*** HP Reverb G2 Owners Thread ***
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Sounds like the curse of the x570 mobos and this headset strike again? Mine was rock solid (albeit struggling) on my 2070s through it's usb-c connection. Managed to get a 3080 fe so now plumbed into the usb a ports on the mobo using the dongle and its very hit and miss. Sometimes it will be fine and others it will freak out - the world flips upside down, ridiculous bad performance etc.
Apparently setting the pcie down to 3 from 4 in the bios helps, not tried yet. Also heard it could all be down to the length of the cable? They added the power module on very late on. I wonder if it was due to these usb issues and even with that, it's not giving it enough juice when running full beans?
Hope something sorts it soon, I've got an nvme4 drive plugged in so I don't really fancy taking my pcie down to 3 as have no idea how it will react.
Apparently setting the pcie down to 3 from 4 in the bios helps, not tried yet. Also heard it could all be down to the length of the cable? They added the power module on very late on. I wonder if it was due to these usb issues and even with that, it's not giving it enough juice when running full beans?
Hope something sorts it soon, I've got an nvme4 drive plugged in so I don't really fancy taking my pcie down to 3 as have no idea how it will react.
The Vive cosmos was a failure. The inside-out controller tracking is awful. You can get Steam VR tracking as an add-on, but HTC only supply Vive Wands, and it works out more expensive than an Index which has far better controllers. HTC support is also awful.
The G2 is a much better system, with a much better display, comfort, and audio, and better controller tracking (though this is still not as good as Oculus inside out tracking).
Weirdly what sorted my USB issues was a sound driver update. It's still a little flaky, first time I plug in it picks up as USB 2.0 headphones and I get no sound. Second time it identifies as USB 2.0 speakers and works fine.
Prior to updating sound drivers I would regularly see 7-14 errors, despite being connected to a powered USB hub. There's a chance that this is a red herring and coincided with some windows update or other, but I don't think so.
yeah I get that, I have to specifically unplug the power barrel connector to reset it for some reason. If I turn it off at the plug it doesn’t work. Go figure!
Luckily my USB hub has on/off switches on each port, which has come in far handier recently than it used to
Thats what I needed to hear. Cheers. I'd had my heart set on a G2 for a while but having spent ages to finally get an RTX 3080 I didn't really want to spend ages trying to source a G2, and I just saw the Cosmos is easily available.
I'll wait a bit longer for the G2 to come in to stock. I've read that HP hope to have them back in sock at the end of January so I'll just need to wait until then.
Associate
Disable virtual monitor pre-allocation might help -
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/mixed-reality/enthusiast-guide/using-microsoft-edge
Associate
scrub that Please delete
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I'm probably going to get a refund/credit for this headset if I can.
even if all the technical bugs and issues are resolved - the headset has a glaring flaw for me and that's the terrible FOV, I don't know how in 2020 a $600 unit can have lower FOV than my 4 year old PlayStation VR headset that cost $200
HP advertise the headset as 110 degrees but it's clearly only 90 degrees at best, it's awful and very distracting because the edges of the screen are so blurry and to close to the center field of view
The controller tracking is pretty poor as well, even when pointed out in front of the headset it sometimes glitches and loses tracking for a second
I can see how this headset might appeal to people playing only racing simulators because they won't care about the narrow FOV or bad controllers, but I don't play sims
even if all the technical bugs and issues are resolved - the headset has a glaring flaw for me and that's the terrible FOV, I don't know how in 2020 a $600 unit can have lower FOV than my 4 year old PlayStation VR headset that cost $200
HP advertise the headset as 110 degrees but it's clearly only 90 degrees at best, it's awful and very distracting because the edges of the screen are so blurry and to close to the center field of view
The controller tracking is pretty poor as well, even when pointed out in front of the headset it sometimes glitches and loses tracking for a second
I can see how this headset might appeal to people playing only racing simulators because they won't care about the narrow FOV or bad controllers, but I don't play sims
Soldato
Not had that problem myself, i will say it's very light sensitive though. A few times when i've migrated to darken corners of my room away from the light source, it's pulled away. To say that it's 'pretty poor' is either an exaggeration or a problem with the ambience in your area of usage. Beat saber, fallout, skyrim, medal of honour, and many more the tracking has been on par with what i get from my index when using it during the day or under the spot lights.
I guess FOV is of personal opinion, while correct about the blurry edges and window of total clarity, it don't find it overly distracting. It's true to say that the Index feels a lot more cavernous in many experiences, it's fairly unique in that though among the industry standard hmd's, discounting tinpot Pimax offerings.
Curious though with the gripes you have, i presume it'll be an Index if you roll on another HMD?
Agreed, although I do think there’s an argument to be made that it is overly sensitive to lighting... you have to work around it rather than it working around you.
That said myself I seem lucky - my lighting in the man cave seems to hit the “just right” level and tracking is very good... I just wish it had more volume beneath the headset to avoid that loss of tracking with hands on your lap or by your sides.
Not only opinion but also will actually be physically variable from one person to another... Valve were clever to put in the lens spacing adjustment as it makes it much easier for a broader range of index users to experience the full FoV/sweet spot. The G2 would have been significantly better for a wider range of people too if they had included that feature, and second best would have been 2 or 3 different size facial interfaces in the box.
I can empathise with the USB woes, I was lucky and had a port that worked well but it’s fair to say this headset has some serious teething issues in that department.
That would be the next one to try, however the Index isn't sold down under so I can't. Can pretty much only get HTC/Occulus/HP/Samsung VR headsets here.
It's still been a learning experience which is cool, I now have a better understanding of the type of product I want.
So I have to wait for one of those to make a good product.
Out of interest, do all VR headsets have the issue where only the perfect center is clear and the outside is blurry? If its done on purpose to simulate human peripheral vision then its fine but its needs to then match our eye's actual FOV - I suspect I won't be happy until I can get a headset approaching 200 degrees horizontally
edit: or if the headset has narrow FOV then it should have eye tracking so that it moves the clear spot
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I want the G2 only for sims everything else ill be using my Quest 2 with Link cable..I cant pre order this headset from anywhere atm tho
To my understanding all headsets have the sweet spot in the centre with best clarity. G2 has one of the biggest on the market. The problem is that for some face shapes you have to be really close to the lenses in order to get the full-sized sweet spot. That is certainly the case with me. I have modded my device (replaced the standard face gasket) and I had a massive improvement is the size of the sweet spot and and FOV. There is still some softness towards the edges, but its way better than it was before. Also I have found that placing the headset in front of your eyes correctly is important. It cant be too low (too close to your nose) or too high. Overall, after the mod and after learning how to adjust it, I am happy with the visuals. I cant comment on whether 90fps is good enough, because I am running my G2 off an RX480 4GB, and I am getting like 25-30 fps in Pavlov at 100% render scaling.
I have seen issues with tracking - mainly when controllers are out of sight of the cameras - it may break. That is not annoying. What did demand some workaround for me was controller occlusion in Pavlov. You just have to find the way to hold them such that it's not an issue. It is possible, it's perhaps a bit less forgiving than the competition (I have not tried oculus stuff). I.e. not all styles of holding controllers give 0 occlusion issues, you have to adapt a bit.
I am very happy with my modded G2 I just need a 3080 to drive it properly.
Also of note, I did have some issues with my usb ports. After messing around with USB controller drivers and installing the latest win10 updates, I don't have issues. But I pre-emptively bought this powered usb hub. I tried it and it did not work well at all - so NOT recommended. The visuals worked, but windows complained that "a usb device was not recognised/mulfunctioned/something along those lines" and I lost sound on the headset - the sound went through my TV speakers. Tracking worked, it was just the sound problem. Bottom line, if you have USB connectivity issues, perhaps do not buy the hub I tried, it appears to have issues of its own.
And the other thing. If you are trying to run MSFS in steam VR and the performance is bad, try this fix here. I am actually very happy the Microsoft is pushing the development further and further. Perhaps they want to implement VR on their newest consoles, which would expand the market further - that would be great.
Good to know. What facial plate mod did you go for?
Hi, sorry for the late reply, I've been busy eating and drinking. I used this face gasket/interface. I attached it using the velcro tape (hooks only). It does allow some light leakage but it does not bother me at all. These IPS panes are bright and blacks are not OLED blacks any way, so I don't really notice the slight light leakage while in vr.
Also what I have found is that my habit of pulling the lenses to my eyes as hard as possible was working ok with the original gasket, but backfires with the new one. Firstly there is no need to do so any more. Secondly, if you do so with this 11mm thick gasket, you are sealing off your face in front of and quite close to a couple of rather toasty screens. A semi loose fit sacrifices almost no FOV or sweet spot but allows some fresh air to get/ some heat to escape.
Edit: plus a rather loose fit is much more comfortable - no more pressure on the face which is what I had to endure with the original gasket.
Soldato
I have an update for this ^^
The latest MSI BIOS (beta) got the front panel USB ports to work with the G2! None of the rear I/O USB ports work still, but I can now use the headset and it was solid for the half-hour of testing I just did.
Also, Steam recommended 68% resolution scaling which I assumed would look terrible since I needed over 130% SS to get my G1 to look sharp, however it actually looks just like my G1 at 140%.
Bumping up to 100% SS on the G2 didn't look noticeably different aside from the terrible frame-rates. Both the sharpness and frame-rate performance are similar when the g2 is set to 68% and my G1 is set to 140%.
I'm also running the Steam VR beta, not sure if it matters.
As far as the G2 being an upgrade path from the G1, I wouldn't bother (at least not for sims) unless the physical IPD adjustment is needed. The color looks slightly better on the G2, but glancing down at the speedometer on the cars I drove looked noticeably blurry compared to when I do it in the G1.
I normally turn my head to look left and right, so maybe the improved sweet spot on the G2 is "sweeter" horizontally. I don't have an issue with the sweet spot on either looking left and right.
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