I will be streaming with the HP Reverb G2V2 on twitch today at: Twitch.tv/Thrilluwu Join in my discord for updates on my streams and the best VR community on the planet: Discord.gg/Thrill
This fills in a great gap in the consumer VR space. Also noticed you've been really stepping up the editing and cinematography quality Thrill, 10/10 keep up the amazing content
Thrillseekers videos have always been really easy to digest with context-sensitive visualizations, concise and useful information across the spectrum of VR, it's just great content!
I’d love to see a Quest made solely for PCVR. With the price it is at the moment, how cheap would the headset be without the CPU/GPU/Boards/Storage/Operation System/Speakers/Wifi Card? Peanuts. Display cable instead of USB C to stop the bottleneck that it brings in and compression, and they would have more room to upgrade the display and physical quality of the headset. There’s millions of pc gamers that have rigs ready for VR, and they could get into PCVR for a couple hundred quid instead of £1000 paying for things their pc already has and can do better already
If I wanted to play a game like bonelab or blade & sorcery, would it be a better choice to get the quest 2 or the HG reverb G2? Also I don’t feel like spending more the $500 on a headset. Also is the HG reverb’s tracking that terrible for boneworks type games? If so should I just go with a quest 2 and do link or something?
After two years there's still nothing like it. I refuse the Zuck's shitty shady business and refuse to get a Chinese one. Also... plunking down 1000+ is not acceptable to me.
I've been using the headset for a year (G2 V1, not even the improved one) and I do not regret buying it. Its shortcomings are nothing compared to the fun I have using it.
@@BLVCKSCORP i dont know if its any help anymore, but. I have the version 2 and i play: Onward, Vtol VR, No Man`s Sky, a flight sim(occasionally). And honestly you start to not even notice the deadzones, because it finds the controllers so damn quickly anyway. And the clarity! Its insane! My friends(who all owns quest 2`s) all want to come home to me just to try it again lol
The G2 is pretty popular with flight simulator players, and based on what you had to say here I can see why. The controllers are a non-factor for most flight sim players who already have HOTAS controls, and display clarity is a huge deal when you're trying to read gauges.
That's why I'm here lmao, currently have an OG Rift, and I'm looking for something with much better clarity for DCS. This seems like a great option at the moment
@@JP-wu8ek after using the Reverb G2 for a few months I'm actually kinda disappointed. The tracking kinda sucks, im constantly having to hit the recenter HMD button and if you move your head quickly its like theres a tiny delay for a fraction of a second. So movement doesnt feel seamless like my original rift did. But the screen is nicer at least
there's a really easy guide on the mixed vr sub Reddit. I got it working first night after minor tinkering and haven't had any real problems since. g2 with index controllers are the way!
Butting in to mention that the Index controllers are the best to use but also the most expensive and BY FAR the most fragile. I'm on my 4rd and 5th controller because they keep breaking and already controller 5 is experiencing drift, so I'll need to deal with that and/or buy another set soon.
11:15 thank you for mentioning that. If the people complaining about wired headsets managed to get all vr companies to switch to wireless capability as a priority, VR graphics would be absolutely doomed. Specifically with air link, you have to deal with movement delays and get good graphics, or prioritize movement and never be able to look at anything brightly colored again.
Standalone needs to become first priority then. Cabling up to a PC every single time you want to play is an absolutely massive barrier to entry, even ignoring the cost of a VR capable PC. The Quest really needs competition anyway!
@@amishrobot5510 unless you're doing an entire setup every time you plug in your headset, connecting a USB cord is not hard or an entry barrier at all. That's just plain laziness and choosing not to buy a headset because of that is just stupid. Also, the quests major selling point is its price, I have never seen anyone say to get a quest 2 over a different headset because it was standalone
I think that's pretty disingenuous. Yeah, you do have compression artifacts but if you have a dedicated router for the Q2 the visual quality between wireless and wired is close to on par if you're not entirely stationary.
@@nekaa7657 "plain laziness" "just stupid".. just loke your opinion. I guess you're pissed that this VR you like isn't as popular as fhe quest. You can not challenge the fact that you don't need a $1k of gaming PC and the oh so hassle set up time to play is making quest the better choice hands down. But okay, you can stick with your overpriced headset you need to constantly hook up to your PC just to play.
I mean, that is how time works. A ten year old TV isn't very good by today's standards, same thing with computers and consoles. Technology will always get better.
For anybody who plays a lot of fast-paced action games like super hot and blade and sorcery Will notice for sure. Any game basically where the controller might leave the field of vision for the headset. The reason I say this is because I owned a mixed reality headset. I can tell you right now. Not much has changed from the original headsets except for the better quality screen and lenses, The sound, And two more cameras. That's it
this headset is *SO* close its almost frustrating, this however is a good thing. it means that the next HP headset is going to be the go to for budget VR on PC. of course its only better for us (the consumers) if another company tries to take that spot before HP does.
The reverb g2 would be the absolute perfect headset if it had aspheric lenses and a wider FOV, I have an index and the index's FOV is clearly better only because the index has bigger displays, the displays on the reverb are small by comparison. If they simply scaled up the displays a little bit, and got aspheric lenses (which would be very expensive but worth it), it'd be on par with the Varjo Aero minus the commodities for half the price.
I've had a G2 since March '21 and the clarity is so good. I get around the issue with the controllers being hot garbage by using a set of index controllers. Works like a charm.
I have owned an original mixed reality headset. I've also tried to reverb G2. The clarity is amazing on the G2. But I am so scarred from the tracking issues from the original mixed reality, that has not been improved mind you. Most people who in these headsets will have to optimize their play space to work flawlessly with the G2. When I originally played VR I had to cover up windows, make sure the lighting was perfect, and make absolute sure that I wasn't facing a direction where any flashing lights on my computer was interfering. All of those interfered with the tracking of the headset. Too much light, You couldn't track the controllers properly. Two little light, you couldn't track the headset properly. Flashing lights in the room would interview with the controllers as well. Not to mention the FOV of the controller tracking even with the two new cameras is not that great. You can't pull the controllers anywhere close to your face to snipe in VR like you can with any other headset.
@@shane4954 is it a Pain in the Ass, do not go into buying this headset unless you are prepared to either give up convenience of plug n play, or are prepared to deal with the shitty controllers. Pairing the index controllers is easy, keeping them tracked to the proper playspace isn't. Usually I give my index controllers 20-30 minutes before they just stop working and fly off into the distance mid game. And then I have to get my WMR controllers out and recalibrate them which obviously isn't very convenient nor practical. The right controller just stopped tracking entirely so I am using the shitty WMR controllers now because I have no choice atp
@@yesyes-om1po have had the headset for a few months now and I really like it. Once I learned the blind spots it all good. That’s the only reason I want to get the index controllers and trackers. With a 3080, Reverb G2 and index controllers, it’s gonna be a great headset
@@shane4954 when it works it is the best VR money can buy besides the aero, the main reason I don't like the WMR controllers is the parkinsons effect I get which makes aiming down crosshairs near impossible. The index controllers don't have that problem. However when you lose tracking at all with the index controllers and the g2, the tracking won't recover and you will have to recalibrate which is pretty much unusable to me.
I've been using the G2 version 1 since a couple months since launch, and I put over 3k hours in VRChat alone with the headset and it's definitely good, but certainly has the tracking gripes. I have never actually used the controllers that came with the headset for longer than maybe for a total of 30 minutes. I watched MRTV's guide with the index controllers set up, and so immediately went that route when I bought the headset, because the g2 controllers are definitely e-waste. I'd highly recommend getting index controllers and combining it with this headset and it makes the whole experience so much better it speaks volumes. They even lowered the price from $600, it's definitely worth it as long you can find base stations and index controllers, or for sim stuff.
Same for me. I use the G2 with the index controllers too. It was super easy to setup and calibrate. Works great and I can’t imagine going back to a lower rez headset.
Dude I'm telling you man. The tracking on these things aggravated me so much. I had the original mixed reality headset from Dell. which was one of the better ones besides Samsungs. The tracking on both the controller and the headset are so depending on how much light you have in your room. Too much and you can't track the controllers. Too little And the headset has a hard time tracking where it is. Not to mention, I had to cover up a window completely. I had son that shown through that window every day around the same time. If that controller were to pass through that sunshine. I would completely lose tracking of that controller.
@@confide3734 It took me forever to get into AFI lmao. First song I heard was Miss Murder (just like everyone else), and then Girls Not Grey (also just like everyone else), and then slowly started listening to their other popular songs (Leaving Song Pt II, Silver And Cold, Love Like Winter, etc), but honestly though, the first album I listened to all the way through, was the Blood Album (and despite popular opinions, I really like that album. And I also liked bodies, which came out last summer, but Decemberunderground is my favorite so far. I've been listening to Sing The Sorrow on repeat a lot lately, but Decemberunderground is a whole other level imo. Sorry for this full on paragraph
so, fun fact I bought one of these like... an hour before you uploaded this. not even kidding. I've been looking to get in with something enthusiast level for like... 5 years, but I've had to scrape and save to be able to afford it, and... yeah!
@@chocomilkfps1264 I'm really super nervous. I've told myself for years reasons why I shouldn't enter the VR Ecosystem, that I maybe wouldn't get the same out of it as more able bodied individuals... the desire has never left me, though, and... for how much of a flight sim nut my dad is. I wanted him to try Elite Dangerous in VR at least once before his health has failed him so hard that he is bedridden.
@@ClexYoshi I’m coming off a back surgery myself (at 24yo) so I relate to your concerns. Also it’s really awesome that your dad will get that experience, I hope both you and him love it!
Same here. It's all about the immersion for me and not having a cable is a massive plus. I commonly go entirely prone when playing stuff like Onward and HL Alyx
I would love to have a more clear image while playing wireless vr. But for me this dilemma between "high quality image" and "freedom of movement" is the same as for "good graphics" vs. "high performance" with normal pc-gaming. Doing slow stuff in a game (like simply walking from A to B) or playing games with not alot of fast movement (like strategy games) resolution matters more than performance. Thats because you have more time for looking at all the available details. Here a difference between 1080p and 4k is night and day. Doing fast stuff in a game (like being in the middle of combat) or playing generally fast paced games recuded the time in which you could notice low resolutions. You are more focused on e.g. not dying than on the resolutions of textures. Here a difference between 1080p and 4k does not feel like that much. Regarding wireless vs wired VR: Some people need better image quality to get fully immersed, other peopple need more freedom for the same effect. For me personally its the latter since I tend to be to worried about stepping on the wire (or accidently pulling to hard on it) than actually playing the game. When I tried my first Virtual Desktop experience with my Quest 1 the image quality seemed to be a little bit worse (but could also be just made up by my brain...) but the first thing I noticed was the feeling of freedom. And when I am in action I am more focues on not dying, reloading my magazine, or what ever. I do not notice the lower image quality. The only thing I do notice is when my PC slows down.
I have only played VR with the Quest 2 by first using Virtual Desktop and now Air Link but I just could not imagine playing with a cable attached. It is not the highest definition display or the greatest FOV but playing games with true freedom of motion by turning my body instead of turning with the controllers brings me great immersion. Spinning around without worrying about twisting up the cable and moving without being afraid of stepping on the cable or damage the cable or port in the headset in any way is just a relief. The next step up in VR requiring a cable and more than 500$ is a turn off. And with increased resolution of the displayed comes increased requirements on graphics card and as we all probably know that is not an upgrade that I want to do with availability and prices being what they are right now. Maybe in two years or so...
I already want to forget mixed reality headsets even exist. I used to own one of the Dell headsets back when the original mixed reality headsets were out. The tracking lights on these controllers are absolutely terrible. And I hate how they didn't even try to change it.
I have the G2 (version1)... I upgraded from the Samsung Odyssey+ VR system. I use the controllers that came with the Samsung instead of the controllers that came with the G2 because they feel much better and are 100% compatible... I haven't had much problems with dead-spots as well.
Hey...I did the same thing with the controllers. But then I sold the G2 and went back to the Odyssey+, I just couldn't stand the smaller FOV and sweet spot of the G2. Think I'll try the Index next.
@@sixxiom1142 I thank you for this as well, I'm concerned about upgrading from my Odyssey+ because I don't want to lose its FOV. I think the only headset that comes close is the Index but I don't have the money to shell out for that.
@@sixxiom1142 Smaller FOV? Smaller than what? I didn't notice any difference between the G2 and the Samsung and the Sweet spot for me was much much bigger than the Samsung. But yes, the FOV of the Index is much better... but the resolution of the Index isn't even come close to the G2. There are always trade-offs.
@@covertpuppytwo3857 Agreed the G2 resolution is great. But the FOV was smaller than the Odyssey+ and the sweet spot for ME was bad. Everyone is different with headsets. I had to angle the G2 upwards on on my head just to get half the sweet spot that I can on the Odyssey+. And yes I did try different face gaskets with the G2..didn't help enough for me to keep it. Like I said...think I'll just get an Index.
As someone who owns the Version 2 of the HP Reverb G2, YES. I've adored this headset since the moment I received it from HP. I also got lucky, as I bought mine during their Black Friday sale, so I got mine for literally $450. Bye bye Oculus! The tracking may be slightly worse, but I'm personally ok with that. :) Thanks for this awesome review, Thrill!!!
@@wjveryzer7985 For some reason, my replies keep getting deleted. XP But I don't care too much about it. I like not having to worry about a battery, so I can play for hours, compared to the Quest 2's simple 2 hours. (This is coming from a previous Quest 2 owner.)
Thank you for giving this more attention! I just got the v2 of the reverb g2 and it's so goddamn good. I wish I had gotten it sooner. The tracking is fine and everything else is 10/10
tracking isnt fine, i know this is a 2 year post but ive been daily driving it for 2 years now. it has lack of below HMD sensors meaning you dont get accurate tracking at waist height looking forwards, reloading two handed weapons and shooting them is difficult due to the light sensors getting confused when you layer them like you would holding a rifle. HMD is best visuals for the price but you really need index controllers.
The pandemic is the biggest reason why VR headset sales have reached an all time high over the last two years. Think of how Covid would have been handled if there really was an OASIS.
I came back and watched this, and with this currently on sale for $299 I went with this of the Quest 2 for sure. I didn't really want to spend over $500, so it looks like this was a good buy. Thanks for the detailed review!
When I was in the market for a VR heat set early last year, the Index was pretty much never on my radar. For myself, the lower resolution and screen-dooring of older WMR, the CV1, or even the Index was a no go for me. I get headaches when trying to read nameplates in VRChat as my eyes won't stop trying to focus on them at low resolutions. In March of 2021, I was looking at the Cosmo's Elite, HTC Vibe Pro, the HP Reverb G2, and the Quest 2. Ultimately, the choice came down to the Reverb G2 and the Quest 2 as I valued resolution above every other feature, FOV be damned. Anything was going to be better then my Dell Visor had been. The lack of fully adjustable IPD on the Quest 2 ended up being the deal breaker for me. After factoring the cost of a Quest 2 Elite Strap, other accessories for the controllers, etc... I was pretty close to the cost of a Reverb G2, so I pulled the trigger on the G2. I do not regret the choice. Now, as my primary game of choice is VRChat, I did end up buying 2.0 Lighthouses, Valve Knuckles, and Vive Tracker 2.0 with batteries at around the same time. This typically requires the house of SpaceCAL and can be a pain to deal with the shifting bounds of the Reverb G2's play space vs the calibration of my other tracking. So, I am now looking at implementing a solution that uses a Vive Tracker directly plugged into a PC to give the headset Lighthouse tracking! More info can be found at this github here: github.com/capilus/HP-Reverb-G2-index-Controller-HTC-vive-tracker-Working-native-Open-VR
Own the G2 V1 and I can't use anything else now. FOV ain't so bad. No many people got for like the index. Can also 3D print a face gasket that improves the fov by 15 degrees and put a vr cover on it. Tracking wise? It works when it needs to work, It doesn't hinder my gameplay at all. The clarity and comfort as well as sound quality makes this thing a instant buy. Once you try it on you will be blown away by the visual clarity. Can't get this clarity for this anywhere. Win for me!
I'm still holding out for that mythical headset that combines high res, good FOV without distortion, base station tracking, and high refresh rate, and possibly OLED, for around Index money. Until then, the Index remains my daily driver.
I specifically can NEVER recommend the Reverb G2, except for sims, because of the controllers. The lack of capacitive buttons kills half the gestures in VRChat, and thereby makes it impossible to use VR Sign Language.
Hey Thrill, so, LTT brought up something in a recent video about Linux gaming, and it made me think about this in a VR context as well, and I think it applies here especially. It was this: mainstream users want to be able to pick it up and trust that it will work. They won't spend time re-mapping buttons, they just won't use it. If they only have an hour to relax and play a game, having to spend even just 10 minutes of that configuring a game to work is a MAJOR deal breaker for those users. Your comments about needing to re-map buttons to make the controller work in some games, I think at least, means the G2 is DOA still for a lot of users. They will just go buy a quest instead. I think that's a big component of why the Quest is still doing so well, and it should probably be part of the conversation...it just works. It's SO flexible and the software interfaces are SO polished that they are able to overcome and incorporate the time-limited users, and until even Valve can get there, THAT is probably more of the deal breaker we are seeing for the PC VR market as a whole.
The button remap is a one-time thing, and SteamVR provides libraries where users can upload their own button maps for others to enable and instantly use. Virtually every game with gun mechanics that I've tried has custom layouts for lefties that don't just mirror the entire control scheme. That's like 5 button presses and 2 minutes of setup at most. Let's not use that as an excuse to drop any discussion of high-quality headsets in favor of the one that already has more than enough recognition and is actively cannibalizing the VR industry as a whole.
@@PopLadd I think you are missing the point of what I'm saying. I'm NOT saying we should be directing people to Meta, I'm saying we need to recognize that the ease of use is a major driving factor for why they are so drastically more successful then others, and we need to be having that conversation when looking at new headsets. It doesn't matter that there are ways to configure it and get it to work. It doesn't matter that you can set it up once and forget it. What MATTERS to the mass market is that there is a learning curve for one headset, and NO learning curve for the other. They get to go from install to playing on day one, as soon as they unwrap that Christmas/Birthday/whatever reason. 0 configuration required to jump straight in. Just like on Linux, I can configure a game to work. I can download missing libraries and program workarounds when needed. I'm an enthusiast, and I'm going to do those things because I like to have my cake and eat it too...but the rest of the market doesn't work that way, and as we transition from being a group of enthusiasts to a more diverse platform, we need to start paying attention to what the newcomers are going to run into on day 1, not day 1400+ like we are. It's true for Linux gaming, and it's true for VR as well. We NEED to start calling out companies when they produce sub-par products, because it's those call outs that get fixed. The reverb G2 is a great example. What WAS the biggest call-out for it before? Bad tracking, and bad facial interface. What did they fix? The tracking, and the facial interface. Other then Thrill, I don't think I heard a single other person mention the problematic button mapping, other then PERHAPS in passing, but not even a full sentence if that.
@@Geoff_W I think many would agree that the most important factors in the adoption of a VR headset are its price tag and mobility, hence why the Quest 2 is the most widely used headset despite its relatively poor graphical capabilities and mandatory Facebook connection; it's the cheapest on the market and is wireless. Since we're using the mass market as the primary focus here; no parent who's Christmas shopping for their kid is going to compare a $300 wireless headset with a $600 wired headset and go "the Quest 2 has a more user-friendly interface, so I should go with that". They're going to jump for the cheapest option no matter what, because that's what matters most to the mass market. I'm confused by your last paragraph because it seems like you go on to contradict your main point, you're saying consumers *don't* actually seem to care about the bad button mapping? What's all this about it being a make-or-break issue for prospective VR players then? Am I missing something obvious here?
@@PopLadd I really can't disagree more about it being ALL about price. If it were, then people would be giving Google cardboards, not quest 2. You and I know what real VR is, but little Timmy's parents from your example just don't. What ACTUALLY happens is non-enthusiast media give their take, and little Timmy's parents but what Oprah or Amazon or whoever recommend...and THOSE are the people who just don't care that there is a Facebook login required, because it's EASY. They look at something that works in their weird use case and can't be bothered to set up base station tracking or getting a PC together that can ACTUALLY handle good VR. They either dismiss it as bad based on that, or else try it sub-optimally and decide the Quest is a better solution because it's the best EXPERIENCE for their use case. It's the most user friendly. As for my last paragraph, I'm not sure where you are thinking the contradiction is? It still reads correctly to me. The things the G2 V2 fixed from V1 are the things the enthusiasts called out as being problematic. My comment is about the fact that we need to start calling out non-user-intuitive problems as larger problems if we want PC VR to go mainstream. Otherwise it's going to continue to wither and die.
@@Geoff_W "Other then Thrill, I don't think I heard a single other person mention the problematic button mapping, other then PERHAPS in passing, but not even a full sentence if that" Nothing in that sentence or the rest of the paragraph implies that you wish for people to start addressing user friendliness as a larger issue and I'm not sure how you think it does. You just said that other issues were fixed because enough people complained about them, while nobody complains about the user-friendliness, which just demonstrates how little people actually care about it. I can't see this tangent going anywhere meaningful though, so back to the main point; Ignoring the fact that parents are already being barraged with ads on social media for the Q2 and the Q2 alone, they're likely to google something along the lines of "top tech gifts 2021", where the first Amazon results page lists the Q2 as one of the first items. If they instead search "cheapest vr headsets", they're met with top-10 lists for budget headsets that give a good rundown of each item and clearly state that Google Cardboard or similar are extremely limited in function and that you (the general reader) are probably better off getting something in the PCVR or standalone VR realm. And since you think price isn't an issue for the average consumer, even searching "vr headsets" by itself lists the G2, Pimax, Q2, and Cosmos Elite before anything. I think it's pretty safe to say parents are exposed enough to real VR that they know Google Cardboard is just a little gimmick. "They either dismiss it as bad based on that, or else try it sub-optimally and decide the Quest is a better solution because it's the best EXPERIENCE for their use case. It's the most user friendly." If they're willing to try again with another, better headset (unlikely, as a bad first experience often turns people off for good), then it cycles back to the price point. The average consumer doesn't have thousands of dollars to go shopping around buying numerous headsets to find the one that fits their particular interests. They go for the cheapest option, and if they don't like what they get and still want to try again, they go for another one of the cheaper options. The average consumer simply doesn't care about button layouts and user-friendliness, they want something cheap that can play the games they want to play. Weird control schemes are not the reason for the "withering and dying" of PCVR.
I extensively used the Reverb G2 and it was an incredibly solid and durable headset. Though the controller tracking wasnt that great with admittedly terrible deadzones (no base stations), I did appreciate the battery life. Getting off from work into VRchat I often slept in bed with it nearly every night. The G2 never broke in spite a solid year of abuse, where friends of mine went through stuff like needing multiple cord or controller replacements for their Index. I hope the V2 is just as durable for those that want it, but the new controllers being even less user friendly are a definate turn off.
I own the Index and the HP-Reverb G2 and I have to say the reverb is an awesome headset for the price though compared to the index and other headsets the field of view is pretty (Bad?) and the sweetspot is also quiet small. One more thing to say; if you want to play games like beatsaber with the included controllers dont expect to hit anything, since the tracking is sadly a little poopie
As an owner of the G2 version 1 I'd like to point out that it's more than possible to 100% Expert Plus songs in beatsaber with the G2 tracking. It isn't perfect but it's really not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I wonder if I can buy the version 2 gasket and stick it on my version 1.
@@YannMack Thats true, though I think theres a night and day differnce between Steam Basestation tracking / oculus tracking and hp reverb camera tracking. (headgasket should fit)
@@ry4n903 100% Nothing stands up to steam base station tracking. I've seen people get the base station + index controller combo working with their G2. Sounds like the best of both worlds, hoping to upgrade sometime in 2023-2024 if roomscale tracking prices come down.
@@YannMack Sorry Kenny, it's a different design so the attachment is also different, you can't attach a G2V2 faceplate to a G2V1. I opted for the VRCovers solution and you get a thick and thin leather padding onto their own custom gasket which can also improve FoV.
Yup had the G2 it was CLEAR..but the small sweet spot ruined it for me..plus the controllers was meh.. (had a Rift S) But now sold back the G2 and got a Quest 2 .. and oh GOD the sweet spot is HUGE so its a really good mix between Rift S and G2...thing i hate is the battery on this crap.. "Out of battery = No more VR for you!" Ugh...
This industry is so focused on making VR available for $300 and all I want is an absolute kickass untethered headset. It's like if you have money, you only get tethered hardware built for you and it's so stupid to split it up that way. Where is my kickass $1000 untethered HMD? Hoping Gaben saves us.
Just got this headset last week as my first ever PC VR headset and this video comes out just in time! I will definetely look into getting capacitive feedback controllers but for the rest I'm thrilled!
I love it for Flight and Racing sims and its good enough for Half Lyfe Alyx. Updated controllers would have been great. Alos, I believe the cable update was for AMD CPUs not GPUs as I had issues using my Ryzen build with the orignal cable.
I like racing games, I bought HTC Vive Cosmos Elite first because I thought that any headset would be way better than what I've experienced in the past. My only VR experience before this was Oculus Rift DK1 in 2014'ish. Cosmos Elite didn't have enough resolution for racing, you couldn't see far enough and felt like you we're driving blind. Then I swapped it for the Reverb G2 V2 and oh boy, this is what I was expecting VR to be in 2023. I was a bit afraid of the tracking but it's awesome, so far it has actually been better than the Cosmos Elite with one base station 2.0.
I remember debating between the G2 and the quest 2 when they both first came out, but right now if I had a Vr-ready graphics card this would probably be the play tbh. Screen clarity is everything sometimes. Am a bit iffy about the 90fps though, I mean most quest apps are 90 but there's that possibility for more apps to start using 120 in the future. One thing I will say though, idk if this is still a problem but when I had a G1, the deadzones provided problems when trying to do the 'cover mouth' mechanic in HL:Alyx.
since were using (if i had vr ready graphics card) most likely meaning if i had the money..why not use that power and get Varjo? if not that atleast pimax 8kx
For me, I've only owned 90 Hhz VR headsets and I have to say this refresh rate has never caused a problem. Also how often are you going to run PC games in VR at over 90 fps anyway? Tracking has improved greatly from G1 to G2 and again it's better with the G2v2 but yeah inside out tracking can't scan controllers close you your face, Oculus has some very clever software that guesses where the controllers may be based on partial data/loss of tracking and they've refined that with the Quest 2 so that's an obvious advantage for them.
This is on sale on HP's website for 350 bucks right now. It seems like a no brainer for someone like me upgrading from a Rift S generation headset. Thanks for the review!
That said, when I went from Vive OG to Index, I was unwilling to go back in graphics. So get the best you can, but don't "wait" for something better. But the "fun" never changes, it's always been awesome, and that's my point.
I have the old g2 and theres a thing i wanted to mention in this video and the last thrill mentioned that even with a rtx 3090 its hard to reach the native refresh rate but i think that is just some nvidia problem because i had a rtx 3080 and tried using it with that headset and it was quite an awful experience but with a 6800xt and 5700xt its quite realistic hitting 90 fps with native resolution or 80% resolution
I just got an hp reverb g2 v2 and it is such an upgrade from the quest 1 I had earlier. The only thing I thought was not as good were the controllers because they are larger than the oculus touch controllers I had earlier. This makes them a lot heavier and annoying to hold for long periods of time. Also, the setup was really frustrating. The instructions you get out of the box are really not that helpful, so I just searched on the internet how to set it up. Otherwise I honestly couldn’t recommend it anymore. It is really comfortable, great sound quality, really high resolution, and a good price being in the middle of the quest 2 and the index. Keep in mind: FOV does not really matter to me because I have glasses.
"Couldn't recommend it anymore" (as in, couldn't recommend it any longer) Or "can't recommend it more/can't praise it enough (as there is no room to go higher as it is maxed out)" Not sure, but I think you mean the latter.
i have a g2, im reeaaalllllyyy looking forward for something like a Index 2. I dont want to downgrade my visuals to an index, but the controlls and basically everything else would be better
I was looking at the G2V2 (sounds like a droid name) for racing sims. As such the controllers are not going to be an issue as much since my hands will be on a Force Feedback wheel. The FOV may be more of an issue for flight sim people like in DCS, but clarity for reading the gauges and displays is definitely a bonus. I’m not one for VR chat so I think the G2V2 will fit my needs and budget a lot more than other VR headsets out there right now.
I just bought one for an upgrade from my Lenovo Explorer (LE). The HP Reverb G2 is onsale for $400 for labor day. I am excited as this is going to be a hugh improvement over the LE. Plus if I run into a problem of not having any compasitive buttons on the controller, I can just connect the ones from my LE which does have them.
I have to say your dedication to VR and the way you deliver your videos in a timely manner with extremely satisfying and chaotic editing are really nice and really say a lot about you. Everything is well compacted in your videos, well done sir!!!
The editing in this video and the visuals were amazing!! And the fact that you don't need wmr software anymore w the g2 is really good imo bc it saves up ram :00
It's my first VR headset. Absolutely no regrets. Did my research before and I'm glad, that my opinion is shared here too. Visual qality was a deciding factor here, the rest - a compromise. Maybe later we will see a better version.
Man I am so happy I am a part of your channel. Your content is interesting, entertaining, informative, and down right quality. Keep up the good work dude.
Hey ThrillSeeker, I've been wondering, if I'm ever rich, I'll want the best in all categories of VR (headset, controllers, full body tracking, audio, the catwalk, the things that make you feel things...); is it possible to combine parts from different manufacturers? For example, if I was rich now, I'd want the Varjo Aero and Index controllers but can they work together? I much prefer the concept of base stations to tracking from the headset so can I just buy the stations and have them work? Also, is more stations better? I had some tracking trouble with 2 when I got to try out the Vive pro so if I buy 4 stations, will tracking work better? The bits of cushion that go between your face and the headset, are there sport variants of them? When I had the Vive pro, one of my favourite games was Windlands 2 but the problem was that it wouldn't take long for me to be absolutely soaked in sweat and it always got in my eyes which hurt. Have you seen any good solutions for dealing with the sweat? I'd imagine you'd need something that goes all the way down to your eyebrows and halfway around your eyes to be really effective.
As long you combine lighthouse tracked stuff like Index and Vive you are fine. 2 lighthouse stations are enough for a single room. You would only need more for something like a warehouse. And about sweat: there are aftermarket solutions that provide some airflow or even some fan contraptions like the Kiwi fans for the Index and that really helps. Personally I run my index with a silicone cover AND a cotton VRCover over it, so I can wash and swap it and the original interface does not get soaked. Also the Frunk fans help a lot!
For me, when buying my new headset back in August, it was between the G2 or the cosmos, lighthouse tracking was simply not an option with my play area. But I've been playing with it ever since in mainly vrchat but also SIM racing and it's been such an amazing experience. Only thing I bought for it was a 3rd party face gasket for the wider fov and cause the material on the official gasket agitates my face. A tip for anyone considering one of these for vrchat, you can use the older wmr controllers with it. Which has a trackpad like the Vive wands for gestures but also a joystick for movement, I did this for a while but eventually just found a community rebind on steam for the normal ones and it works pretty well. I hope to add slime vr to it for more fun in the future
Same here. Lighthouse tracking was not a thing for me let alone I didn't have the money. I bought back in the day one of the original Dell mixed reality headsets used off of eBay. They flooded the eBay market because they immediately flopped in a lot of places. This is back in the infancy of VR when gorn was a beta test. The tracking on a mixed reality headset controller is absolutely terrible. Too much light and you have control of tracking issues. Too little light and you have headset tracking issues. If the sun shining through your window you best make sure you're avoided otherwise your controllers aren't going to track properly. ALSO, God fucking forbid you have the flashing light in your house somewhere. IT TOOK ME DAYS TO FIGURE OUT WHY EVERY TIME I FACE A CERTAIN DIRECTION MY CONTROLLERS WOULD JUST COMPLETELY BUG OUT.
@@Dtr146 oh yeah, I bought the Dell one not long after launch, used it like twice then put it away untill half way through 2021. Worst part of those ones is the halo band doesn't work with my head and holds the headset a good half inch away from my face. Not to mention no inbuilt Microphone. But when I used it a few times in 2021 and enjoyed vrchat, I knew I needed a better headset. And thankfully the G2 has way better tracking than the Dell visor. And fits way better.
I got the notification that thrill has came out with a new video, but I’m driving my car and I don’t want to watch it on my phone all of thrills content deserves to be watched on a big screen and good sound.
this video hit ALL the key points! i recently returned this head set mainly due to tracking and controllers short comings . it's for someone just not me. thank you for the content!
I upgraded to a reverb g2 over an index a while ago because I wanted the better visuals. Although the controllers are better than vive wands, I plan on picking up the index controllers to use with it.
@@joek292 Yeah, in my opinion they're better because they have a more standard control scheme, finger tracking, and they're just much more ergonomic, so you'll likely find them to be more comfortable in the hand.
@@joek292 oh, my bad, I assumed you were referring to the index controllers. Yeah, whether the g2 controllers are better or not is entirely debatable, but I do find them to be better from my experience since the control scheme is more similar to other VR controllers.
I will have a job from April to October and with that money I will buy the best possible VR system as my personal little reward. The best Headset and full body tracking. I never experience VR but if I step in the beautiful world of VR, I want the best possible experience. I can't wait for it! I'm a gamer since I was a little Boy. More than 15 years ago. This step means so much to me... I'm so excited!
get a varjo or pimax HMD and index controllers and lighthouses. gonna cost ya about about 2500 USD. then ya need a PC that can run it and thats another 3k USD. This is if you want the best. I'm happy with the index setup and can always upgrade only the HMD at a future date.
Bought a second-hand rift S for $180 as my first headset last year, the tracking is amazing for not requring base stations Hope there will be a upgrade for me in 2022
I wish the revised hp reverb g2 used a usb-c to break out box or something (maybe even straight usb-c like the varjo). as a rift s owner, having a proprietary hard to buy cable is a bad idea for VR headsets. that's honestly my main critique............especially given how much wear and tear vr cables can go through
@@kitics3643 Thats incorect. ONLY the pc end uses display port. On the headset end it's proprietary. if the headset cable is damaged, you can't just buy a display port cable. as hp is using a proprietary connection on the side that connects to the headset........and only hp makes the cable (its only display port on the side that connects to the pc)
My good old Oculus Rift S is starting to give me more and more issues at the point where I think its dying on me. (constantly having to reset play ground, sometimes no image at all, weird pixels, etc etc) I am only using it for PCVR, but dont want to pay 1000+ USD for it again. I saw the HP Reverb G2 reviews, but they really were all over the place. Its great to see that this Revern G2 V2 has been recently released and most reviews are finally positive :) I was playing a heavilly modded Skyrim VR, so I guess I will continue to play it on a HP Reverb G2 V2! Thanks for the review!
The Reverb G2 is so close to the ideal headset for me. Excellent visual quality, convenient inside out tracking for quick setup, and shares some elements with the Valve Index. It seems like a great device that's being held back by the windows mixed reality controllers-If they do make a G3 they should ditch windows mixed reality completely if possible. I would get the Quest 2 but I hate the intrusive Oculus software that constantly runs in the background and I feel uncomfortable with the lizard man Mark Zuckerberg watching my every move. I hope Valve releases an inside out headset closer to the $400-$600 range with some form of capacitive touch controllers.
I've had a quest 2 for a year and got to use my brother's reverb g2 (not v2 unfortunately) for the past 5 months, and overall, i definitely prefer the quest 2 As far as controllers go (probably my biggest issue with the headset) : - The g2's controllers have a much lower tracking volume, controllers completely lose tracking around the waist and around my forehead, left and right side works well - the battery life is so much worse, it needs two batteries per controller but only lasts a few days, compared to the quest 2's which lasts a few weeks - the tracking itself is usable but isn't great, especially for stuff like beat saber, basically unusable for some songs in extreme (the straps getting lose all the time doesn't help either) and all of that is on top of the missing capacitive buttons Of course the screen is great, comfort is better, audio and resolution are better than on the quest 2, but you can't plug in your own headphones and the lenses have a smaller sweet spot paired with valve knuckles it is objectively better, but on it's own, it felt more like a downgrade than an upgrade
RUclipsrs love to rave about the $299 Quest 2 but they forget to mention the loads they spent on getting the type-c cable, headstrap, facecover, and upgraded audio. The weight begins to shoot up. Yeah there’s the wireless option with some tradeoffs but you also need to buy a decent WiFi 6 5Ghz router. There is no screen door effect in the G2 if that matters to some people.
it's an all in one easy thing to use regardless, yes I don't have any of the upgrades or a PC. but I can still see getting it over any other with it's price, ease of use, and value for what you get
@@mariomason95 I don’t want to hate on the Quest 2 but wish there was less incentivized feedback covering the competition. Everyone has different budgets and setups from beginner to enthusiast. Some value privacy above all else. Some wear glasses (Arpara AIO). We also have the Pico Neo 3 Pro AIO. This one has an actual display port for PC users.
You honestly don't need to spend much with the Quest. Pleather face cover cost me $14. The head strap I got the Vive DAS which cost me $100 and came with the premium audio. Never bought a Link cable since I use VD to play PCVR and didn't have to buy another router, I just use an old basic Asus router that doesn't have Wifi 6 and ANY router from the last 5-10 years will have the 5Ghz band lmao. I have zero lag when playing wirelessly streamed to my Quest and stuff like Alyx looks damn fantastic. I'm sure it would look better on an Index I don't doubt but I'm nowhere near the cost of the Index AND I have the option of portability (which I make good use of) and able to do it all without wires. It's hard to argue the value proposition that the Quest offers.
That’s why I feel the G2 V2 is a good value proposition for PCVR at $399 that’s a little overlooked. It’s one of the lightest HMD that has all the comfort, real IPD, audio, and color / clarity included. It has a slight bump in FOV too with the magnetic spacer removed which is more noticeable over my Rift S.
This is the best VR headset for Simming hands down (speaking from experience). Fantastic audio, fantastic picture, and if your other peripherals are bought, this is the best there is for the price right now
I have the quest 2, and I love it. But I wanted something that looks better, specifically for sim drifting, and this is what I landed on. Having better fov would be nice, but as I am short on space, the resolution plus self tracking is what convinced me. Can't wait to hunt some doors in this thing 😊
@@breeknow I just bought the Quest 2 to replace my Quest with the biggest deciding factor being the wireless. Tried playing Phasmophobia the other night with my tethered Quest 1 and my cable got stuck on something. So every time I tried to turn I had to yank on the cable to unstick it. I'm really just buying the Quest 2 to have something better while I wait for the next-gen VR headsets be it Project Cambria from Meta, Valve's Deckard, or the Pimax 12K. All of which should have wireless options with far better displays.
I never ended up using the Q2 wirelessly because of the quality over the air. It was fine over link but even then the compression was noticeable. I moved the G2 earlier this year and prefer the clarity.
@@treemium1467 never had that problem. Had many disconnects over cable. Wireless is flawless for me. The compression is noticed only if you look for it, which doesn’t happen. But I use virtual desktop, airlink is useless. The thing is, I can’t use tethered HMDs, the experience is just not immersive. For me, particularly, it’s the biggest issue with vr today. FOV, is another issue with the quest, but it doesn’t really ruin immersion because you can always pretend you’re wearing protection goggles or something :) That said, I’d really enjoy a dedicated g2 for simulators. It’d indeed be cool, because of the sitting position and lack of moving around. I really think vr headsets will all be wireless and have minimun 4k micro-oled screens and some variation of pancake lenses in the future. We need the rtx 4000 series to kick off next gen, though.
@@nihren2406 maybe these won’t be too expensive. The clarity on the quest 2, for the price, is unbeatable. Hopefully, with the popularizarion of vr, the price of hmds will lower. Who knows. If I were to be completely rational though, those you mentioned would be too much for me to afford. Just so you have an Idea, where I live, the quest 2, costs half a months salary of a university professor. It’s no joke. The index costs as much as a 300cc motorcycle! So, my observations, of course, take these factors into account.
G2 V2 works in it's VR PC bubble. Unfortunately it won't exactly beat quest 2, it's got too much versatility over the G2, and well still speaking higher screen specs and being just a better G2 it's still a screen to your face that still gets it's input from a very large tower right near you. A tower costing a painful $2000 right in this market.
It's the high cost weight of VR content that still pushes everyone to a quest 2. We haven't gotten any true hardware optimizing VR content, besides the quest 2s own XR2 made for XR. We haven't gotten anything on our PC graphics cards that properly tries to pull performance on the hardware level to specifically VR content. It's still very shoehorned in.
I have the original first get G2, really upset that although HP know the issues, they forget their original customers and don’t offer anything to them. It would have been respectful if they could offer some update to help improve tracking and offer the higher FOV face shield for free to customers that ask for it. As good as the picture quality is, I’m very disappointed that they don’t care for their customers that invested money on the g2. 😔
HDMI 2.1 is 48Gbps, WiFi 6E is nearly 2.5Gbps. even with a 4x4 MIMO adapter pushing multiconnection with MU-MIMO technology there is no way you're getting wireless headsets without compression. i hear you can increase the quest 2's USB bitrate with some tool; but the USB on the Q2 is like 600MB/s in speed, vs HDMI 2.1 at 6GB/s. and even if the headset could max its screens at HDMI 2.0, you're still talking 2.5GB/s worth of raw data.
Even if they use Wigig or something, currently the bottleneck is the GPU encoding, you could have all the bandwith you want, but if you need to encode the image, you are fucked.
@@Steam_VR no offence but thrill was complaining about noticing lag and compression over wifi; and your point is false, i encode stuff all the time; GPU's aren't a bottleneck at all; even a 10Gbe router only hits ~1.2GB/s; the bottleneck is, and always will be, bandwidth.
and TL;DR for everyone. my argument is about pure native signal; not only will it not fit over any current or planned wifi specs, and most importantly, anytime cheaply, but there simply is no amount of compression that will cut down six gigabytes per second to anything near wifi speeds without signal degradation or induced lag from the physics of the universe conspiring against us to ruin all our fun ideas. the speed of energy in a medium be a cruel mistress.
what did he mean by last wmr headset? Latest? or is wmr going away? Reverb has gone on sale so many times, it's really tempting at $400 and if I'd noticed it hit $350 I probably would have pulled the trigger. Or if the fov was better, the other shortcomings I don't actually mind. Great channel, subbed!
I just got mine and after hours of troubleshooting it works great. The most annoying issue was actually unrelated to the headset itself, but Ryzen CPUs' issue of randomly disconnecting USB devices. When this would happen, the headset would momentarily not be seen by the PC, which would either cause the tracking to go bonkers or outright crash Steam VR. This was fixed by going into the BIOS settings and forcing the PCI-E Gen 4 slots to run in Gen 3 mode. After that I haven't had a single crash or loss of tracking. If you are running a Ryzen system and are having these issues consider trying this fix. Now that it works i am thoroughly impressed with the G2 for the $400 that I paid for it. The controllers track very well within the view of the headset. Unless you're trying to play competitively, I'd say these controllers work well enough in Pavlov VR (and presumably other VR FPS games) to have fun despite their limited range of tracking compared to outside-tracked controllers. The headset itself tracks head movement perfectly, and looks great. 90hz is plenty smooth for me. Only got slightly dizzy playing Project Wingman, so i feel like if flying jets in circles doesn't get me sick nothing will. If you're on the fence about getting this as your first headset, I would say go for it as long as you're willing to do a little legwork to get it running optimally.
So, I got one of these 3 weeks ago. Last week my cable decided it hated life and died. There are no replacements available. I now have a $650 brick. HP support has been incredibly unhelpful, and I have a backorder on the cable for 3 months from some local vendor. (Yes, I was using a cable management system)
I will be streaming with the HP Reverb G2V2 on twitch today at: Twitch.tv/Thrilluwu
Join in my discord for updates on my streams and the best VR community on the planet: Discord.gg/Thrill
Nice new intro 👌
How come you never respond to my discord dm’s?
Oh yea I’ll go on twitch after
@@Jacobanimations He probably has an inbox of 1000+ messages if he keeps them open…
@@whatiwonder4299 🤣
This fills in a great gap in the consumer VR space. Also noticed you've been really stepping up the editing and cinematography quality Thrill, 10/10 keep up the amazing content
Thrillseekers videos have always been really easy to digest with context-sensitive visualizations, concise and useful information across the spectrum of VR, it's just great content!
our boy is still improving
I’d love to see a Quest made solely for PCVR. With the price it is at the moment, how cheap would the headset be without the CPU/GPU/Boards/Storage/Operation System/Speakers/Wifi Card? Peanuts. Display cable instead of USB C to stop the bottleneck that it brings in and compression, and they would have more room to upgrade the display and physical quality of the headset. There’s millions of pc gamers that have rigs ready for VR, and they could get into PCVR for a couple hundred quid instead of £1000 paying for things their pc already has and can do better already
If I wanted to play a game like bonelab or blade & sorcery, would it be a better choice to get the quest 2 or the HG reverb G2? Also I don’t feel like spending more the $500 on a headset. Also is the HG reverb’s tracking that terrible for boneworks type games? If so should I just go with a quest 2 and do link or something?
After two years there's still nothing like it. I refuse the Zuck's shitty shady business and refuse to get a Chinese one. Also... plunking down 1000+ is not acceptable to me.
I've been using the headset for a year (G2 V1, not even the improved one) and I do not regret buying it. Its shortcomings are nothing compared to the fun I have using it.
do you play blade and sorcery? do the dead zones have an affect on your gameplay?
I wanna know too, what games have you played and what problems have you had? This info is gold.
@@BLVCKSCORP i dont know if its any help anymore, but. I have the version 2 and i play: Onward, Vtol VR, No Man`s Sky, a flight sim(occasionally). And honestly you start to not even notice the deadzones, because it finds the controllers so damn quickly anyway. And the clarity! Its insane! My friends(who all owns quest 2`s) all want to come home to me just to try it again lol
The G2 is pretty popular with flight simulator players, and based on what you had to say here I can see why. The controllers are a non-factor for most flight sim players who already have HOTAS controls, and display clarity is a huge deal when you're trying to read gauges.
That's why I'm here lmao, currently have an OG Rift, and I'm looking for something with much better clarity for DCS. This seems like a great option at the moment
Yep. I'm a sim racer and I just got my Reverb G2. Not concerned in the least about controllers lol
@@ChrisPBacon9 i sim race too. I have the rift s & i think i hate it.
@@JP-wu8ek after using the Reverb G2 for a few months I'm actually kinda disappointed. The tracking kinda sucks, im constantly having to hit the recenter HMD button and if you move your head quickly its like theres a tiny delay for a fraction of a second. So movement doesnt feel seamless like my original rift did. But the screen is nicer at least
@@ChrisPBacon9 Yeah, tracking is known to suck on this thing.
Man I really wish there were better lighthouse tracking solutions for this headset. Like slap on a vive tracker and BLAM, your knuckles work
You can use it with index controllers if you have lighthouses.
While you can use the Knuckles with this headset, the setup isn't user friendly and is meant for those who know what they're doing.
@@CyanoTex theres guides on it
there's a really easy guide on the mixed vr sub Reddit. I got it working first night after minor tinkering and haven't had any real problems since. g2 with index controllers are the way!
@@ricericedesu I've used it before. It doesn't track roomscale well. Okay if you stand in one place. Prone to occasional jitter
I personally use the G2 with Index controllers and Fullbody for VRChat. Its the best of both worlds for me.
@@Quayledant Yes. Calibrating one Index controller is enough make all of it work properly. If thats what you mean.
@@QuayledantNope It saves the calibration profile. I usually calibrate once a week and i play everyday.
Cheaper to get an index at that point though, would personally go for that.
Butting in to mention that the Index controllers are the best to use but also the most expensive and BY FAR the most fragile. I'm on my 4rd and 5th controller because they keep breaking and already controller 5 is experiencing drift, so I'll need to deal with that and/or buy another set soon.
can you punch with orginal controlers
11:15 thank you for mentioning that. If the people complaining about wired headsets managed to get all vr companies to switch to wireless capability as a priority, VR graphics would be absolutely doomed. Specifically with air link, you have to deal with movement delays and get good graphics, or prioritize movement and never be able to look at anything brightly colored again.
I use airlink and theres zero delay and the pic looks just as good as it did on the index. Even better in lots of ways. Only diff I noticed was fov
Standalone needs to become first priority then. Cabling up to a PC every single time you want to play is an absolutely massive barrier to entry, even ignoring the cost of a VR capable PC. The Quest really needs competition anyway!
@@amishrobot5510 unless you're doing an entire setup every time you plug in your headset, connecting a USB cord is not hard or an entry barrier at all. That's just plain laziness and choosing not to buy a headset because of that is just stupid. Also, the quests major selling point is its price, I have never seen anyone say to get a quest 2 over a different headset because it was standalone
I think that's pretty disingenuous. Yeah, you do have compression artifacts but if you have a dedicated router for the Q2 the visual quality between wireless and wired is close to on par if you're not entirely stationary.
@@nekaa7657 "plain laziness" "just stupid".. just loke your opinion. I guess you're pissed that this VR you like isn't as popular as fhe quest. You can not challenge the fact that you don't need a $1k of gaming PC and the oh so hassle set up time to play is making quest the better choice hands down. But okay, you can stick with your overpriced headset you need to constantly hook up to your PC just to play.
In 10 years these HMDs will age about as gracefully as chuncky cell phones from the 80's 😅
Give it less, just look at micro displays and pancake lenses.
Looking at bigscreen beyond... feels around the corner
Hopefully so, I can't wait to see the future!
I mean, that is how time works. A ten year old TV isn't very good by today's standards, same thing with computers and consoles. Technology will always get better.
I've had the g2 original for around a year now and I don't notice the tracking issues as much as I thought I would. Definitely recommend.
I had one, and I definitely don't reccomend it at all.
For anybody who plays a lot of fast-paced action games like super hot and blade and sorcery Will notice for sure. Any game basically where the controller might leave the field of vision for the headset. The reason I say this is because I owned a mixed reality headset. I can tell you right now. Not much has changed from the original headsets except for the better quality screen and lenses, The sound, And two more cameras. That's it
@@beanos2287 why can you please explain i am thinking of getting one
this headset is *SO* close its almost frustrating, this however is a good thing. it means that the next HP headset is going to be the go to for budget VR on PC. of course its only better for us (the consumers) if another company tries to take that spot before HP does.
unfortunately I don't think that HP is gonna make another headset
I'd love to be proven wrong though
They left the VR market lol. It's simply unprofitable to sell VR hardware unless you roll with HTC pricing.
@@Cooe. unfortunate, but true
The reverb g2 would be the absolute perfect headset if it had aspheric lenses and a wider FOV, I have an index and the index's FOV is clearly better only because the index has bigger displays, the displays on the reverb are small by comparison. If they simply scaled up the displays a little bit, and got aspheric lenses (which would be very expensive but worth it), it'd be on par with the Varjo Aero minus the commodities for half the price.
Well this didn’t age well….
I've had a G2 since March '21 and the clarity is so good. I get around the issue with the controllers being hot garbage by using a set of index controllers. Works like a charm.
I have owned an original mixed reality headset. I've also tried to reverb G2. The clarity is amazing on the G2. But I am so scarred from the tracking issues from the original mixed reality, that has not been improved mind you. Most people who in these headsets will have to optimize their play space to work flawlessly with the G2. When I originally played VR I had to cover up windows, make sure the lighting was perfect, and make absolute sure that I wasn't facing a direction where any flashing lights on my computer was interfering. All of those interfered with the tracking of the headset. Too much light, You couldn't track the controllers properly. Two little light, you couldn't track the headset properly. Flashing lights in the room would interview with the controllers as well. Not to mention the FOV of the controller tracking even with the two new cameras is not that great. You can't pull the controllers anywhere close to your face to snipe in VR like you can with any other headset.
How easy/hard is it to setup the tracker and controllers with a G2?
@@shane4954 is it a Pain in the Ass, do not go into buying this headset unless you are prepared to either give up convenience of plug n play, or are prepared to deal with the shitty controllers. Pairing the index controllers is easy, keeping them tracked to the proper playspace isn't. Usually I give my index controllers 20-30 minutes before they just stop working and fly off into the distance mid game. And then I have to get my WMR controllers out and recalibrate them which obviously isn't very convenient nor practical. The right controller just stopped tracking entirely so I am using the shitty WMR controllers now because I have no choice atp
@@yesyes-om1po have had the headset for a few months now and I really like it. Once I learned the blind spots it all good. That’s the only reason I want to get the index controllers and trackers. With a 3080, Reverb G2 and index controllers, it’s gonna be a great headset
@@shane4954 when it works it is the best VR money can buy besides the aero, the main reason I don't like the WMR controllers is the parkinsons effect I get which makes aiming down crosshairs near impossible. The index controllers don't have that problem. However when you lose tracking at all with the index controllers and the g2, the tracking won't recover and you will have to recalibrate which is pretty much unusable to me.
I've been using the G2 version 1 since a couple months since launch, and I put over 3k hours in VRChat alone with the headset and it's definitely good, but certainly has the tracking gripes. I have never actually used the controllers that came with the headset for longer than maybe for a total of 30 minutes. I watched MRTV's guide with the index controllers set up, and so immediately went that route when I bought the headset, because the g2 controllers are definitely e-waste. I'd highly recommend getting index controllers and combining it with this headset and it makes the whole experience so much better it speaks volumes. They even lowered the price from $600, it's definitely worth it as long you can find base stations and index controllers, or for sim stuff.
Same for me. I use the G2 with the index controllers too. It was super easy to setup and calibrate. Works great and I can’t imagine going back to a lower rez headset.
Dude I'm telling you man. The tracking on these things aggravated me so much. I had the original mixed reality headset from Dell. which was one of the better ones besides Samsungs. The tracking on both the controller and the headset are so depending on how much light you have in your room. Too much and you can't track the controllers. Too little And the headset has a hard time tracking where it is. Not to mention, I had to cover up a window completely. I had son that shown through that window every day around the same time. If that controller were to pass through that sunshine. I would completely lose tracking of that controller.
Not related to vr at all, but I like your profile picture lol. I've been listening to that album on repeat for quite a few months straight
Thank you! It's actually the album that got me into AFI
@@confide3734 It took me forever to get into AFI lmao. First song I heard was Miss Murder (just like everyone else), and then Girls Not Grey (also just like everyone else), and then slowly started listening to their other popular songs (Leaving Song Pt II, Silver And Cold, Love Like Winter, etc), but honestly though, the first album I listened to all the way through, was the Blood Album (and despite popular opinions, I really like that album. And I also liked bodies, which came out last summer, but Decemberunderground is my favorite so far. I've been listening to Sing The Sorrow on repeat a lot lately, but Decemberunderground is a whole other level imo. Sorry for this full on paragraph
so, fun fact
I bought one of these like... an hour before you uploaded this.
not even kidding. I've been looking to get in with something enthusiast level for like... 5 years, but I've had to scrape and save to be able to afford it, and... yeah!
Congrats!
@@chocomilkfps1264 I'm really super nervous. I've told myself for years reasons why I shouldn't enter the VR Ecosystem, that I maybe wouldn't get the same out of it as more able bodied individuals...
the desire has never left me, though, and... for how much of a flight sim nut my dad is. I wanted him to try Elite Dangerous in VR at least once before his health has failed him so hard that he is bedridden.
@@ClexYoshi I’m coming off a back surgery myself (at 24yo) so I relate to your concerns. Also it’s really awesome that your dad will get that experience, I hope both you and him love it!
Quest 2 wireless can't deliver the best video quality, but the freedom it deliver is too amazing to ignore. I literally get to the floor in some games
Same here. It's all about the immersion for me and not having a cable is a massive plus. I commonly go entirely prone when playing stuff like Onward and HL Alyx
I would love to have a more clear image while playing wireless vr. But for me this dilemma between "high quality image" and "freedom of movement" is the same as for "good graphics" vs. "high performance" with normal pc-gaming.
Doing slow stuff in a game (like simply walking from A to B) or playing games with not alot of fast movement (like strategy games) resolution matters more than performance. Thats because you have more time for looking at all the available details. Here a difference between 1080p and 4k is night and day.
Doing fast stuff in a game (like being in the middle of combat) or playing generally fast paced games recuded the time in which you could notice low resolutions. You are more focused on e.g. not dying than on the resolutions of textures. Here a difference between 1080p and 4k does not feel like that much.
Regarding wireless vs wired VR: Some people need better image quality to get fully immersed, other peopple need more freedom for the same effect. For me personally its the latter since I tend to be to worried about stepping on the wire (or accidently pulling to hard on it) than actually playing the game. When I tried my first Virtual Desktop experience with my Quest 1 the image quality seemed to be a little bit worse (but could also be just made up by my brain...) but the first thing I noticed was the feeling of freedom. And when I am in action I am more focues on not dying, reloading my magazine, or what ever. I do not notice the lower image quality. The only thing I do notice is when my PC slows down.
Coughs in super hot
I have only played VR with the Quest 2 by first using Virtual Desktop and now Air Link but I just could not imagine playing with a cable attached.
It is not the highest definition display or the greatest FOV but playing games with true freedom of motion by turning my body instead of turning with the controllers brings me great immersion. Spinning around without worrying about twisting up the cable and moving without being afraid of stepping on the cable or damage the cable or port in the headset in any way is just a relief.
The next step up in VR requiring a cable and more than 500$ is a turn off. And with increased resolution of the displayed comes increased requirements on graphics card and as we all probably know that is not an upgrade that I want to do with availability and prices being what they are right now. Maybe in two years or so...
@@thesilenthack quest 2 still has 120hz though. Isn't that pretty big I guess?
Such an underrated and understated headset. I wish they put more effort into marketing as it's easy to forget this exists.
I already want to forget mixed reality headsets even exist. I used to own one of the Dell headsets back when the original mixed reality headsets were out. The tracking lights on these controllers are absolutely terrible. And I hate how they didn't even try to change it.
I wish they put more effort into the controllers.
I have the G2 (version1)... I upgraded from the Samsung Odyssey+ VR system. I use the controllers that came with the Samsung instead of the controllers that came with the G2 because they feel much better and are 100% compatible... I haven't had much problems with dead-spots as well.
Hey...I did the same thing with the controllers. But then I sold the G2 and went back to the Odyssey+, I just couldn't stand the smaller FOV and sweet spot of the G2. Think I'll try the Index next.
@@sixxiom1142 htthj
@@sixxiom1142 I thank you for this as well, I'm concerned about upgrading from my Odyssey+ because I don't want to lose its FOV. I think the only headset that comes close is the Index but I don't have the money to shell out for that.
@@sixxiom1142 Smaller FOV? Smaller than what? I didn't notice any difference between the G2 and the Samsung and the Sweet spot for me was much much bigger than the Samsung. But yes, the FOV of the Index is much better... but the resolution of the Index isn't even come close to the G2. There are always trade-offs.
@@covertpuppytwo3857 Agreed the G2 resolution is great. But the FOV was smaller than the Odyssey+ and the sweet spot for ME was bad. Everyone is different with headsets. I had to angle the G2 upwards on on my head just to get half the sweet spot that I can on the Odyssey+. And yes I did try different face gaskets with the G2..didn't help enough for me to keep it. Like I said...think I'll just get an Index.
As someone who owns the Version 2 of the HP Reverb G2, YES. I've adored this headset since the moment I received it from HP. I also got lucky, as I bought mine during their Black Friday sale, so I got mine for literally $450. Bye bye Oculus! The tracking may be slightly worse, but I'm personally ok with that. :) Thanks for this awesome review, Thrill!!!
Do you play wireless?
@@wjveryzer7985 For some reason, my replies keep getting deleted. XP But I don't care too much about it. I like not having to worry about a battery, so I can play for hours, compared to the Quest 2's simple 2 hours. (This is coming from a previous Quest 2 owner.)
@@TheThunderGhost 2 hours? With the elite strap with battery I get way more
@@TheThunderGhost and personally I think being in vr for more than 2 hours is a little much. For me that is
@@TheThunderGhost isn’t that kinda unfair in comparison wouldn’t you have the quest 2 plugged into computer so battery life wouldn’t matter
Thank you for giving this more attention! I just got the v2 of the reverb g2 and it's so goddamn good. I wish I had gotten it sooner. The tracking is fine and everything else is 10/10
tracking isnt fine, i know this is a 2 year post but ive been daily driving it for 2 years now. it has lack of below HMD sensors meaning you dont get accurate tracking at waist height looking forwards, reloading two handed weapons and shooting them is difficult due to the light sensors getting confused when you layer them like you would holding a rifle. HMD is best visuals for the price but you really need index controllers.
Hey ThrillSeeker! It was nice meeting you in vrchat, thank you for being so kind. Sorry for being so shy haha! -MidnightFoxi
The pandemic is the biggest reason why VR headset sales have reached an all time high over the last two years. Think of how Covid would have been handled if there really was an OASIS.
I came back and watched this, and with this currently on sale for $299 I went with this of the Quest 2 for sure. I didn't really want to spend over $500, so it looks like this was a good buy. Thanks for the detailed review!
Lucky
When I was in the market for a VR heat set early last year, the Index was pretty much never on my radar. For myself, the lower resolution and screen-dooring of older WMR, the CV1, or even the Index was a no go for me. I get headaches when trying to read nameplates in VRChat as my eyes won't stop trying to focus on them at low resolutions. In March of 2021, I was looking at the Cosmo's Elite, HTC Vibe Pro, the HP Reverb G2, and the Quest 2.
Ultimately, the choice came down to the Reverb G2 and the Quest 2 as I valued resolution above every other feature, FOV be damned. Anything was going to be better then my Dell Visor had been. The lack of fully adjustable IPD on the Quest 2 ended up being the deal breaker for me. After factoring the cost of a Quest 2 Elite Strap, other accessories for the controllers, etc... I was pretty close to the cost of a Reverb G2, so I pulled the trigger on the G2. I do not regret the choice.
Now, as my primary game of choice is VRChat, I did end up buying 2.0 Lighthouses, Valve Knuckles, and Vive Tracker 2.0 with batteries at around the same time. This typically requires the house of SpaceCAL and can be a pain to deal with the shifting bounds of the Reverb G2's play space vs the calibration of my other tracking. So, I am now looking at implementing a solution that uses a Vive Tracker directly plugged into a PC to give the headset Lighthouse tracking! More info can be found at this github here: github.com/capilus/HP-Reverb-G2-index-Controller-HTC-vive-tracker-Working-native-Open-VR
Own the G2 V1 and I can't use anything else now. FOV ain't so bad. No many people got for like the index. Can also 3D print a face gasket that improves the fov by 15 degrees and put a vr cover on it. Tracking wise? It works when it needs to work, It doesn't hinder my gameplay at all. The clarity and comfort as well as sound quality makes this thing a instant buy. Once you try it on you will be blown away by the visual clarity. Can't get this clarity for this anywhere. Win for me!
I'm still holding out for that mythical headset that combines high res, good FOV without distortion, base station tracking, and high refresh rate, and possibly OLED, for around Index money. Until then, the Index remains my daily driver.
And the headset that can do that is unfortunately limited by being a console VR headset
@@santhoshsridhar5887 ik your probally talking about something else but if u are talking about psvr.
@@iambored1528 I’m talking about the PSVR2
@@santhoshsridhar5887 oh ok.
I specifically can NEVER recommend the Reverb G2, except for sims, because of the controllers. The lack of capacitive buttons kills half the gestures in VRChat, and thereby makes it impossible to use VR Sign Language.
There is the point that you can hook the knuckles up to it.
You can buy it without Controllers save some money and put it towards Index Controllers
But theyre really expensive
@@pokepokepoke64 yeah. most VR games don't even require capacitive sensors.
Hey Thrill, so, LTT brought up something in a recent video about Linux gaming, and it made me think about this in a VR context as well, and I think it applies here especially. It was this: mainstream users want to be able to pick it up and trust that it will work. They won't spend time re-mapping buttons, they just won't use it. If they only have an hour to relax and play a game, having to spend even just 10 minutes of that configuring a game to work is a MAJOR deal breaker for those users. Your comments about needing to re-map buttons to make the controller work in some games, I think at least, means the G2 is DOA still for a lot of users. They will just go buy a quest instead.
I think that's a big component of why the Quest is still doing so well, and it should probably be part of the conversation...it just works. It's SO flexible and the software interfaces are SO polished that they are able to overcome and incorporate the time-limited users, and until even Valve can get there, THAT is probably more of the deal breaker we are seeing for the PC VR market as a whole.
The button remap is a one-time thing, and SteamVR provides libraries where users can upload their own button maps for others to enable and instantly use. Virtually every game with gun mechanics that I've tried has custom layouts for lefties that don't just mirror the entire control scheme. That's like 5 button presses and 2 minutes of setup at most. Let's not use that as an excuse to drop any discussion of high-quality headsets in favor of the one that already has more than enough recognition and is actively cannibalizing the VR industry as a whole.
@@PopLadd I think you are missing the point of what I'm saying. I'm NOT saying we should be directing people to Meta, I'm saying we need to recognize that the ease of use is a major driving factor for why they are so drastically more successful then others, and we need to be having that conversation when looking at new headsets.
It doesn't matter that there are ways to configure it and get it to work. It doesn't matter that you can set it up once and forget it. What MATTERS to the mass market is that there is a learning curve for one headset, and NO learning curve for the other. They get to go from install to playing on day one, as soon as they unwrap that Christmas/Birthday/whatever reason. 0 configuration required to jump straight in.
Just like on Linux, I can configure a game to work. I can download missing libraries and program workarounds when needed. I'm an enthusiast, and I'm going to do those things because I like to have my cake and eat it too...but the rest of the market doesn't work that way, and as we transition from being a group of enthusiasts to a more diverse platform, we need to start paying attention to what the newcomers are going to run into on day 1, not day 1400+ like we are. It's true for Linux gaming, and it's true for VR as well. We NEED to start calling out companies when they produce sub-par products, because it's those call outs that get fixed.
The reverb G2 is a great example. What WAS the biggest call-out for it before? Bad tracking, and bad facial interface. What did they fix? The tracking, and the facial interface. Other then Thrill, I don't think I heard a single other person mention the problematic button mapping, other then PERHAPS in passing, but not even a full sentence if that.
@@Geoff_W I think many would agree that the most important factors in the adoption of a VR headset are its price tag and mobility, hence why the Quest 2 is the most widely used headset despite its relatively poor graphical capabilities and mandatory Facebook connection; it's the cheapest on the market and is wireless. Since we're using the mass market as the primary focus here; no parent who's Christmas shopping for their kid is going to compare a $300 wireless headset with a $600 wired headset and go "the Quest 2 has a more user-friendly interface, so I should go with that". They're going to jump for the cheapest option no matter what, because that's what matters most to the mass market.
I'm confused by your last paragraph because it seems like you go on to contradict your main point, you're saying consumers *don't* actually seem to care about the bad button mapping? What's all this about it being a make-or-break issue for prospective VR players then? Am I missing something obvious here?
@@PopLadd I really can't disagree more about it being ALL about price. If it were, then people would be giving Google cardboards, not quest 2. You and I know what real VR is, but little Timmy's parents from your example just don't.
What ACTUALLY happens is non-enthusiast media give their take, and little Timmy's parents but what Oprah or Amazon or whoever recommend...and THOSE are the people who just don't care that there is a Facebook login required, because it's EASY. They look at something that works in their weird use case and can't be bothered to set up base station tracking or getting a PC together that can ACTUALLY handle good VR. They either dismiss it as bad based on that, or else try it sub-optimally and decide the Quest is a better solution because it's the best EXPERIENCE for their use case. It's the most user friendly.
As for my last paragraph, I'm not sure where you are thinking the contradiction is? It still reads correctly to me. The things the G2 V2 fixed from V1 are the things the enthusiasts called out as being problematic. My comment is about the fact that we need to start calling out non-user-intuitive problems as larger problems if we want PC VR to go mainstream. Otherwise it's going to continue to wither and die.
@@Geoff_W "Other then Thrill, I don't think I heard a single other person mention the problematic button mapping, other then PERHAPS in passing, but not even a full sentence if that"
Nothing in that sentence or the rest of the paragraph implies that you wish for people to start addressing user friendliness as a larger issue and I'm not sure how you think it does. You just said that other issues were fixed because enough people complained about them, while nobody complains about the user-friendliness, which just demonstrates how little people actually care about it. I can't see this tangent going anywhere meaningful though, so back to the main point;
Ignoring the fact that parents are already being barraged with ads on social media for the Q2 and the Q2 alone, they're likely to google something along the lines of "top tech gifts 2021", where the first Amazon results page lists the Q2 as one of the first items. If they instead search "cheapest vr headsets", they're met with top-10 lists for budget headsets that give a good rundown of each item and clearly state that Google Cardboard or similar are extremely limited in function and that you (the general reader) are probably better off getting something in the PCVR or standalone VR realm. And since you think price isn't an issue for the average consumer, even searching "vr headsets" by itself lists the G2, Pimax, Q2, and Cosmos Elite before anything. I think it's pretty safe to say parents are exposed enough to real VR that they know Google Cardboard is just a little gimmick.
"They either dismiss it as bad based on that, or else try it sub-optimally and decide the Quest is a better solution because it's the best EXPERIENCE for their use case. It's the most user friendly."
If they're willing to try again with another, better headset (unlikely, as a bad first experience often turns people off for good), then it cycles back to the price point. The average consumer doesn't have thousands of dollars to go shopping around buying numerous headsets to find the one that fits their particular interests. They go for the cheapest option, and if they don't like what they get and still want to try again, they go for another one of the cheaper options. The average consumer simply doesn't care about button layouts and user-friendliness, they want something cheap that can play the games they want to play. Weird control schemes are not the reason for the "withering and dying" of PCVR.
I extensively used the Reverb G2 and it was an incredibly solid and durable headset. Though the controller tracking wasnt that great with admittedly terrible deadzones (no base stations), I did appreciate the battery life.
Getting off from work into VRchat I often slept in bed with it nearly every night. The G2 never broke in spite a solid year of abuse, where friends of mine went through stuff like needing multiple cord or controller replacements for their Index.
I hope the V2 is just as durable for those that want it, but the new controllers being even less user friendly are a definate turn off.
I own the Index and the HP-Reverb G2 and I have to say the reverb is an awesome headset for the price though compared to the index and other headsets the field of view is pretty (Bad?) and the sweetspot is also quiet small.
One more thing to say; if you want to play games like beatsaber with the included controllers dont expect to hit anything, since the tracking is sadly a little poopie
As an owner of the G2 version 1 I'd like to point out that it's more than possible to 100% Expert Plus songs in beatsaber with the G2 tracking. It isn't perfect but it's really not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.
I wonder if I can buy the version 2 gasket and stick it on my version 1.
@@YannMack Thats true, though I think theres a night and day differnce between Steam Basestation tracking / oculus tracking and hp reverb camera tracking.
(headgasket should fit)
@@ry4n903 100% Nothing stands up to steam base station tracking.
I've seen people get the base station + index controller combo working with their G2. Sounds like the best of both worlds, hoping to upgrade sometime in 2023-2024 if roomscale tracking prices come down.
@@YannMack Sorry Kenny, it's a different design so the attachment is also different, you can't attach a G2V2 faceplate to a G2V1. I opted for the VRCovers solution and you get a thick and thin leather padding onto their own custom gasket which can also improve FoV.
Yup had the G2 it was CLEAR..but the small sweet spot ruined it for me..plus the controllers was meh.. (had a Rift S) But now sold back the G2 and got a Quest 2 .. and oh GOD the sweet spot is HUGE so its a really good mix between Rift S and G2...thing i hate is the battery on this crap.. "Out of battery = No more VR for you!" Ugh...
Thanks for mentioning the glasses spacer, I forgot to remove mine since I wear contacts now.
This industry is so focused on making VR available for $300 and all I want is an absolute kickass untethered headset.
It's like if you have money, you only get tethered hardware built for you and it's so stupid to split it up that way.
Where is my kickass $1000 untethered HMD? Hoping Gaben saves us.
@@Quayledant it is pretty much the same as the quest 2 but heavier though
@@Quayledant Vive Focus 3 is 90Hz. That completely kills it for me.
@@Quayledant is it significantly better when weight balanced? I would like to try it when weight balanced.
Just got this headset last week as my first ever PC VR headset and this video comes out just in time! I will definetely look into getting capacitive feedback controllers but for the rest I'm thrilled!
I love it for Flight and Racing sims and its good enough for Half Lyfe Alyx. Updated controllers would have been great. Alos, I believe the cable update was for AMD CPUs not GPUs as I had issues using my Ryzen build with the orignal cable.
I like racing games, I bought HTC Vive Cosmos Elite first because I thought that any headset would be way better than what I've experienced in the past. My only VR experience before this was Oculus Rift DK1 in 2014'ish. Cosmos Elite didn't have enough resolution for racing, you couldn't see far enough and felt like you we're driving blind. Then I swapped it for the Reverb G2 V2 and oh boy, this is what I was expecting VR to be in 2023. I was a bit afraid of the tracking but it's awesome, so far it has actually been better than the Cosmos Elite with one base station 2.0.
I remember debating between the G2 and the quest 2 when they both first came out, but right now if I had a Vr-ready graphics card this would probably be the play tbh. Screen clarity is everything sometimes. Am a bit iffy about the 90fps though, I mean most quest apps are 90 but there's that possibility for more apps to start using 120 in the future. One thing I will say though, idk if this is still a problem but when I had a G1, the deadzones provided problems when trying to do the 'cover mouth' mechanic in HL:Alyx.
since were using (if i had vr ready graphics card) most likely meaning if i had the money..why not use that power and get Varjo? if not that atleast pimax 8kx
@@ssj3vegett0 Not every VR ready GPU costs $1500.
@@anirvana ik lol, just comes across as if it were.
For me, I've only owned 90 Hhz VR headsets and I have to say this refresh rate has never caused a problem. Also how often are you going to run PC games in VR at over 90 fps anyway? Tracking has improved greatly from G1 to G2 and again it's better with the G2v2 but yeah inside out tracking can't scan controllers close you your face, Oculus has some very clever software that guesses where the controllers may be based on partial data/loss of tracking and they've refined that with the Quest 2 so that's an obvious advantage for them.
you can turn quest 2 up to 120 fps now , if you had a capable GPU.
This is on sale on HP's website for 350 bucks right now. It seems like a no brainer for someone like me upgrading from a Rift S generation headset. Thanks for the review!
"The VR market has honestly been crazy this year" - video posted Jan 3.
Sorry for the nitpick - thank you for the content!
The BEST LOOKING VR headset, is whatever you have!!! ANY VR is good VR. The fun is in the community and the 6DoF games. It's not in the graphics.
That said, when I went from Vive OG to Index, I was unwilling to go back in graphics. So get the best you can, but don't "wait" for something better. But the "fun" never changes, it's always been awesome, and that's my point.
Unless the vr headset has a crappy framerate and is blurry as hell
Bad take, there is such a thing as objective quality
Utter rubbish. I’m guessing you’re 15 or close?
Just lemme grab the VR I got and put my phone in it
It's scary at this point. The moment I think about what upcoming VR headset to consider, you upload a video :O
I have the old g2 and theres a thing i wanted to mention in this video and the last thrill mentioned that even with a rtx 3090 its hard to reach the native refresh rate but i think that is just some nvidia problem because i had a rtx 3080 and tried using it with that headset and it was quite an awful experience but with a 6800xt and 5700xt its quite realistic hitting 90 fps with native resolution or 80% resolution
I don’t know how to explain it but your channel is my favourite vr you tubers it just relaxes me it’s always a joy to see you upload
Also 4:02 istg that’s literally a human hand geez technology has really advanced
ALSOOO your nails look nice
I just got an hp reverb g2 v2 and it is such an upgrade from the quest 1 I had earlier. The only thing I thought was not as good were the controllers because they are larger than the oculus touch controllers I had earlier. This makes them a lot heavier and annoying to hold for long periods of time. Also, the setup was really frustrating. The instructions you get out of the box are really not that helpful, so I just searched on the internet how to set it up. Otherwise I honestly couldn’t recommend it anymore. It is really comfortable, great sound quality, really high resolution, and a good price being in the middle of the quest 2 and the index.
Keep in mind: FOV does not really matter to me because I have glasses.
"Couldn't recommend it anymore" (as in, couldn't recommend it any longer) Or "can't recommend it more/can't praise it enough (as there is no room to go higher as it is maxed out)"
Not sure, but I think you mean the latter.
Thanks for the comment about the glasses and fov.
What do you use for lenses? Any tips there?
@@lelsewherelelsewhere9435 I don’t use any lenses, I just have the headstrap adjusted to fit my glasses while in vr.
@@lelsewherelelsewhere9435 I meant “can’t praise it enough”, I think it’s a very good headset. Sorry for the confusion.
i have a g2, im reeaaalllllyyy looking forward for something like a Index 2.
I dont want to downgrade my visuals to an index, but the controlls and basically everything else would be better
I was looking at the G2V2 (sounds like a droid name) for racing sims. As such the controllers are not going to be an issue as much since my hands will be on a Force Feedback wheel. The FOV may be more of an issue for flight sim people like in DCS, but clarity for reading the gauges and displays is definitely a bonus. I’m not one for VR chat so I think the G2V2 will fit my needs and budget a lot more than other VR headsets out there right now.
I just bought one for an upgrade from my Lenovo Explorer (LE). The HP Reverb G2 is onsale for $400 for labor day. I am excited as this is going to be a hugh improvement over the LE. Plus if I run into a problem of not having any compasitive buttons on the controller, I can just connect the ones from my LE which does have them.
How is it? I have Lenovo Explorer too and I was thinking about getting this as an upgrade. It's on sale rn with the student discount for $339
I have to say your dedication to VR and the way you deliver your videos in a timely manner with extremely satisfying and chaotic editing are really nice and really say a lot about you. Everything is well compacted in your videos, well done sir!!!
Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️
ITS FINALY HERE (i bought this for myself a week ago and i love it) i got the v2
The editing in this video and the visuals were amazing!!
And the fact that you don't need wmr software anymore w the g2 is really good imo bc it saves up ram :00
I bought it a week ago on sale, thank you for validating my purchase thrill :')
It's my first VR headset. Absolutely no regrets. Did my research before and I'm glad, that my opinion is shared here too. Visual qality was a deciding factor here, the rest - a compromise. Maybe later we will see a better version.
Man I am so happy I am a part of your channel. Your content is interesting, entertaining, informative, and down right quality. Keep up the good work dude.
Hey ThrillSeeker, I've been wondering, if I'm ever rich, I'll want the best in all categories of VR (headset, controllers, full body tracking, audio, the catwalk, the things that make you feel things...); is it possible to combine parts from different manufacturers? For example, if I was rich now, I'd want the Varjo Aero and Index controllers but can they work together? I much prefer the concept of base stations to tracking from the headset so can I just buy the stations and have them work? Also, is more stations better? I had some tracking trouble with 2 when I got to try out the Vive pro so if I buy 4 stations, will tracking work better?
The bits of cushion that go between your face and the headset, are there sport variants of them? When I had the Vive pro, one of my favourite games was Windlands 2 but the problem was that it wouldn't take long for me to be absolutely soaked in sweat and it always got in my eyes which hurt. Have you seen any good solutions for dealing with the sweat? I'd imagine you'd need something that goes all the way down to your eyebrows and halfway around your eyes to be really effective.
As long you combine lighthouse tracked stuff like Index and Vive you are fine. 2 lighthouse stations are enough for a single room. You would only need more for something like a warehouse.
And about sweat: there are aftermarket solutions that provide some airflow or even some fan contraptions like the Kiwi fans for the Index and that really helps. Personally I run my index with a silicone cover AND a cotton VRCover over it, so I can wash and swap it and the original interface does not get soaked. Also the Frunk fans help a lot!
Yes, theoretically you can use anything on SteamVR.
please do a room/ setup tour. I want to know what an ideal play area looks like, and gadgets/ accessories you have.
Man all it needs is the ability to use index controllers and optional base stations and it's a winner for me
It can, you just need to set up the controllers the same way you would for any other headset that isnt made for them
It can
It can work with index knuckles
you actually can do that
Just got mine for 300 bucks in sale, thanks for letting me know what to expect
For me, when buying my new headset back in August, it was between the G2 or the cosmos, lighthouse tracking was simply not an option with my play area.
But I've been playing with it ever since in mainly vrchat but also SIM racing and it's been such an amazing experience.
Only thing I bought for it was a 3rd party face gasket for the wider fov and cause the material on the official gasket agitates my face.
A tip for anyone considering one of these for vrchat, you can use the older wmr controllers with it. Which has a trackpad like the Vive wands for gestures but also a joystick for movement, I did this for a while but eventually just found a community rebind on steam for the normal ones and it works pretty well.
I hope to add slime vr to it for more fun in the future
Same here. Lighthouse tracking was not a thing for me let alone I didn't have the money. I bought back in the day one of the original Dell mixed reality headsets used off of eBay. They flooded the eBay market because they immediately flopped in a lot of places. This is back in the infancy of VR when gorn was a beta test. The tracking on a mixed reality headset controller is absolutely terrible. Too much light and you have control of tracking issues. Too little light and you have headset tracking issues. If the sun shining through your window you best make sure you're avoided otherwise your controllers aren't going to track properly. ALSO, God fucking forbid you have the flashing light in your house somewhere. IT TOOK ME DAYS TO FIGURE OUT WHY EVERY TIME I FACE A CERTAIN DIRECTION MY CONTROLLERS WOULD JUST COMPLETELY BUG OUT.
@@Dtr146 oh yeah, I bought the Dell one not long after launch, used it like twice then put it away untill half way through 2021. Worst part of those ones is the halo band doesn't work with my head and holds the headset a good half inch away from my face. Not to mention no inbuilt Microphone.
But when I used it a few times in 2021 and enjoyed vrchat, I knew I needed a better headset. And thankfully the G2 has way better tracking than the Dell visor. And fits way better.
I got the notification that thrill has came out with a new video, but I’m driving my car and I don’t want to watch it on my phone all of thrills content deserves to be watched on a big screen and good sound.
this video hit ALL the key points! i recently returned this head set mainly due to tracking and controllers short comings . it's for someone just not me. thank you for the content!
The HP Reverb G2V2 is not $499 anymore.
It was on sale, it is now $599. I understand the video can't be updated, but it's something to keep in mind.
I upgraded to a reverb g2 over an index a while ago because I wanted the better visuals. Although the controllers are better than vive wands, I plan on picking up the index controllers to use with it.
Are they better than vive wands though? I was going to pair my old vive wands and 1.0 base stations with the G2
@@joek292 Yeah, in my opinion they're better because they have a more standard control scheme, finger tracking, and they're just much more ergonomic, so you'll likely find them to be more comfortable in the hand.
@@joek292 oh, my bad, I assumed you were referring to the index controllers. Yeah, whether the g2 controllers are better or not is entirely debatable, but I do find them to be better from my experience since the control scheme is more similar to other VR controllers.
I will have a job from April to October and with that money I will buy the best possible VR system as my personal little reward. The best Headset and full body tracking.
I never experience VR but if I step in the beautiful world of VR, I want the best possible experience. I can't wait for it!
I'm a gamer since I was a little Boy. More than 15 years ago.
This step means so much to me... I'm so excited!
get a varjo or pimax HMD and index controllers and lighthouses. gonna cost ya about about 2500 USD. then ya need a PC that can run it and thats another 3k USD. This is if you want the best. I'm happy with the index setup and can always upgrade only the HMD at a future date.
Ahh i wish there was a budget pc vr headset for like 400$ that had good tracking and capacitive sensors
Just get the quest 2
*cries in discontinued rift*
Bought a second-hand rift S for $180 as my first headset last year, the tracking is amazing for not requring base stations
Hope there will be a upgrade for me in 2022
@@broodlingg i know man it sucks so much i wish it was still sold
@@lastbornrelic3430 No thanks.
you described my exact situation in the beginning of the video. Literally the most perfect timing ever.
>thrill seeker
>wears mask alone in own house
THANK YOU! I got this very headset for christmas and love it!
I wish the revised hp reverb g2 used a usb-c to break out box or something (maybe even straight usb-c like the varjo). as a rift s owner, having a proprietary hard to buy cable is a bad idea for VR headsets. that's honestly my main critique............especially given how much wear and tear vr cables can go through
It uses a display port cable??? From my knowledge that's not proprietary or hard to buy.
@@kitics3643 Thats incorect. ONLY the pc end uses display port. On the headset end it's proprietary. if the headset cable is damaged, you can't just buy a display port cable. as hp is using a proprietary connection on the side that connects to the headset........and only hp makes the cable (its only display port on the side that connects to the pc)
@@legendp2011 ohhhh, got it. Makes sense then
Just picked this up for 299 on HP's black Friday sale, can't wait to try it out! Thanks for the review!
same! I hope the shipping doesn't take as long as it says =)
This video could not have had better timing
its the opposite for me, i just got the g2v1 last week
My good old Oculus Rift S is starting to give me more and more issues at the point where I think its dying on me. (constantly having to reset play ground, sometimes no image at all, weird pixels, etc etc) I am only using it for PCVR, but dont want to pay 1000+ USD for it again. I saw the HP Reverb G2 reviews, but they really were all over the place. Its great to see that this Revern G2 V2 has been recently released and most reviews are finally positive :) I was playing a heavilly modded Skyrim VR, so I guess I will continue to play it on a HP Reverb G2 V2! Thanks for the review!
The Reverb G2 is so close to the ideal headset for me. Excellent visual quality, convenient inside out tracking for quick setup, and shares some elements with the Valve Index.
It seems like a great device that's being held back by the windows mixed reality controllers-If they do make a G3 they should ditch windows mixed reality completely if possible. I would get the Quest 2 but I hate the intrusive Oculus software that constantly runs in the background and I feel uncomfortable with the lizard man Mark Zuckerberg watching my every move.
I hope Valve releases an inside out headset closer to the $400-$600 range with some form of capacitive touch controllers.
Does the G2 require bases? Or is it just the cord for PC and stand alone like quest?
I've had a quest 2 for a year and got to use my brother's reverb g2 (not v2 unfortunately) for the past 5 months, and overall, i definitely prefer the quest 2
As far as controllers go (probably my biggest issue with the headset) :
- The g2's controllers have a much lower tracking volume, controllers completely lose tracking around the waist and around my forehead, left and right side works well
- the battery life is so much worse, it needs two batteries per controller but only lasts a few days, compared to the quest 2's which lasts a few weeks
- the tracking itself is usable but isn't great, especially for stuff like beat saber, basically unusable for some songs in extreme (the straps getting lose all the time doesn't help either)
and all of that is on top of the missing capacitive buttons
Of course the screen is great, comfort is better, audio and resolution are better than on the quest 2, but you can't plug in your own headphones and the lenses have a smaller sweet spot
paired with valve knuckles it is objectively better, but on it's own, it felt more like a downgrade than an upgrade
if g2v2 had quest2 controllers and tracking this would definitely be a really really good headset
Yo! I was literally about to ask about a review for this headset! Perfect timing man!
RUclipsrs love to rave about the $299 Quest 2 but they forget to mention the loads they spent on getting the type-c cable, headstrap, facecover, and upgraded audio. The weight begins to shoot up. Yeah there’s the wireless option with some tradeoffs but you also need to buy a decent WiFi 6 5Ghz router. There is no screen door effect in the G2 if that matters to some people.
it's an all in one easy thing to use regardless, yes I don't have any of the upgrades or a PC. but I can still see getting it over any other with it's price, ease of use, and value for what you get
@@mariomason95 I don’t want to hate on the Quest 2 but wish there was less incentivized feedback covering the competition. Everyone has different budgets and setups from beginner to enthusiast. Some value privacy above all else. Some wear glasses (Arpara AIO). We also have the Pico Neo 3 Pro AIO. This one has an actual display port for PC users.
You honestly don't need to spend much with the Quest. Pleather face cover cost me $14. The head strap I got the Vive DAS which cost me $100 and came with the premium audio. Never bought a Link cable since I use VD to play PCVR and didn't have to buy another router, I just use an old basic Asus router that doesn't have Wifi 6 and ANY router from the last 5-10 years will have the 5Ghz band lmao. I have zero lag when playing wirelessly streamed to my Quest and stuff like Alyx looks damn fantastic. I'm sure it would look better on an Index I don't doubt but I'm nowhere near the cost of the Index AND I have the option of portability (which I make good use of) and able to do it all without wires. It's hard to argue the value proposition that the Quest offers.
That’s why I feel the G2 V2 is a good value proposition for PCVR at $399 that’s a little overlooked. It’s one of the lightest HMD that has all the comfort, real IPD, audio, and color / clarity included. It has a slight bump in FOV too with the magnetic spacer removed which is more noticeable over my Rift S.
@@tomoprime217 Oh you're definitely not wrong, it just depends on where your priorities are.
This is the best VR headset for Simming hands down (speaking from experience). Fantastic audio, fantastic picture, and if your other peripherals are bought, this is the best there is for the price right now
I have the quest 2, and I love it. But I wanted something that looks better, specifically for sim drifting, and this is what I landed on. Having better fov would be nice, but as I am short on space, the resolution plus self tracking is what convinced me. Can't wait to hunt some doors in this thing 😊
Nice review. Happy New Year Thrill and Thrill-FAM!
There are no budget PCVR headsets when you look at absolutely insane price of GPU's required to run VR properly.
thanks for the video man I ordered one of these last night and your video helped me get it I'm excited my first vr headseat
My biggest issue with the G2 is the lack of wireless, same with the index
After going wireless I just can't go back
I actually feel like anything other than the quest 2 is a waste of money.
Solely because it`s wireless..
@@breeknow I just bought the Quest 2 to replace my Quest with the biggest deciding factor being the wireless. Tried playing Phasmophobia the other night with my tethered Quest 1 and my cable got stuck on something. So every time I tried to turn I had to yank on the cable to unstick it. I'm really just buying the Quest 2 to have something better while I wait for the next-gen VR headsets be it Project Cambria from Meta, Valve's Deckard, or the Pimax 12K. All of which should have wireless options with far better displays.
I never ended up using the Q2 wirelessly because of the quality over the air. It was fine over link but even then the compression was noticeable. I moved the G2 earlier this year and prefer the clarity.
@@treemium1467 never had that problem. Had many disconnects over cable. Wireless is flawless for me. The compression is noticed only if you look for it, which doesn’t happen. But I use virtual desktop, airlink is useless.
The thing is, I can’t use tethered HMDs, the experience is just not immersive. For me, particularly, it’s the biggest issue with vr today.
FOV, is another issue with the quest, but it doesn’t really ruin immersion because you can always pretend you’re wearing protection goggles or something :)
That said, I’d really enjoy a dedicated g2 for simulators. It’d indeed be cool, because of the sitting position and lack of moving around.
I really think vr headsets will all be wireless and have minimun 4k micro-oled screens and some variation of pancake lenses in the future.
We need the rtx 4000 series to kick off next gen, though.
@@nihren2406 maybe these won’t be too expensive. The clarity on the quest 2, for the price, is unbeatable. Hopefully, with the popularizarion of vr, the price of hmds will lower. Who knows.
If I were to be completely rational though, those you mentioned would be too much for me to afford.
Just so you have an Idea, where I live, the quest 2, costs half a months salary of a university professor.
It’s no joke.
The index costs as much as a 300cc motorcycle!
So, my observations, of course, take these factors into account.
This answered everything I needed to know about it, thanks so much!
G2 V2 works in it's VR PC bubble. Unfortunately it won't exactly beat quest 2, it's got too much versatility over the G2, and well still speaking higher screen specs and being just a better G2 it's still a screen to your face that still gets it's input from a very large tower right near you. A tower costing a painful $2000 right in this market.
It's the high cost weight of VR content that still pushes everyone to a quest 2. We haven't gotten any true hardware optimizing VR content, besides the quest 2s own XR2 made for XR. We haven't gotten anything on our PC graphics cards that properly tries to pull performance on the hardware level to specifically VR content. It's still very shoehorned in.
Right, i don't know how someone can even compare Quest 2 to G2
It’s fine I’m glad you poors can enjoy the surveillance Meta 2 lol 😂
@@bobdole2184 er, i mean i really enjoy a vast variety of content and that i can use Qust both for Steam VR and standalone games. Thanks for caring 🙂
I haven't watched the whole video, just the introduction, but this sure looks like the video for me. Thank you Thrill!
I have the original first get G2, really upset that although HP know the issues, they forget their original customers and don’t offer anything to them. It would have been respectful if they could offer some update to help improve tracking and offer the higher FOV face shield for free to customers that ask for it. As good as the picture quality is, I’m very disappointed that they don’t care for their customers that invested money on the g2. 😔
The G2 is shit either way
@@beanos2287 have you tried it?
@@Nick-gr1rc yes, I owned one.
I using a community button layout for VRChat. So i can use alle emotes.
Im very happy with this Headset and i planning to use it a long time
HDMI 2.1 is 48Gbps, WiFi 6E is nearly 2.5Gbps. even with a 4x4 MIMO adapter pushing multiconnection with MU-MIMO technology there is no way you're getting wireless headsets without compression. i hear you can increase the quest 2's USB bitrate with some tool; but the USB on the Q2 is like 600MB/s in speed, vs HDMI 2.1 at 6GB/s. and even if the headset could max its screens at HDMI 2.0, you're still talking 2.5GB/s worth of raw data.
Even if they use Wigig or something, currently the bottleneck is the GPU encoding, you could have all the bandwith you want, but if you need to encode the image, you are fucked.
@@Steam_VR no offence but thrill was complaining about noticing lag and compression over wifi; and your point is false, i encode stuff all the time; GPU's aren't a bottleneck at all; even a 10Gbe router only hits ~1.2GB/s; the bottleneck is, and always will be, bandwidth.
and TL;DR for everyone. my argument is about pure native signal; not only will it not fit over any current or planned wifi specs, and most importantly, anytime cheaply, but there simply is no amount of compression that will cut down six gigabytes per second to anything near wifi speeds without signal degradation or induced lag from the physics of the universe conspiring against us to ruin all our fun ideas. the speed of energy in a medium be a cruel mistress.
Bro, honestly it's just the Quest 2 vs the G2 for me. I'm mad I missed the $400 sale for the G2 but man I still want it.
what did he mean by last wmr headset? Latest? or is wmr going away? Reverb has gone on sale so many times, it's really tempting at $400 and if I'd noticed it hit $350 I probably would have pulled the trigger. Or if the fov was better, the other shortcomings I don't actually mind. Great channel, subbed!
First
NOOOOO
Noooooooo
NOOOO
Nah I was
Looking my comment
$400 on amazon, and was $300 on hp's website during cyber monday! best PCVR headset out rn!
Why are you wearing a mask in your house?
Don't wanna get canceled lol
I just got mine and after hours of troubleshooting it works great.
The most annoying issue was actually unrelated to the headset itself, but Ryzen CPUs' issue of randomly disconnecting USB devices. When this would happen, the headset would momentarily not be seen by the PC, which would either cause the tracking to go bonkers or outright crash Steam VR.
This was fixed by going into the BIOS settings and forcing the PCI-E Gen 4 slots to run in Gen 3 mode. After that I haven't had a single crash or loss of tracking. If you are running a Ryzen system and are having these issues consider trying this fix.
Now that it works i am thoroughly impressed with the G2 for the $400 that I paid for it. The controllers track very well within the view of the headset. Unless you're trying to play competitively, I'd say these controllers work well enough in Pavlov VR (and presumably other VR FPS games) to have fun despite their limited range of tracking compared to outside-tracked controllers. The headset itself tracks head movement perfectly, and looks great. 90hz is plenty smooth for me. Only got slightly dizzy playing Project Wingman, so i feel like if flying jets in circles doesn't get me sick nothing will. If you're on the fence about getting this as your first headset, I would say go for it as long as you're willing to do a little legwork to get it running optimally.
dude wears a mask in his own home
Its to help the emmersion of vr
He doesn’t wanna show his face😅
Have you ever heard of privacy? Dude doesn't want to show his face to millions of people and it's 100% understandable
im looking to mainly just play vr chat and beat saber would this be a good buy? i have a quest 2 right now but hate the quality on it.
Why are you wearing a mask
It's part of his outfit
Thank you for this review! I was trying very hard to find a Reverb G2 but now I'm not so sure it's the way to go.
Were you seriously sitting in a room, alone, wearing a mask? Asking for a friend.
Yeah its his thing that he does
So, I got one of these 3 weeks ago. Last week my cable decided it hated life and died.
There are no replacements available. I now have a $650 brick.
HP support has been incredibly unhelpful, and I have a backorder on the cable for 3 months from some local vendor.
(Yes, I was using a cable management system)
painted finger nails and mask. Looks like someone who specifies pronouns lol
Yeah and it’s sir to you.
@@ThrillSeekerVR it continues lol
LOVE THE INTRO
Might be a bit late asking it here, but, could you maybe make a video on PSVR2 and everything we know so far / expectations???