What is the best best VR headset for Enscape and why?

    Quote from Arno

    i would like to have a wire free solution... budget is not much of a problem.
    and i need the best quality that there is at the moment.

    What I can say is that I'm loving the experience of using the Quest 2 wirelessly to stream content right into it. Given that you have a good router, that is definitely a requirement besides having a powerful machine. I also want to add that I'm using a different comfort strap and face cushions, but both aren't expensive given how much they improve the comfort. For short sessions, the default setup may be fine for many, but the Vive or Vive Pro with a wireless adapter on the other hand may not even require those replacements in the first place and that setup may also provide a better experience overall - we have not tried any of the niche (wireless) headsets out there which are also usually rather expensive and may not work due to the controller layouts etc. but offerings from Oculus or HTC and Windows Mixed Reality headsets should work just fine though.

    Quote from ProxyModels

    Can you please confirm that the HP Reverb G2 works well with Enscape?


    I want to make sure before I purchase it, as I am mostly using it for work and not gaming.

    The Reverb G2 should work just fine with Enscape - we support WMR headsets in general. If you do run into any problems though let me know please so that we can troubleshoot the cause behind it.

    I'm seeing lots of YouTube reviewers not recommend the Vive Cosmos for poor tracking. Anybody used a Vive Cosmos and can comment?


    Also has anybody used the Vive Focus 3 with Enscape?

    Quote from Epix 3D

    Review of Varjo VR/ XR3 headset


    Varjo VR3

    The Varjo looks great but the price is pretty hefty. Furthermore the need to have a subscription to even use the headset in the first place is a big no-no for me.

    Quote from DaveH

    Curious if you purchased the G2 and what your experience has been. Thanks.

    We're expecting our G2s to arrive next week (along with new i9/3080ti workstations), might be able to give you some insight on what Enscape feels like with that within the next couple of weeks.

    Quote from MatthiasL

    The Varjo looks great but the price is pretty hefty. Furthermore the need to have a subscription to even use the headset in the first place is a big no-no for me.

    We're expecting our G2s to arrive next week (along with new i9/3080ti workstations), might be able to give you some insight on what Enscape feels like with that within the next couple of weeks.

    Let´s hope there will be a commercial variant with these specs coming soon

    Quote from Epix 3D

    Let´s hope there will be a commercial variant with these specs coming soon

    They got their high end niche, I wouldn't count on them leaving or widening that niche any time soon.


    The Varjo sure is a whole other league in itself, I absolutely do agree. If you want the best experience bar none and you have the deep pockets to match there's no reason not to buy this piece of equipment. Unfortunately this is not the case for us and we have to at least be somewhat responsible when it comes to spending. :( And in the price to performance ratio department the Reverb G2 (at least on paper) does deliver.


    Theres a comparison of the Pimax, the Varjo and the Reverb G2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ah1faUUCwI

    ProxyModels  DaveH


    Promised a review of the G2 - here we go:


    I now had a couple of days to tinker with the Reverb G2 and so far it's not that bad. Right from the start the Reverb is decent bang for the buck - you can sure go with a higher resolution (Varjo :love:) but from a price to performance ratio it just doesn't make any sense for us whatsoever. So we went ahead and ordered ourselves some G2s along with some new Workstations w/ i9-11900k, 32GB RAM and RTX 3080ti (Gigabyte) to push all those pixels. For the Workstations a shout out to Mifcom - great service, superb packaging and very pleasant experience as always. I'd strongly recommend getting at least a 3080ti, maybe even go for a 3090 if you have the budget. Skimping on the gpu won't do any good for your VR experience.


    Setup:

    Setting the G2 up was very straight forward. You unpack all the components (all tucked into little fabric baggies), put the included batteries in the controllers, wire everything up (1x USB-C, 1x DP, 1x power adapter), install the WMR portal, Steam, Steam VR and Steam WMR as seen here and that's it. With inside out tracking there's no need for external tracking which makes relocating a breeze. To start the headset you power up the controllers, double click the Steam WMR desktop shortcut and you're ready to go. There's a short vr tutorial that you'll have to get through in order to use the headset but after you did it once it won't bother you again.


    Headset:

    The headset is fully adjustable for pretty much all head sizes via 3 straps and features an adjustable IPD. As standard the G2 comes with fabric pads, I highly recommend refitting the headset with a VR Covers PU leather pad so you can wipe them down after each use. The thinner PU leather cover will also help to improve the FOV ever so slightly as the G2s FOV is not particularly great. You could even add some single use vr face covers - they look somewhat stupid but if you got somebody who's either sweaty or concerned with hygiene, it might make some sense.


    The single wire from the power/display adapter to the headset is rather stiff but theres some clamps included to guide it to the back of the headset so users don't trip right out of the gate. You still might want to install some ceiling cable hooks. The image is really sharp, coming from a 1st generation HTC vive the difference is night and day. The sweet spot when wearing it though is somewhat tight so make sure to adjust the head straps and the headset properly to achieve the optimal experience.


    Controllers:

    I like the shape and design of the controllers. They are not as ridiculously huge as those HTC Vive controllers but feel manouverable due to their size (the lighting/tracking halo excluded). I have large hands and they fit easily but the fit & finish is not really great. The battery covers seem to shift around and/or make a bit of a squeaky noise when you hold them tightly. Not a big deal, just wanted to mention it. Holding the Windows Button on the controllers will power them up and down respectively. With the inside out tracking you'll need somewhat controlled lighting conditions as the cameras need the glowing dots to track them. Uneven or generally too high lighting resulted in sub-par tracking so try and set up a room w/ dimmable lighting and you're good to go. I at least already wrote a note for our electrician to install a dimmer in our VR lounge. Apart from that tracking generally was good,


    Usage:

    For presentations we use Sketchup/Enscape combined or standalone .exe presentations. The workflow for both is the same: fire up Enscape, turn VR on, have fun. Enabling DLSS while in VR will lead to very noisy grass but in way better performance - I'll leave the decision up to you. We just found it rather jarring so we had the turn it off, resulting in a performance hit. Furthermore when installing the Enscape WMR drivers set the render resolution to 150% which in combination resulted in really sub par performance. Once we figured all that out and adjusted accordingly performance and the overall experience was pretty good. The head tracking works fine, the controller tracking works just as fine as long as you keep the lighting somewhat controlled. Very rarely the camera lost one of the controllers when going out of view - but just wiggle them a bit and they're back.


    Conclusion:

    The HP Reverb G2 is a solid package with high resolution, good tracking and okay-ish FOV. It's not perfect but it offers a very compelling price to performance ratio. So if you're in the market for a high resolution vr headset without breaking the bank I can definitely recommend the G2.

    MatthiasL


    Thank you so much for an incredibly detailed and carefully laid out review.


    I really appreciate being able to read about your first hand experience of the HP Reverb G2 as a fellow Sketchup + Enscape user.


    Thanks for the tip about getting some leather covers and the disposable headset eye covers as well. And great idea about the ceiling clips!


    My main workstation is currently using an AMD Ryzen 9 3900x CPU with a AORUS Waterforce x360 CPU Cooler (a combination which I cannot recommend enough).

    I am using an RTX 3070ti Graphics Card - I am a little concerned that I may need to upgrade this soon, but so far its served me well.

    I also have 32GB Ram which I am keen to upgrade to 64GB... but New Zealand seems to be having some supply issues atm.


    I'll let you know how I go with my new HP Reverb G2 in this setup soon. I heard that the G2 had some issues with some of the AMD motherboards in the past, but that the new cable has basically fixed this. Very pleased about that!

    Glad to hear!


    With the 3070ti you might need to fiddle around with the rendering resolution and/or Enscape quality settings but it should work perfectly fine for a start. If you run into any problems or have further questions feel free to hit me up. :)

    MatthiasL

    Thanks for the review. It's very helpful. Especially the heads up on the resolution settings and DLSS. I'll have to tinker with that some more. I purchased a G2 in early September but I'm still waiting on delivery of the laptop I ordered to drive it so I may have some things to add later. Testing it on my desktop system for now but haven't spent much time with it yet.


    FYI my unit shipped with the V1 cable despite the notice on HP's website/ social media that new headsets would ship with the latest and I tried to get the V2 replacement preemptively but HP will not send you one unless you have a verified problem. The laptop I ordered is an AMD system so we'll see what happens. (My desktop is Intel.) The customer service rep did say that sometimes a powered USB 3 hub solves the problem also.

    Quote from DaveH

    FYI my unit shipped with the V1 cable despite the notice on HP's website/ social media that new headsets would ship with the latest and I tried to get the V2 replacement preemptively but HP will not send you one unless you have a verified problem. The laptop I ordered is an AMD system so we'll see what happens. (My desktop is Intel.) The customer service rep did say that sometimes a powered USB 3 hub solves the problem also.

    You're very welcome, glad I could help. Just googled the differences between the v1 and v2 cable, it comes down to a power switch and compatibility fixes for usage w/ AMD systems. Not in need for any of those but I'm glad to hear HP is addressing those issues as well.


    Looking forward to hearing your opinions on the G2 as soon as it arrives, DaveH ! :)

    This is a fantastic thread - thanks to all that contributed.

    We are an architecture firm in the market for a new VR headset with inside-out tracking. We have used a variety of headsets in the past, including good success with the Vive/Vive Pro for offices with more permanent locations available, as well as Oculus Rift S/Quest. We would like to move away from Oculus, due primarily to the requirement to connect to a Facebook account, and a hesitancy to sign up for an Oculus for Business subscription.

    It looks like our top options are likely going to be the HP Reverb G2 and the Vive Focus 3. Several people have commented on positive experiences with the Reverb. I am slightly hesitant just because of the additional step of using the WMR Portal. We expect our average staff to be able to fire these headsets up with no issue, and this is just one more thing that could possibly go wrong/need updating.

    Has anyone had positive experience with the Vive Focus 3? I imagine for most of our large models, we would probably leave it corded, but would also be interested to hear anyone's experience with streaming over WiFi.

    Thanks in advance.

    Quote from dfersh

    It looks like our top options are likely going to be the HP Reverb G2 and the Vive Focus 3. Several people have commented on positive experiences with the Reverb. I am slightly hesitant just because of the additional step of using the WMR Portal. We expect our average staff to be able to fire these headsets up with no issue, and this is just one more thing that could possibly go wrong/need updating.

    It's three steps:

    1. Power up the controllers
    2. Fire up WMR Portal
    3. Fire up WMR for Steam

    I think that's pretty straight forward and easily manageable for average staff. I can't comment on the update side though as we haven't gone through any updates yet.


    The Varjo Aero looks great on paper, not so sure about how you want to be able to drive that massive resolution with a single GPU in Enscape though. You might see yourself forced to compromise on either render quality and/or resolution which kinda negates the whole concept in the first place, doesn't it? But maybe Epix 3D can comment on that later. :)