HP Reverb G2 - User Experiences & Owner Impressions

[Mr Latte]

Reports are it may be launching in September 2020 which is earlier than some expected.
I'm seriously considering one of these having had a CV1 in the past and enjoyed VR

Finally, though with this device, now we have image quality that is very good for simulations. Also offering easy setup, superb audio, and nice controllers but all at a good price.

Steam HP Reverb G2
UK Pre-Orders
Manual
Datasheet/Specs

 

[EsxPaul]

It helps. Thank you very much!
I got a notice that the part is not available right now. In this mail, they state the old part number for the cable. But as there is no stock, I hope to get the v2 cable.

You're welcome.

I believe that the two versions of the cable will show up under the same part number on the HP customer service system so in theory you should only receive the v2 part even if the old part number is stated.

There have been a few cases of people receiving used V1 cables, even though the new V2 version was ordered but as far as I can tell this is an isolated problem in Canada.

If you can spare the time there's a very informative thread over at Reddit that will keep you up to speed with the latest goings on.

 

[Chrhun]

Well, I got a cable from the local HP support and it was the old version, despite them initially saying it would be the new version. I don't really care if it's the old or new one, but I still had pretty much the same connection issues with the new "old" cable. I called the customer service and this time the same person admitted that they actually did not know about the new cable and promised to get back to me. They did and today another guy said he'd found the bulletin about the new cable. They promised to send one to me... Let's see.

 

[Raysy]

 

[RacingMat]

You're welcome.

I believe that the two versions of the cable will show up under the same part number

Nope, the new reference is M52188-001 and old one is M18238-001.

 

[EsxPaul]

Nope, the new reference is M52188-001 and old one is M18238-001.

I think you're referring to the part numbers that are public facing.

My understanding is that the HP internal system that the customer service advisors use may show the older number for them although that shouldn't matter for us and we'll receive a V2 cable regardless.

The internal information about the cable has been sent to the call centres, but it seems some agents have not gotten the word yet. There is what we call an EA (Engineering Advisory) in the system and agents should always be looking at these when in a call... it seems some forget to do this. Call back and tell them to look at the "EA" and have them search for "New 6M Cable". The old part number automatically rolls to the new cable so you will get one if they know or not. If you do, for some reason, get an old cable (You shouldn't as we purged the Rev1 cables, just call back and explain the situation - get me involved if needed.)

 

[Chrhun]

I now received the Rev2 cable and the WMR seems to be working flawlessly with this new cable. Good result!

 

[Lesthegringo]

Guys, one frequent criticism of the G2 on the reviews aside from the one cured by the Rev2 cable is that of tracking.

I'll be clear, I would only use the VR unit for racing sims and flight sims; maybe my son will steal it to play whatever he plays occasionally, but for me, exclusively Sims. So, if you are only concerned with sims, is the tracking good enough to not cause issues?

Also, out of curiosity, do the hand controllers have any real function in sims that cannot be done by a mouse and keyboard?

Cheers

Les

 

[anton_Chez]

The tracking is perfectly acceptable for sims and other seated experiences. The issues that were raised with tracking were more to do with the controllers and more to the point when they are down beside your body, out of proper view of the HMD cameras. For sims this is clearly not an issue.

The controllers do very little in sims, other than access the virtual desktop and perhaps to bring up a virtual keyboard while within the sim. For me, I just call up the virtual desktop and use the keyboard there, although you have to pretty much guess what you're typing as it takes you away from the in game view. For me, not that big a deal, it's basically only passwords I am typing and the occasional server command to push a session forward. Everything else is driving or using the mouse on the virtual desktop. I've had my G1 for over 2 years and I've used them maybe once or twice to test. That's it. I use a PS4 controller to access things that a VR controller normally does.

 

[Lesthegringo]

Thanks; on the controllers I imagined it would be so, and the tracking issue seemed to be for the full room games, but wasn't certain.

The same guy who passed on his Rift S to me is upgrading to a 3090, and will sell me his 3070 without which I would not even consider the G2, but this convinces me to give it a go. I will probably go for the kit with the controllers as they may be useful in specific circumstances but at least now I know they are not essential
Cheers

Les

 

[lovemesomespeed]

It’s been said above, but I’ll just add my experience as well… I can confirm that there are zero tracking issues for me for sim titles (which is all I use my VR for).

I used to race in PC2, now I’m in iRacing - and I’ve never used my controllers. They have sat in the box since the day the whole thing arrived.

 

[Primalgeek]

Wondering if any of you have had any issues with the G2 display cutting off randomly. This has been happening to me for a few months. I've tried ACC and AMS2. My issue seems random and I can't find a correlation. So I'm wondering if any of you have had this issue or is it just me?

Its just the VR Headset display, tracking and sound still work. You can see the VR display fine on the Steam VR 'Display VR View' on the monitor when the headset display cuts off. I can restart Windows mixed reality almost immediately and it comes right back on, but will stay off until I restart it.

My setup
-AMD 5900x
-Gigabyte x570 Aorus Master
-32 Gigs Ram
-3080 TI

Things I've tried.
-Cable, HP sent me a replacement before the new one came out.
-"New Cable", HP also sent me the new cable.
-Turn down the volume, some reports said that low bass notes could pull too much power.
-New speakers, shot in the dark, but since the right one was scratchy, they sent me a replacement set
-USB on a powered hub
-USB directly to motherboard (after I got the New Cable of course)
-ACC and AMS2, thought I would try different games with different engines
-HP Tech support, super frustrating, long hold times, lots of transfers from agents who didn't know who could help me, really didn't have any answers. They want me to send the unit to them. I didn't want to be without it, so I bought a brand new unit (This time with the next day turnaround insurance)
-New headset, just got it today and it shut off on my 3 times already.

Sad thing is, if VR Sim racing wasn't so damn fun, I would have just given up, but man is it amazing when its working.

Thanks in advance.
Charles

 

[metalnwood]

Thats really bad luck, it sounds like you have been through everything that you can and HP supplying replacements for acables and headset.

Obviously lots of people around with various issues that replacement cables have fixed, similar with replacement headset.

So I would look at your hardware a bit more. Are you plugged in to usb C or using the usb adaptor? Given an AMD motherboard is your bios up to date? Have you seen some people mention in the past a couple settings in the bios - which I cant remember but something about pcie4 I think.. You probably hasve but thought I would mention as it wsant in your post.

edit, if you want to be sure about the audio as a possible issue which it has been for some. Take off both speakers and run with a headset for a little while just to test. Sounds like you will know quickly if it was an issue.

 

[anton_Chez]

Definitely update that BIOS to the absolute newest one, there are still USB issues with AMD boards being sorted out til this day.

 

[random_racer]

I got my replacement cable last week. No more 4-1 error for me. The power button is a nice feature too.

 

[Lesthegringo]

I finally got a G2 after checking it all out online and reading the reviews, it arrived yesterday. I have plugged it in and tested it on my non-gaming PC just to get it up and running, and the difference from the Oculus I have is really obvious from the moment you start. Yeah, you can see the pixels if you really look, but I can imagine that ten seconds into a race that's forgotten.

However a couple of points I also noticed - firstly, I must have a small or narrow head, as the IPD has to go all the way to the closest setting, and even then I suspect a millimeter more movement would have been better for me

Secondly, I don't know what type of cable I got, but it doesn't have a power button on it; does this mean it's the older more problematic version?

Cheers

Les

 

[metalnwood]

I finally got a G2 after checking it all out online and reading the reviews, it arrived yesterday. I have plugged it in and tested it on my non-gaming PC just to get it up and running, and the difference from the Oculus I have is really obvious from the moment you start. Yeah, you can see the pixels if you really look, but I can imagine that ten seconds into a race that's forgotten.

However a couple of points I also noticed - firstly, I must have a small or narrow head, as the IPD has to go all the way to the closest setting, and even then I suspect a millimeter more movement would have been better for me

Secondly, I don't know what type of cable I got, but it doesn't have a power button on it; does this mean it's the older more problematic version?

Cheers

Les

Yes, its an older one but may not be problematic. That depends a bit on your computer if it may give you issues.

 

[Lesthegringo]

Thanks - testing seems fine, and I have an intel i9 CPU and compatible motherboard in my game rig so hopefully it won't be an issue

Fingers crossed

Les

 

[Killg0reNL]

Thanks - testing seems fine, and I have an intel i9 CPU and compatible motherboard in my game rig so hopefully it won't be an issue

Fingers crossed

Les

The issue is mainly on AMD systems, so you should be fine. There are some other inlays/facemasks available so youre eye's should be closer to the lenses. Bigger FOV then aswell

 

[ThugUK]

Also you may overlook the on/off switch as its very small and needs pressing in for a 2 or 3 seconds to work.

 

[Lesthegringo]

Also you may overlook the on/off switch as its very small and needs pressing in for a 2 or 3 seconds to work.

Had a really hard look - not there. Oh well, as long as it works OK

Les