PlayStation VR Headset is Superb - 7 Cool Things We Learned

The PlayStation VR Headset was Simply Incredible

This might actually be the VR headset that brings VR to the masses. After reading so many reviews about the Playstation VR Headset, it was finally time to try it ourselves. We found a Sony Store in a mall. They were letting customers try out their deep-sea cage experience. So without a moment of hesitation, we jumped into the white chair. We were fitted with the headset which we found an interesting experience; although it was a rubber fitting on the face which was odd, the headset has a lot of really nice adjustments. The headphones (courtesy of Sony of course) were placed over our ears, and then we were slowly lowered in a shark cage into the depths of the sea!

Honestly it was an incredible journey. As we were lowered, we saw stingrays, an assortment of odd plant life, and even some tiny little unassuming SHARKS!

The experience was incredible and below are the things we learned

So what were the 7 things we learned and experienced trying the Playstation VR Headset?

1. Refresh Rate Their refresh rate of 120 is just awesome. No matter how much we shook our head around trying to disrupt the experience, the picture always stayed in view
2. FOV (Field of View) Although the FOV is slightly lower than the HTC and Oculus, that really didn't seem to matter. Although we expected the slighly smaller field of view to lessen the experience, it actually wasn't noticeable with the Playstation VR Headset.
3. Light & Contrast The light conditions and contrast are really top notch. Having previously found that the HTC contrast and lighting is really good, we were surprised that Playstation VR actually felt even better. Especially when you are in an underwater experience, the contrast and display worked really well
4. Rubber Fitting is a bit odd The headset has a rubber fitting rather than foam around the face. This wasn't the best feeling at first and was probably the one thing about the headset that we really were not especially fond of. However, the overall weight and feeling of the headset is actually very comfortable and has a lot of adjustments. These extra adjustments really make the headset incredibly comfortable.
5. Motion Tracking is incredible The motion tracking was surprisingly accurate. Actually it was incredible. We tried to stand up, look down over the edge of the shark cage and it worked. It was incredible that a little camera sitting just 6 feet (just under 2 meters) away, was able to interpret my motions and movements so well. In fact, the motion sensing is probably the best we have seen so far which really surprised us. Their 6-axis motion sensing is really amazing considering it is just a single camera positioned directly in front of you. As much as we tried to disrupt this by moving around in odd and or quick ways, the tracking stayed with us the whole time. We tried to lean over or sideways to look around, and again it stayed with us. There was never a moment where we found the motion tracking even slightly off!
6. Use your existing controllers with the Playstation VR Headset You can use your existing controllers. This is a seriously nice feature. Rather than having to get used to some other new controller you can just keep using your current Playstation controllers
7. 2K with very high quality and low graininess Despite being only a 2K headset, the quality felt slightly better than the Oculus and HTC Vive. Although all three are all similar in specification, the Playstation VR has such a low level of graininess compared to the others.

For more information on the Playstation VR Headset full technical specifications, you can check them out here.

The outcome of our experience trying the Playstation VR Headset

What was probably the most interesting experience about trying out Playstation VR Headset was the emotional response we felt. The idea that you can just buy the Playstation VR, connect it to our existing Playstation and existing controllers is a huge selling point. The other point that we don't have to go buy a separate high spec PC to make them work is also a huge selling point.

The only downside we could see is that you really need to have 6 feet between your camera/motion sensor and where you are sitting. That may not be possible or ideal for everyone, but then again, the competitive products have their own sorts of challenges too (like expensive PC equipment, or having cables hanging all over the place).

Overall, the ease of use and ability to just buy a Playstation VR headset and get started felt so easy. When you look at the competitors, it feels like there is so much more involved to set up a VR home. With the Playstation VR Headset, it feels like you can just buy it, plug it in, and take your first journey. Now lets see if our perspective becomes reality!