HTC VIVE Pro Virtual Reality Headset Only

Like others have said, yes it has better visuals, but not by a lot. That being said, I can never go back to the old Vive that I own. The comfort is underestimated, it allows you to have longer VR sessions which is what its all about! The sound is "good enough" nothing bad and nothing great. Its simply good sound.-Reading Text is much better! (that also goes for UI's, Health bars, ammo bars etc!..-Seeing gun crosshairs is WAY easier! (you can hit targets! your aim is on point!)-Seeing farther and clearer is HUGE! (I shot a arrow straight up in Skyrim and followed it all the way down!)The Pro blocks out the real world like a Champion! no light passes though the nose guard (which is more comfortable I might add) And the headphones cups your ears to block out outside noise. what this translates to is a more immersive experience and longer VR sessions which is a HUGE plus! I mean its what its all about, right?!This small bump is actually HUGE why? because its just the right amount of tech that still runs the current hardware! We are a few years away from a proper Gen 2 HMD, (that also goes for the computer hardware to run the new HMD) so this will pass the time if its worth it to you.Simply put, if you want the best VR.. look no further, this is it. The best room-scale tracking coupled with this HMD will allow you to experience the absolute best VR that's currently available!A personal note:I have to say, after modding the hell out of Skyrim it does LOOK SICK (45+ mods and tweaks). I was chilling behind Riverwood at night (with darker nights mod) crouched with my back against the mountain, listening to the sounds looking up at the insane sky with stars shining and the moon, cloud movement dancing on the mountain tops etc...Just taking it all in, it was so awe inspiring, I am constantly at a loss of words with this setup. This is a expensive unit, no doubt.. but do you think for a second I would trade it for the countless "oh crap!" moments i've had, not on your life!As a kid in the 80's staring at store shelves filled with awesome hand drawn box cover art of high fantasy PC games. Wishing I could just teleport inside those images and explore the majestic worlds within, now finally after all these years, here I am.I took a few screenshots last night, just to capture the moment, but it doesn't tell the tale. Whiterun in the distance, with a glorious celestial event. Being INSIDE this world is AMAZING.

I have had a regular Vive with Deluxe Audio Strap and have played it almost daily for about a year so I have a solid experience with which to compare. There is a price premium on the Pro and it's not for everyone. If you are budget conscious, there's no need to save up to buy the Pro. If you like the best of what's available, then give this one a shot.1) Set-up was a breeze. I followed the instructions offered on the Vive website (although you could just install it without referring to the website as it's very obvious what needs to be done). Important to note: The original Vive plugged into an HDMI connector on my video card. The Pro requires the display port adapter on the video card. I also manually forced a firmware update on the headset.2) The unit ships with ONE face pad while the original Vive shipped with two (Wide and Narrow). The face pad for the Pro is slightly larger along the top edge. The original face pads will work with it but they don't provide as much padding but it's not really noticeable). So far, nobody sells face pads for the Vive Pro (not even HTC).3) The display is noticeably clearer. When I put on the Pro headset and stood in the Steam VR Home, I was amazed at the difference. The graininess and screen doo effect are noticeably reduced. It's not perfect but it IS an improvement which you can see. When in games, the improvements eventually fade into the normal playing experience but everything does look better. This helps with reading text (particularly flight sims).4) The comfort of the Pro headset is improved. It rests on the head with better balance and fit. It requires more adjustments when swapping between players. The Deluxe head strap was much easier to adjust quickly.5) The audio is about the same as the deluxe head strap. I haven't seen any improvement in quality or comfort. I do like the inclusion of a volume adjustment and microphone mute button on the ear pieces.6) Adjustment buttons. I like the simplified adjustment used to move the display closer or further from your eyes. Apparently you can do this on the original Vive but it required pressing two buttons. The IPD adjustment knob (adjusts the left-right spacing of the lenses) is a little more difficult to turn. The old one was a know which you could turn by twisting it between your thumb and finger. The Pro is more of a hheel than you need to use a finger to rotate. Not a big deal, but it's something I noticed..Overall, I am happy I have this as I like to have the best experiences I can when playing. At the current price, it's not for everyone and for most, I would say that buying the normal Vive will more than satisfy, especially if you take the money saved and buy a better video card. One crowd that might like this are hardcore flight sim players as there tends to be a lot of text which you need to read. The Pro certainly helps make the text more legible.

I had previously given this 5 stars and raved about how the upgraded resolution looks. I’m sad to say I have to do a 180 on that review. After less than a month of using my vive Pro it started having various issues across the board. I was getting red, green, blue static dots and both the video and audio would separately go out, or go out together.I contacted vive support and after going through troubleshooting steps with them that I had already tried on my own they finally agreed to send me a replacement cable to see if that was the issue (this was the link cable that goes from the hmd to the link box). The replacement cable did not fix the issue yet support forced me to do the same troubleshooting steps yet again! Finally they agreed to set it up for repair. So I sent it out AT MY OWN COST and after 3 weeks to a month I got it back, in worse condition than I sent it out in! Now all I get is flashing light and never see or hear ANYTHING!So let me ask you what kind of company charges $800 for something that NEVER works right, has you go through painstaking steps before agreeing to let YOU pay to send it to them and then sends it back to you even more broken than it was before?! I currently have an email out to HTC about this and am waiting to hear back. I will update this review if HTC turns this situation around for me and gets me a working vive pro but as of now it has been one of if not the worst experience I’ve ever had with a consumer electronic!