Looks like the consumer HP Reverb is on sale for $499.99:
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688 gorram euroās.
Hot dang thatās a good price.
Going to hold out though. I predict further reductions before too long and some competition in resolution.
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So my Reverb arrived today and I gave it a first try. Frankly I must say I have a little mixed feelings. I probably still have to optimize some settings.
While the view straight ahead is wonderfully sharp, the image seems to get blurry very quickly when going off center. There is a very noticeable effect of rainbow colors in the periphery (some kind of prisms effect for the lack of better words), especially along edges. It is very noticeable how colors of edges, for example along the canopy railing) switch from red, blue or greenish to their actual colors when moving the view back and forth.
I flew a Tomcat CASE I pattern as a test and felt that the instrument scan in the periphery is even slightly worse than with the Rift CV.
In general the colors seem more pale as compared to the Rift CV.
Tracking is rather disappointing. When I move my head down towards the right cockpit panel, which is close to the floor and wall in my actual room, tracking fails completely.
The headset seems very comfortable to wear, but that cable feels massive and heavy. I still have to get used to not having a nose gap the peek through. I am still undecided if I will remove the nose cover.
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I think you are seeing what some people have reported - the actual edges of the displays within the headset. I cannot see them unless I press my eyes far into the headset. Iām wondering if size of the face/head has a bearing on thisā¦my assumption is that your eyes are getting closer to the lenses than mine and so you are able to see that.
While my clarity drops off from the center, it is far better than the CV1 and O+. My IPD is 68ā¦so again, not sure if it is perhaps just not a good fit for your physiology perhaps. Why they didnāt have an adjustable IPD is crazy to me.
I thought they were close to the same as the CV, but colors in the Reverb are far less vibrant than the O+. Those OLEDs in the O+ are very rich.
Iāve seen that on occasion. Lighting definitely helps, but also contrasting objects in the room. I think looking at a wall might not give the spatial feedback that the inside out tracking needs. Almost like it canāt find the depth of the room on a flat palette. Iām speculating on that. It might help if you arenāt using the hand controllers to put them at the outer edges of the play areaā¦I wonder if those would give better reference to the headset. Of course, if you arenāt using them though, I think they turn off after X minutes.
Yeah, if you do decide to keep it, definitely do the mod where you zip-tie the cable to the back halo of the headset. It brings the cable off your shoulder and centers the weight of the cable more comfortably.
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I think I havenāt worded that very well. What I am seeing are rainbow colors along the edges of the in-game geometry where there is a high contrast. So for examples along the canopy railing or the leading egde of the wing. These effects start to appear in the periphery perhaps halfways between the center and the limit of the FOV (I cannot actually see the egdes of the display).
I think my IPD is 64, so it should be almost perfect for the headset. Perhaps thisis just a matter of getting used to it and I stop to see these things after a while.
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Ahā¦OK, yes, I misunderstood what you were talking about. Perhaps this is the āred smearā that people have referenced? I have not really noticed it and am not sure what it isā¦but I think it is because I generally donāt use a lot of rapid head movements in VR. I think it would be most visible in high contrast areas and first-person shooters maybe (?). I also noticed last night playing a mission in VR in DCS that I might need to turn my gamma down in gameā¦scenes from the external views seem a bit bright and washed out. 
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Well, I am really have a difficult experience with the Reverb. Today I tried to set up the two motion controllers. Having no idea how to do this, I started to google for help and mash various buttons. It turns out that the controllers were already pre-paired with the headset and while the left controller is working now, I apparently un-paired the right one in the process. It seems to be impossible to re-pair the controller though, as clicking āSetup Controllersā in the Mixed Reality Portal as suggested at various places, will simply open the Windows App store and do no more.
I guess no VR controllers for me thenā¦
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I think you might actually have to unpair the controller in WMR setup, then repair it by pressing the little button under the battery cover (the BlueTooth connect button). This is how I unpaired the Reverb controllers and paired the O+ controllers with my Reverb. Just curious thoughā¦how in the world did you get through the Reverb setup without the motion controllers working? Or did you just skip all that and go right to playing sims with no need for controllers?
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Where would that setup be though? The only reference to controllers I can find in WMR is the following, which doesnāt work:
I already reinstalled WMR but for no change.
You can go through the HMD installation with just the mouse, which I did (never had a controller for the Rift eitherā¦).
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Ahā¦yesā¦well, this is the pertinent section of the setup you need I think:
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You may need the HP Reverb setup app instead of vanilla WMR perhaps?
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I donāt have that app and canāt find it anywhere on the web either. I am confusedā¦
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Hmmā¦I donāt know how I got the HP Reverb Appā¦maybe it auto-installed when it detected the HP Reverb? I donāt see it listed on the Microsoft App store, but it is definitely listed in my list of Apps. A quick Google search showed thisā¦but I donāt know if it applies to your situation:
When I entered āSecurity and Maintenanceā (search from Start menu) that window opened up with the Maintenance section expanded, it contained a device driver warning with a āupdateā button, it is worth mentioning that no such warning appeared in Device Manager.
After clicking this button the message immediately disappeared with no special indication.
Then I clicked the blue āStart maintenanceā label under that section which triggered a maintenance run lasting few minutes. After that, all of a sudden, I could find the āHP Reverb VR Headset Setupā app under the start menu, and ran the manual pairing process successfully.
My guess is that Windows had some weird problem installing the drivers, plus it took a maintenance run to cause the āHP Reverb VR Headset Setupā app to appear.
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Yes I also found this, unfortunately this didnāt work. My Windows thinks everything is up to date.
There is a curious absence of search results for this HP Reverb App on Google.
Thanks a lot for your help though.
Yeahā¦Iām sorry, I would have thought just Googling or entering HP Reverb Setup App would give a result in the Microsoft Storeā¦but it doesnātā¦ Very odd.
This is the same one that is installed on my computerā¦and I have no idea how I got it there. Unfortunately, this might a deal where you get on HP chat (the horror!) and maybe they can give you a direct link to it. Very odd that it canāt be found on the Microsoft App store thoughā¦
I asked if anyone knows of a direct link to the App in the Reverb sub-Redditā¦maybe someone has a clueā¦ Iāll forward a link if I get one.
@MBot, you are undoubtedly a victim of your own genius. When you dissect the ME, my head explodes. Iām not at my computer, but donāt remember it being too hard. In WMR look for something like settings ā devices. Then follow the connection wizard. I have added and removed them numerous times and donāt remember a stumbling block other than @BeachAV8Rās mentioning of the pairing button inside the battery compartment.
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LOLā¦that was exactly what I was thinking. How exactly would it be possible for me to help this genius when Iām such a bumbling idiot on most of these thingsā¦hahaā¦
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