Sony PlayStation VR

Product Information

Screen-door effect: This is when you can see the individual pixels of your headset’s display, arranged in a grid that overlays the image. It’s an unfortunate side-effect of the current limitations of VR technology; the higher the resolution of the display, the less visible the screen-door effect is. What on earth is the metaverse? Hold the headset by the top of the headband (A), press the headband release button (E) and pull the front section forward.

At its core, that’s all the metaverse is: any collaborative virtual environment accessed via a VR headset like the Oculus/Meta Quest 2. Applications that fall under the metaverse umbrella have actually been around for a while now: VRChat and Rec Room allow users to don a headset, create an avatar and jump into a virtual world shared by others where they can play games, hang out or just sit and marvel at the scenery. Mixed reality: A combination of VR and AR. Mixed reality takes the concept of AR – layering CGI over the real world – and improves upon it by enabling more complex interactions between the virtual and the real. You don't have much space: Valve Index is quite complicated to set up, requiring several cables and cameras to function properly. Virtual reality: Peering into a specially designed pair of goggles that display a 3D CGI environment that you can interact with using wand-like controllers (or in some cases, your hands).You don't have a high-end PC: The Vive Pro 2's system requirements are astronomical compared to many other headsets we've listed here. Hold the headset by the headband (A), not the scope (the bit with the blue lights), press the headband release button (E) and pull the front section forward. Display type: You won’t need to worry too much about this, but for reference, most PCVR manufacturers are moving to fast-switch LCD panels and leaving OLED displays in the dust. This is because OLEDs are expensive, and produce a blurrier image than LCDs.

And that’s without compromising on the hardware front. By slotting in a new processor and increasing the available memory, Oculus (Meta – this is getting tiring) has drastically improved the performance of the Quest 2, opening the door for more ambitious VR games. Not that existing titles are left wanting: courtesy of a gorgeous near-4K LCD panel refreshing at a smooth 90Hz, games and other experiences look better than anything we’ve tested before. IPD slider: Inter-Pupillary Distance slider – a physical or virtual slider that allows you to widen or shrink the gap between the two lenses inside the HMD. After all, some of us have bigger heads or wider-set eyes than others. We know you’re excited to get playing, but it’s really important to take your time with configuration to get the best possible gaming experience. The HP Reverb G2 is an excellent headset for anyone looking for something slightly cheaper than the Valve Index or HTC Vive Pro 2 and something easy to set up. Although it’s not as accurate as the somewhat pricier options, it’s a fantastic alternative that still maintains the visual enchantment of VR gaming. If anything, the HP Reverb G2 exceeds visual expectations and presents an entirely new experience while undercutting the cost of its peers.If you’re a newcomer to VR, you will probably have seen or heard the phrases above. But what exactly do they mean? FOV: Field of Vision – how much of the virtual world you can see when peering into the lenses of your HMD. Most VR headsets have a FOV of around 100-110 degrees, which is just barely enough to make you feel like you’re inside the world, rather than just looking at a screen. The Valve Index certainly looks the part of a high-end headset, but that means it also requires a complex setup (and a powerful PC) to match. In fact, our least favorite thing about Valve's headset is the setup process, which requires several wires and a dual camera setup to work properly. Make sure you have enough desk and room space (not to mention a few free power outlets) to ensure a seamless experience. The process is worth it, however, as you'll be treated to impressive wide field-of-view and full Steam integration, making browsing your existing library in VR a cakewalk. Augmented reality: Layering computer-generated graphics on top of real-world image capturing technology. If you’ve ever played Pokemon Go, you’ve experienced augmented reality (through the lens of your smartphone).