What should Valve improve for the Index 2.0

kenshingintoki

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 3, 2011
Messages
18,442
Reaction score
8,466
Points
4,022
Valve Index, known as one of the better VR headsets on the market. But what should they improve for the second iteration in 2021 or 2022? Some users talk as if this headset if perfect but with the new benchmarks set by the G2 in visual fidelity, I think its in need of some homework.

1. LCD colours: if not going OLED, the colours on the Index should improve. Through the lens comparisons so the G2 colours look superior.
2. Vertical SDE: I know some Valve fanboys like to pretend this doesn't exist but there is a literal option for it on the Index and its called 'column correction'. This is vertical SDE/scan lines which pop up on the screen. Some people can't see them very well but YMMV.
3. Horizontal FOV: I feel the horizontal FOV can still do with being substantially improved if we're going to keep calling he Index a highish FOV headset and that will be its unique selling point.
4. Wireless: I think SOME form of wireless needs to be possible; even if its just a LOWER resolution optional wireless add-on.
5. Resolution: Again, the benchmark has been set by the G2 and the Index looks a bit silly as a 919 package when a cheaper product provides a better visual experience.
6. Price or headset Tier system: Light houses and headset need to come down in price for a 2021 product IMO.

I think the audio, controllers and tracking are safe for now; although it'd be nice if valve did start making a transition to insight because having sensors is not convienant and makes the cost of the Index pretty heavy. Having an option for using the headset with and without would be amazing.

Things I wouldn't mind going:
1. Refresh rate: sure its useful for those with crap VR legs maybe.. but anyone that says they prefer the 120hz/144hz of the Index over photorealistic resolutions is having an absolute laugh
2. LCD Panel: I hate LCD panels generally and OLED can't come back soon enough for VR to make horror games playable and super immersive again
3. The high price tag: It needs to come down now. The Light houses are still extremely expensive and I struggle to believe Valve haven't been able to figure out a way now to make them cheaper.

Things I hope stay:
1. Index controllers
2. Option for light house tracking
3. Audio (although I'd love to see farther improvements if they can do it).


I'd also like to see them further VR now and add something tangible to the experience which farthers the immersion factor (just like they did with the Index controllers). I'm not sure what they'd potentially think about innovating but there are plenty of ideas flying about (e.g. decagears, haptics, feet tracking).
 
And although its probably not worth mentioning but we all (apart from Atmos) can agree...

Software/Games.
 
They definitely need to upgrade the resolution. And I think they will do, maybe next year if not then 2022.

I'm also expecting them to ditch Lighthouse tracking for the Index 2 as well. If they don't ditch it then the full bundle is going to cost a fortune, again.
 
I thought the 2.0 lighthouses were supposed to be a lot cheaper manufacturing-wise (single motor, no sync leds etc) yet somehow they're slightly more expensive than the 1.0 lighthouses. Not too bothered really, they're a one off cost if you're already in the ecosystem.

The vertical line issue would drive me nuts. It sounds like the exact same issue as on my Pimax 8K (except it's horizontal, probably due to panel orientation). Pimax tried to fix it with various driver hacks involving column shift but never completely solved it from what I recall.

OLED would be the biggest draw for me. Unfortunately that's not going to make it any cheaper at the resolutions we now expect - there's a reason why the Vive Pro headset still costs as much as it does. G2 resolutions would push it into the stratosphere price-wise.

FOV increases would be nice, but having gone from Vive to Pimax and then back to Vive (due to the lousy pimax LCD panels) I don't really miss it.
 
They definitely need to upgrade the resolution. And I think they will do, maybe next year if not then 2022.

I'm also expecting them to ditch Lighthouse tracking for the Index 2 as well. If they don't ditch it then the full bundle is going to cost a fortune, again.

I think they are stuck. They have best in class controllers tied to the worst in convenience most expensive tracking system.

I think inside-out is the future but how do they make that transition?


I thought the 2.0 lighthouses were supposed to be a lot cheaper manufacturing-wise (single motor, no sync leds etc) yet somehow they're slightly more expensive than the 1.0 lighthouses. Not too bothered really, they're a one off cost if you're already in the ecosystem.

The vertical line issue would drive me nuts. It sounds like the exact same issue as on my Pimax 8K (except it's horizontal, probably due to panel orientation). Pimax tried to fix it with various driver hacks involving column shift but never completely solved it from what I recall.

OLED would be the biggest draw for me. Unfortunately that's not going to make it any cheaper at the resolutions we now expect - there's a reason why the Vive Pro headset still costs as much as it does. G2 resolutions would push it into the stratosphere price-wise.

FOV increases would be nice, but having gone from Vive to Pimax and then back to Vive (due to the lousy pimax LCD panels) I don't really miss it.


Its exactly what you're describing it. Valve have built in a column correction slider.
OLED just needs to come back ASAP. When I had my Quest, I still think Asgard's Wrath outside the horribly compressed video stream, looked so beautiful on it.
But sadly I'm now used to the RGB pixel formation of LCDs and its hard to go back.

I think Valve will stick with crap LCD tho. They have a boner for low persistence, high refresh rate VR. My hope was Oculus would in their PCVR 2 headset release an OLED panel but they have now vanished from PCVR.
 
While I like the Lighthouse tracking I think it would be good if they added another set of emitters in the knuckles controllers so they can with other systems like the G2
 
They'll probably release either the Index 2 or maybe the Index 3 with inside out tracking as a loss leader, or maybe at cost, the same way that Oculus have done I think.

You'll see a minority of Index users with a fair amount of Nerd Rage for a bit because their expensive Lighthouses will be paperweights but if they release it with another game bundled with it for ~£599 I don't think you'll see the majority of people complaining.
 
Index 2 will almost certainly focus on resolution, possibly a wider fov as well. I think they made a mistake focusing on such a high refresh rate of 144. 90, 120 (I think it is) was easily enough with the existing Index. I doubt we will see this until 2022.

Personally, I think they should not even focus on speakers, the User can add his own earphones by a connected phono, or wireless (which I used for the Rift S). This way they`ll save 100 bucks or more to focus on visuals.
 
With the limitations of the currently available hardware tech I feel the Index is basically the best we can get. I'd really like to see a wireless option but so long as the market is asking for more res, more hertz, more fov that's probably unlikely. Have to wonder how well the Vive wireless actually sold and how much of a draw it actually is for those who want a high end PC VR experience.

There are HMDs with more Res, there are HMDs that are truly wireless and there are HMDs with basestationless tracking but compromises are made. It's good to have a variety of tech in the market to choose from. Of course we all want the best of everything though.

For me, the most exciting developments are in software. Really want to see what Nvidia's DLSS and DirectX 12 Ultimate can bring / enable in VR. Also, now that monitors like the Samsung G9 are relying on Display Stream Compression to get all the pixels down the pipe, could a similar strategy be used in VR for higher res, frame rates or to actually enable wireless?
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom