HP's Reverb VR Pro Headset

Is there a reason not to purchase it from HP direct? I was waiting for amazon but that seems to be taking a while they still dont have any.

 

 

The ones on the Hp site should be as good as any right?

I'm still waiting for Amazon hoping to still get it for $599 which was the price I got on an email alert previously...fingers crossed!

For me the Reverb sweet spot is about 80% of the display (huge). The guy whose Valve Index I tried said for him the Reverb sweet spot was maybe 60% of the display. I assumed that was IPD difference since mine is 64 mm which is basically optimal but I think it is more than that. He also had to push the Reverb against his head for best display. Go figure. Since the Reverb lacks both adjustments on the VI it is likely it will not work for a lot more folks. I think we keep reading about the experiences of folks who physical characteristics are on the edge of the Reverb's specs who have problems with the sweet spot, etc..

 

It took me a full month to get the Reverb tweaked along with Windows (gaming performance tweaks), etc. It's a difficult process and some never get there.

 

For me personally the Reverb is a solid notch in clarity above the RIft S or VI but I also thought the VI was a bit better than the RIft S in DCS when I tested them (distance spotting). Your mileage may vary. If only Valve had put out a 2160 x 2160 headset. :smilewink:

This.

We have had very similar experiences. We have the same IPD, we both wear glasses. We have both taken the trouble to jump through all the hoops.

Break.

Reverb is not designed to be a peripheral for gamers, it was a tool for designers, architects, low impact training courses ect to view their work in VR.

Using it for gaming is pushing it well beyond its original design brief and if you know this and buy it anyway, you have to accept its shortfalls.

As I state very, very often. Reverb is not for everyone. Everything must be optimum to get it running at the best performance it has the ability to display - from physical IPD to in game gamma settings.

When everything is optimal, then Wow.

I put the Reverb through its paces tonight and flew in DCS for about 2 hours straight...the HMD started getting hot and the screens started flickering (a fast flicker). Shutting the mission down and restarting it fixed it.

I was under the impression screen flicker was dealt with in the new revision? My model was 931 directly from HP so I know it's the new one. Ugh..

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I put the Reverb through its paces tonight and flew in DCS for about 2 hours straight...the HMD started getting hot and the screens started flickering (a fast flicker). Shutting the mission down and restarting it fixed it.

 

I was under the impression screen flicker was dealt with in the new revision? My model was 931 directly from HP so I know it's the new one. Ugh..

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

A fast flicker almost sounds like maybe its switching into 60Hz mode. Not sure if you've tried this already, but try setting your WMR Experience Options to 90Hz. The default is Automatic, so maybe its switching back and forth? I tried forcing it to 60Hz once and got a fast flicker that instantly made my eyes hurt. Anyway, just something to try. :)

You can't go by resolution alone as there are other factors.

I was quite pleased and pleasantly surprised by how good the Rift S turned out to be, while still being able to maintain performance like I was getting out of Rift CV1.

I like being able to run at higher graphics details and still able to get good enough performance for me, would not want to trade that off.

 

Now I personally have not tried out the Reverb to compare for myself, and likely won't get be getting one. I will stick with the S and see what happens maybe a year or so down the road.

Well Don, you can just go by resolution, that's my criteria. Then again I never had a RiftS to compare to.

The resolution in the center of your viewing area is better (probably about a 1/2 inch circle, sweet spot). Beyond that, the image turns into a very noticable blur. It's almost like you have to look directly at something to be able to see it amd take advantage of the resolution.

 

Keep in mind that I'm a just referring to the tiny focal spot (where the image is clear) and the blurry rest of the image....I didn't mention the fact that there is also some odd color/effect/whatever that seems to almost make the view of the world around you somewhat muddled or slightly "dirty", it's hard to describe. Although the resolution is higher, the overall image quality seems much worse (if that makes sense). Side note...the reviewers that reported, "omg* there is no SDE! It's just like a panel!", are full of it. Sorry, no other way to describe it. Lol

 

Now, don't get me wrong, the center resolution is better, but the actual size of this higher resolution sweet spot area is very small. This was probably the biggest shock to me while using it. It's really hard to quantify just how bad the sweet spot is....other than it really is a SPOT. haha

 

When I first tried it on and began using it I could notice the resolution difference over the Rift S, but it really wasn't something I would call a big difference...I'd actually put it more in the, "ok....a little less SDE", category. Having said that, the SDE on the Rift S I wouldn't call bad. The visible picture on the Rift S is actually quite good and noticabebly "clearer" than the CV1, imo. The difference between the Rift S clarity and the Reverb seems a lot smaller than the difference between the CV1 and the Rift S.

 

As an aside, ignore the specs in my signature, I built a new PC this weekend before testing out both headsets against eachother (9900K/Rtx 2080 Ti/32gb RAM/ M2 Drive.

 

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I pointed these issues out with my original review, but honestly I think they are minor. Have you tried adjusting the WMR IPD setting incrementally to see if it helps? My measured IPD is one thing, my Rift IPD was 3mm off from that for the best experience and my WMR IPD is different from both.

I'd say for me the sweet spot is the central 1/3 of the screen, the next ring starts to get blurry but its still pretty usable, and the final outer portion of the FOV is trash and its also where I see the chromatic aberration.

For me the Reverb sweet spot is about 80% of the display (huge). The guy whose Valve Index I tried said for him the Reverb sweet spot was maybe 60% of the display. I assumed that was IPD difference since mine is 64 mm which is basically optimal but I think it is more than that. He also had to push the Reverb against his head for best display. Go figure. Since the Reverb lacks both adjustments on the VI it is likely it will not work for a lot more folks. I think we keep reading about the experiences of folks who physical characteristics are on the edge of the Reverb's specs who have problems with the sweet spot, etc..

 

It took me a full month to get the Reverb tweaked along with Windows (gaming performance tweaks), etc. It's a difficult process and some never get there.

 

For me personally the Reverb is a solid notch in clarity above the RIft S or VI but I also thought the VI was a bit better than the RIft S in DCS when I tested them (distance spotting). Your mileage may vary. If only Valve had put out a 2160 x 2160 headset. :smilewink:

Agreed on all points here. I wish the Reverb was more adjustable, but that wasn't their market space. And for even the "blurred" area is still generally better than the rift CV1 resolution wise, while the center zone for me is near perfect.

And I'm not claiming that the Reverb doesn't have issues. It certainly does, but for spotting and cockpit readability it can't be beat, and those are the things that are important to me in DCS. Honestly the flatter color palatte is probably the "worst" thing for me compared to the OLED screen.

For me the Reverb sweet spot is about 80% of the display (huge). The guy whose Valve Index I tried said for him the Reverb sweet spot was maybe 60% of the display. I assumed that was IPD difference since mine is 64 mm which is basically optimal but I think it is more than that.

I am long sighted (wear glasses for monitor use) so maybe the sweet spot size could be related to eyesight?

Both eyes flickering together does sound like something else like the Hz changing. This is the issue HP posted about that may happen if the hardware is not up to the minimum If I am remembering correctly. Let me see if I can find that again.

I put the Reverb through its paces tonight and flew in DCS for about 2 hours straight...the HMD started getting hot and the screens started flickering (a fast flicker). Shutting the mission down and restarting it fixed it.

 

I was under the impression screen flicker was dealt with in the new revision? My model was 931 directly from HP so I know it's the new one. Ugh..

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Interesting as my IPD is 65 but if I look at an instrument centred it looks incredibly clear but almost as soon as I move my head it starts to blur.

 

I am long sighted (wear glasses for monitor use) so maybe the sweet spot size could be related to eyesight?

Its without a doubt related to eyesight and IPD. Probably in two ways I have very good unaided vision. So for me when was using the CV1 rift, I would say I "saw" the same central/peripheral/outer edge breakdown and I could tweak it a bit with the IPD slider. In the Reverb, its IMO much easier to see it than the CV1 because the central clarity is so good. So for me.

CV1

Central view... Its muddy but its the best view I can get I can tell there is lettering there and use the zoon to read it.

peripheral view... Its sorta shitty, but who cares I can still sorta see in the center

Outer edge... Well its crap, because Fresnel lenses. Oh well

Reverb

Central View... ZOMG its clear I can read things, no more using zoom

Peripheral View... I can clearly see it fall off in clarity primarily because the center is so clear. I can still tell there are things to read etc, and even still read some of them, worst case I look at them with the center view.

Outer View. Its a distorted mess with chromatic aberration because Fresnel lenses.

I would encourage Reverb users to futz with various setting like the IPD and see if it helps. (It did help me).

Here it is... I think this pretty well spells it out.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06318083

Both eyes flickering together does sound like something else like the Hz changing. This is the issue HP posted about that may happen if the hardware is not up to the minimum If I am remembering correctly. Let me see if I can find that again.

SUPPORT COMMUNICATION- CUSTOMER ADVISORY

Document ID: c06318083

Version: 1

HP Reverb Virtual Reality Headset - Display Issues if Minimum System Requirements Not Met

Notice:: The information in this document, including products and software versions, is current as of the release date.The document is subject to change without notice.

Release date : 03-May-2019

Last updated : 06-May-2019

DESCRIPTION

The HP Reverb Virtual Reality Headset may exhibit various issues including:

The headset display is blank (black).

The video refresh rate is much lower than the expected 90hz (video may flicker).

Issues can occur if the host computer does not meet the minimum requirements for the headset or when connecting the headset using a dock or adapter.

SCOPE

Information in this document applies to the following:

Accessories:

HP Reverb Virtual Reality Headset

RESOLUTION

If you encounter performance issues with your HP Reverb Virtual Reality Headset, please check the following:

Make sure your system meets the minimum requirements:

Processor: Intel core i5 6th Gen CPU (or better) or AMD FX-4350 4.2Ghz (or better)

Graphics solution: NVIDIA GTX 1080 (or better)

Memory: 8GB DDR RAM

Available Storage: 10 GB

USB port: 1 USB 3.0

Video port: 1 DisplayPort version 1.3

Make sure your headset is connected directly to a USB 3.0 port and to a DisplayPort (not using adapters, docks, or converters).

Hardware platforms affected : HP Reverb Virtual Reality Headset

Operating systems affected : Not applicable

Software affected : Not applicable

Now I wear glasses all of the time (even though the prescription is minimal) and I still get excellent clarity through most of the screen. Stunning isn't too strong of a word for it. Unfortunately, I tweaked so many things to get it near perfect I think I forgot some of them. lol

Its without a doubt related to eyesight and IPD. Probably in two ways I have very good unaided vision. So for me when was using the CV1 rift, I would say I "saw" the same central/peripheral/outer edge breakdown and I could tweak it a bit with the IPD slider. In the Reverb, its IMO much easier to see it than the CV1 because the central clarity is so good. So for me.

 

CV1

Central view... Its muddy but its the best view I can get I can tell there is lettering there and use the zoon to read it.

peripheral view... Its sorta shitty, but who cares I can still sorta see in the center

Outer edge... Well its crap, because Fresnel lenses. Oh well

 

Reverb

Central View... ZOMG its clear I can read things, no more using zoom

Peripheral View... I can clearly see it fall off in clarity primarily because the center is so clear. I can still tell there are things to read etc, and even still read some of them, worst case I look at them with the center view.

Outer View. Its a distorted mess with chromatic aberration because Fresnel lenses.

 

I would encourage Reverb users to futz with various setting like the IPD and see if it helps. (It did help me).

Both eyes flickering together does sound like something else like the Hz changing. This is the issue HP posted about that may happen if the hardware is not up to the minimum If I am remembering correctly. Let me see if I can find that again.

My hardware was posted above, it's well above minimum. LOL

My signature was my old PC.

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Agreed on all points here. I wish the Reverb was more adjustable, but that wasn't their market space. And for even the "blurred" area is still generally better than the rift CV1 resolution wise, while the center zone for me is near perfect.

 

 

 

And I'm not claiming that the Reverb doesn't have issues. It certainly does, but for spotting and cockpit readability it can't be beat, and those are the things that are important to me in DCS. Honestly the flatter color palatte is probably the "worst" thing for me compared to the OLED screen.

I think I'm just used to very high resolution flat panels with near perfect color so going to an HMD I really notice the picture differences.

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My hardware was posted above, it's well above minimum. LOL

 

My signature was my old PC.

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

A fast flicker almost sounds like maybe its switching into 60Hz mode. Not sure if you've tried this already, but try setting your WMR Experience Options to 90Hz. The default is Automatic, so maybe its switching back and forth? I tried forcing it to 60Hz once and got a fast flicker that instantly made my eyes hurt. Anyway, just something to try. :)

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That's odd hopefully others chime in if they experience the same.

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I pointed these issues out with my original review, but honestly I think they are minor. Have you tried adjusting the WMR IPD setting incrementally to see if it helps? My measured IPD is one thing, my Rift IPD was 3mm off from that for the best experience and my WMR IPD is different from both.

 

 

 

I'd say for me the sweet spot is the central 1/3 of the screen, the next ring starts to get blurry but its still pretty usable, and the final outer portion of the FOV is trash and its also where I see the chromatic aberration.

Quick question...

What do you all set your SteamVR global and Manual Override Resolutions too? Mine is at 188% (closest to 2160) for the Manual Override and stock for the Global Resolution. Also, I noticed some are using the Beta of WMR for SteamVR, is this recommended as well?

Thanks!

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But anything limiting the headset could cause the Hz switching/flickering. :smilewink:

I had it switching to 60 Hz early on my new build but it turned out to be a software update back then. USB ports on some MB's are notorious for causing problems.

My hardware was posted above, it's well above minimum. LOL

 

My signature was my old PC.

 

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I'll take a look. I'm pretty sure I set mine to 65 (my IPD).

 

Quick question...

 

What do you all set your SteamVR global and Manual Override Resolutions too? Mine is at 188% (closest to 2160) for the Manual Override and stock for the Global Resolution. Also, I noticed some are using the Beta of WMR for SteamVR, is this recommended as well?

But anything limiting the headset could cause the Hz switching/flickering. :smilewink:

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The WMR beta changes the slider scaling. 74% is closest to 2160. Big change!

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The USB port power flow/consistency was one of the most frequent problems mentioned in this thread but there are many others like drivers.

Not sure what would limit the refresh rate on my PC. It certainly isn't the processor, ram or videocard.

 

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If one is 74% and the other is 188% but they show the same resolution is there any difference, as in does the "percentage" value make a difference or just the resolution?

How do you get the beta wmr? Isn't that just steam for wmr beta and steam vr beta? This is why I don't like wmr due to multiple interfaces interacting together.