Virtual reality is a concept that has entered our lives for most of us thanks to the movies we watched in the nineties and Aerosmith’s Amazing clip. When we look back, the virtual reality devices, which likened our hero in that clip to a Xenomorph when he put it on his head, managed to reach reasonable points in terms of weight and size after 28 years. Of course, there are still too many people who think it’s too early for them to enter every house, and they’re not wrong.
In fact, in 2016, when the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PS VR came out in a row, we thought that everything would change very quickly, that new devices would constantly arrive and that prices would gradually decrease. VR devices have achieved something, yes, but they have not yet managed to become widespread, make the content support behind them the industry standard, and get rid of the problems of infancy. The first problem was the cables. When you wanted to use these devices, you needed meters of cables as well as a huge gap. The second problem was the increase in the necessary hardware support, which is no longer a problem today, with the contribution of the product we will review in these pages. The third was that the graphics standard remained weak. This issue is still not fully resolved because it is looking at the hands of those huge producer companies, and these companies continue to keep their distance or steal a finger of honey into the mouths with simple side games unless they see the VR business as profitable.
As it is known, the Reverb G2, developed by HP in cooperation with Microsoft and Valve, has been on sale with the 2022 version in recent months. The model, whose name is still the same, met with us with small but extremely critical innovations and we had the opportunity to test it for a long time. So what kind of system is behind the Reverb G2 and what does it promise us?
Coming with Steam VR and Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) support (the G2 is one of the very few products that support it), the Reverb G2 has the highest resolution among its competitors on the market. It can work with 250% more pixels than the Oculus Rift, which catches my mind once I try it, and has 2160 ×2160 LCD panels for both eyes.
In the first version of the G2, we liked the performance of the lenses developed by Valve, but with this model, the FOV’s rise to 98 degrees horizontally and 88 degrees vertically (FOV 114 degrees) significantly increased eye comfort and “the feeling of being inside”. The new face mask, which can reduce the eye/lens distance from 15mm to 9mm, also has a great effect on this.
As a result, the dead spots are almost completely gone, and so is the clarity. Thanks to the IPD setting, it is possible to capture a setting that suits everyone and make it comfortable. We didn’t have any problems with the speakers in the old version. In the new version, the speakers that stand at a distance of 1cm provide an extremely clear sound output and do a good job of positional accuracy. The 6-meter cable is also not as thick as it used to be, but it looks quite solid. When it became thinner, it became easier to set up order without hanging out somewhere.
Of course, there is always the possibility of motion sickness. Some of us unfortunately stubbornly refuse to be manipulated by VR glasses, and there’s nothing that can be done about it. Even if you do not have a problem with this, I do not recommend using it for a long time, make sure to take short breaks.
As you know, the Reverb G2 is almost twice as expensive compared to the Oculus Rift S and Quest. On the other hand, it promises a better experience than others in almost every respect. In addition to 2160×2160 resolution, the product comes with 90Hz screens and supports a 144Hz repeat rate and 130-degree FOV, according to HP.
Connecting the product is quite easy. While we can’t get rid of the cables just yet, all you need is enough space (no minimum requirement), a USB 3.0 cable, and an HDMI connection if you’re not going to sit down.
The controls have been slightly reworked and their ergonomics have been increased. I felt extremely comfortable for myself, but I have to admit, I have used the G2 for most of my time with either Flight Simulator or Assetto Corsa. I think the best experience is possible with such games.
In the final analysis, in terms of clarity, performance (I tried it on my system with Core i5-11400F and RTX 3060) and comfort, I can easily say that it is the most amazing experience I have ever had in a VR headset.
After all, the Reverb G2 is the flagship of VR glasses, if not the most performant, but the most logical. The price of this is a little high, starting from 6800 TL.
Kürşat Zaman
NOTE: 90
+High performance, convenient operation and high level of clarity.
-The price is a little high.
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