Buy HTC Vive at Best Price | VR Specs and Review – 2017/2018

Virtual Reality is still in its infancy and yet it has managed to capture the imagination of the thrill seekers and the futurists.

You too will agree once you wear the HTC VIVE headset and experience the virtual world like never before.

From the confines of your room explore and experience nature’s wonders and monuments all across the world.

The HTC Vive offers you real life experience through its room scale gameplay.

And it’s not just nature, even historical events like the Pearl Harbor can be experienced when you step into the realm of virtual reality.

Do not be under the impression that you won’t be able to get a glimpse of your immediate world. With this VR headset that drawback doesn’t exist, thanks to a front-facing camera you can always remain in touch with reality.

If your interest is piqued and you are wondering if you should buy HTC Vive, then go through this review to know everything about the HTC Vive.

The good things about the HTC Vive | Should you Buy?

  • High resolution Display: The visuals are spectacular and there is no screen door effect. In fact, the refresh rate of the display is 90 HZ which means 90 frames per second. It is no wonder that you need a beefy PC to keep up with this VR. In addition to that, you will not encounter any pixelation problems or lens distortions in the HTC Vive.
  • Intuitive controls: The Wireless controllers make every movement fluid and almost like an extension of your own hand.

Comfortable: The HTC Vive headset is comfortable to wear. The soft foam layer in the headset prevents the hard plastic from irritating the skin. The headset is also kept in place by three adjustable Velcro straps.

  • Versatile Controllers: The wired controllers come with a circular panel which is touch-enabled, and buttons with physical sensors. Thanks to these sensors you can actually interact with the vertical world.
  • In touch with the real world: With the help of the front facing camera in the headset you can see what is happening in the real world around you  without having to take off your headset.

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Minus points of the HTC Vive

  • Expensive: Priced close to $800 this headset is a chunky investment.
  • Cumbersome installation: Installing the HTC is cumbersome, tricky and time-consuming. You will need to drill holes into your walls to install all the necessary accessories for the complete immersive experience.
  • High-End PC: A game that is so immersive will need support from a powerful PC with the latest Quad Processer, minimum 4 GB RAM, and several other specifications.
  • Requires Space: This VR is not for small spaces; actually small spaces will become a kill-joy. It is a motion based VR and requires at least 6.5 x 5 feet of open space for the room-scale VR.

Poor quality earbuds: A serious letdown with the HTC Vive is the mediocre earbuds that fail to produce top notch audio a prerequisite for the immersive VR effect.

  • A Tad Heavy: It gets uncomfortable to wear these headsets for long periods of time as they are not the lightest in the market.
  • Software needs honing: There are still several bugs in the software that hamper a completely immersive experience.
  • Wires: The game is immersive and requires movement but you will have to learn to navigate around the wires that connect the HTC Vive with the PC.
  • Learn how to setup VIVE at: www.vive.com/us/setup/

Advantages over competition

HTC Vive is way ahead of any of its competitors in the virtual reality world; you need to experience it to understand the truth behind the statement.

  • Glasses Friendly: Not all virtual reality headsets can claim to be friendly to those who wear glasses. But the HTC Vive is one exception; those who wear glasses can wear this headset comfortably. The headset and the foam within are designed to accommodate spectacles. In fact, the manufacturers give additional foam too for getting the perfect fit.
  • Taller Field of View: While the horizontal field of view is almost equal to its closest rival the Oculus Rift, its screen has a much taller field of view, the ratio being 9:5 and not 16:9.
  • Room-scale VR: Any virtual reality experience feels incomplete if there is no room-scale VR wherein you can actually move physically in the room; this is possible with the help of a tracker in the headset that can track every movement of your head, body, and hands. You can configure the screen to play in the smaller area too.

Better tracking: The two base stations and the 70 odd sensors in the headset result in seamless tracking with almost negligible lag. As a result, the slightest movement of the head or hand is picked up and imitated in the virtual world. This instantaneous tracking is highly useful in games which require a lot of movement, ducking, darting and running.

  • Chaperone feature: The immersive world of virtual reality can be harmful too if you are not aware of your surroundings in the real world, especially with the HTC Vive where you can move around. The front facing camera does the job of a chaperone and protects you from bumping and colliding with furniture in the room. It provides you with a blurry blue outline of objects and people in the room just by touching a button on the controllers. Thus you can prevent any painful knocks.
  • All in one box: Probably the biggest advantage over its competitor is the fact that once you buy HTC Vive you don’t need to invest in any extra accessories to experience virtual reality of the highest order.

Download the User Manual [PDF]Vive PRE User Guide – HTC.com

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Final thoughts

It is pretty straightforward; if you can afford it buy it. Period.

Though virtual reality is in a nascent stage with the HTC Vive you can get a glimpse of how the future will unfold and what fascinating and remarkable experiences you can have in this medium.

Buy HTC Vive for intuitive interactive immersive experiences with visuals that are awe-inspiring and movements which seem to be an extension of your body; they are so natural.

Agreed, the HTC Vive is not one of the easiest to set up and is filthy expensive. Next to experience actual immersive gameplay you need a large area and a small studio might not be the ideal setup. Further, you need several power sockets for each of the accessories that accompany the main headset and be ready to navigate cables and wires.

The games are the not the best in the market and can do with a bit of polishing. There is no spatial sound effect unless you invest in another expensive earphones set.  The interface is not very user-friendly and can confound a beginner. The tutorials also can be honed up.

There are several of these tiny little glitches and inconveniences with the HTC Vive, but once you Buy HTC Vive, you will get too immersed in the virtual world to really care about the minor drawbacks.

The final verdict actually depends on who you are; if you are a first timer you may want to reconsider the price before you buy HTC Vive. The same goes for the casual gamer too who though knows the tricks might not have a PC that can support the HTC Vive. Finally, the PC gamer who has the money, a powerful PC and an interest in gaming should not think twice to buy HTC Vive because this is the future of entertainment.

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