HTC Vive Elite XR

[MadKreator]

Just curious if anyone ordered one/ has gotten their pre-order. Looks like a decent little headset. Interested to hear any feedback. Its gotta be better than my quest 2 Quest Pro looks decent but seems a bit steep on price for what it is.--- just saw quest pro dropped price to $1000-- These two look fairly comparable.

Edited March 7, 2023 by MadKreator

[dburne]

It releases on March 24th. Looks to be interesting, shame they did not include a native display port connection. Not sure why so many of these "hybrid" developers just refuse to include a standard display port.

Edited March 7, 2023 by dburne

[Sr.]

 

[Sr.]

Adjustable diopter is brilliant.

[Dragon1-1]

Another 1000$ headset... why is nobody making anything new in the 500$ range? HP pulled out, but the Reverb G2 still reigns supreme in that class. Other than that, there's Quest 2 and Pico 4, that's it.

This looks nice, and maybe someday, when the time comes to upgrade, I'll look at it, but I'd really prefer that they didn't neglect the entry level market.

[Habu_69]

19 hours ago, Dragon1-1 said:

Another 1000$ headset... why is nobody making anything new in the 500$ range? HP pulled out, but the Reverb G2 still reigns supreme in that class. Other than that, there's Quest 2 and Pico 4, that's it.

This looks nice, and maybe someday, when the time comes to upgrade, I'll look at it, but I'd really prefer that they didn't neglect the entry level market.

Probably because to produce an improved VR experience over existing headsets requires more costly technologies like pancake lenses.

[Dragon1-1]

Yeah, but at the same time, there's no way any improvement whatsoever has to cost this much. For example, I'd like a slightly lighter Reverb G2 with Quest 2 lenses, better cable design and a remodeled face gasket. Nothing shiny like eyetracking or anything like that. 

Normally I'd buy things this expensive on the aftermarket, but VR is not big enough for there to be much of that in my country. Maybe the way is to wait for the next big thing and get a formerly 1000$ headset from someone who always has to have the latest thing. I say, if tech companies want "metaverse" to be a thing, headsets will have to go for much less than 500$, but we're seeing the opposite trend - entry level options are few and development seems exclusively focused on the high end market.

I'm hanging onto my G2 for now. Still waiting for a superior offer at a comparable price.

[Nodak]

Better off upgrading to a monster 4090 and if necessary the CPU and sticking with the G-2, it's comparable to a HMD upgrade with the extra clarity and improved visuals.

[Dragon1-1]

I'm eyeing the 3090 on the aftermarket, and the CPU is already up to snuff (5800X3D). It might have better visuals, but it won't have a bigger FOV or better lenses, which are the main problems with the G2. In fact, I'd very much like to stick to 4K offerings, anything more is inevitably going to want even more GPU performance.

[MadKreator]

Kinda of that way with many things. Let’s cram as many “new features” as possible in there but leave some of the most important ones very basic. Pancake lenses great, balanced weight, small form factor great. But lets not bother with oled displays, larger fov, or DisplayPort connection. Hot swappable battery packs, kinda cool but lets not bother with the latest snapdragon processor, the old one will be fine lol… I totally agree @Dragon1-1 The market severely lacks in the entry/ mid range of headsets ( price wise) like the g2. I have a couple quest 2’s and they are fun to a point, but I cant stand the blurred / softened visuals for very long. I’m not huge into VR so the $1100USD price tag is hard for me to swallow to get what I think should be baseline performance out of vr these days. If it was $500 that would be much better.. At this point, if HP is bailing on VR then we’re kind of left with Oculus Quest series and the pico, which isn’t available here.  1100 is kind of steep for a casual wanting the totally standalone vr experience too especially when competing against a $400 Quest. Reviews, through the lens videos and a list of specs only goes so far. Kind of have to buy one and experience it for yourself to really get the real feel. I liked the quest’s when I got them for the kiddos, but once the novelty wore off and I started trying it on pc, I really started noticing where they lack. Now they just sit in a drawer with dead batteries, waiting for the next best thing to come along at a reasonable price( subjective). 

[Dragon1-1]

I actually bought a used, slightly damaged Oculus CV1 to experience VR for the first time. It was the cheapest option, at around 250$, and I wanted to know if I get VR sick or not, so I wasn't willing to spend much more. With phone VR being a dud (even if it wasn't, it wouldn't work very well with my Blackberry Key2, what with a fifth of the phone being the keyboard), we have no options for people who'd like to dip their toe in. There are options for renting a headset and you occasionally get a VR booth at various events, but it's far from common. Most of the new features are nice, but not essential compared to a good picture, good FOV and good tracking. That's the core of what a VR headset does. Even audio isn't necessary, Reverb G2 has nice enough audio, and it saved my skin when my headphones ran out of juice mid-call, but in most cases, headphones can be worn over the headset.

[Sr.]

Just submitted pre order... arriving May4th

 

Will come back with review.

[Sr.]

Ok, now estimated arrival is tomorrow.

[Sr.]

Hour in and I have yet to figure out how to run DCS through this thing... or anything that's not built in.

 

First thoughts: Very uncomfortable, face gasket doesn't block all external light. Horrible glare inside lenses.

Clunkiest, fumbly setup interface I've ever seen.

I see no use whatsoever for the passthrough feature, other than a blurry yet, color view of my room.

[Sr.]

Ok

 

This thing's going right back in the box to be returned. Fit is horrible... feels like wearing a cheap set of kids  wal-mart swim goggles. Only missing is the snorkel

Trust me, avoid at all cost. Speaking of cost... there's no way on Earth this thing is worth $1200

I half expected lighthouse tracking sensors for this kind of money.

And they have the gall to sell the "streaming cable" for an additional $79

[Sr.]

Several more hours of attempts later...

 

Nothing but errors, crashing SteamVR, reinstalls, reboots again and again. Tried with Halflife Alyx and a couple other SteamVR games. 

Did I mention uncomfortable as hell?

[dburne]

15 minutes ago, Sr. said:

Several more hours of attempts later...

 

Nothing but errors, crashing SteamVR, reinstalls, reboots again and again. Tried with Halflife Alyx and a couple other SteamVR games. 

Did I mention uncomfortable as hell?

 

Hate to hear this - was hoping it would be yet another good option for PC-VR which would be good for VR overall, but sounds like as far as at least PC-VR it may be a big fail.

[Sr.]

13 minutes ago, dburne said:

 

Hate to hear this - was hoping it would be yet another good option for PC-VR which would be good for VR overall, but sounds like as far as at least PC-VR it may be a big fail.

Even if it were, it's a $500 headset at best.

[13sq*Axe]

Quest 2 owner here. Very interested in the Quest 3 coming out later this year.

[Mars Exulte]

On 3/8/2023 at 11:34 AM, Dragon1-1 said:

Another 1000$ headset... why is nobody making anything new in the 500$ range? HP pulled out, but the Reverb G2 still reigns supreme in that class. Other than that, there's Quest 2 and Pico 4, that's it.

This looks nice, and maybe someday, when the time comes to upgrade, I'll look at it, but I'd really prefer that they didn't neglect the entry level market.

 Because Facebook (that made $300 Rifts) is a multibillion dollar conglomerate that can afford to subsidise the headset at a loss to get you in their ecosystem. Same reason Xbox's used to be really cheap. Same reason phone companies provide phones cheaply if you sign a contract. That isn't where they make their money.

Smaller companies cannot do that. And this is still very much a niche, ultra enthusiast technology that is only a few years old. ''Cheap'' comes from mass production and streamlined processes, neither of which apply to VR in any way at this time.

[Dragon1-1]

HP is no small company, and neither is HTC, or Samsung for that matter. They all have the tech and the motivation, yet we don't see any new midrange offerings. I understand that the likes of Varjo and Pimax don't necessarily prioritize the lower end of the market, but there are several big companies that either are in the business or produced headsets in the past. Large smartphone makers have everything that's needed to mass produce VR headsets.

Also, $500 isn't cheap. It's entry level as far as VR goes, but far from cheap. That's part of why this stuff isn't more popular, the price for even getting into it is steep.

Edited March 30, 2023 by Dragon1-1

[Mars Exulte]

2 hours ago, Dragon1-1 said:

HP is no small company, and neither is HTC, or Samsung for that matter. They all have the tech and the motivation, yet we don't see any new midrange offerings.

 The VR community is relatively small, even viewed globally. The reason that wave of companies just pulling out is because there's not enough to go around. There are not enough people to make ''a dozen different entry level variants'' feasible. Pico and HP are both on the list of those pulling out or greatly downsizing, for example. There's not gonna be anymore Reverbs, and Pico's future is questionable. Everyone, including me, that bought one most likely purchased a deadend product.

That goes back to the manufacturing scale I mentioned before. In twenty years, there may be enough people in this and VR sufficiently ubiquitous that it's realistic to have numerous competitors along different tiers of quality and performance.

Right now there is not. There's Oculus, Valve, and a handful of boutiques likely to survive the current downsizing.

2 hours ago, Dragon1-1 said:

I understand that the likes of Varjo and Pimax don't necessarily prioritize the lower end of the market, but there are several big companies that either are in the business or produced headsets in the past. Large smartphone makers have everything that's needed to mass produce VR headsets.

 It's not manufacturing capacity, it's demand. Samsung can churn out 20,000,000 phones and expect to sell them all. They cannot say the same for VR headsets, regardless of the price range they are aimed at.

2 hours ago, Dragon1-1 said:

Also, $500 isn't cheap. It's entry level as far as VR goes, but far from cheap. That's part of why this stuff isn't more popular, the price for even getting into it is steep.

 It's gonna stay that way for the forseeable future.

[SharpeXB]

On 3/30/2023 at 5:02 PM, Mars Exulte said:

Because Facebook (that made $300 Rifts) is a multibillion dollar conglomerate

Well... Facebook was a $1 trillion company which then became a $500 billion company (losing half it’s value in 6 months) called Meta after going all in on the Metaverse. The VR world where you hang out in vintage Minecraft level graphics as a legless Lego person avatar

Edited April 1, 2023 by SharpeXB

[Mars Exulte]

On 3/31/2023 at 8:44 PM, SharpeXB said:

Well... Facebook was

 Hehe, yeah

On 3/31/2023 at 8:44 PM, SharpeXB said:

 The VR world where you hang out in vintage Minecraft level graphics as a legless Lego person avatar

 Yeah, can't believe nobody jumped on board with that @@

[Baseline_]

I'm sorry to see that Sr. had such a bad experience with the XR Elite. Mine is apparently completely different. First some quick context. I am 57 my gaming experience goes all the way back to being one of the first kids in my neighborhood to have a Texas Instruments Pong video game console. My simulation teeth were cut on the likes of Microprose F117 Stealth and a healthy dose of Janes ATF and Longbow and of course Falcon 3.0. In the 90's it was Strike Commander, AirWarrior and in 2000 it was WWII Online and Eve. I have dreamed of a simulation with realistic graphics that could really immerse me and make me truly believe I am not just playing a game but actually flying. 

My relevant system specs are as follows,

Intel 13th gen 13900k

64 Gigs DDR5

RTX 4090

WinWing F16 stick and throttle

MFG Crosswind Rudder Pedals

HTC Vive XR Elite

I am going to qualify my following comments with this one important fact. The XR Elite is the first VR headset I have even ever tried on, so in fairness I have nothing to compare it to. That said what I have experienced to date with just three days since it arrived is nothing short of astonishing. All I can say is that if you've never flown DCS in VR than you've not really flown DCS as a simulator, but as a game instead. I know that's a strong statement likely to generate some push back but I can't help but know it's true after what I've experienced so far. I can't believe that we've progressed to the point of this level of visual fidelity at the consumer level. Sadly the only way to see what I've seen is try one for yourself. Is it perfect? No but damn, what it can do is mind blowing.

All I can say in my early verdict is, Jesus this thing is amazing and I have Zero regrets purchasing it. I'm so happy to have lived in a time where this could become reality and I'm going to relish every hour I get to be a VR pilot.