Was the HP Reverb ever resuscitated?
Updated: Oct 28, 2022 8:01 am
Ah yes, the HP Reverb G2 V2, the VR gaming headset that time forgot. We thought we’d revisit the HP Reverb G2, as all the recent news about the Meta Quest Pro and PSVR 2 has got us in quite the Virtual Reality tizzy.
HP Reverb G2 V2
Resolution
2160 x 2160 per-eye
The HP Reverb G2 had a troubled beginning, released in 2019 and flanked on all sides by competitors from more well-known brands such as Meta, Valve, and PlayStation.
Its initial release was met with a lot of bad reviews, citing the price, performance, and build quality all coming in significantly under par.
NOW READ: Meta Quest Pro vs PSVR 2
Despite this, HP held in and actually tried their damndest to fix the issues that plagued their first go at virtual reality.
The first and most noticeable issue was the tracking, specifically the vertical tracking as it was known to be lacking, leading to a 30% increase in coverage.
Additionally, the original HP Reverb G2 had some serious issues with AMD systems. given that there are only 2 main CPU companies, so extensive issues with 1 of them are of course going to be a major problem.
Other issues included, but were not limited to:
- Stuttering/jumping
- The speakers would break
- Frying motherboards
- disconnecting controllers
- SteamVR compatibility issues
- Analog sticks getting stuck
- Move too much and the headset would disconnect
- Move too little and the headset won’t register any of your movements
HP Reverb G2 V1 vs V2. What’s changed?
After getting shouted at for all these issues, HP released the HP Reverb G2 V2, which was said to fix all the problems users commonly experienced with the original.
The horizontal FOV (field of view) was increased to 98° from the original, fairly paltry 82°. The vertical FOV also grew, going from 78° to 88°. This presumably helped to fix those vertical tracking issues we mentioned earlier.
However, the FOV limiting the tracking range of the controllers is a problem of the past for contemporary VR headsets like the Meta Quest Pro, which features controllers that track themselves. However, given that the Meta Quest Pro price is $1500, not a lot of people can afford to take advantage of these innovative controllers.
HP Reverb G2 V2
Resolution
2160 x 2160 per-eye
Has the HP Reverb G2 gotten better?
Yes. HP released the HP Reverb G2 V2, which fixed almost all the issues that where present on the first version.
Is the HP Reverb G2 V2 4K?
Yes. With a combined resolution of 3664 x 3840, we consider the HP Reverb G2 V2 4K, though due to VR headsets having two displays it’s always tricky to make it official.
