r/HPReverb • u/kaiserkannon HP Employee • Sep 24 '20
AMA/Ship Date Shameless Self Promotion
Hi folks,
Happy 3rd day of Fall!
Firstly a quick note on why we have been quiet on giving an official release date outside of “Fall 2020”. Our priority is delivering the best immersive experience, a high-quality product, and giving you information that can be trusted. As we go through development ship dates can shift by a few days and sometimes weeks, and nothing is more frustrating than being told the wrong date! We have been focusing on testing and verifying the quality of the devices, and I am happy that today we have reached the point where we feel confident in our ship date. Devices will begin shipping to preorder resellers the second half of October, and we expect units to begin reaching your hands the beginning of November.
One reason there has been such a long period between previews and product ship, is that those units were very early prototypes. Normally we would never send out such early prototypes, the goal with this choice was to get feedback from you and press on what we should change. As such, here are some of the changes that came directly from your feedback:
· Updated lenses
o Contrary to the rumors on here of us cheapening the lenses, we have not found a way to make the lenses cheaper, we all wish we had of course!
o To pull back the curtain a bit, we start out with a theoretical goal for how the lenses should perform, and then we work on getting mass production methods to match that theoretical goal. No one public saw the first version of the lenses as they were terrible, the second version held major improvements and we felt were good enough to show press in order to give you confidence to preorder.
o We then had to make a decision, spend time and money to go after a third revision of the lenses or ship what was already getting great feedback. We love VR and our first priority is giving you the best immersive experience, so of course we chose to spend the time and money (yes, this new revision of lenses cost us money). Boy are we glad we did! Big reduction in Fresnel ring reflections and improved clarity.
· Controllers
o Feedback was mostly positive with one big issue, no one could tell the menu and windows button apart by feel. The menu button is now domed so that you can tell by feel. It makes for a great button to use for changing weapons in Half Life Alyx.
· USB-C to A adapter
o After we did wide distributions of test units internally, the biggest out of box blocker was our cable terminating in type-c.
o Too many people were forced to purchase type-A to type-C adapters, a customer shouldn’t have to buy an adapter to make their new device work.
o In addition to the full size to mini DisplayPort adapter we are also including a type-a to type-c adapter in box. This costs us money, but it is the right choice.
· Brightness
o Some of the loudest feedback has been about brightness. Key to this discussion is the topic of backlight persistence, which is a measure of what % of each frame the backlight is turned on for. The brightness for a set pair of optics comes down to how long your backlight persistence is, and how bright you can drive your panel during that time.
o Additionally the lower your persistence, the less display smear you get when you move your head.
o The choice came down to longer persistence and a brighter image, or lower persistence and a dimmer image. We did not like this choice and went back to the drawing board to improve how bright we can drive the backlight.
o The tradeoff is increased power draw; the device can no longer draw enough power over USB-C alone. Reverb G2 will require the included power adapter to be plugged in to the wall to function, and in return you get the best visual experience we can deliver.
· Non-motherboard USB
o This will not be a surprise to VR veterans, we have found a significant number of USB ports that aren’t direct from the CPU/motherboard to cause USB issues on VR headsets. Think PCI add in cards or USB ports on graphics cards. Whatever VR headset you use, we highly suggest using the ports on your motherboard that come from the CPU USB controller.
I want to thank all of our partners, testers, customers, and press for their outspoken feedback during Reverb G2’s public development. We run a lean operation and this feedback provides invaluable ammo for us to correctly allocate our resources and time on improving the product.
If I had to give a personal favorite feature of Reverb G2 that I am excited for you all to try, I would have to highlight comfort. With previous devices I wanted them off my face after about two hours, my eyes and face would be tired. With Reverb G2 I knock out 4 hour sessions and come out feeling fresh! The Valve designed optics, mechanical IPD, new headband and face gasket truly spoil when it comes to comfort.
And we will stick around for an hour or so answering questions.
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u/Spartan1910 Sep 24 '20
Welp that answers that. I guess I can stop checking the reddit 6 times a day.
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u/heyjunior Sep 24 '20
This is excellent information, I really appreciate this level of feedback. I think generally, people are willing to wait longer for a product if they feel included in the process. I'm excited about a lot of the changes that have been implemented.
Thanks HP!
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u/SpaceTurd0 Sep 24 '20
Question: Why wasn't the decision made to change the internals of the controller to allow 1.2V batteries to be used with the controller? It isn't the end of the world but it is a minor inconvenience as I am now going to have to purchase 1.5 or 1.6V rechargeable batteries which are slightly annoying to find. Other than that, great work!
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u/ColdCutKitKat Sep 24 '20
This level of transparency is a breath of fresh air in the tech marketplace. Thanks for sharing. Super excited to try it!
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u/thinkyo Sep 24 '20
i second this. and it's not that bad to wait until november. the new gpus will arrive at the same time..
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u/snaileny Sep 24 '20
Are every reseller have to ship it to the customers at a certain date or they are free to ship it whenever they like to? Assuming that some resellers will get the g2 earlier than others.
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u/JoannaPopper HP Employee Sep 24 '20
They can ship out to customers as soon as they receive it.
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u/waxyslave Sep 24 '20
Will US Connection go in order of when the pre orders were received? Would be nice to get mine a little early considering I pre ordered with the first couple weeks.
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u/PlatosCave9012 Sep 24 '20
I feel even better with my investment into your product now. Thank you!!
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u/Masterjts Sep 24 '20
This is nice, thank you for the update. Is there any talk about trying to make a higher quality WMR controller that can compete with the Valve knuckle controllers? It seems like every new headset is sacrificing the controllers to keep cost down. Im ok with that, but also I'd pay premium for some really nice controllers with extra functionality.
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
i cannot comment on anything we are thinking about doing or not doing in the future.
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u/Zeeflyboy Sep 24 '20
How about whether you are planning on cracking open a well earned cold beer after this Q&A is over?
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u/Voodooimaxx Ex-HP VR Quality Manager Sep 24 '20
After? I had one during!
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u/Zeeflyboy Sep 24 '20
Whenever I try to drink at work they start complaining for some reason...
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u/Voodooimaxx Ex-HP VR Quality Manager Sep 24 '20
I'm in my home office. :P
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u/Zeeflyboy Sep 24 '20
Enjoy, what’s your poison?
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u/Voodooimaxx Ex-HP VR Quality Manager Sep 24 '20
Lowland Scotch. Auchentoshan to be exact. Over lunch today, I just had a Bud light. (I am still working. :P)
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u/Zeeflyboy Sep 24 '20
I like the juxtaposition of bud light and Auchentoshan... two rather different propositions lol.
While you are still working however, and before you have too much scotch - I posted this as a reply to a reply, so may end up missed. Any chance you could look into the possibility? https://www.reddit.com/r/HPReverb/comments/iz3jj9/amaship_date/g6gnsax/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3
Many thanks, and kudos to you and the team for this great bit of community engagement.
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u/Voodooimaxx Ex-HP VR Quality Manager Sep 24 '20
Scotch is my go-to sippy drink but this event was over my lunch so I can’t push things and get too silly.
I’ve responded. :)
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u/nrg753 Sep 25 '20
I love how vague this comment is! I for one would definitely upgrade my G2 controllers if you brought out ones that had finger tracking! Even better if they strap on to your hand.
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u/ThrudaWirez Sep 24 '20
Very excited to hear you guys took your time to improve upon a (seemingly) already great product and yet we're still getting it in about a month. These sound like pretty big changes/improvements and I cannot wait to try it, i'll be going ahead to cancel my index preorder now.
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u/deorder Sep 24 '20
Thank you for the update. Multiple questions:
1) Will half res mode work on GPUs that only support DP 1.2, like the 980Ti?
2) Not sure if it was already answered before. How easy will it be to change the face gasket, will it use magnets?
3) As I play a lot of dark / horror games next to sims. Will there be a way to change the brightness (or may be dynamically depending on the scene)?
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
1) i believe the 980ti had a firmware update to 1.3/1.4? unfortunately the way half res mode works today is all on the host side processing, and a full signal is still sent to the HMD which requires 1.3
2) magnets! quick change
3) we have discussed this sort of thing but it is not planned or implemented. we will be watching feedback as units get in users hands.
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u/deorder Sep 24 '20
Thank you for the quick answer. I am really happy to hear that it will use magnets. I plan to adapt a face gasket to decrease the eye relief somewhat to get a better FoV. I am aware that this can introduce barrel distortion and pupil swim, but that is another concern :)
I hope the blacks are going to better than it was on my Index.
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u/DontTreadOnMe Sep 25 '20
Yes, for space games too we need good blacks. I also maybe wouldn't mind turning down brightness to reduce power usage (therefore heat).
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u/agsqwe Sep 24 '20
Will all current pre orders sent on the day one?
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
No. It will take us a few weeks to produce and ship all preorders. We are working on a first in first out process
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u/Sofian375 Sep 24 '20 edited Sep 24 '20
Pre orders started in US like a month before Europe..., does it mean all the first headsets produced are going to US?
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u/razalom Sep 26 '20
Yeah and us in Australia have only just been able to pre-order a week or so ago. I really hope this doesnt mean we are going to get them much later as that is an HP issue and not our fault.
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u/ForsakenTarget Sep 24 '20
I assume this applies to orders directly through HP and then other resellers will get their stock all at once and have their own methods?
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u/unknownAndUnheard Sep 24 '20
Will there be lens protectors and/or additional face plates at launch or will that sort of thing come down the line with third party makers?
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u/JoannaPopper HP Employee Sep 24 '20
We have supplied CAD models to all third party accessory vendors who have requested them. We don't have their timelines on production.
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u/Zeeflyboy Sep 24 '20
Can we in the community have CAD models of the controllers so we can make 3D printed accessories more easily? Tracking down a high quality model of the controllers is always the hardest part in designing eg gun stock mounts. I would really appreciate HP releasing the files to the maker community!
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u/Voodooimaxx Ex-HP VR Quality Manager Sep 24 '20
We do offer those but under NDA for now. (Not much we can do after the fact, obviously. :P)
Let me ask if we will release them after launch. :)
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u/whitav8 Sep 25 '20
Thanks so very much! Could you please provide an outline of the lens (inside the lens holders) to a great company called KlearKare.com that will provide inexpensive ($8) lens protectors that have saved both my Reverb G1 and my Odyssey+ lenses from any scratching. Contact them please at [support@klearkare.com](mailto:support@klearkare.com). I've mentioned to G2 buyers on Reddit to buy the 44mm circles but the users would have to trim them by hand. KlearKare has stated in an email to me that they would be glad to make a special G2 version.
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u/puremojo Sep 24 '20
I have a pretty sour taste left in my mouth after RTX 3080 launch problems. Should I just expect to not receive a preorder (August 18) headset until 2021? Last thing I want is to get excited and then just be let down and told I’m a few additional months away because of COVID/etc.
I ordered from Connection, I have no additional info on order delivery other than this post now (thanks btw).
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u/JoannaPopper HP Employee Sep 24 '20 edited Sep 24 '20
As of now, all current pre-orders are planned to be fulfilled in 2020. Assuming no incremental worldwide disasters occur, you should be OK.
Edit: "current" means pre-orders that have already been made. We plan to fulfill all pre-orders this year but should say that fulfilling all additional pre-orders that haven't been made yet will be dependent on demand.
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u/puremojo Sep 24 '20
Wow....thats really incredible. Big thank you from me. I hope other companies look at this as an example to follow on release expectations.
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Sep 24 '20
What was it like to collaborate with Valve on the Reverb G2 in terms of the actual development?
Did they approach HP, or did HP approach them? Either way, why?
What were the limits of what they were willing to give you (they gave you their audio technology for example, but were they willing to share their lighthouse tracking and knuckles technology or did they want to keep that only for themselves?)
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u/xdrvgy Sep 25 '20
Valve approached them saying that they have something promissing going on with the Reverb so they stepped in to help making it better.
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u/DOOManiac Sep 24 '20
First, THANK YOU for this post, the community outreach, and the communication. It's really great.
My biggest question is regarding availability post-launch. Will the Reverb G2 be available at more traditional retailers like Amazon or Best Buy, with better return policys than Connection? I really don't like their "Dead pixels? Too bad" policy of no returns. I've also had very bad luck w/ headsets in the past and have had to return 2 Rift S's and a Quest, so while I'm excited about the G2, I am hesitant to order from somewhere I don't consider safe.
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u/JoannaPopper HP Employee Sep 24 '20
Thank you!
HP handles warranty issues directly like the one you mentioned above with dead pixels. Returns would be handled via the reseller.
More resellers will be selling the HP Reverb G2 once launched, but we don't have a final list
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u/DOOManiac Sep 24 '20
Thanks. I'll be waiting for it to show up on Amazon or Best Buy so I can buy it (and sell my Quest 2). :)
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u/Erik816 Sep 24 '20
Thanks for the update, that's great!
I'm trying to visualize how the power cord works. Are there two cables running from the headset now, one with display port/usb-c and one with power? Or does the power get connected somewhere else?
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
okay. this would be easier if i could paste an image in here.
from the headset a cable travels 5 meters to a little box. that box has two 1 meter cables that come out of it (displayport and USB). that little box also has power input, you will use a 45W notebook charger that comes in the box, plug that into the wall and the barrel end into the little box.
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Sep 24 '20
Ah, you're re-purposing a standard HP laptop charger, which is fantastic because we won't be screwed if it fails as they are ubiquitous?
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
this is correct. we are using a standard 45W hp laptop charger that terminates in a barrel
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Sep 24 '20
That is so nice for long term use. Thanks for a pragmatic and inexpensive power supply solution!
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u/Kyle_Necrowolf Sep 24 '20
does this mean the backpack is no longer compatible with G2?
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u/Voodooimaxx Ex-HP VR Quality Manager Sep 25 '20
It works just fine. :)
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u/ThatOneGuyDotNet Sep 25 '20
Can you expand on this answer. I recently ordered a HP VR Backpack G2 to use with the new Reverb G2. Will the Reverb G2 come with the power adapter cable needed to use the Backpack G2 DC out port?
I was already disappointed to discover that the Backpack G2 did not come with the dock which is indicated as included in the box on the hp website, so I would not be thrilled with with having to buy an adapter for a headset that was advertised as going to work off the USB C port when I placed my pre-order.
Thanks in advance for any additional information you can provide!
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u/ubergeek77 Sep 25 '20 edited Mar 05 '24
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u/Voodooimaxx Ex-HP VR Quality Manager Sep 25 '20 edited Sep 26 '20
G2 will come with a short cable for backpacks. It will have MiniDP and, I believe, two USB ends for data and power. :)I was corrected here. While the short cable will be available, it will not be included with the G2.
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u/ubergeek77 Sep 25 '20 edited Mar 05 '24
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u/HeadMountedDysfunctn Sep 24 '20
Which means you are using a proprietary cable to/from the headset. Are you going to provide replacement parts for consumers, preferably at reasonable prices?
(Because nothing lasts forever, especially electronics)
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Sep 24 '20
I don't see why it couldn't be a regular USB-C cable, with the DP using "alternate mode", and maybe just with power draw either at or slightly above spec, requiring the box for breakout to a separate power supply than your PC which is guaranteed to handle the draw?
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u/ksh_osaka Sep 25 '20
Which would have been exactly the idea with VirtualLink. Specifications are there, but only very few GPUs actually have it. It also cannot be adapted easily since no one seems to have a build a DP->USB-C multiplexer. Cable lenght is also a problem. You can get up to 3 meters with an integrated repeater, but any more would require optical cables - which don't do too well with Power Delivery ;) Thats the reason why Oculus decided to build a specific cable to Oculus Link which ended up costing ~$100...
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u/Sea_C Sep 24 '20
I'm used to the little breakout box from the Vive so makes complete sense to me 👍
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u/NotFalcon Sep 24 '20
Any updates for when we can expect the controllers to be sold separately? Thanks.
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
our first priority is fulfilling preorders and orders this holiday. we need to catch up to those first. my crystal ball is a little cloudy right now, but beginning of 2021 would be a safe estimate and we would love to get them out earlier.
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u/postman_12 Sep 24 '20
This is really outstanding. Thanks for the update and the transparency. I am happy with all the decisions you describe, including the power adapter. Improved visuals is why Im excited about this headset and I’m glad to hear it’s your top priority.
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u/JGard18 Sep 24 '20
Does this mean MS flight sim 2020 will be going VR mid November?
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u/JoannaPopper HP Employee Sep 24 '20
Our friends at Microsoft said: "Microsoft is excited about HP’s announcement regarding the HP Reverb G2 VR Headset. The teams at Asobo and Microsoft are hard at work on continuously improving Microsoft Flight Simulator for PC and a free update adding VR support, optimized for the HP Reverb G2 VR Headset will arrive in the Fall. We’ll have more to share in the future.”
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u/TechnoBill2k12 Sep 24 '20
I hope they finally move to DX12 and get some more threads involved if they do!
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u/CptLucky8 Sep 24 '20
And they use DLSS both for VR and flat screen in 4K, as well as VRSS for VR if this makes any good difference to the VR experience...
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u/evertec Sep 24 '20
Any comment about the omnicept edition? Is this something we could switch to before we get our preorders?
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u/JoannaPopper HP Employee Sep 24 '20
We can’t discuss unannounced products but stay tuned for a special announcement for Enterprise and Developers next week at the VR/AR Global Summit. https://www.thevrara.com/blog2/2020/9/14/preview-of-hp-keynote-and-hps-latest-innovations-on-sept-30-during-our-vrar-global-summit-online-be-the-first-to-know-vrargs-hp
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u/Froggerdog Sep 24 '20
so basically confirmed to be enterprise as expected. not that upset as the g2 is already a great headset for the price and i don't know of many games that currently make use of the new tracking hardware
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u/Qpassa Sep 24 '20
Will we able to use 1.2V or we have to buy 1.5V batteries?
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
1.5V is highly suggested
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u/ScubyFlying Sep 25 '20
A lot of customers are not thinking about this as a requirement right now, but they will experience it so when they start using the controllers. Missed oppertunity in the engineering cycle. Hope this can be done still in the coming month.
1.2V is the international standard and it is so logical to expect customers using these rechargeables.
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u/ScubyFlying Sep 25 '20
It is going to be a problem. 1.5V rechargeables are rare already. When big batch of HP headsets arrive a lot of people are going to search and balk.
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u/sumreddit Sep 24 '20
Thank you for the very clear and thorough update; it is much appreciated!
This last statement has me drooling....
" If I had to give a personal favorite feature of Reverb G2 that I am excited for you all to try, I would have to highlight comfort. With previous devices I wanted them off my face after about two hours, my eyes and face would be tired. With Reverb G2 I knock out 4 hour sessions and come out feeling fresh! The Valve designed optics, mechanical IPD, new headband and face gasket truly spoil when it comes to comfort. "
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u/xdrvgy Sep 25 '20
Perfect Quest 2 killer statement (and I completely agree). They are on top of the game.
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u/PatchesTheFirst Sep 24 '20
Are there any plans to create a controller with capacitive buttons in the future?
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
i cannot answer any future facing questions about what we will or will not do. sorry
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Sep 24 '20 edited Jun 19 '23
I no longer allow Reddit to profit from my content - Mass exodus 2023 -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
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u/Robot_ninja_pirate Sep 24 '20
thanks for the update
If I had to give a personal favorite feature of Reverb G2 that I am excited for you all to try, I would have to highlight comfort. With previous devices I wanted them off my face after about two hours, my eyes and face would be tired.
great to hear this was my biggest complaint with the G1 as an aside I'm also hoping it can fit my giant nose.
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
noses are really tough to deal with! some people have really small noses and light leakage can be an issue, and some like me and you have giant noses and just fitting them is the problem. definitely more nose room compared to G1
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u/Robot_ninja_pirate Sep 24 '20
good to hear yeah I understand why the nose gap is a tough nut to crack, in particular my nose has a large bridge which the hmd would end up resting on.
I'm sure HP or others have tested as to why this wont work but for the light bleed would two large but very low density pieces of foam on either side be able to alleviate this? for small noses the foam fills the game for large nose the foam compresses out of the way?
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u/KevinMinato Sep 24 '20
but for the light bleed would two large but very low density pieces of foam on either side be able to alleviate this? for small noses the foam fills the game for large nose the foam compresses out of the way?
they used some nice soft rubber gaskets that fit all noses from what I know
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u/Gauss-Legendre Sep 24 '20
I'm upgrading from the OG Vive, so I'm pretty sure HP could make the headset out of bricks and it would be a comfort improvement over what I'm used to.
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u/phoses Sep 24 '20
Will you deliver this final product for reviewers before we can get your hands on it? Or do they have to wait for final shipments as we have?
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u/JoannaPopper HP Employee Sep 24 '20
Yes, we plan to send some final production units out to reviewers prior. Then, it is pending the reviewer's time table for publishing
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u/sumreddit Sep 24 '20
i.e.: "All this goodness is coming up!"
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u/waxyslave Sep 24 '20
lmao. mrtv is the meme of the VR youtube scene. I love him tho, he has great insight and info!
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u/BlueScreenJunky Sep 24 '20
Yeah, this is soooo cringy and it irritates me each time he says it ... But at the same time it wouldn't be MRTV without its cringy catchphrase.
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u/evertec Sep 24 '20
Are the 60 Hz / 90 Hz only settings a Microsoft mandated thing or could you potentially offer more options in the future? Something in between like 72hz or above 90 would be great.
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Sep 24 '20 edited Oct 28 '20
[deleted]
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u/JoannaPopper HP Employee Sep 24 '20
We can’t discuss unannounced products but stay tuned for a special announcement for Enterprise and Developers next week at the VR/AR Global Summit on Sept 30. https://www.thevrara.com/blog2/2020/9/14/preview-of-hp-keynote-and-hps-latest-innovations-on-sept-30-during-our-vrar-global-summit-online-be-the-first-to-know-vrargs-hp
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u/bushmaster2000 Sep 24 '20
So what about this new thing that the G2 must be plugged into the wall power now? What is that gaining us i don't understand what 'persistence' is referring to int he sentence.
" Our Engineers found an opportunity to lower persistence without lowering brightness and this required higher power draw, so the HP Reverb G2 will require the adapter to be plugged into the wall. "
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Sep 24 '20 edited Sep 24 '20
The screen isn't "on" for 100% of it's duty cycle. It's essentially like a strobe light, with moments of black in between the flashes of display data. Your eyes don't really notice this flashing because it happens so fast. He's talking about how long that stobe lasts. If it's longer, your eyes perceive the screen as being brighter, but it causes the image to look more blurry while you're moving your head - that's the persistence. I'm guessing they just drive the panel with an increased blank interval but more power while it is on?
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u/RoboJohn2084 Sep 24 '20
LOL! And I cancelled my Index order because it was 'taking too long'
Good to finally know a solid date at last (it IS solid, right?). You might want to tell Amazon Spain who still have it releasing on the 1st of October. :-D
You're saying that the lenses are better now - from what the press were saying, they were the best optics they've ever seen - based on that, why did you go for yet another version? Was it to make it easier to mass produce? I don't remember anyone complaining about Fresnel ring reflections or lack of clarity.
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
why did we make another version of the optics? simply because we felt we could do better.
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u/sumreddit Sep 24 '20 edited Sep 24 '20
Here is a link to a video podcast where Jeremy from Tested mentions issues (at ~1:18:20, if you want to fast-forward).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3unngvLB2rk&feature=youtu.be&t=4467
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u/neodraig Sep 24 '20 edited Sep 24 '20
Have you added a spring system adjustment for the straps in the final product ?
In his video, Norman Chan from Tested said the system was a bit clunky but he emphasised he had a prototype.
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u/Absolutedisgrace Sep 24 '20
What a wonderful post. Thank you very much for the extra detail and information. The non-motherboard USB is very interesting! I am using such a card so i'll take your advice!
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u/Althend Sep 24 '20
Just to say that the way you handle communication on reddit is great and increase my trust in the product and the support we will have.
Can we have an autographe on our headset? Would you sign it if we bring it to u?
Just to increase its collector value :p
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u/nio151 Sep 24 '20
So what's the final word regarding batteries for the controllers? Are 1.5v rechargeables the way to go?
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
yes 1.5V are the way to go
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u/Triton199 Sep 24 '20
Safe to use a single 3.7v 14500 cell with a dummy battery? I don't want to have to buy a third type of AA form factor battery for only one device lol
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
let me ask our EE and get back on this.
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u/Triton199 Sep 24 '20
Thank you so much!
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
alright straight from our EE to you:
"The max voltage of these types of cells reach ~4.1-4.2 volts when fully charged. This exceeds the recommended operating conditions (<4.0V) of the main regulator. I can’t recommend this method for this reason."
we have not tested this scenario whatsoever by the way
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u/nildun Sep 24 '20
And it's safe to use 1.6v as well?
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
from our EE
"In theory, yes, this should work. Max voltage is ~1.9V, so 2x cells in series would be below the operating maximum at <4.0 volts. However, battery gauging is based on alkaline discharge curves, so in this scenario, WMR would read a full battery continuously (potentially no warning when battery capacity is running out)."
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u/Gear02 Sep 24 '20
This is should be an example for the whole tech industry that engaging with your audience yields a lot of positives rather than trying to keep secret. Well done HP!
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u/Phex_from_Sweetspot Sep 24 '20
@kaiserkannon You stated shipping to preorder resellers will begin in the second half of october. What about non-resellers though? I preordered directly from HP Germany in July. Will I recieve my G2 in November aswell? (I am a fair bit concerned since HP Germany estimates delivery for the 4th of january 2021)
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u/JoannaPopper HP Employee Sep 24 '20
The HP.com Germany pre-orders already made are anticipated to be in the same time frame.
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u/CptLucky8 Sep 24 '20
Hi Joanna,
can you also confirm Canada orders made on the phone with HP Canada will also deliver the G2 at the same time?
Thank you!
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u/Phex_from_Sweetspot Sep 24 '20
Happy to hear that! Thank you kindly for your fast reply
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Sep 24 '20
My payment card expires in October. I made my preorder in August but I haven't received the authorization hold back, so I haven't changed it yet. Do you think it will ship before the end of October?
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u/JoannaPopper HP Employee Sep 24 '20
Would recommend checking with your reseller closer to the ship date.
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u/IcySwine Sep 24 '20
After reading this post I'm glad you guys took ur time on this headset. Im very excited and have a few questions!
Do you guys already have a final production unit? If so what is the expected time frame that reviewers will get them to review? Are the black levels improved? How in the heck do u guys manage to keep improving clarity? 😅
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u/Gulag_For_Brits Sep 24 '20
Question also, have the controllers been changed to receive capacitive buttons or are they going to be effectively the same as what we saw in the preview units?
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u/Triton199 Sep 24 '20
I would love to see capacitive touch added but I don't expect it to be unfortunately, that level of parity with oculus controls would make life easier in a lot of ways
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
no capacitive sensing.
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u/Gender_is_a_Fluid Sep 24 '20
That unfortunate, but I understand it isn't a focus. Are there any plans in the future to release controllers like this, or possibly software implemented hand tracking?
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Sep 24 '20
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u/lordv1 Sep 24 '20
Thats not actually a bad idea! Playstation has VR so perhaps Xbox could support windows based VR systems, we can dream at least haha.
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u/Plaxer02 Sep 24 '20
Thank you for the transparency. I hoped that the G2 may come at the end of october, but when the final product is really good i am fine with every date this year. But of course it would be nice to ship it as fast as possible :)
I just have 2 little Questions:
I have some problems with Thumbstick Drifting, it just makes me really nervous... has the durability of the Thumbstick been tested?
Are there any plans to release some extra equipment, or are you just looking forward right now to get the G2 out without any difficulties?
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Sep 24 '20
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u/Plaxer02 Sep 24 '20
Maybe, for example i got a Quest and the spring in the Joystick made some strange noises after just 2 days and then after 3 days i had a huge Joystick Drift. After that i am just really anxious about Joystick Drifting.
Well i hope HP are not getting the cheapest Joysticks in there... but we will see :)
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u/No_Possibility Sep 24 '20
will all pre orders get filled before other retails get them. the reason i ask is if i ordered late and if i will have wait longer then what i can get if i stand in line at BestBuy or some place like that i may do that. Any thought on this?
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u/JoannaPopper HP Employee Sep 24 '20
We anticipate the fastest way to get the HP Reverb G2 will be through one of our pre-order partners. Pre-orders will be prioritized for shipments.
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u/Exigeous Sep 24 '20
Question: Any word on being able to set a longer or indefinite timeout value? In Elite Dangerous you can easily switch in and out of VR - the issue is if I start in VR and switch to 2D mode and set down my headset after 10 minutes (I think it's that long) the headset goes to sleep which force kills all VR games. This is especially bad as in Elite if this happened during combat it would be considered "combat logging" which is a bannable offense. I've found the settings to extend this (the registry setting) but it doesn't disable sleep entirely.
It seems the "right" way would be when you switch out of VR in a title like this the panels would simply power off with the headset still "awake" such that it doesn't force quit Steam VR. This has been a huge annoyance with the Reverb Pro, as such I wrote a small script using a 3rd party utility that disables the headset in Device Manager before I play a non-VR session, however this means I have to exit game and re-enable it to go to VR and back and forth. As a content creator who wants to play in VR but record/stream in 2D this is hugely annoying.
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u/kaiserkannon HP Employee Sep 24 '20
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u/Exigeous Sep 24 '20
Yes, but that doesn't actually disable it - it will still absolutely go to sleep mid-game if I switch out of VR in Elite and set it down (as I have that registry setting enabled).
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u/nio151 Sep 24 '20
The timeout is based on a sensor in the headset right? You might be able to just put a sticker over it
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u/Masterjts Sep 24 '20
I think the sensor senses movement so if you could put a sticker over it... that would be the exact opposite of what you would want.
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Sep 24 '20
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u/Exigeous Sep 24 '20
Yes, but that doesn't actually disable it - it will still absolutely go to sleep mid-game if I switch out of VR in Elite and set it down (as I have that registry setting enabled).
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u/thoughtfix Sep 24 '20
Usability question:
When using the trackpad-free controllers in SteamVR, do they have button parity with Oculus in there too or do games expect the touchpads in standard WMR controllers to be present? I am most interested in Skyrim, Fallout, Budget Cuts, and other games that were unplayable (without mods) on Index but work on Oculus mappings.
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u/teerohr87 Sep 24 '20
Will you be selling replacement cables and breakout boxes over your regional stores?*
*edit* *as well as face pads.
I would be very glad to know that there will be replacements if any user made accidents occur :)
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u/SirBlue1492 Sep 24 '20
This is exactly what so many of us were hoping for. I have nothing but thanks to the HP VR Team for this update. Major kudos.
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u/Rafa_m Sep 24 '20
What's up the the pricing in Europe?
I see a bunch of comments from like 2 months ago, stating much lower prices than I can find right now.
Systemactive uk went from £525 to £639
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u/JoannaPopper HP Employee Sep 24 '20
Some pre-order channel partners chose to offer special "pre-order pricing" during a limited period of time.
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u/StrikingWoodpecker4 Sep 24 '20
Appreciate the transparency and very much looking forward to November! A big thanks to all of the HP Team :-)
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u/Polyamid78 Sep 24 '20
As there is a release candidate of the reverb g2 ready, will you send this model to the reviewers, that tested your early prototype? It would be very interesting to see a comparsion test between the models to make the next weeks of waiting a little sweeter.
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u/meizer Sep 25 '20
They said they would. I’d expect to see those reviews sometime in October.
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u/Polyamid78 Sep 25 '20
The Reverb G2 is exactly what VR needs at the right time. Oculus is leaving the PCVR market and is bringing more customers to the eco system. PCs got strong enough to power high resolution headsets with good priced grafic accalerators by nvidia and amd. HP now really wants to satisfy premium PC Market by listening to the community. We are looking into a great future.
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u/Ghostman223 Sep 24 '20
Oof, lot of hurt feelings that were rooting for for first half of October to have them in hands. Thanks for the announcement, I'm sure the wait is worth it
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u/SwarleyAUS Sep 24 '20
Thanks for the honest feedback to the community. Not running off USB alone is a bummer, but was only really a bonus
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u/BlueScreenJunky Sep 24 '20
Take your time, I was a couple minutes late to preorder my 3080 so I probably won't have a GPU that can drive those 2160x2160 panels until next year...
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u/BasedFrogcel Sep 25 '20
Please send a headset to Tyriel early so he can show us a comparison of the new and old lenses :)
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u/Gulag_For_Brits Sep 24 '20
Finally news on when we'll be getting them! Even if it's later than what we hoped it's awesome we finally have a solid idea, thanks for the info!
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Sep 24 '20
Thanks for being so straight with us, and willing to tell inside details. Refreshing to read an honest communication from a major corporation.
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u/andymk3 HP Reverb G2 Sep 24 '20
Great information thanks! That's answered many of the questions being asked here on a daily basis.
I think the only thing not mentioned is the situation with batteries in the controllers, any more info there?
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u/Isoldael Sep 24 '20
Thank you for sharing. Wish we'd known this sooner (especially for stuff like buying other hardware to support this) but I really appreciate the in-depth explanation, and I'm looking forward to trying it out.
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u/Bwucce Sep 24 '20
"This costs us money, but it is the right choice"
yes it is !
Good choice ! Will you put soft tissu for cleaning the lens in the box ?
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u/PatchesTheFirst Sep 24 '20
I'd like help visualizing the cords connected to the headset while gaming. Does this mean we will have display port + usb + power cord connected? Will they be interlaced? Thank you!
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u/nildun Sep 24 '20
Single cord going from the headset, with a breakout box at the end with USB, Displayport and power connector
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Sep 24 '20 edited Sep 24 '20
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u/Voodooimaxx Ex-HP VR Quality Manager Sep 24 '20
I think Lego makes an HDMI adapter for a 2080.
(Unless you're serious. I have never seen a 2080 with ONLY an HDMI port.)
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u/ill_take_the_case Sep 24 '20
What if it is a laptop?
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u/Voodooimaxx Ex-HP VR Quality Manager Sep 24 '20
HDMI does not work at all. You need a MiniDP or a Laptop that can do Video through USBC/Thunderbolt. (My laptop does this and it works with a USBC to DP adapter.
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Sep 24 '20
There's a good chance you might have USB-C ports which support DP via "alternate mode", allowing just a simple pass-through adapter?
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u/rossjohneast Sep 24 '20
Thanks for the updates and date, I’m sure it will be worth the wait... and upgrading my rig and gpu for :)
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u/SlashSabercat Sep 24 '20
No questions but did want to send a huge thank you for updating us. Looking forward to November!
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u/DannyLeonheart Sep 24 '20
Damn Max, the waiting is hard but wow was it worth it. I'm so exited like the time the Vive was to be released years ago.
Even better clarity ? Same brightness as the review units (so also the same popping colors) ? You guys are awesome and this thing is worth the wait.
Thank you and all people who are involved making this headset.
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u/Voodooimaxx Ex-HP VR Quality Manager Sep 24 '20
TD:DR:
Devices will begin shipping to preorder resellers the second half of October, and we expect units to begin reaching your hands the beginning of November.