Wednesday, May 1st 2019
Valve Officially Launches the Valve Index VR HMD, Full Kit Preorder Up for $999
We knew this was coming, given Valve's own teaser confirmation from March, and then a faux pas that resulted in an incomplete Steam store page ending up public for a short time. Valve had promised more details would come in May, and here we are with a lot of information available about the Valve Index headset, the controllers, the base stations, as well as retail pricing + availability.
Name aside, the Valve Index specs that leaked before end up holding true with the retail product. The headset uses dual 1440x1600 RGB LCDs which Valve claims helps provide 50% more subpixels relative to an OLED display. This in turn should result in higher effective sharpness for the same rendering horsepower, and is further accentuated via a 3x better fill factor to mitigate the dreaded screen-door effect. The headset runs at 120 Hz with full backwards compatibility to 90 Hz to work with VR titles built around that specification and, more interestingly, also supports an experimental 144 Hz mode. PC gamers have long known the benefits of higher framerates, and this is especially valid with VR, but time will tell how the rest of the ecosystem works around this. Equally important to VR gaming is the illumination period, which allows on-screen imagery to remain sharp while you are in motion just as well as when at rest. Valve claims up to a 5x reduction here, with a rated illumination period of 0.33 to 0.53 ms depending on the real time framerate. More to see past the break, so be sure to do so if this interests you!The lenses used in the Valve Index are custom designed (as usually the case for every VR HMD), allowing for an improved FOV via the ability to position the optics as close to the optimal focal length for the end users eyes as possible. Given this can vary from person to person, the Valve Index supports both physically adjustable IPD and eye relief adjustment, which is to be expected but good to get a confirmation on regardless. The lenses are canted outwards by 5° as well, which all combine to provide for an effective FOV of 20° higher than the HTC Vive for most users, as per Valve. Note that this is not being compared to the newer Vive Pro headset, which has had improvements of its own. The lenses use a dual-element design, in a move that reminds us of optics used in SLR lenses on a smaller scale, to allow for clarity at the center and also at the edges of the lens, as well as minimal geometric distortion.There is integrated audio, which Valve refers to as Index Speakers, that does not physically touch the ears as much as hovers over them. Valve claims this allows sound to "freely flow and interact with the geometry of your own head and ears" while also acknowledging this helps ensure the user is not ignorant to external sound stimuli from the environment. This design should help with long use sessions, and the use of composite honeycomb-panel speaker drivers should help with a ~180° sound dispersion pattern for the entire frequency response if the company is to be believed. Aiding the comfort factor is the use of soft anti-microbial woven fabric surfaces, ergonomic padding galore, quick adjustments for head size, face angle, and ear position, and the support for quick-swap face pads via magnets. The HMD also supports modding, via a front expansion slot which includes a male USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type A port that Valve promises to shed more details on for third-party developers and modders sooner than later. This support extends to the stereo, global-shutter RGB cameras that Valve claims are "made for computer vision, enabling applications like high-quality stereo pass-through".They may not be called the Knuckles controllers as originally so, but the new Valve Index Controllers retain the same form factor and design scheme, and are finally going to be a retail product to be used with the Valve Index HMD, or other compatible headsets as well. The product page shows a demo of the controllers in action, which adds merit to the claims of these being the most natural VR input devices to date. The controllers, when taken advantage of by developers at least, will allow you to reach out and grab objects in VR via your fingers as you would in the real world, and not rely on trigger actions. There are 87 sensors in each controller to allow for fine tracking of hand and finger positions, as well as motion and pressure applied for a vast library of actions possible depending on the environment in play. This should allow for catching and throwing of objects that is not only more reliable but also supporting velocity and trajectories, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all solution from before. Onboard control comes in the form of buttons, triggers, thumbsticks and a large track pad/button that has multiple functions assignable- track pad, scroll wheel, binary button with haptics, and so on. There are hand straps to help prevent any real world accidental damage, and the strap uses a three-point system for a more comfortable and secure fit akin to car seat belts. The straps are also made of the same fabric as used in the HMD, which will help with hygiene and comfort alike.The use of base stations by itself is a bit of a disappointment, as many would no doubt have wanted inside-out tracking support instead. As it stands, the so-called Base Station 2.0 is rated by Valve to be an improvement in nearly every regard over the original SteamVR-compatible base stations, including those from HTC. Valve goes so far as to claim these are best-in-industry for room-scale VR tracking as of now, with the new single-rotor design allowing for a wider FOV (160º x 115º) and increased range (7 m). Two base stations should mean for a 4x improvement in room for exploration, with the ecosystem supporting up to four for arena/arcade applications (10 x 10 m area). The new base stations used fixed lasers to continually sweep the environment as much as 100 times a second while tracking the photonic sensors on the Valve Index HMD. The use of a single laser and omnidirectional sweeping should also mean less IR interference with other devices in the room, and they are powered via a 12 V wall adapter while being compatible with the HTC Vive power adapters as well. The Base Station 2.0 is compatible with the HTC Vive Pro as well, as well as any other VR HMD making use of 2.0 tracking hardware.The Valve Index VR hardware ecosystem is now up for pre-order on Steam in a variety of options, which in turn dictate the shipping date as well. The full kit comprises of the headset, two controllers, and two base stations for $999 and will ship by Aug 31. This makes the Valve Index a whole $300 less than the equivalent kit with the HTC Vive Pro, and yet not truly an affordable VR setup. The Oculus Quest that releases imminently is not really in the same ballpark, given its all-in-one functionality using less powerful hardware and a significantly lower price point, and is not apt for comparison. For those with base stations (from HTC or otherwise), the headset + controllers combo comes in at $749 and ships by July 31 instead. The individual items can also be purchase a la carte for $499 (headset), $279 (a pair of controllers), or $149 (single base station 2.0) which might interest those with the original HTC Vive or even the Vive Pro- no shipping date available for these yet, however.
The Valve Index VR system is compatible with SteamVR titles to the same extent as the HTC Vive (Pro), and Valve has also stated some first-party VR titles will be coming out sooner than later. We were hoping for more light on the rumored Half Life VR title to go with the hardware details, but there is still time to go before these ship out and, who knows, Valve might see E3 as an option now that some of the players involved there have decided to forego participation this year.
Name aside, the Valve Index specs that leaked before end up holding true with the retail product. The headset uses dual 1440x1600 RGB LCDs which Valve claims helps provide 50% more subpixels relative to an OLED display. This in turn should result in higher effective sharpness for the same rendering horsepower, and is further accentuated via a 3x better fill factor to mitigate the dreaded screen-door effect. The headset runs at 120 Hz with full backwards compatibility to 90 Hz to work with VR titles built around that specification and, more interestingly, also supports an experimental 144 Hz mode. PC gamers have long known the benefits of higher framerates, and this is especially valid with VR, but time will tell how the rest of the ecosystem works around this. Equally important to VR gaming is the illumination period, which allows on-screen imagery to remain sharp while you are in motion just as well as when at rest. Valve claims up to a 5x reduction here, with a rated illumination period of 0.33 to 0.53 ms depending on the real time framerate. More to see past the break, so be sure to do so if this interests you!The lenses used in the Valve Index are custom designed (as usually the case for every VR HMD), allowing for an improved FOV via the ability to position the optics as close to the optimal focal length for the end users eyes as possible. Given this can vary from person to person, the Valve Index supports both physically adjustable IPD and eye relief adjustment, which is to be expected but good to get a confirmation on regardless. The lenses are canted outwards by 5° as well, which all combine to provide for an effective FOV of 20° higher than the HTC Vive for most users, as per Valve. Note that this is not being compared to the newer Vive Pro headset, which has had improvements of its own. The lenses use a dual-element design, in a move that reminds us of optics used in SLR lenses on a smaller scale, to allow for clarity at the center and also at the edges of the lens, as well as minimal geometric distortion.There is integrated audio, which Valve refers to as Index Speakers, that does not physically touch the ears as much as hovers over them. Valve claims this allows sound to "freely flow and interact with the geometry of your own head and ears" while also acknowledging this helps ensure the user is not ignorant to external sound stimuli from the environment. This design should help with long use sessions, and the use of composite honeycomb-panel speaker drivers should help with a ~180° sound dispersion pattern for the entire frequency response if the company is to be believed. Aiding the comfort factor is the use of soft anti-microbial woven fabric surfaces, ergonomic padding galore, quick adjustments for head size, face angle, and ear position, and the support for quick-swap face pads via magnets. The HMD also supports modding, via a front expansion slot which includes a male USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type A port that Valve promises to shed more details on for third-party developers and modders sooner than later. This support extends to the stereo, global-shutter RGB cameras that Valve claims are "made for computer vision, enabling applications like high-quality stereo pass-through".They may not be called the Knuckles controllers as originally so, but the new Valve Index Controllers retain the same form factor and design scheme, and are finally going to be a retail product to be used with the Valve Index HMD, or other compatible headsets as well. The product page shows a demo of the controllers in action, which adds merit to the claims of these being the most natural VR input devices to date. The controllers, when taken advantage of by developers at least, will allow you to reach out and grab objects in VR via your fingers as you would in the real world, and not rely on trigger actions. There are 87 sensors in each controller to allow for fine tracking of hand and finger positions, as well as motion and pressure applied for a vast library of actions possible depending on the environment in play. This should allow for catching and throwing of objects that is not only more reliable but also supporting velocity and trajectories, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all solution from before. Onboard control comes in the form of buttons, triggers, thumbsticks and a large track pad/button that has multiple functions assignable- track pad, scroll wheel, binary button with haptics, and so on. There are hand straps to help prevent any real world accidental damage, and the strap uses a three-point system for a more comfortable and secure fit akin to car seat belts. The straps are also made of the same fabric as used in the HMD, which will help with hygiene and comfort alike.The use of base stations by itself is a bit of a disappointment, as many would no doubt have wanted inside-out tracking support instead. As it stands, the so-called Base Station 2.0 is rated by Valve to be an improvement in nearly every regard over the original SteamVR-compatible base stations, including those from HTC. Valve goes so far as to claim these are best-in-industry for room-scale VR tracking as of now, with the new single-rotor design allowing for a wider FOV (160º x 115º) and increased range (7 m). Two base stations should mean for a 4x improvement in room for exploration, with the ecosystem supporting up to four for arena/arcade applications (10 x 10 m area). The new base stations used fixed lasers to continually sweep the environment as much as 100 times a second while tracking the photonic sensors on the Valve Index HMD. The use of a single laser and omnidirectional sweeping should also mean less IR interference with other devices in the room, and they are powered via a 12 V wall adapter while being compatible with the HTC Vive power adapters as well. The Base Station 2.0 is compatible with the HTC Vive Pro as well, as well as any other VR HMD making use of 2.0 tracking hardware.The Valve Index VR hardware ecosystem is now up for pre-order on Steam in a variety of options, which in turn dictate the shipping date as well. The full kit comprises of the headset, two controllers, and two base stations for $999 and will ship by Aug 31. This makes the Valve Index a whole $300 less than the equivalent kit with the HTC Vive Pro, and yet not truly an affordable VR setup. The Oculus Quest that releases imminently is not really in the same ballpark, given its all-in-one functionality using less powerful hardware and a significantly lower price point, and is not apt for comparison. For those with base stations (from HTC or otherwise), the headset + controllers combo comes in at $749 and ships by July 31 instead. The individual items can also be purchase a la carte for $499 (headset), $279 (a pair of controllers), or $149 (single base station 2.0) which might interest those with the original HTC Vive or even the Vive Pro- no shipping date available for these yet, however.
The Valve Index VR system is compatible with SteamVR titles to the same extent as the HTC Vive (Pro), and Valve has also stated some first-party VR titles will be coming out sooner than later. We were hoping for more light on the rumored Half Life VR title to go with the hardware details, but there is still time to go before these ship out and, who knows, Valve might see E3 as an option now that some of the players involved there have decided to forego participation this year.