When comparing HTC Vive vs Playstation VR, the Slant community recommends HTC Vive for most people. In the question“What are the best VR headsets?” HTC Vive is ranked 1st while Playstation VR is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose HTC Vive is:
Vive supports room tracking in a 15ft by 15ft (4.6m squared) space, through use of a 'Lighthouse' (base station). The Lighthouse allows tracking an arbitrary number of points at sub-millimeter accuracy 100 times a second.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Allows freedom of movement
Vive supports room tracking in a 15ft by 15ft (4.6m squared) space, through use of a 'Lighthouse' (base station). The Lighthouse allows tracking an arbitrary number of points at sub-millimeter accuracy 100 times a second.
Pro Comes with wireless controllers for interaction
Wireless controllers will be available for Vive that will allow interacting with the VR world. These controllers have motion tracking, allowing you to physically pick up and manipulate objects in a natural way. This allows much further immersion than playing with a standard console controller.
Pro Immersive experience thanks to physical movement tracking
Instead of merely providing a 3D 360° view, the Vive offers a more realistic immersive experience by tracking your physical movement (head movement, as well as hand movement through the controllers). Most VR headsets would allow you to pick up an item by pressing 'A' on a controller - the Vive lets you walk towards an item, reach out, and pick it up with your hands.
Pro Can walk around a room easily with passthrough camera
There is a camera on the top of the headset, meaning the player will be able to have that camera feed sent to their headsets screen, which will allow for the user to see what is around them and in the room without having to take off the headset. Also when you start up the Vive for the first time you set a play space boundary and when you get near that afterwards while playing a transparent grid pops up to say "Hey, you're about to run into a wall or something else!"
Pro Made in collaboration with Valve - an experienced high quality vendor
The HTC Vive is made by HTC in collaboration with Valve, the creators of Portal, Half Life, CSGO, TF2 and more. They are also the owners of Steam. HTC bring their hardware manufacture and design experience, and Valve their gaming experience to bring a device that is both well designed and provides a good user experience for gamers.
Pro Tied to Steam
Being that the Vive is made in partnership with Steam (one of the biggest gaming platforms in the world), the support and games found for it should not be an issue for those familiar and already purchased into the Steam ecosystem.
Pro Uses OpenVR
Pro Room-scale tracking
The HTC Vive's room-scale tracking is a standout feature that allows you to freely move around in a virtual space. The precise tracking provided by the base stations enables you to physically interact with the virtual environment, adding a whole new level of realism and immersion to your gameplay. You can walk, duck, and dodge in the virtual world, making the experience incredibly engaging.
Pro Immersive visuals
The HTC Vive offers stunning visuals that transport you to a whole new world of virtual reality. The level of detail and clarity in the virtual environments provide an unparalleled sense of immersion, making your gaming experience truly captivating.
Pro Extensive game library
The HTC Vive offers an extensive library of games and experiences to choose from. With a wide range of genres and experiences available, from thrilling action games to mesmerizing exploration adventures. The diverse game library provides endless options for entertainment and ensures that you'll never run out of new experiences to try.
Pro Runs great
Started with original ps4. Later upgraded to pro. small difference not enough to warrant a upgrade out of necessity
Pro Natural controller interaction
Project Morpheus is designed to be used with PlayStation Move controllers. Move controllers are motion-sensing, thus it represents hand movements in-game more naturally. This allows for more immersive interactions with the virtual world.
Pro Light face contact allows for comfortable play sessions
The design of the device allows for most of the pressure when wearing to be placed on the top of the head meaning there is little contact and pressure on ones face. This helps to keep it comfortable to wear for extended periods.
Pro Headset will not steam up with prolonged use
There is ventilation built into the unit so that when the user gets sweaty, the device will not fog up on the inside. This also is good for the electronics in the device such as the screens, as moisture in them may cause them to break or malfunction.
Pro Can be used relatively comfortably with glasses
There is enough room in the device to afford the wearer room to wear glasses while the device is on. This way those that do not use contacts are still able to use the device.
Cons
Con Comfort and cable management
While the HTC Vive is generally comfortable to wear, some users may experience discomfort during longer gaming sessions. The weight of the headset and the pressure on the face can cause discomfort or fatigue over time. Additionally, the cables connecting the headset to the PC can be cumbersome and may require careful management to avoid tangling, which can be a minor inconvenience during gameplay.
Con Quite expensive
With a price tag of $599, the HTC Vive is the most expensive virtual reality headset currently on the market. While it does offer more with included controllers and tracking cameras, the cost is higher because of it.
Con Bulky cable can inhibit movement
The cable that is used to connect the HTC Vive to your pc and other Vive peripherals is quite bulky, which may also cause some tripping incidents.
Con High specs for required minimum PC equipment is a barrier to entry
HTC suggests at least nVidia GTX 970 or AMD R9 290 for your graphics card, and an Intel i5-4590 or AMD FX 8350 or higher for CPU. If you need to upgrade computer components to be VR ready, the cost will be even higher than the Vive's $800 price-tag...making the barrier to entry extremely high.
Con Works best in large clear areas
While the device can be used in small confined areas, the best experience is going to be in a large empty room, which allows for one to have the room needed to walk around freely.
Con The resolution (2160x1200) has not justified the price worth
Con PlayStation 4 only
So far the only platform confirmed for the headset is PS4. There has been no information if the device will be backwards compatible once the PS4 life cycle is done or if it has the potential to work on PC.
Con Resolution limits immersive experience
Due to the screen being so close to your face, the 1080p display is not enough for creating a clear picture. The pixelation is enough to remind you that you've got screens strapped to your face.