Hi @terry2k, Welcome to the CHOICE Community. We have a bit of advice on VR headsets on our website that might be useful. We have reviewed VR headsets but it was quite a few years ago.
I’m a VR user myself, I’ve tried a range over time as we’ve been lucky enough to have a few different types in the office at various points, along with my own adventures. For $100, you’re looking at an entry level model no doubt. They’re normally the kind that will attach or utilise a smartphone. They’re not too bad, especially if you want to test it out without spending too much. The biggest limitation I found was that they can be a bit uncomfortable if you’re wearing the headset for a while, and you obviously don’t get the immersion of the higher end units that incorporate sound and high quality visuals.
I currently use a HP Reverb. I haven’t performed a side-by-side, lab quality review like you’ll find with CHOICE reviews, so don’t take this an endorsement - just my personal experience that I hope may assist you. As I use it for programs like Microsoft Flight Sim, various car racing sims and other games where I might play for a longer periods, it’s a bit more comfortable than the entry models. They are also very immersive, which is what we’re after with VR.
The Reverb with my set up basically works from a stationary position. Some other models will require you to set up cameras around the room, so you have a physical range of movement, albeit limited. The Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) hub is probably the biggest downside to this model in my opinion, I’m not prone to motion sickness but somehow the WMR features (such as setting up a VR cinema to watch movies) still left me feeling green for a couple of hours. But you can easily use it and avoid the WMR hub.
To answer the value question, I would encourage you to look for a headset that will get you access to the games or programs you’re interested in. For basic use and to try it out, an entry level model may do the trick, especially if you have an existing phone, console or computer to match it with. To step it up a bit, the Facebook Oculus is probably the easiest on the wallet for the ‘next level’ headset.
Just my opinions, I’d be interested to hear other’s thoughts on this. If you’re considering a particular model, make sure to add it to the comments.
