can tell you that products intended for different countries must comply with different sets of regulations. On top of that, you've got things like customs.

 

And if any of you have experience with bureaucracy, you'll know how much of a pain this can be, and how timelines easily slip.

 

For example, it is possible to have shipments held up at customs at the destination country until you can provide them with certain documentation/information that they request. If we dont have that information to hand [could be proprietary information belonging to one of our suppliers] we would then have to seek it. This is just one way a single country could have its release delayed, there are countless others.

 

It is often the case that tranches of product for different countries can have differing release dates. Having a global release on a single date, can be an absolutely monumental task.

 

 

And before you're all like "Bah. Who needs regulations. Gummint gettin in the way of the PEOPLE" well its all fun and games/pointless paper exercises until you find a shipment of paracetamol contaminated with cyanide or a company in a questionable state buying a seemingly innocuous chemical product that is 90% by mass, a precursor to a chemical weapon (both real examples, not my company). Although mostly its things like correct safety instructions.

 

The Nordic countries, for example, have extremely tight regs on environmentally hazardous substances. So the pigment making your plastic grey might be fine in one country, but banned in another, so then you either need to reformulate the whole line, create a specific formulation for that one country, or just accept that you cant sell there. Its not unheard of for this to be found out at the last minute.

Edited May 17, 2019 by p1t1o

[eaglecash867]

Posted byu/Voodooimaxx

 

.....

[.

 

Thanks for the update, Naruto. That was a lot more informative than his previous post. He handled that really well. I see my buddies in field service support for a major avionics manufacturer taking a lot of unnecessary abuse from aircraft owners on various aircraft owner forums, and I have no idea how they can remain as calm and professional as they do. Looks like its a little worse in the computer hardware world. Its gotta get pretty old having a bunch of angry nerds show up on your lawn with torches and pitchforks demanding answers for a missed deadline.

 

Still got my pre-order in, and still have faith in HP. :D

[hansangb]

I'm getting carpal tunnel just hitting the refresh button on HP's site. And I have a preorder with Amazon! LOL. It's like waiting for CV1 to ship all over again. That's a good thing... it means the passion is still there and there's a lot more upside left in this field. Said he, owner of DK1, DK2, CV1, Odyssey, Vive, P5K+ (kept CV1, P5k+)