With the Vive Pro, HTC has introduced VR glasses to the market this month, which can show off with great specifications, but the price is not bad for parents either. Over 800 Euro will be charged for the Pro version, but controllers and Lighthouse stations must be purchased separately if you do not already own them. HTC offers a complete set of new controllers, lighthouse stations and glasses only to companies for the time being, which is why we want to focus exclusively on the new VR glasses in this article. In the coming days, you will also learn more about the AR functions of the HTC Vive Pro and the new tracking options with the SteamVR 2.0 Lighthouse stations.
HTC Vive Pro in test
The HTC Vive Pro is equipped with two 3.5 inch AMOLED panels, which together achieve a resolution of 2880 x 1600 pixels. In theory this is 77 percent more pixels than with the current HTC Vive and this is also clearly noticeable in the picture impression. HTC Vive Pro offers a much clearer and sharper image, and the colours of Vive Pro are more natural than those of Vive. A small comparison image through the lenses of both VR glasses can give you an idea of the difference in image impression:
This image gives an impression of the differences in the visibility of the spaces between the pixels, but the improved image impression can only be experienced by oneself. Wide world games benefit from the higher resolution as well as games with a very small world and nearby objects. When looking into the distance, the image only sinks into a pixel pulp much later.
Near objects have such a small structure that immersion is significantly increased. In addition, the higher pixel density makes fonts easier to read, making games like Iron Wolf a magical experience. Games actually have a more spatial effect due to the increased image quality.
But even if you might think that Display is the most important upgrade of the Vive Pro, this is only half the truth.
Finally ready for the market!
When you use the HTC Vive Pro, the question immediately comes to mind: why not like this? The Pro is the more sophisticated system and HTC seems to have listened to feedback from the community to fix many vulnerabilities of the old HTC Vive.
Luxury
The HTC Vive Pro has a holder consisting of two fixed brackets, which can be tightened by means of a rotary wheel on the rear side. In addition, the holders can be turned upwards, which is very comfortable when putting on and taking off the glasses. Headphones are directly mounted on the temples, which can be changed in their position and can also be folded away if necessary. Unlike the Oculus Rift, which comes standard with built-in headphones, the Vive Pro comes with additional buttons to control volume and turn the microphone on and off.
The sound of the built-in headphones leaves much to be desired and is extremely high. HTC promises to fix this soon with an update because currently, the speakers sound like holding two smartphones to your ears. This really could not be the company’s plan. The only way to get the current sound is to remove the headphones. That’s too bad.
Changing the distance between lenses and display is still possible with the HTC Vive Pro and even much easier than with the HTC Vive. But now there is a small button at the bottom of the glasses, with which the distance can be changed very comfortably. In addition, the HTC Vive has a wider rubber wing for the nose, which improves our sealing against ambient light.
HTC has also learned from the mistakes of the Vive in cable management and no longer runs the cable of the Vive Pro centrally above the head, but directly along the left bracket. So you won’t feel the cable on your head when gambling, which makes wearing the glasses more comfortable. Apropo Cable: The new cable of the HTC Vive Pro is one-piece up to the connection box, which now even has a button to completely disconnect the Vive from the system and switch it off. Why not like this?
Old errors with the stronger effect
The HTC Vive Pro takes over the lenses of the HTC Vive and takes on a difficult legacy. The Fresnel lenses provide for God Rays in strong contrasts, which somewhat disturbs the immersion. Also, the Field of View remains at 110 degrees and the sweet spot has not increased. Due to the combination of a sweet spot of equal size and higher resolution, the blur is much more noticeable when the adjustment is not completely perfect. Accordingly, you should always make sure that you carefully adjust the Vive Pro to your head and adjust the IPD value for each player. If you don’t, you won’t be happy with the picture. Especially in arcades, this can be a problem.
Conclusion – Gaming is more fun with the HTC Vive Pro
Definitely! The Vive Pro is superior to the conventional Vive in almost all disciplines and this is also expressed in the price. However, we would not say that after using a Vive Pro you can never be happy with the HTC Vive again. The upgrade is clearly noticeable and probably many people would not have expected more from a Vive 2 than the Vive Pro now offers. HTC has turned the right adjustment screws on VR glasses and created a product for consumers from a perceived development kit. At the same time, however, this quality standard seems to have devoured far too much money, which is now reflected in the high price of the Vive Pro.
If you want to upgrade from a Vive and are enthusiastic enough to put 879 Euro on the table for the Vive Pro, you will certainly not be disappointed. However, the price is so high that it is almost difficult to justify this upgrade. But maybe it’s the same with VR glasses as with any other hardware: The last 10 percent more performance doesn’t just cost 10 percent more, it can also cost twice or three times as much.
Currently, Vive Pro only receives 3 of 5 possible nerds, but the review will be updated if the sound problems are resolved. Then the glasses would probably end up at 4 out of 5.