Vive Cosmos

[Legend]

Didn't see a thread on this...

https://www.vive.com/uk/cosmos/

Intrigued to see how this shapes up. Scant info currently, although the claim of "sharpest screens yet" is interesting, although resolution isn't known yet. I sold my OG Vive some time ago, and never really got used to the screen door effect.

I'm not sure how the lack of base stations will impact the motion sickness issue, which in my experience has typically been more of a problem on standalone VR given it cannot orient your exact head position in 3D space. But I guess in theory if they've figured out how to do that within the headset, it should be fine (hopefully).

The single cable connection to PC will also make things easier, and I prefer the look of the controllers. They're clearly following Oculus here, which is no bad thing. I was never a big fan of the original Valve controllers... these seem more intuitive.

Hopefully price isn't too horrendous!

 

[Legend]

Is that your way of saying +1 ?

Looks intriguing but is possibly aimed at the more casual market? I think if we're nerdy enough to frequent a VR forum we like the top quality stuff

Why 'casual' exactly? If it features their sharpest screens yet, the tracking works on a par with the base stations, and the controllers offer an improved experience (which it looks like they will), not to mention the use of the VirtualLink VR Port which seems likely with a single cable connection... is there a reason why it won't be "top quality"?

 

[Legend]

It's going to largely depend what screens they use, and where it lands price wise. I've seen suggestions that the Cosmo could use the HP Reverb's dual 2160 x 2160 solution. If it does, then things could get interesting. The Index uses dual 1440×1600 obviously. Not that resolution is the only thing that matters, but it's still going to be a massive deciding factor for many.

I can't see the Cosmos targeting Oculus. I don't think it's possible for them to get anywhere close to that performance/price ratio, especially when they've already said it will feature their "sharpest screens yet". I think that clearly points to this being a top end headset that will want to compete with the Index... if not, it's hard to see where it would even sit in the marketplace.

 

[Legend]

It'll be great if they can leverage those 2160 x 2160 screens... it's just curious HTC have been so quiet since announcing the Cosmos' existence. That could be for any number of reasons, but hopefully we get more info soon. Seems logical they'd want to steal some of Valve's thunder if they DO have a product that's going to compete with the Index, and if that's the case they'll surely want to be putting out more info in the next couple months or so.

 

[Legend]

Now confirmed, 2880x1700 combined resolution (1440x1700 per eye), so well short of the Reverb. This JUST edges the Index (1440x1600 per eye), but I'm not sold on the Cosmos controllers. Index has the better solution here by far I'd say, providing game developers actually utilise the finger tracking. In examples seen so far though (Boneworks for example), the potential is clear.

 

[Legend]

Sadly, the Cosmos seems to offer nothing of note... inside out tracking is nice of course, but the Index will do a better job of tracking overall with base stations (they're still superior), and it's not like you aren't still tethered with the Cosmos, so for now, this is hardly much of a selling point or advantage (or cost saving). The controllers are where the Index really overtakes the Cosmos though... every example of these in action, and the feedback we're already seeing, demonstrates how much a leap forwards they are, and the potential for immersion if devs utilise their full functionality is incredible. It leaves the Cosmos standing in no man's land given its price point. Obviously we will see when both of these are in the wild and get some proper real world feedback, but at this point in time it's hard to see why anyone looking at a top end VR solution with £1K to spend would opt for the Cosmos.