HTC Vive Cosmos VR Headset - A major leap in the world of Virtual Reality?
HTC Vive Cosmos VR Headset Specifications, Price, Comparison, Review, Design and more.
The path of VR is very less explored by the majority ever since it made its first debut, but the fact will change very soon as competent brands like HTC and Oculus are seriously dedicated in the development of VR (headset) and are much into renovating the past VR experience and by this renovation brand is augmenting, smoothening, and more importantly making experience optically soothing and eye-friendly. HTC Vive was a major breakthrough in the world of VR as it made VR headsets commercial and was something more than the common VR headsets that use mobile phones’ display to show flattery dynamic views. The formers of this kind (which used to screen of mobile phones or even the ones which had the low-resolution inbuilt screens for each eye) were criticized for the screen door effect. The 1st generation VR headsets were just fancy for a flash or say ephemeral and not the thing for everybody or every day.
The HTC Vive Cosmos, a recent addition to the list, stands at some different place as it is the three years of hard work from HTC which says bye-bye to the screen door effect and takes the VR experience to the next step by bringing increment in the Field of view as well as motion space. The HTC Vive Cosmos also comes with some unexpected flaws or incapabilities for instance; it can only work with a high-end PC and hardly with a mobile phone which was distinctively claimed by the brand in the past.
Design and Features: HTC Vive Cosmos VR Headsets
The first impression of the HTC Vive Cosmos brings blue as a whole, as it not only comes in blue color but the appearance can make the viewer fall in Blues because of the presence of infinite triangular holes and 6 cameras that doesn’t suit it. The countering thing is that the Headset comes with a pair of attached headphones that sound great but not the perfect.
The design of the HTC Vive Cosmos VR headset seems unique but actually is the amalgamation of the Oculus Rift S and Valve Index. The HTC Vive Cosmos does not come with external trackers but instead boards multiple cameras to get the same job done and this resembles the Rift S. On the other hand unlike Rift S and like Valve Index it brings along high-resolution displays for each eye and bundles itself with the standardized Oculus Touch Controller.
The appearance drawbacks can get compensated by the experience it brings as it features two displays of resolution 1440 X 1700 for each eye and it also increases the field of view to 110 degrees. The two cameras placed at either side and four at the front makes the room bigger by increasing the track field to 310 degrees. The Vive Cosmos can be improved at the UI front and more importantly at the accuracy of tracking the motion through cameras. The front portion that remains in front of the eyes can be speedily flipped above the head to get aware of the real ambiance without fully removing the headset off. The inside out tracking feature is the key feature of the HTC Vive Cosmos as it speeds up all the processes to illustrate one: setting up the headset becomes damn easy. The rest of the tracking is done by cameras which arbitrarily selects the reference points.
The controllers and the integration with the Headset
The headset cameras’ track the controller using the distinctive light patterns and it works well in proper lighting condition but the headset struggles to do the same when the hands (controllers) are brought very close to it and easily loses the track of motion and the virtual hands (in the games) may seem stuck for a while until the headset gets it right again. The remapping time can still be improved.
Specifications
| Headset Specs | |
| Brief Highlights: | 1. Unprecedented presence with 3D spatial audio |
| 2. Stay immersed comfortably with higher display resolution, easy-to-use headset & cable design, and improved ergonomics | |
| 3. Chaperone technology | |
| Screen: | Dual 3.4" diagonal |
| Resolution: | 1440 x 1700 pixels per eye (2880 x 1700 pixels combined) |
| Refresh rate: | 90 Hz |
| Field of view: | Maximum 110 degrees |
| Audio: | Stereo Headphone |
| Input: | Integrated microphones, Headset button |
| Connections: | USB-C 3.0, DP 1.2, Proprietary Connection to Mods |
| Sensors: | G-sensor |
| Gyroscope | |
| IPD sensor | |
| Ergonomics: | Flip-up visor |
| Adjustable IPD | |
| Adjustable headstrap | |
| Controller Specs | |
| Sensors: | Built-in sensor: |
| Gyro and G sensors | |
| Hall sensor | |
| Touch Sensors | |
| Input: | System button |
| 2 Application buttons | |
| Trigger | |
| Bumper | |
| Joystick | |
| Grip Button | |
| Battery: | 2x AA Alkaline Batteries |
| Requirements | |
| Standing / Seated: | No min. space requirements |
| Room-scale: | Minimum is 2m x 1.5m for room-scale mode |
The worth
The HTC Vive Cosmos at present seems to be an improvement over the last immature VR tech but it still comes with some functional flaws which enthusiasts expect to see in the future project which was started in the past by HTC called HTC Vive Pro. Currently, the headset is priced at USD 699 in which roughly equals INR 50000 and hence would costs around Rs.65,000/- in India including the taxes which seem hefty to many pockets.
