Virtual reality helmets cause an ambiguous reaction in me. The problem, of course, is expectations. I have been a deep dreamer since childhood. I remember The Throne, and how many times have I reviewed The Matrix and re-read Lukyanenko’s Depth series!

In general, such works impose certain expectations. By the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century, I approached the world of VR as a person disappointed with the current level of development of this technology. And I’m not the only one who has such an attitude: many people get the impression that VR is practically not developing at all, but there is still no push.

With an eye on all this, they gave me a try HTC VIVE Pro 2: well, you’re a skeptic! So, it will be more interesting to convince you.

On our markets, the HTC VIVE Pro 2 is one of the flagship helmets of 2021.

Versions and equipment

The VIVE Pro 2 helmet can be purchased in two trim levels:

• Pro 2 HMD;
• Pro 2 full kit.

Included with the first is nothing but the helmet itself, you will not find. It is suitable for those who have a set of the first generation. Here it will be enough to buy a helmet, which will lead to an update of the entire system.

Such an update is fully justified, since the second generation of the helmet received several important innovations at once:

• The display resolution was increased to 2448 × 2448 pixels per eye, which gives a total resolution of 4896 × 2448 (in the first version, the total resolution was 2880 × 1600 pixels);
• Added display of a picture with a frequency of 120 Hz in wired mode (in the first version it was 90 Hz);
• Increased the viewing angle to 120° (in the first version of VIVE Pro, this figure was 110°).

The second kit is a complete starter kit that will allow you to experience all the joy (or sadness) of modern VR. In addition to the helmet, there are two controllers, two base stations, as well as all the peripherals necessary for wired and wireless connection, including a communication module.

Connection and setup

Many questions arise about base stations. Potential buyers often don’t like that stations have to be fixed on the wall. However, this is not quite true. Yes, wall mounting is the best option, but not the only one. If you want to keep the walls intact, the base stations can simply be placed on shelves at opposite ends of the room. The main thing is that the placement height is at least one and a half meters.

In addition to shelves, you can use tripods. We chose just such an option – we have plenty of racks in the studio, so there are no problems with this. The thread in the stations is standard – 1/4 inch. This is used in camera tripods.

The helmet can operate in two modes: wired and wireless. The wireless connection reduces the display refresh rate from 120Hz to 90Hz. Someone may not like this fact, but I still decided that I did not want to be constrained in my movements by wires. Therefore, I will take everything from technology at once. And compare VIVE Pro 2 with the previous version, where the frequency of 90 Hz was only on the wire.

Connecting the wireless module requires you to do several things:

• Plug the WiGig board into your computer’s PCI-E slot;
• Replace the long plug-in cable in the helmet with a short one. And if the long wire went for a wired connection, then the short one connects the VIVE wireless adapter and the helmet itself.

The wireless adapter looks pretty funny and looks like little horns:

Although this thing is light, it is still felt on the head. For greater comfort, engineers came up with softening dampers made of black foam rubber. In general, almost the entire set looks like this:

“Almost” because the wireless module will require power to operate. It is carried out using a special Power Bank, which comes with:

Power Bank is connected with a thin USB Type-C to Type-A cable, which can be removed, for example, under clothing, it will not restrict movement. It has a convenient clip that allows you to fix the “jar” directly on your belt:

To use this kit, you will need two applications: SteamVR and VIVE Wireless. The first will display all the components of the wireless headset, including base stations and controllers, while the second will allow you to set up the system so that you start playing.

The setup process is simple: put the left controller on the floor, and with the right one walk around the room, outlining the boundaries of the active zone. All this must be done in a helmet so that the system understands where the floor is and where is your head.

Here you have connected and configured the equipment. It’s time to get down to business.

Computer requirements

I completely forgot about almost the main element of the chain – the computer! Here are the minimum requirements to work with HTC VIVE Pro 2:

• Processor: Intel Core i5-4590 or AMD Ryzen 1500;
• Video card: GeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 480;
• RAM: 8 GB;
• Output: DisplayPort 1.2 to work or DisplayPort 1.4 to use the full potential of the helmet;
• USB: USB 3.2 Gen 2;
• Free PCI-E slot for connecting a WiGig board.

Please note that these are the minimum requirements. The better your PC performance, the better the headset will perform. Still, the helmet gives a picture in the resolution of 4896 × 2448 in total with a frequency of up to 120 Hz! Here, the 3090 RTX can scream plaintively.

Present and future

As an example, we decided to play Half-Life: Alyx, as well as several smaller games. The first is Beat Saber, here you need to break blocks to the music. In the second game, you turn into a cat and see the world from his face, and in the third, you walk on the roof and suddenly fall down.

Apart from Half-Life, there are no big projects in VR yet. The reason is simple: the entrance ticket to the world of virtual reality is too expensive – often sets cost more than one hundred thousand rubles. The situation is reminiscent of the early days of PC development: they cost so much money that the average consumer could not afford them, and did not really understand why this was all.

For example, Apple Lisa 2 in January 1984 cost from $3495, which in today’s money is about $10,000. And this is the starting price! The top version cost $5,495, or about $15,000 today.

However, there is an opinion that it was Half-Life: Alyx that became the starting point for projects of this level. This results in a more meaningful purchase in terms of gameplay.

However, there are also small casual games here too. The most famous is Beat Saber. It is perfect for both beginners, who can easily pass the simplest level, and for more advanced users.

Emotions

To be honest, I’m not a big fan of the Half-Life universe. I have never been interested in this kind of games. But Beat Saber, oddly enough, went. I was especially pleased that at the average level of difficulty one song caused slight physical fatigue as a good warm-up.

HTC VIVE Pro 2 aroused great interest among all employees of Wylsacom Media. Each game evoked its own emotions and sensations. I really enjoyed the physical warm-up with the development of mindfulness and reaction in Beat Saber; uncle Zhenya was kidding, playing for a cat; Valya Wylsacom succumbed to new sensations from Half-Life and nostalgia from his favorite series of games, where the number 3 is considered unlucky.

We shouted joyfully; looked enviously at the most dexterous player in Beat Saber; neighing together with everyone over the cat; laughed at a player who was afraid of heights in a painted game.

VR is now primarily about emotions. The point is that it is still incredibly difficult to render two displays at once with a resolution of 2448 × 2448 pixels each. Therefore, there are not so many resource-intensive beautiful games yet. And even more so at a time when there is a huge shortage of video cards on the market.

Did it break my skepticism? Rather yes than no. I’m still not very happy that the metaverses are insanely far from us, and there are so few beautiful VR games. However, I see how a VR helmet can become the center of a party – the kind of thing that you can gossip with someone and just have fun. And even now it becomes clear what exactly this technology will become in a few years.

Buy virtual reality system HTC Vive Pro 2 .

The text was written with the support of HTC.