Vive Pro 2 to Launch With 6MP Resolution, 120Hz, 120° field-of-view, on June 3rd, Starting at $800

May 11, 2021

HTC today announced the Vive Pro 2, an upgraded version of the Vive Pro headset which first launched in 2018. The new version of the headset brings a huge upgrade to resolution, along with a boost to field-of-view, while retaining compatibility with previously released accessories like the Vive Wireless Adapter and Vive Facial Tracker. The headset itself will sell for $800 with a release date of June 3rd, while a full kit including controllers and base stations will be priced at $1,400 with a release date in July.

HTC today also announced the Vive Focus 3, full details here.

HTC first launched the Vive Pro back in 2018. Aside from its hefty price, which straddled the line between high-end consumer and enterprise, it was a well built headset. The Vive Pro 2 looks to be a return to form in both design and awkward price positioning, bringing an impressive leap in resolution and a boost to field-of-view.

Let’s take a quick rundown of the full specs (a few details are still unknown but we’ve reached out to HTC for more info):

Vive Pro 2 Specs
Resolution	2,448 × 2,448 (6.0MP) per-eye, LCD (2x)
Refresh Rate	90Hz, 120Hz
Lenses	Dual-element Fresnel
Field-of-view	120° horizontal
Optical Adjustments	IPD, eye-relief
IPD Adjustment Range	57–72mm
Connectors	USB 3.0, DisplayPort 1.2
Cable Length	5m (breakout box)
Tracking	SteamVR Tracking 1.0 or 2.0 (external beacons)
Controllers	Vive wand controllers, rechargeable battery
Audio	On-ear headphones, USB-C audio output
Microphone	Dual microphone
Pass-through Cameras	Yes

Resolution & Lenses

The biggest upgrade to the Vive Pro 2 is surely the new displays. While the headset moves away from OLED in favor of LCD, the resolution has jumped from 2.3MP (1,440 × 1,600) per-eye on the Vive Pro to a whopping 6.0MP (2,448 × 2,448) per-eye. That gives the headset a class-leading resolution, handily beating out headsets like Quest 2 at 3.5MP (1,832 × 1,920) per-eye, and Reverb G2 at 4.7MP (2,160 × 2,160) per-eye.

In addition to a jump in resolution, the new LCD displays also boost refresh rate from 90Hz to 120Hz. A new dual-element lens design takes the Vive Pro 2 horizontal field-of-view to 120° (up from 110° on Vive Pro), according to HTC.

To push all those pixels, HTC says that Vive Pro 2 is the first headset to support Display Stream Compression, allowing it to handle the huge 719MP per-second throughput on DisplayPort 1.2 when running at full resolution and framerate.

Same Solid Design as Its Predecessor

While the Vive Pro 2 internals have been upgraded, the outer headset is largely the same design as the Vive Pro, which has proven to be a well designed bit of hardware with great ergonomics and smart cable management. This of course means the Vive Pro 2 is sticking with SteamVR Tracking, apparently using the same sensor layout as the original.

Vive Pro 2 also includes a welcome range of ergonomic adjustments, including a dial on the back for tightening the headstrap, an eye-relief adjustment, and an IPD adjustment.

The headphones are also the same as the original headset which we didn’t find to be the best at launch, though they saw some post-launch improvements which brought them up to par.

Vive Wands Are Still Kicking

HTC’s Vive wand controller has been largely unchanged since its launch in 2016 | Image courtesy HTC

Vive Pro 2 will continue to lean on HTC’s Vive wand controllers. Those opting for the ‘full kit’ version of the headset will receive the Vive wand controllers and base stations, both supporting SteamVR Tracking 2.0. That of course means that you can use any SteamVR Tracking compatible controller with the headset, including the Valve Index controllers if you so choose.

While many consumer headsets have moved away from the Vive wand and their large trackpads—instead opting for thumbsticks, buttons, and grip triggers—HTC says some still prefer the wand-style controllers, especially in enterprise-use cases where they can be easier to learn for users who aren’t used to gaming controllers.

Compatibility with Vive Wireless Adapter & Facial Tracker

The Vive Wireless Adapter is a pricey add-on that removes the cable | Image courtesy HTC

Vive Pro 2 will have compatibility with Vive accessories like the Wireless Adapter and recently released Facial Tracker.

The Vive Wireless Adapter will support up to 90Hz on Vive Pro 2, though it isn’t clear if it will support the headset’s full resolution (we’ve reached out to HTC for more details).

Of course the headset will also support any accessory in the SteamVR Tracking ecosystem, like the Vive Tracker or Tundra Tracker.

Vive Pro 2 Price and Release Date

The headset-only version of Vive Pro 2 has a release date of June 3rd and a price of $800. HTC will begin pre-orders of the headset today with a $50 pre-order discount.

The full kit version of Vive Pro 2 (which includes the headset, controllers, and base stations) will be released in July and priced at $1,400.

Update (May 12th, 2021): HTC clarified that the Vive Pro 2 field-of-view is 120° horizontal. This was previously reported as the diagonal, which has been corrected above.

Cless

No eyetracking and no OLEDs at that price…? I guess I will pass.
- mellott124
  
  Eyetracking doesn’t usually work very well. And OLEDs would only be worth it if full RGB. 2.5k x 2.5k is impressive.
  - Cless
    
    Subpixel counts at this resolutions are not really very important anymore. Anything over the old Vive Pro will already be great, not as good as the Pro 2, fillrate is going to be top of the class there, but I’m not prepared to play games where the darkness of a cave is dark grey (being generous) just yet, not for any fillrate in the world.
  - xyzs
    
    It doesn’t work, give us some proof ? Nvidia seems to think the opposite with their lab examples.
    PS: The words from the VP of communication at Facebook to justify they are late with this tech is not an answer.
Arashi

Awesome!!! Finally something that’s pushing the envelope. Highest PPD of any consumer headset out there. HTC is back
- Cless
  
  Isn’t it just 20hz less than the index, and a 50% bump to resolution…? How does this push the envelope…? It doesn’t even include their already developed eye tracking from the older vive pro eye… :/
  - Arashi
    
    Yeah and it doesn’t even cook and clean the dishes, LOL. We’re talking about VR mate. Progress is damn slow here. And 50% bump in resolution is making a big difference. I’m really happy HTC is doing this. Who else is?
    - Cless
      
      Dude, they ALREADY did it, eye tracking was realeased by them not even that long ago. You can buy it right now on their site. I’m not talking about some futuristic non existing/prohibitively tech.
      - Arashi
        
        Well I’m not interested in eye tracking. Resolution is way more important. I will never go back to seeing SDE
      - Cless
        
        …? You realize the Odyssey+ had already almost invisible SDE back a few years back right? A 50% bump + eye tracking to the screens the current Vive Pro has would have been way more desireable than that.
      - Arashi
        
        OF course, I ahd the O2+. I liked the headset but that thing is really outdated now, extremely blurry in comparison to modern headsets like the G2
      - Cless
        
        Definitely, its dated now, but wouldn’t you trade instead of 4896 x 2448, getting like 3800×2000 but it being some actual decent contrast instead? LCD displays feel SO cheap when anything dark comes out.
      - sfmike
        
        LCD displays make playing games with dark environments or watching media almost impossible and annoying.
      - Baldrickk
        
        Turn the backlight brightness down and you’ll get a lot less light leak.
        
        Not to mention that because you’re enclosed within it, your brain adjusts to what it sees and redefines what “black” is, without all the space around say… a tv to calibrate against.
      - Cless
        
        My brain must be SHIT then, because I keep seeing grey prettending to be black as grey. And if I look at an almost completely dark place, it feels like I have a bad LCD strapped to my face, instead of being in a dark place.
      - Charles
        
        I describe it exactly the same way. You may have even borrowed that phrasing from me at some point from an older post, haha.
      - Cless
        
        Really? I guess we had the same experience then! I’ve been saying that more or less since I’ve been bitching about the Index not being OLED either hahaha
        I also say sometimes that it feels like trying to play a horror game with a TV against the sun.
      - Andrew Jakobs
        
        But as said previously, there is no new headset with OLED anymore, and there’s a reason for it ALL manufacturers seem to shy away from higher resolution OLED displays for this ‘generation’ (2020-2021), mostly it will be because of the price, but I’ll bet it’s also due to technical limitations (you and I are not really familiar with).
      - Baldrickk
        
        I mean… yeah… but it got there through using a diffraction filter aka, they blurred the screen so you couldn’t see the SDE – not that the screen underneath didn’t have any.
      - Cless
        
        Exactly, and that worked decently well on a 1.4K screen, imagine that at work on a +2k screen, it would be almost invisible SDE with great OLED contrast.
      - Baldrickk
        
        You say decently well.
        It was definitely the best of the first gen WMR, BUT nearly everyone I’ve spoken to with one said it was blurry.
        If you’re playing something like H3, doing target shooting at range with irons … Well, that’s definitely not a good thing, and going to be noticed.
      - Cless
        
        You are right there, 100%. It was blurry because like you will know well since you have the Vive Pro, if you just take that screen and “blur the edges of the pixels” it will get quite blurry fast, there just aren’t enough pixels there and the lines that need to be blurred to make the SDE disappear are thicker than they should.
        But the thing is, that exponentially decreases the more you increase resolution, the borders get way smaller really fast, so the blurriness becomes less and less noticeable fast.
      - Charles
        
        It would be 100% invisible SDE on anything significantly higher than the 1600 lines of the O+, given that at 1600 it’s barely perceptible with its diffuser.
      - Jeff Axline
        
        For the price eye tracking should have been included, which would help a bunch with very high res screens. Foveated rendering for the win.
      - Jeremy Kins
        
        Wireless really should have been included too, especially if they’re sticking with old wands and base stations etc.
      - sfmike
        
        So agree considering the price.
      - Baldrickk
        
        Especially as Foveated Rendering is now supported in Nvidia Drivers (driver side!)
      - Charles
        
        The Samsung Odyssey+ essentially had no SDE, even at 1600p, by using a special filter. HTC should have gone with a bit less resolution than they did, with OLED, and with an SDE filter like Samsung used.
      - Cless
        
        That would have been key. I wish they had gone that route instead of giving us the highest resolution with terrible contrast.
      - immersion mechanics
        
        Got to try Samsung Odyssey plus last year just before covid lockdown. After a year of Index the Samsung had noticeable screen door effect and a tiny sweet spot, but colours and contrast were excellent.
        
        Index also use a crystal diffuser to reduce sde to very important effect
      - Charles
        
        Interesting. In my experience, the O+ only has slightly perceptible SDE when looking at a blank surface such as the sky. I’ve never tried an Index, but I’ve read people saying it has very perceptible SDE.
        
        The O+ sweet spot isn’t an issue if you wear it just right (like a crown, with the earphones only covering the top half of your ears). That also eliminates edge warping and maximizes vertical FOV.
      - immersion mechanics
        
        I believe it’s the pentile pattern, it was noticeable on Odyssey even with its diffuser (which many say gives a softness), was very noticeable trying Vive Pro Eye again after Index. Have been spoiled by Index clarity!
        
        I found the Samsung actually very comfortable (many had commented on discomfort) overall a decent headset and a big shame never distributed into Europe!
      - Cless
        
        Yeah, I would have liked that same diffuser, but toned down for a 50% higher density display, that would have been the bomb… Instead we get the crispier… yet contrast wise abysmal, screen :/
      - immersion mechanics
        
        Index diffuser seems to be a polarising crystal glass material, very subtle yet effective, clarity is great with super resolution if you have spare GPU power.
        
        Great teardown here:
        
        https://www.thevrist.com/indexteardown
      - Jeremy Kins
        
        It’s a great headset, but they really needed to integrate their advances into this headset as a package.
      - Cless
        
        I have to agree yes. Its not as much as an upgrade for people that already own the pro. Having a downgrade to color/contrast is putting off many many people. Not to say that being the only OLED people in town could have given them a good differentiation from the rest of the competition.
  - imaginaryGHOST
    
    It’s not 50% res bump over Index, it’s almost 100%. 1280×1440 per eye on Index vs 2448 × 2448 per eye for Pro 2.
    - Kevin White
      
      Index was 1440×1600 per eye, same as Vive Pro 1 and Odyssey.
      - mepy
        
        2448 x 2448 = 5,992,704 px
        1440 x 1600 = 2,304,000 px
        
        So it’s actually more than 100% increase in pixels.
      - Kevin White
        
        Sure by total square area, although I usually base the percentage increase on one dimension — horizontal lines of resolution on a monitor, for example, where a 1440p is 33% denser than 1080p (not 78%), so I’d probably say 2448 / 1600 = 1.53 or 53% increase in lines of resolution. To me, the square increase is the load on the rendering pipeline, but the single dimension increase is more representative of the impact to the human eye. 53% is still very impressive. But that’s how I typically look at things.
- Mike McLin
  
  This seems hopelessly optimistic. HTC is not back. They will stay where they right where they are, slowly eroding market share. A spec bump isn’t what they needed. They have 1st gen controllers and all of the exciting stuff that has been introduced since the first Vive has not been integrated tightly into this headset. I honestly would have expected budget pricing for this headset. It seems similar to what Oculus did with Quest 2. Oculus basically did a spec bump and cleaned up a few rough edges and also dropped the price while doing so. HTC seems content giving up the mass audience. I’m actually not sure what their strategy is anymore. I think the issue is that they actually have to turn a profit on these headsets, unlike some of their competitors that can bleed money for years. I wish them the best of luck.
  - Tabp
    
    Quest 2 cut corners and has lots of drawbacks compared to CV1. Facebook sells the hardware as cheaply as possible because they’re an advertising company, and you’re right that HTC needs a hardware profit.
  - Jeremy Kins
    
    Seriously, they have all this amazing tech and this IS a nice bump, but to not integrate any of their standalone products in this offering, to not offer new controllers, and to place the bundle price that high is just going to kill it. It’s a shame, if they released this at $1,000 with new controllers, base stations, with wireless included, it’d be a slam dunk.
    - Juan Fran
      
      As a Index user I find this headset really tempting thou.
    - Charles
      
      The controllers aren’t really an issue, given that you can buy Index controllers separately and easily use them with this.
- Jeremy Kins
  
  They’re not back. It’s an impressive headset, no doubt and not arguing that, but they NEEDED to price this at $1,000 max WITH basestations, NEW controllers, and wireless included to compete with the Index market. As it is, using old wands, no included wireless, no eye tracking, same basestations, it’s really hard to justify the price tag.
  
  Still though, I love to see all the other bumps in spec and it’s definitely tempting. But when the Focus 3 is similarly spec’ed, standalone, with capability to connect to PC, I don’t see the use for this. They should just release a consumer version of it.
- JustNiz
  
  You’ve obviously never heard of Pimax.
MosBen

It’ll be interesting to see how it stacks up to the Index in the reviews. I’m definitely in the market for a new PC VR headset, but so far nothing really seems to have ousted the Index as the overall best option.
- Arashi
  
  I always liked my Index, but the resolution/SDE is really getting outdated now. I’m now using the G2 and Pimax 8k-X since I will never go back to seeing SDE. But these headsets have their own downsides, so really looking forward to this one
  - MosBen
    
    Resolution has never really been the biggest factor for me. Don’t get me wrong, it matters, and as someone who has only owned a GearVR, Rift CV1, and Quest 1, I’m sure that I would be wowed by the resolution on one of these higher end headsets. But FOV and comfort have been the things that I’ve been most focused on as features for my next headset. Unfortunately, FOV seems to be a much harder problem to solve in a good way compared to resolution, so we’ve seen a lot more movement on the latter than the former.
- MosBen
  
  In particular, I’m interested to see how much this thing weighs.
- Bob
  
  “but so far nothing really seems to have ousted the Index as the overall best option.”
  
  Hopefully this new Vive Pro 2 should be the one that finally does the job since it uses exactly the same tracking system as the Index. So far, based on the specifications alone, it does appear to be superior in almost every way but things like comfort (the new double stacked lenses and display will change the weight values) and colors/contrast need to be assessed by the public before any final verdict can be made.
  - Kevin White
    
    Audio will definitely not be up to the Index standard.
    - immersion mechanics
      
      Here’s the interesting thing about Vive Pro, the headstrap was specifically designed to accommodate aftermarket audio headphones.
      
      I’ve not been to a location based entertainment venue or demo using original HTC headphones, always replaced with Sony, Sennheiser, Bose, Audiotechnica, etc.
      
      Asked a developer at Jeff Wayne’s immersive War of the Worlds why they had Bose cans lashed and glued to their 50+ Vive Pro, “sound quality” was the simple answer.
      
      As an index owner with lots of modding experience, liking the BMR ear speakers but less than suitable for environment with background noise, and headstrap doesn’t play nicely with many audio headphones…
    - Bob
      
      The quality in terms of sound distortion, SPL and frequency response is approximately the same. Soundstage for the Index would be improved but I think that’s about it. You would get more open sound with the Index but you wouldn’t be missing out on audio quality.
      - Kevin White
        
        If it’s like the Vive Pro 1’s audio it will not be up to the Index standard. But we’ll see (or hear).
Tabp

Nice. The resolution outdoing the G2 is good. I especially like how it’s compatible with the existing wireless adapter instead of requiring a replacement. Glorious high quality lighthouse tracking with the option to use Index controllers with the headset-only purchase. However, there’s no mention of eye tracking. Vive Pro 2 Eye when? This Vive Pro 2 looks like a worthwhile upgrade for the market the Vive Pro aimed at, but for software development and futureproofing purposes, eye tracking is a gamechanger.
- Jeremy Kins
  
  It’s an impressive headset, no doubt, but shipping at $1,400 for newcomers with the old wands and without a wireless adapter make it a tough sale. If they’d just included new controllers even, it’d be easier to digest because then at least you’d be paying for new tech. But still, it’s a nice headset and maybe if I get a nice bonus this year I’ll upgrade.
  
  Though honestly with the Focus 3 at a similar spec range at a similar price (even if it is enterprise focused), as an all in one, is more enticing to me. Especially since it also connects to PC and will support wireless PC streaming.
  - Bob
    
    Focus 3 is not available for purchase through normal channels. You must apply as a business customer through a different channel. Regular consumers only have access to other product; Vive Pro 2.
    - immersion mechanics
      
      Focus 3 is supplied by contacting HTC business sales team, pricing includes business support package.
  - JustNiz
    
    >> t’s an impressive headset, no doubt,
    
    Hardly. I’ts just the same old Vive Pro headset just with newer panels. …and no 5K,120 FOV is NOT impressive. If you want impressive, Go look at Pimax’s 8KX. ( 8K @ 180-200 FOV ).
- Sam
  
  Usage of the old wireless adapter will gimp the headset though. From the website:
  
  “VIVE Wireless Adapter supports 2448 x 1224 resolution and 90Hz refresh rate when used with VIVE Pro 2. 3264 x 1632 resolution support coming soon.”
  - g-man
    
    And even that is a far cry from panel res
- TonyVT SkarredGhost
  
  You have to buy 7Invensun Droolon F2 at $299 to add eye tracking to this. It is coming in Q3
Lucidfeuer

Meh. I really want to try a consumer headset with 120° form-factor, but the Vive Pro is probably one of the most horrible headset in ergonomics and design (yet with the clearest image out of all the headsets). What a failure these HTC announcements are in my opinion.
- ale bro
  
  I find the Vive Pro very comfortable
  - immersion mechanics
    
    Vive Pro more comfortable than my valve index, but since used Vive Pro Eye and screen door effect is very noticeable, Index much better clarity, usable field of view and geometric stability.
    
    Thoroughly looking forward to Vive Pro 2!
    - Bob
      
      “geometric stability”
      
      Now that’s definitely something I would like to know about this new Vive Pro 2!
      - immersion mechanics
        
        HTC weakness was always lenses, really interested to look at their new dual compound lens to see what’s inside those new headsets
      - immersion mechanics
        
        I’ll find out soon enough managed to pre-order Pro 2 this morning
- Andrew Jakobs
  
  Uhm, in regard to ergonomics the Vive Pro is the best headset available at this time. The design itself might not be to your liking, but I do think it’s a rather decent design. So them keeping the same design is a big plus as I don’t have to worry if the headset will sit comfortably on my head. The mounting and dismounting of the headset with the hinge method is so well thought and makes it very easy for anybody to put it on/off. With most headsets it’s always a mess with the way the strap is fixed to the side of the headset.
Anne Bilodeau Stephane Hamel

Pre-orders are open. I have pre-ordered mine!
- mellott124
  
  Did you get the discount? I didn’t and it was $799 but maybe I missed the coupon field.
  - Anne Bilodeau Stephane Hamel
    
    Nah, for some reason it didn’t show and I wanted to pre-order as quick as possible. I’m hundreds if not thousands of people will pre-order so I wanted to be in and out ASAP.
    - mellott124
      
      Yeah, I did the same.
    - Babs
      
      Actually the discount code doesnt work for me :/
  - mepy
    
    Didn’t get any email after subscribing to the newsletter, I guess the promo code will come in an email?
- mepy
  
  EU site not loading correcty, or terribly lagged.
TechPassion

Good specs, but very bulky and ugly. why?
- Gazeld
  
  The Pro 1 (if you never used it) is rather light, so I believe it should be not much heavier for the Pro 2 – don’t be biased by the effect of the design.
  - immersion mechanics
    
    Actually prefer Vive Pro to my valve index for headset comfort
- Andrew Jakobs
  
  Personally I think the original Pro isn’t heavy, and it’s the most comfortable headset I’ve worn till date, so I really don’t mind them having used the same design, if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.
Andross

isn’t a little bit disappointing moving from 110° to 120°? 5° per side won’t surely remove the frame sensation… maybe a 130° could be really decent (and i repeat decent) even comparing to the 180/200 ones, and with eye tracking included it could be perfect. just a little tear i have, last but not the least the didn’t mention nothing about screen quality. i need to wait again and again to have black level like oculus rift.
- Cless
  
  They aren’t throwing a bone at us. Basically if you want OLED, they are telling you to pay 3K in a ultra high end headset.
  - mepy
    
    The simple answer is that there are no AMOLED screens with high PPI and also large enough panels on the market.
    - Cless
      
      They don’t need to be AMOLED… and they exist, there are plenty. They happen to be expensive, that’s it. I would gladly pay the premium and cut a % of the resolution for it.
      - mepy
        
        The OLED VR screens are AMOLED.
      - Cless
        
        No, not all of them, what are you talking about? Literally the best selling VR headset (the PSVR) is not AMOLED. The OG vive isn’t either (that’s probably why its brighter and more color accurate than the Pro), the XTAL isn’t, OG Quest isn’t either… And that is just from the top of my head :/
      - mepy
        
        Yes, all of OLED VR headsets are AMOLED. The OG Vive, Vive Pro and Samsung Odyssey has AMOLED screens.
      - Cless
        
        Uhm… No, some OLED headsets are AMOLED, but all AMOLED are OLED. There are like a dozen OLED VR headsets. You mentioned like 3 headsets, two AMOLED (with the exact same screen by Samsung) and one OLED
        And yes, many are AMOLED, but not even close to all of them.
      - imaginaryGHOST
        
        OLED sucks vs LCD for VR. Slightly better blacks aren’t worth the pentile display tradeoff, with less subpixels translating to less detailed image.
        
        Here’s a good visual example of pentile vs RGB:
        https://linustechtips.com/uploads/monthly_2016_06/5761a45be7e4f_pentilevsRGB.png.14eb071b7ba298c892639ddb1b762124.png
      - Cless
        
        Orders of magnitude better blacks are worth it for many many people, look at the comments about this headset on reddit and how many are complaining about it not being OLED. Also, that is not even OLED vs LCD, that is Pentile vs RGB. Not all OLED screens are Pentile (even if most are), the best selling headset for example, PSVR is OLED RGB so… terrible example.
      - imaginaryGHOST
        
        That may be true for PSVR, but not for any previous Vives. Which is what this comment is about. You’re literally losing 33% image clarity and real resolution (subpixels) for deeper blacks. I have never cared about that, it doesn’t bother me at all, but 1/3 less resolution certainly does.
      - Cless
        
        Nah, not even close to losing 33% of the image clarity, human vision does not work like that, and we take most of our detail from the green pixels. You lose 33% of FILLRATE. Which means, if the image is dense enough (and by increasing resolution it becomes full enough), the dumb argument about pentile vs RGB falls flat to the ground.
        On top of that the subpixels weren’t really visible on the Vive Pro anymore like in the OG vive, only pixels were clearly visible, and the Odyssey+, which used the same exact panel showed how with a simple antiSDE filter you could fix most of that already.
        Also, even if you asked me again “Do you prefer 33% of fillrate or good contrast”, I will answer good contrast every goddamn time, 0 doubt about it. Shitty contrast is the biggest immersion killer, while SDE the more you are moving around and doing stuff, the more it disappears.
      - imaginaryGHOST
        
        Ok, keep telling yourself that. Fact is I own those headsets, I can see the difference between Pentile and RGB clear as day. Even on Vive Pro 1.
        
        SDE is the immersion killer, not slightly deeper blacks. It absolutely is 33% of clarity, go read up on how many people were super shocked at how crisp PSVR looks compared to Pro 1. Phone displays weren’t meant to be that close to your eyes, that’s not what Amoled is good for. There’s a reason tvs use wrgb and not Pentile OLEDs.
        
        But hey, you do you.
      - Cless
        
        I will keep telling myself that, not because all I said is scientifically correct, but because its a subjective thing also.
        To you SDE is an immersion killer, and I accept that, to me its having greys pretending to be blacks. The reason for that is I like most exploring dark places in games like caves or dungeons, and also playing space games, which non OLED headsets are trash at.
        Of course RGB looks great on a 1K display, but RGB is going to be less and less relevant. Also I feel like SDE can be solved, like on the Odyssey+ easily without any important detractions, while having shit contrast has no fix except for using a better technology on the display.
      - Bob
        
        Such a stupid argument you are making. So because YOU aren’t bothered by gray “blacks” this proves that “SDE is the immersion killer?” The hell it does. I bought and returned an Index because despite all the hype I could not believe how terrible the black levels were. If there was a bright light source against a dark background to create a false sense of contrast the Index could sort of scrape by, but remove that source and you get foggy, murky gray “blacks” which utterly fail to convey a believable environment. It’s like buying a TV or a monitor that can only depict daytime environments but dark environments or nighttime look awful … who would pay for that? Consumers who don’t know any better, that’s who. But hey, “you do you.”
      - imaginaryGHOST
        
        Such a stupid argument you’re making. So because YOU care about slightly deeper blacks more than image resolution and quality, this proves SDE isn’t an immersion killer? The hell it does. I have never once noticed any murky blacks in Index. They look fine, like regular LCD blacks do. Not even remotely worth the sacrifice in image quality, what kind of a fool would prioritize that over resolution? Oh, right, you doing you. lol wrong again Bob
      - dk
        
        yep it’s really sad that psvr is the only headset with oled and rgb stripe matrix ….and we r still so far away from eliminating the sde
      - xyzs
        
        It’s not OLED that sucks, it’s PENTILE that sucks.
        
        Those are completely different things. OLED / LCD are display technology, PENTILE / RGB are a way to implement the subpixels of those technologies.
        
        Don’t spread false rumors.
        
        There are RGB OLED screen (PSVR, StarVR) that exist, it’s rare but it’ is totally possible to make it.
      - imaginaryGHOST
        
        HTC Vive Pro 1 didn’t use RGB OLED, it used Pentile. So people complaining about the switch are wanting to go back to Pentile, which is why I made my comment.
        
        PSVR is trapped on low-end hardware and StarVR sucks. There is not a single HMD that is good that uses RGB OLED, so your comment is moot.
      - immersion mechanics
        
        HTC Vive used Samsung panels AMS361EP01
      - Andrew Jakobs
        
        Yeah, you would, but most wouldn’t, and we’re talking about doubling the price, not just a few bucks extra. At this time there just aren’t any affordable OLED displays which are suitable for a VR headset, without adding hundreds of extra dollars to the price. And as I said, that might be fine for you, but not for most. And most people don’t even notice the difference as they never had an OLED headset, AND LCD also gets better, still not as good, but it isn’t the mess it was like 10-15 years ago.
      - sfmike
        
        Sorry but the LCD panels are still a mess by comparison. Also just because a new user hasn’t been exposed to the improved color and black levels of the OLED displays doesn’t mean we should all roll over and quietly accept an inferior product because the majority aren’t complaining due to inexperience.
      - Andrew Jakobs
        
        Yeah they accept an ‘inferior’ product because it would otherwise cost twice and people are already bitching about the price of these new headsets. As I said, apparently there aren’t any OLED displays currently available at the same prices (or a few bucks more), otherwise companies would have certainly used those. and again, there hasn’t been an OLED headset been released or announced in 2020-2021 which is using OLED panels, everybody is using LCD even the ones that were using OLED. Again, there must be a reason other than only the pricing because of that.
      - Cless
        
        Yeah you are very right sadly, there just aren’t any OLED displays being made by anyone (that we know of at least) at those prices. I would easily pay twice as much for an OLED display than for an LCD (that means, that if the display is around 40% of the price of the headset, I would pay up to 25% extra for an OLED display, even if sacrificing some resolution too on the way).
        Lets hope we start seeing microLED and more OLED soon-ish… I keep saying this since 2018 though…. :/
      - Chris
        
        OLED is inferior to Mini-LED. These upcoming VR displays will usher in true gen 2 image quality, such as the 2.9″ AOU 3.5k HDR display (2,304 local dimming zones, 1million:1 contrast ratio, and over double OLED’s peak brightness).
      - Cless
        
        No, you are flat-out wrong.
        Mini-LED is INFERIOR to OLED in all aspects except one, and not even always, peak brightness, and only by like 10-20% on average to an OLED of the same quality level.
        My 3 years old note8 comes with its 1200nit HDR display, 4,262,400 “local dimming zones”, with infinite contrast ratio, since pixels are able to turn off completely.
        Also Mini-LED can’t be reduced for VR last time I checked (currently), not to say that OLED is a technology that has been out for more than 10 years, while miniLED hasn’t barely even come out yet.
  - Charles
    
    What is this $3,000 OLED high-end headset you speak of?
    - Cless
      
      There has been a few over the years. StarVR and the Xtal come to mind now.
      - Charles
        
        Eh, those aren’t high-end. They justify their high price by having a huge FOV while having mostly-decent other specs. The StarVR One is only 1464 vertical lines and 90Hz. The XTAL 5K is only 1440 vertical lines and **only 70 Hz**. The XTAL 8K is LCD, and only 75 Hz.
      - Cless
        
        You say that by just peering at their specs and not trying them side by side. A simple picture from the inside can tell you more about them. Not all quality is reflected on the specs.
        I did this comparative image some years ago, I hope they can illustrate my point.
        I’ll put their FOVs here too to make it more fair:
        XTAL: 180
        Pimax: 200
        So keep that in mind too.
        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e547bb53ea61dbc3c371d8837877716facdae9d2e1a27152f6d422738a18b35a.png
- Jeremy Kins
  
  It depends. If the 120 is horizontal, which I think it is and this is reported wrong, then it’s a decent bump. If it really is diagonal then it’s nice but not crazy.
  - Andrew Jakobs
    
    No it is horizontal, clearly visible in the trailer, the screen goes wide, not high.
    - Marcel
      
      The article states the mentioned 110° are measured diagonally
      - Andrew Jakobs
        
        yeah, well, articles aren’t always correct, haha. But the trailer for the Vive Pro 2 does seem to lie about the ammount it increases, it seems more like coming from 90° (or less) to 120° instead of 110° to 120°.
      - g-man
        
        So do trailers ;) HTC have always quoted FOV as diagonal.
      - TonyVT SkarredGhost
        
        120° horizontal clarified by the journalist
  - Andross
    
    is someone measure fov diagonally? i’ll sincerely ask, seems absurd to me. by the way 5° on a goniometer are like 5mm per side, not to far from the “angle size” of a vr headset… maybe decent was not a good word in my phrase, but i mean that makes hark to invest so much money for a fov upgrade quite unnoticeable like this.
xyzs

omg. It’s even worse than predicted !
Still the same bulky vive but without oled and still those those horrible wand controllers!

Htc is OVER.
ale bro

This does look like a very solid headset. I’m very tempted. My Pimax 8KX is an excellent HMD, but it’s not that stable on the head when jumping around like a crazy person. The fitment of my Vive Pro was always spot on!
- Andrew Jakobs
  
  Yep, the comfort of the Vive Pro is still IMHO THE best headset in the business. I like the way you can just really tighten the headset.
  - immersion mechanics
    
    Just managed to snag a Pro 2 on pre-order, discount code meant £659 for headset which seems very reasonable.
mepy

From vive.com : “VIVE Wireless Adapter supports 2448 x 1224 resolution and 90Hz refresh rate when used with VIVE Pro 2. 3264 x 1632 resolution support coming soon.”

:/
kuhpunkt

STILL the Vive wands. That’s just embarrassing.
- Jeremy Kins
  
  Honestly, somehow, that’s the most disappointing of all.
  - sfmike
    
    No the fact that they are ditching OLED with it’s great black levels and color for the grey haze of LCD screens is a deal breaker for me.
    - Charles
      
      I agree that LCD headsets have always had unacceptable contrast. They still haven’t announced the contrast ratio for this – maybe we’ll be lucky and this will have an improved contrast ratio over other LCD headsets. There are LCD screens with very respectable contrast – just so far the only LCD screens to be used in VR have had bottom-of-the-line contrast.
      
      If this headset moves LCD VR up to respectable contrast, then I’ll be happy with the tradeoff for the other specs. Otherwise, can’t do it.
      - Bob
        
        At the moment, your only hope lies with Samsung and Sony. I don’t believe there other players in the market willing to cough up the absurd cost of OLED production in a niche market. Unfortunately this is the reality of things.
      - Charles
        
        We’ll see. Sony and Samsung are both expert OLED display makers, including VR displays. Most of the VR OLED displays in popular headsets were made by Samsung. Maybe one or both of them have already had something in development for a long time that works for VR.
      - Charles
        
        I think I just figured something out. After doing some research, I believe the Vive Pro 2 will use a panel by Sharp that will have at least 1100:1 contrast (compared to the typical 700-800:1 for LCD VR headsets).
        
        Why do I believe this?
        1.) Searching on panelook.com, there’s only one LCD VR display listed that has a relatively high resolution and a high refresh rate (120 Hz). It was released by Sharp in 2016, and has a contrast of 1100:1. I believe the Vive Pro 2 will use a new version of this display.
        https://www.panelook.com/LS029B3SX02_Sharp_2.9_LCM_overview_27997.html
        2.) Sharp has been showing off very-high-resolution LCD VR displays since 2016:
        https://www.phonearena.com/news/Sharp-shows-1000ppi-display-for-VR-and-an-all-screen-concept-smartphone_id86209
        3.) Two different presenters at Vivecon where the Vive Pro 2 was announced stated that it will have much better “color fidelity” and more natural colors, which you wouldn’t expect without better contrast.
        https://youtu.be/WQkwVjcIOPg?t=469
        https://www.vive.com/us/product/vive-pro2/overview/
        4.) Looking at all the various marketing taglines and descriptions of the Vive Pro 2, and listening to a bunch of the presenters talking about it at Vivecon, the one word they really seem to like saying over and over again is “sharp”. The official marketing tagline for the headset is “Sharp. Precise. Immersive.” This seems like a subtle nod while not wanting to reveal the display model yet.
    - wam
      
      I’m sick of reading this garbage, I have the cheapest most horrible WMR headset and also a vive and I can’t tell the contrast apart at all. If anything oled looks particularly bad in the dark, it has lines all over it and looks like getting flashed by a light in the dark when you can see your own veins on your retina
      - Andross
        
        if i undersans well (sorry for my english), i’ll said no, the difference between oled and lcd can be really different, it depends on the content. just playing in ISS games where you are in space the grey sky is not so good i think, my oculus rift CV1 is still the best.
        for the flashing i dont know what you mean, if you are referring to god ray, ok i understand you, but new lenses can probably solve this if i remember well. if you talk about the pure contrast, well, it’s just a developer choice (sometimes) for the light, but not for the shadow, where you can’t have a real black at all.
      - Martijn Valk
        
        I understand your confusion; the Vive indeed has oled screens, but for some reason they do not deliver the pitch blacks and awesome contrasts oled’s can deliver (although there is a sort of hack to change this). But, let me tell you: I had an Oculus DK2 (which has an oled screen) in the early days, and although the resolution of it is now low in comparison to the headsets of today, the colors and contrasts of that screen were absolutely awesome. The deep (perfect) blacks of it make the experience sooo much better than any LCD screen.
  - kraeuterbutter
    
    no,
    thats ok..
    instead of making some own controllers (and failing in doing it well)
    we have – thanks to lighthouse-tracking – the choice to use the so said to be best controllers on the market, the ones from the index
    you can buy the headset alone.. great..
    
    with the Reverb G2 you have to use that crapy controllers with that not great tracking
- Andrew Jakobs
  
  Well, it’s a shame they just didn’t also release a set of their new controllers with lighthouse support, can’t be that difficult. And also still no third party who provides them, but that’s understandable IMHO.
  - John Duncan
    
    As MRTV explained , they said they would find it hard to beat Valve Index knuckle controllers and most people with Index or Vive headset should already own Knuckle Controllers. So you can understand why they didn’t try to beat controllers, as they wont achieve it
    - Andrew Jakobs
      
      No I meant the controllers they already have for the Cosmos/Focus 3 but embed the lighthouse trackers into the ring.
      - Blaexe
        
        This wouldn’t work very well. The tracking rangs are facing the headset because that’s what tracks the controllers. For lighthouse tracking, the rings would have to be flipped down. Compare Rift and Rift S controllers.
      - Andrew Jakobs
        
        It really doesn’t matter if the rings go down or up. In reality Lighthouse is an inside out tracking, as it’s the controllers/headset that track the laserbeams not the other way round (just like the camera’s in a headset track certain ‘markers’ in your enviroment). And you can put a lighthouse tracking on anything. The ring itself just needs to slant to the outside instead of the inside, but it doesn’t require it to be flipped down, which ofcourse would also be another option.
      - Blaexe
        
        Of course it matters. The diodes and base stations have to have line of sight. Occlusion is more likely when they are facing towards the headset instead out outside.
      - Andrew Jakobs
        
        Look closely to the cosmos controller, and now look closely to the wand controller and look at the placements of the tracker spots on it. If you slant the ring a little forward instead of backwards as it is now, it has more than enough visible space to track the laserbeams. If what you say would be right, the wand controllers would have the same problems. You do know it’s the controller that tracks its position based on the lasers, not the lighthouse tracking the controllers.
      - immersion mechanics
        
        placement of Triad Semiconductor diodes is very important to maintain accurate and reliable tracking. Line of sight and occlusion are key, ideally 5 sensors are needed for initial pose.
        
        SteamVR development resources include software for testing sensor placement, I’m currently working through this with my ‘Caliper’ prototype
        
        There is actually noticeable / measurable differences in tracking between the SteamVR headsets and controllers, have a look here:
        
        https://www.thevrist.com/steamvr-tracking
      - JustNiz
        
        > The tracking rangs are facing the headset because that’s what tracks the controllers.
        Totally wrong. The controllers are picking up the lighthouses. The headset has nothing at all to do with controller tracking (other than to be a bluetooth hub for the controllers to send their locations back to the PC).
      - Blaexe
        
        Dude, I’m talking about the Focus 3 controllers. The rings face the headset because the headset tracks the controllers. Focus 3 doesn’t use lighthouse tracking.
        
        For lighthouse tracking, the rings would have to be flipped down because the external base stations would track the controllers.
        
        Imagine holding the Focus 3 controllers in front of your face, as if you were looking at an object. Lighthouse tracking would struggle because it wouldn’t be able to see the sensors inside the tracking ring.
      - JustNiz
        
        >> the external base stations would track the controllers.
        
        Again, the lighthouses don’t “see”anything, they’re just light sources.
      - Blaexe
        
        And they still need line of sight. That’d the point.
  - JustNiz
    
    I don’t understand all the whining about controllers here. This is news about headsets not controllers. Just buy whatever controllers you like separately. It’s not hard. In fact I’d rather just buy the headset.
- Piotrek
  
  I’m running VR Arcade in Poland. Durability of the wands are awesome and if one breaks you don’t have to buy the whole set (like Valve Index for example) For my purposes, I hope they will make the wands forever.
  - Snekertechie
    
    That’s a good point. I considered buying the Index. The price was not really the problem, but I was worried about durability with the reports of broken controllers. My original Vive is still working great.
  - kuhpunkt
    
    You have the buy the whole set?!
    - immersion mechanics
      
      Yes valve only supply individual controllers for warranty (RMA) replacement; for consumers out of warranty or with accidental damage its only available as a pair
      - kuhpunkt
        
        Because you run an Arcade or why? Because otherwise they sell everything seperately. No idea why there would be a difference.
  - g-man
    
    I imagine reliability factors in as well. The wands are simpler and built like tanks. Knuckles are somewhat fragile.
  - ScienceTooTIght
    
    Hate to ask in this thread but my Vive headset has blue fuzzies non-stop because of the hdmi cable seems to have gotten faulty, is this common and does replacing the 3 in 1 cable usually fix it? I would hate to spend money on a 3 in 1 cable replacement and find out that it’s not the only issue. Curious if you have any experience with that in the VIVe. thanks!!
- Gonzax
  
  Utterly ridiculous! It sounds like a bad joke
- g-man
  
  I doubt they expect anyone to buy them. Knuckles are excellent and put a cap on what could charge for their own design so I’m not surprised they didn’t bother.
- xyzs
  
  When you recycle your old techs as much as HTC, can you claim being a green company ?
- brandon9271
  
  HTC is a joke. The Wands still?? Seriously, WTF. More overpriced crap. I wish all the companies that made WMR headsets had made SteamVR headsets instead.
REP

I am tempted but I got the Pimax 8KX. So I think i’ll wait for 4K display from something like Index 2.0 or G3 or something lol. 8KX with 150 degree FOV or higher can never be replaced.
- Andrew Jakobs
  
  Yeah, it’s still weird actually how a small company can create such a headset (with it’s flaws ofcourse) for such a price, and a company like HTC, HP, Valve or Facebook can’t (although Facebook just has another businessplan and is really going for the mainstream lowcost).
iNCEPTIONAL

I expect the PSVR 2 to rougly match all of these specs, and possibly even surpass a couple of them, while also coming in at a much cheaper price too (probably even including buying a PS5 to go alongside it). So, given the choice, I think PSVR 2 would be the way for me. Or I could wait for a Quest 2, which I expect will similarly match many of these specs at a much more affordable price point.
iNCEPTIONAL

I expect the PSVR 2 to rougly match all of these specs, and possibly even surpass a couple of them, while also coming in at a much cheaper price too (probably even including buying a PS5 to go alongside it). So, given the choice, I think PSVR 2 would be the way for me. Or I could wait for a Quest 2, which I expect will simlarly match many of these specs at a much more affordable price point.
- Bob
  
  PSVR cannot access your PCVR content so there’s a major difference. It’s strictly a Playstation system only device.
  - iNCEPTIONAL
    
    Obviously.
- mepy
  
  We already know the PSVR 2 will be 2K and also be wired. You probably mean a Quest 3, that won’t happen anytime soon, earliest 2022, possibly 2023.
  - iNCEPTIONAL
    
    I’m pretty sure I recently read it might be 4K.
    - mepy
      
      Nope, 2K per eye, combined 4000ish horizontal on one panel for both eyes. Just like the Vive Pro isn’t 5K, but 2,5K,
      - iNCEPTIONAL
        
        So, it’s either the same or just a little bit below the other headsets that make the same claims basically, or the same as saying “roughly match”, which was my original point. They mostly say “4K” these days, which PSVR2 is also, and some are now starting to say “5K”. But they’re all really 2K-2.5K per eye, which PSVR2 will be also at 2K per eye (based on what we know). PSVR2 should be fine going by that.
JakeDunnegan

Honestly, I think they’re wasting their time and they will lose a LOT of money on it. The price is WAY too high for the market right now. They will have trouble with production as the chip market is in tatters and we won’t see that be fixed until 2022 or later.

Add-on that, though consumers (and I) love the backward compatibility of using prior hardware – they will also lose the sales they could have made by at least offering newer, better designed handsets. And, on top of that, you still need base stations, which, IMO, seems like so 2019.

I’ve had both three camera Rift and Rift S, and no camera (on the ground) Quest 2, and see zero difference when it comes to motion capture on the lot. Requiring base stations on this set, means Facebook has no competition (and recent stats on Steam show that the Quest 2 is taking a big chunk of the market – and increasingly so).

Granted, they likely started designing this thing a long time ago, and probably couldn’t have predicted the Quest 2’s growing market share, but are they even competing that well with other Valve products? Don’t think so, which is just another reason why I think this thing is doomed.
- Cless
  
  Got to disagree about the base stations 100%. Will take them anyday before any other camera based one.
  If you don’t want superior tracking and optional full body tracking, go for the other inferior headset they presented that competes with the Quest 2.
  - JakeDunnegan
    
    They both need the base stations, do they not? That’s what it looks like in the description. $800 if you have the old stations/upgrade, $1400 if you want the whole kit.
    
    And, yeah, everyone’s experience will differ – and I will freely admit, I’ve not used Valve’s full room experience, and it may well make the Quest 2 look like a joke. (On the flip side, the prices are radically different, as well.)
    
    But, for the Rift S with 3 cameras vs. the Quest 2, and maybe I don’t move my arms around the back of my head enough to make a difference, but I just haven’t seen the difference, and being able to go completely wireless is amazing. (FWIW, thanks for not downvoting because you disagree with me. :) )
    - Tabp
      
      The “other inferior headset they presented that competes with the Quest 2” is the Focus 3 they announced today. It’s a standalone non-lighthouse headset that addresses what you were saying. Of course, it’s also very expensive.
      
      I wouldn’t consider a headset without lighthouses. Full body tracking is necessary, and the limited range of motion allowed by onboard cameras doesn’t cut it.
      - JakeDunnegan
        
        Yeah, ugh, $1300! Ouch! But, yeah, does look like it’s a Quest 2 competitor, which, at least, that’s nice to see! But dang.
      - Cless
        
        Nono, it specifically is NOT competing with the Quest 2, the Vive Pro 2 is though (their words, not mine xD).
      - Cless
        
        Yeah, its not even consumer focused, its for enterprise only. So technically its not a competitor for the Quest 2.
    - Cless
      
      It is! And its totally worth it, at least to me.
      Full room its okay, its close to what the Quest gives, basically, imagine not being able to lose tracking on your hands/headset ever, unless you really really try. On top of that having the option of having full body tracking, which is amazing when you do get it. For example, I upgraded from vive wands to index controllers. So now I use my vive wands as feet tracking on all the games I play.
- Andrew Jakobs
  
  Sigh, another consumer thinking person.. These headsets are meant for businesses not consumers. And if you already have the lighthouse system, it’s a serious welcome upgrade. Yes, for a consumer it might be a hefty price, but for a business it’s nothing.
  I agree for a regular consumer this is not a simple headset as you also require the lighthouse system, so you can’t easily take it from one room to another, and ofcourse the price is high. At this moment, the best real consumer headset is the Quest 2, there is just no doubt about that (no matter how much you hate facebook).
  Personally it depends on the lenses if I’m gonna upgrade my Pro to the Pro 2, as the awful fresnel lenses are the one thing that bothers me the most (yeah I know I can do a clearlens mod, but I just don’t have the inclination to do that at this time as it is my only headset at the moment), next to the cable, but the wireless module is way to expensive IMHO (for me as a ‘consumer’).
  - JakeDunnegan
    
    Fair enough. I didn’t realize both the headsets they revealed were non-consumer based. I thought one was for businesses, and one for consumers (and they mention “consumers” in the article above, contrasting other vendors moving away from wands, while HTC sticks with them…) Additionally, given that Valve’s headset goes for $1k and this one for $1300, I figured they were competitors. Course, as someone else has noted, HTC has to make money from their headsets, and Valve/FB can sell at a loss (b/c of their stores, and apps).
    
    Having said that – my original point remains (and no one has really disagreed with) – I still don’t think this is going to be a money maker for them, if for no other reason (and all other design/marketing decisions aside), the chip shortage the world has going on right now.
    
    Good luck, though on your upgrade choice. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably pull the trigger, particularly since you get a nice upgrade and can re-use a lot of your old hardware, which is a rarity these days.
    - immersion mechanics
      
      HTC have the enterprise market sewn up, at least from what I’ve see attending many events, marketing demos, location based entertainment venues over past few years.
      
      It’s always Vive Pro/Eye being used in multiple deployment.
      
      For businesses it’s affordable with good support, for prosumers it’s affordable and a welcome visual upgrade for valve Index owners like myself. Especially as I just purchased another pair of Index controllers…
    - Cless
      
      They weren’t presented as non-consumer, he is flat out lying. They presented the Vive Pro 2 as a consumer product specifically. They made an effort to say it on their presentation, comparing it to other alternatives in the consumer market, and its all over their marketing too. The Vive Pro 2 IS a consumer oriented product. It does have a different business version too though, they didn’t barely even mention that though.
      - Andrew Jakobs
        
        So as you already said above, I wasn’t lying, you were mistaken. But I’ll give you that they also mentioned the consumer in regard to the Pro 2, but still their main target even for the Pro 2 is business (and prosumers).
  - Cless
    
    Except you are wrong, this headsets are NOT meant for businesses (even if there is a business version), they are meant for consumers, they literally said that in their presentation conference and made a point to differentiate the Focus for business and the Vive Pro for consumers.
    I also disagree (but that is completely subjective), about the quest 2 being the best consumer headset, I won’t use a Quest 2 even if given to me for free, so yes, there IS a doubt about that.
    - Andrew Jakobs
      
      I’ve watched the presentation and nowhere do they mention the Pro being targeted at consumers, they only mention highend gamers once.
      - Cless
        
        Wow, really? I remember writing that literally after hearing it. I remember the bit, let me go check out if I can find it again!
      - Andrew Jakobs
        
        And that’s how I saw it, primarily, like the current Pro, for business and prosumers, BUT also for the willing consumer. The Pro 2 is certainly a viable option if you already have the Pro (or even the original Vive) if you’re willing to keep the annoyance of the cable. But I do think for a consumer the 819 euro’s for the headset alone is a bit steep, for consumer price 600 euro’s would have be better (especially because it doesn’t include the basestation and controllers, which are very expensive if you go for the 2.0’s especially through HTC, my advice would be to buy the 2.0 basestations and Index controllers through Steam, saves a lot of money and you’ll get ‘better’ controllers.
Anonmon

I’d of preferred OLED as well, but we can only work with what’s available and/or possible to manufacture at a reasonable cost.
Personally, if OLED wasn’t an option, then at least make the panels LCD and replace the backlight with a reasonably high resolution full array local dimming solution. Not AS good as proper OLED, but at least it would largely alleviate the “Dark rooms are grey” problem.
It’s not like HTC don’t have the engineering chops to take of a backlight and slap an array of surface mount LEDs with a diffuser in their place.

Also, I really do wish HTC would either make Touch-but-Lighthouse-tracked controllers, or just take the wands and swap out the trackpad with a drop in analog stick and two button replacement. Make them a reasonable price BELOW however much Knuckles controllers are, and I can guarantee people who don’t care for or don’t want to spend the cash for Knuckles controllers would flock to them.
- Charles
  
  They haven’t announced the contrast ratio yet, so this is still a possibility as far as we know. I really hope that’s how they designed it.
  - Bob
    
    Not a possibility because this feature would have been hinted at in the product trailer which hasn’t been the case.
    - Charles
      
      Not necessarily if it’s only a small improvement in contrast. I’ll take a small but noticeable improvement.
      - Cless
        
        Definitely would have said it in the marketing though, there is no reason why not to. Even if its top of the class in that, which means better than the G2… that’s not saying much either :/
      - Charles
        
        I think I just figured something out. After doing some research, I believe the Vive Pro 2 will use a panel by Sharp that will have at least 1100:1 contrast (compared to the typical 700-800:1 for LCD VR).
        
        Why do I believe this?
        1.) Searching on panelook.com, there’s only one LCD VR display listed that has a relatively high resolution and a high refresh rate (120 Hz). It was released by Sharp in 2016, and has a contrast of 1100:1. I believe the Vive Pro 2 will use a new version of this display.
        https://www.panelook.com/LS029B3SX02_Sharp_2.9_LCM_overview_27997.html
        2.) Sharp has been showing off very-high-resolution LCD VR displays since 2016:
        https://www.phonearena.com/news/Sharp-shows-1000ppi-display-for-VR-and-an-all-screen-concept-smartphone_id86209
        3.) Two different presenters at Vivecon where the Vive Pro 2 was announced stated that it will have much better “color fidelity” and more natural colors, which you wouldn’t expect without better contrast.
        https://youtu.be/WQkwVjcIOPg?t=469
        https://www.vive.com/us/product/vive-pro2/overview/
        4.) Looking at all the various marketing taglines and descriptions of the Vive Pro 2, and listening to a bunch of the presenters talking about it at Vivecon, the one word they really seem to like saying over and over again is “sharp”. The official marketing tagline for the headset is “Sharp. Precise. Immersive.” This seems like a subtle nod while not wanting to reveal the display model yet.
      - Cless
        
        That could be a possibility! I mean, 99.9% sure it won’t be local dimming or anything like it, but sounds like they tried to get an LCD that isn’t horrible at contrast like everyone else up to now!
        
        Still nowhere close to what a capped VR OLED display gets, but if contrast is decent then more people will be happy about getting it!
        Until then, I just took the opportunity and got a Vive Pro for 360 bucks “as new” hehehe >)
        I can’t wait for the day we get OLED (or equivalents) that can actually turn off completely the pixels without black smearing….
      - Bob
        
        Local dimming deployed for VR is anything but a small improvement. Again, it would have been mentioned/highlighted in the product trailer.
      - Cless
        
        Yeah, it would have definitely shut up about 2/3 of the people complaining about OLED like me lol
        In fact, if the price was the same, and they had that, I might be considering it buying it at the moment.
alxslr

Bulky
3872Orcs

If the wireless adapter works without any compromises I might switch my Index for this. I still have the wireless adapter and I can use my Index basestations and Index controllers. I only need the headset. Cool! I might actually to play games again! :D The Index cable has been such a pain in the ass for me and has seriously limited my time in VR. When I got used to wireless that changed everything.
- Sam
  
  Compromises (source Vive Pro 2 website):
  
  VIVE Wireless Adapter supports 2448 x 1224 resolution and 90Hz refresh rate when used with VIVE Pro 2. 3264 x 1632 resolution support coming soon.
  - 3872Orcs
    
    Well that is too bad. I guess I’ll wait until a proper wireless headset arrives.
  - Martin Kubišta
    
    So Im stuck with my old Vive OG with wireless adapter and Index controllers. Im not going wired in any circumstances…. :(
    - Sam
      
      The Vive Pro 2 still works with the wireless adapter, it just won’t show its full potential. You will still get the higher FOV and the invisible SDE. So it will still be a huge upgrade.
Babs

Actually the discount code doesnt work for me :/
John Duncan

I think Vive Pro 2 looks interesting. The 5k resolution nice but it really doent bring anything new to table we don’t already have. Index has higher foV with 130 , Higher refresh rate with 144hz , The Pimax has 5k-8k resolution. That said i am glad to see it has steamvr support and uses Base Stations rather than inside outside tracking. This is enthusiastic headset and very much on my wish list. Although for moment i will wait see what Valve working on. If rumours of Index 2 coming or if they are able to make Valve Index wireless. Vive Pro 2 using Double lens like Index so be curious what Glare issue will be like. Wither they managed to fix this or people be moaning Glare to much. I look forward to seeing hands on reivews.
- ale bro
  
  Index horizontal FOV is around 115. Vive Pro 2 is bigger at 120.
  - Marcel
    
    The Vive Pro 2s FOV is 120 diagonally as stated by the article above and the index is 130 diagonally because of the displays being angled by 5° to the outside.
    - ale bro
      
      the article is wrong. also it’s easy to find people who have measured the horizontal Index FOV, and none of them report 130. The Index is only marginally wider than a Vive Pro with a thin face cushion.
      - Marcel
        
        You are still mixing up horizontal and diagonal though. No wonder no one measures 130 horizontal on the index aa it has 130 diagonal. Also it depends on the shape of the face how much you get. With a thin face gasket on the index you can also achieve more as with the default one.
      - Bob
        
        Graham Wheeler from HTC has confirmed himself that the Vive Pro 2 has a horizontal FOV of 120 degrees.
      - benz145
        
        Do you have a link for this?
      - dk
        
        Sebastian from MRTV mentioned that he asked him directly about it and he said it was horizontal …but yeah additional conformation is needed
        
        https://youtu.be/mXhSSJUkLTM?t=397
      - Bob
        
        You’d need to contact the guy from MRTV on this as I received the information from reddit.
- Charles
  
  The Pimax does not have 5k-8k resolution – that was a marketing gimmick. They technically did have those numbers if you only considered the number of pixels across from the edge of one display to the edge of the other display. But that’s not what “5K” and “8K” mean in displays – those terms imply a particular VERTICAL resolution assuming a 16:9 aspect ratio. In reality, the Pimax 5K was 1440 vertical resolution, and the Pimax 8K was 2160 vertical resolution (what 4k displays are).
  - Andrew Jakobs
    
    it’s been said before many times, 5K and 8K techically only refer to the horizontal resolution, it the UHD addition that tells something about the vertical resolution. even 5K by 1pixel is technically considered 5K.
xyzs

So basically this is a headset from 6 years ago… with new screens (screens designed by a other company of course)…………………………..
- mepy
  
  All the headsets use screens made by an other company, chips made by an other company, RAM made by an other company etc. etc. And, yeah it’s the same headset, but it’s a 160% increase in pixels on those new screens, better lenses and a wider FOV.
  - xyzs
    
    What I mean is that they just spend 6 years of doing f*ck all.
    It’s just an old tech with updated components, that’s pathetic.
    
    Nothing is new except the screens. They can dream before seeing any dollars from my pockets because this level of commitment deserve peanuts.
Baldrickk

HTC says some still prefer the wand-style controllers, especially in
enterprise-use cases where they can be easier to learn for users who
aren’t used to gaming controllers.

And yet they went with a more modern design for their new standalone, with joysticks and A/B buttons.

I guess they just don’t want to have to do the RnD and tooling to try and beat the Index controllers, which are avaliable now, to anyone who wants to use them, and are fully compatiable.
- Andross
  
  this, thank you.
  the phase hey told it’s a total non sense, they talking about the wand for business and the focus 3 has analog, and pro 2 has wands… totally non sense.
Ratm

Only this company would release smt like that at 2021.
I was expecting at least the oled quality..
Snekertechie

I still have the original Vive, and I think this would be a great upgrade. The wand controllers aren’t the best, but I don’t hate them either. If HTC has focused on making a great durable headset, then I can get a great upgrade for a somewhat reasonable price. There is always the option of getting the knuckles controllers later from Valve. That said, I probably won’t buy it, because I also have a Quest 2 and like the wireless option.
dk

Display Stream Compression for 120hz mode …..interesting
dk

https://twitter.com/shen/status/1392293413580541954 interesting
nejihiashi88

apple will hopefully bring VR to the masses they are working on 8k with foveated rendering with the next generation based on m1 chip.
https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-glasses/
- Andrew Jakobs
  
  hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, Apple and bringing VR to the masses with an 8K VR HMD, you really are funny.. Bringing VR to the masses means you cannot exceed a price of $400, the headset Apple probably brings to the market is rumored to be $3000..
  And what’s to cover as Apple hasn’t officially made any news on a VR headset nor any real leaks, everything is pure speculation, hell even the 8k per eye displays is pure speculation.
  - nejihiashi88
    
    No there is a trusted leaker that is saying this he leaked many things and were so accurate read what is written in website.
    - JoToku44
      
      Erm what? a leak? I know
kraeuterbutter

theres an error in the article..

it says, that the PRO 2 has 120 degree horizontal
and the old vive Pro had 110°

thats not true, the old Vive Pro had something around 95-100° horizontal FOV
the Index has around 110° FOV max..

so if this Pro 2 headset realy has 120° horizontal FOV it should beat even the Index on that
of course there is also vertical fov.. there the old Vive Pro was already very good, more than most VR Headsets .. hopefully no downgrade at that part
- Andross
  
  every website has it’s own numbers, but the 10 to 120 horizontal enhancing is offical, and i saw it even in the press presentation.
  and it’s not a perfect number, it depend on the face structure.
  
  actually i just realize we can test it, just create a 3d object with this angle and put youself in the tip looking at the arc… if you see both the radius, the angle is “correct”.
  i’ll try it as soon as possible.
  - kraeuterbutter
    
    there are test-tools already for that, very well known for example “testHMD”
    well..
    110° is the number we here for years now, and it was always meant for diagonal
    measured the horizontal FOV all this 110°-headsets have signifikantly less than that 110
    
    now htc explicitly even after asking specially for this point (MRTV asked, voodooDE did, some magazin did) they say its not diagonal, but horizontal
    if this is true, than the difference is greater than it may seem…
    
    the HTC VR President of china even said, that he has more fov than with the Index (which is said to have 130° diagonal (but not officialy by valve))
All Things 3D

Hi Ben, I noticed both in this post and your one on the HTC Vive Focus 3 you mentioned a resolution of “6K” yet give a X/Y pixel resolution of 2,448 × 2,448 per eye. With those number I come up with a 4.9K horizontally not 6K. So I am confused. How do you get 6K when you only have 4896 pixels horizontally? Are you using the diagonal measurement of the two panels? But even then, that would only be 5474 or 5.5K, and yes I guess you could round further to 6K, but that would really be stretching it (no pun intended).

Am I missing something? Even the HTC Vive specs only list this as “4896 x 2448 combined” https://www.vive.com/us/product/vive-pro2/specs/
- Andross
  
  the video presentation clearly said 5k, so they made a mistake here.
pasfish111

good but too much 2015 bulkiness :-/ …don’t get why HTC don’t gave the Vive Pro 2 also the look of the Focus 3?
J Smith

Wands!!! What are terrible move by HTC for such an awesome headset…. a step backwards… Even the Focus have the correct controllers
JustNiz

The specs are terrible. They could at least have matched Pimax’s 3 yr old 8K and 200 FOV headsets, especially for the crazy price they’re asking.

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