Already today, May 1, Valve will begin accepting pre-orders for its new Index virtual reality headset. Along with this, the company revealed the specifications and features of its new device, and, of course, announced the price. In order not to torment for a long time - the price was quite rather big for a VR headset - $999.
So what does Valve offer us for almost a thousand dollars. The Valve Index headset connects to the gaming computer with a five-meter cable and uses base stations to accurately position the user and helmet in space. This novelty is very similar to the long-existing HTC Vive headset, which was also developed with the participation of Valve. By the way, base stations from Vive are also compatible with the novelty. Due to the base stations, you can provide a large space for immersion in virtual reality - up to 10 m2 when using four stations. The novelty also has a couple of cameras that are not used for positioning in space, but allow you to see the world around you. In fact, the cameras can turn the novelty into an augmented reality headset.
To display the image inside the helmet there is a pair of LCD displays, each of which has a resolution of 1440 × 1600 pixels. Interestingly, many other high-end helmets now use high-quality OLED displays. But Valve decided to distinguish itself in another way: the displays used in the Index operate at a frequency of 120 Hz, and also have an experimental mode with a frequency of 144 Hz. A higher display frequency is known to improve the viewing experience, especially in VR headsets.
The Valve Index also has the ability to adjust the distance between the eyepieces for more comfortable use. And the helmet lenses, along with this, according to the developers, provide a 20-degree wider viewing angle compared to the HTC Vive.
What looks like built-in headphones in the Valve Index helmet, in fact, they are not. It turned out that these are speakers designed in such a way that they do not touch your ears, but instead create surround sound around your head. There is also a 3,5mm headphone jack.
But perhaps the most interesting part of the Valve Index is the controllers. While the controller is being worn, 87 different sensors track the position of the user's hands and fingers, and even how hard they grip the device. The new controllers should provide much more realistic and convenient interaction with virtual objects than the HTC Vive or Oculus Touch controllers could do.
According to the Polygon resource, whose employees have already been able to get acquainted with a preliminary sample of the new Valve Index headset, it works well. The controllers are comfortable, although they have a slight delay. The optics are of high quality. And there is even an option to use the headset with regular glasses.
Valve is positioning the Index as a VR headset for enthusiasts who have a very powerful gaming desktop and are financially comfortable. By the way, the minimum PC requirements for the novelty are as follows: a dual-core processor with Hyper-Threading, 8 GB of RAM, a GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon RX 480 video card, USB 3.0 and Windows 10, Linux or SteamOS.
Unfortunately, Valve hasn't released any details about the VR games for the novelty yet. Recall that, according to rumors, three large-scale VR projects are currently in development, which could be revealed in all their glory just on the Valve Index. But for now, Valve is only promising a "flagship VR game" sometime this year.
The Valve Index headset, complete with a pair of controllers and a pair of base stations, will cost $999 in the US and €1079 in Europe. The kit without base stations is priced at $749 or €799. Separately, the headset can be purchased for $499 or €539. A pair of controllers will cost $279 or €299, while new base stations are priced at $149 or €159 each. Deliveries of new items will begin only on June 28.
Source: 3dnews.ru