Recently I have been looking into all the different VR options out there on the market and I have finally taken the plunge and bought a headset, but not one that most people know about.
The two heavy hitters in VR right now are the HTC Vive (599 USD) and the Oculus Rift (399USD), each cost a pretty penny and offer very similar performance at a 200 USD difference.
Then there is the line of Windows Mixed Reality headsets from various companies; Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung all but Samsung coming in well UNDER 300 USD.
The price of all these looks pretty darn good right, but why are there so few reviews?
Honestly the only main reason I think they are so low compared to other headsets is that no one knows about them. Each headset has a very little amount of reviews so far even though they have been out for months now. Each headset had a very low review number because the first thing people wanted to do with them was play steam games, which at the time was not an option or it was buggy but now it is supported and seems to work just fine. I have not yet used one but I will for sure make a post and video about them to let people know how I feel about the headset I ordered.
Why is the price so low?
Currently there is a large unsold stock of them people have from computer bundles and they are selling them for "cheaper" than the listed market price, but I believe they will hover around this price for some time to come.
What is the major differences between them and the Vive and Rift?
The biggest difference is the way they are tracked. Each of the Windows Mixed Reality headsets use inside out tracking, they have cameras on the headset and track the controllers that way instead of having base stations around your room tracking from the outside in. The second biggest difference is the overall resolution of each display for each eye, WMR headsets have 1400x1400 per eye, the Rift and Vive have 1080x1200 per eye. WMR headsets have a lower quality type of display LCD I believe, and the Vive and Rift have OLED which has less screen blur overall.
Biggest issues of the WMR headsets?
I would say the biggest issue is the lack of hand tracking when the controllers are outside of your line of sight. There are cameras on the front of the headset that track your controller, but none on the back which seems to be one of the main issues people had with these headsets. Most users will have their hands in line of sight of the cameras 95% of the time.
Overall are they worth it?
Short answer is, yes for sure!
Long answer is, yes because they are so useful for their price. All are around 215-250 USD (In the United States, other parts of the world they are more expensive and that really sucks), and will do 99% of what you will want in a VR headset for half or a third of the cost of a more premium product.
This is all subject to change as time goes on and as I get my headset to properly review but I hope this helps people learn more about these headsets!