Best Virtual Reality Headset Buyer’s Guide 2022~2023, TOP 10 VR Headset Reviews

(Last Updated On: 12/30/2022)

If you read my other articles:

Hi, Metaverse! Tell You the Truth In a Few Words

AR & VR, Who is the Gate to the Metaverse?

Then, you will know how VR works. It is one of the gate to metaverse.

VR Headsets

Catalog:
1. Is VR headset worth buying?

2. The Categorize of VR

3. How to select VR parameters

4. Recommended best VR headsets (including use experience)

1、 Is VR headset worth buying?

What are VR headset?

VR headset, namely VR head display or VR glasses, are used to close people’s vision and hearing to the outside world by using a head mounted display device to guide users to have a feeling of being in a virtual environment. The display principle is that the left and right eye screens display images of the left and right eyes respectively, and the human eye generates a stereoscopic sense in the mind after acquiring such information with differences.

If it is a few years ago, unless you are an electronics enthusiast, I really do not recommend you to buy it. However, with the release of a batch of excellent products in the past two years, VR headset have improved both in technology and experience. At the same time, the lower and lower prices have enabled ordinary consumers to step into the threshold of virtual reality experience.

Players who are new to VR headset should have only one word in mind: shock. This sense of realism and immersion can only be compared with the round screen of Disney.

Watching movies with VR headset will have a huge screen effect, especially when watching sci-fi movies and thrillers, you will feel more immersed than when you are in the 3Dmax cinema. The visual image is getting bigger, which brings about a qualitative change in experience.

Therefore

If you are a game enthusiast and like interactive games, VR can give you more exciting visual and auditory game fun; If you are a movie fan, VR can give you an immersive viewing experience; If you are curious about new technologies, VR headset are definitely a future product worth experiencing.

2、 The Categorize of VR

Before talking about the key parameters, let’s first understand the infrastructure and classification of VR headset.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure of VR Headset
  • Processor: the core of data processing, mainly responsible for positioning calculation, image generation, video decoding. A VR glasses processor chip is the key to the performance.
  • Display (screen): the key to clear screen display, in which resolution and refresh rate determine the clarity of the viewing screen.
  • Lens: concave lens refracts light to bring the picture on the display closer to the position where the human retina can see clearly.
  • Gyroscope: detects the posture and orientation of human head in space

According to different use scenarios, some auxiliary peripherals, such as positioning base stations and interactive handles, will be used to improve the game experience.

Categorize

According to the different infrastructure, VR glasses are divided into three categories: mobile phone VR box, all-in-one VR, and head mounted display (PC VR).

  • Mobile phone VR box

In fact, it is only a lens, and then the mobile phone is embedded to achieve the “VR perspective” on viewing.

This way of experience is not satisfactory, and now it is basically eliminated; Of course, VR is also good to use as a small toy, but I don’t recommend it.

Mobile Phone VR Box
  • All-in-one VR

With its own processor, display, gyroscope and computing module, the all-in-one machine can meet the user’s viewing and game needs completely through wireless mode without any external equipment.

All in One VR

I think the VR all-in-one machine must be able to stream with the computer through wireless or wired. No matter how the streaming effect is, without this function, I think it is unqualified and does not conform to the industry direction.

Although the all-in-one machine has been developed in the past two years, it has risen very fast. At present, it has occupied most of the VR glasses consumer market, which is believed to be the mainstream development direction of the industry in the future.

  • PC VR

The PC VR head mounted display belongs to the high-end category of VR glasses. It uses a higher performance CPU and graphics card to perform calculations by connecting a PC host to achieve the best display effect.

PC VR with HMD

PC VR headset need to be used with high-performance computers. First, high-end players and some players with professional needs choose them, which is relatively expensive.

PC VR with HMD Display

3. How to select VR parameters

Sort out the following five key shopping points to help you quickly judge whether a machine is good or bad.

1) Resolution

The normal screen resolution refers to the number of pixels in the vertical and horizontal directions. The unit is px. For example, 1600 x 1200, which is seen by the human eye at a certain distance.

But for VR glasses, a 3840 * 2160 4K display is close to the eyes, so the actual resolution seen by a single eye is the 2K effect of 1920 * 2160. Therefore, it is necessary to see whether the resolution is single eye or double eye when purchasing.

PPD and FOV of VR

In fact, PDD (Pixel Per Degree), the number of pixels per degree of field angle, should be used to measure the clarity of the human eye. The simple point is that the larger the PX/FOV value is, the better. Generally, reaching 60PDD can be regarded as the retinal resolution.

2) FOV

Field of View (FOV) refers to the range that human eyes can see around VR glasses. The range that one eye can see is 220 degrees. At present, the FOV of mainstream VR glasses in the market is about 100.

The larger the FOV, the better the immersion in the viewing process.

3) Refresh Rate

The refresh rate refers to the number of times the screen is refreshed per second. The higher the refresh rate, the better the stability of the displayed screen.

Refresh Rate of VR

However, good game fluency is determined by the number of frames (the number of frames refers to the speed of picture changes, depending on the graphics card) and the refresh rate. This is why high-end VR glasses work together with computers.
On the VR all-in-one machine, the refresh rate basically determines whether you are dizzy, regardless of subjective factors.

4) Weight

The weight of VR glasses is often a point that is easy to ignore, but from my experience with several products, the size of the weight is very important for the comfort during wearing.

The heavier the product is, the heavier your head will be. After a long time, your head will be tired. However, the more professional the device is, the heavier it will be (for example, the vivo pro I bought, 754g, very tired after playing for a long time).

5) Content Ecology

VR glasses are mainly used for playing games and watching movies. Devices without ecological content are useless even if their performance is outstanding. They should not be used as decorations.

Content Ecology: Game and Movie

To play games, you need to have fun games. Oculus or Steam platform on the computer will have a lot of VR games. Viewing requires more film resources.

4. Recommended best VR headsets (including use experience)

1) VR Box

VR Box is so simply, no need to recommend too much, please go to amazon.com to select the suitable one for your. Here I choose some representative products which is hot sale in the market. I hope you like them:

2) Best TOP 10 All in One VR Headsets

Since the streaming mode has become popular, there are three trends in VR head display:

  • Most VR head displays adopt integrated All in One design, and Pancake replaces Fresnel
    Lens, start to add MR function.
  • Although HTC has superior performance, it has no advantage in price. The VR head display shows the unique mode of meta. But some new brands have also risen rapidly, such as Pico.
  • Since the concept of the meta universe became popular, the virtual reality industry has gradually changed from the industry led by manufacturers to the situation in which governments, industries, applications and other parties participate. VR and AR are still very different, which does not reflect who is dominant for the time being; However, in terms of shipment, VR far exceeds AR.

Best TOP 10 All in One VR Headsets list:

Brand ModelDisplay TechLens TechResolutionFOVRefresh RateWeightRefer Price
Meta Quest 2RGB LCDFresnelbinocular3664*1920101°120Hz470g$499
Meta Quest ProLCD and MiniLED BacklightPancakemonocular1920*1800106°120Hz722g$1499
HTC VIVE Focus PlusAMOLEDFresnelbinocular2880*1600110°75Hz498g$799
HTC Focus 3LCDFresnelbinocular4896*2448120°90Hz785g$1299
Pico 4Fast-LCDPancakebinocular4320*2160105°90Hz295g$469
Lenovo VR700LCDAsphericalbinocular3664*192093°90Hz$469
Pimax CrystalQLED and Mini LEDAsphericalbinocular5760*2800120/140°160Hz$1599
Goovis LiteMicro OLEDAsphericalmonocular1920*108042°60Hz200g$499
Goovis G3 MaxMicro OLEDAsphericalmonocular2560*144065°120Hz300g$1299
PlayStation VR2OLEDFresnelmonocular2000*2040110°90/120hz560g$549
Best TOP 10 All in One VR Headsets List

The detail review of these Best Top 10 All in One VR Headsets, please read the following review:

Best TOP 10 All in One VR Headset Reviews.

3) Best TOP 10 PC VR Headsets

Best TOP 10 PC VR Headsets List:

Brand ModelDisplay TechLens TechResolutionFOVRefresh RateWeightRefer Price
HTC VIVE Pro 2Dual RGB low persistence LCDFresnelbinocular4896*2448120°120Hz799g$1480
HTC VIVE CosmosFast-LCDFresnelbinocular2880*1700110°90Hz651g$789
Varjo AeroMini LEDAsphericalbinocular5760*2720115°90Hz487g$1990
GXR VerseAsphericalbinocular3200*160094°130g$999
VRgineers XTAL 3Fast-LCDFresnelmonocular3840*2160180°75Hz600g$1299
Panasonic MeganeXMicro OLEDPancakemonocular2560*2560120Hz250g$899
Oculus Rift SFast-LCDFresnelmonocular1280*1440115°80Hz563g$399
Pimax Visioncustomized CLPLFresnelmonocular3840*2160200°110Hz500g$999
HP Reverb G2Fast-LCDFresnel-Asphericalbinocular4320*2160114°90Hz550g$469
Valve IndexRGB LCDFresnelbinocular2880*1600130°120Hz809g$1499
Best TOP 10 PC VR Headsets List

The detail review of these Best Top 10 PC VR Headsets, please read the following review:

Best TOP 10 PC VR Headset Reviews.

Hope you can get the favour VR for your colorful life.

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