Today we are going to evaluate up to 10 VR
headset in terms of image quality. We'll see which goggles are currently showing the best quality
virtual reality. We will present to you today Quest 3 , Pico 4, Playstation
VR 2 , Apple Vision Pro, Pimax Crystal , Valve Index , Quest
Pro, HTC XR Elite, Quest 2 , Varjo XR-3 Each headset will be scored on 5 factors that
determine image quality: PPD, processor power, image frequency, lens type and display type. In
total, each VR goggle can score up to 100 points. The most important factor in determining image
quality is the PPD number. What is hidden under this mysterious acronym? It is nothing but
the density of pixels per degree of vision. This parameter shows us how many pixels fit
into one degree of our field of view in given VR goggles. When comparing different models
of VR headset, it is not enough to just look at the resolution of the display as is the
case with smartphones or TVs. More important here is the number of pixels that are within
our field of view. Why is this so important? Take, for example, goggles A and B - both
devices have the same 4K screen resolution, while goggle A has a 90-degree field of view
and goggle B has a 120-degree field of view. The same screen resolution will produce poorer
image quality in Goggle B, because the viewing range in these goggles is larger than in
Goggle A and this means that the same number of pixels must cover a much larger field of view.
Therefore, in order to compare the image quality of VR goggles that have different viewing ranges,
we must use PPD, which is calculated as follows: the number of pixels in the horizontal line of the
display divided by the horizontal field of view This means that PPD takes into account
both screen resolution and field of view. Up to 40 points will be awarded
for PPD. Let's get started! The goggle that had the fewest pixels per degree
of our vision was Valve Index with a result of 14 PPD. Yes this is a big surprise for us! Valve
Index goggles are well-regarded hardware in the VR gaming community. On the other hand, this
poor result is the aftermath of the fact that Valve's headset is the oldest product rated in
our ranking. It's been as long as 4 years since its release, and this, unfortunately, literally
shows on the screen of these deserving goggles! The number 9 spot went to the PSVR
2 goggles with a score of 18 PPD. This is not a bad result as a very similar one was
achieved by the Quest 2 goggles achieving 19 PPD. The 6th-7th place was occupied by the exekwo Pico
4 and the HTC XR Elite with a value of 21 PPD. A slightly better result was achieved by
the Meta Quest Pro and Quest 3 goggles. A much better result than the rest of
the group was recorded by the latest yet-to-be released Apple Vision
Pro with a PPD estimated at 32. The second place in our comparison went to Pimax
Crystal. They have an interesting feature they can change the field of view range from
120 degrees to 140 degrees. This affects the density of pixels visible in our field of
view. For 140 degrees the PPD is 35 , while for 120 degrees these goggles already reach
42 PPD. Yes you haven't heard, that's as much as twice as much as Quest 2 or Pico 4!
However, the undisputed leader turned out to be a headset from the Finnish company Varjo
called XR-3. This third generation of goggles is the most expensive solution on the VR goggle
market today. It even has photorealistic image quality. The 79 PPD value is more than what
our eye registers when it looks at the physical reality that surrounds us! Looking at virtual
reality in these goggles, we may not be able to distinguish it from real physical reality.
Now let's move on to the second category, which is the GPU power rating. In this category,
the goggles could score up to 20 points. Why does the graphics processor matter
for the quality of the displayed image? Mainly because it is responsible for
generating graphics and rendering the image in real time. In VR goggles, the image
is displayed on two screens, one for each eye, and must be rendered at high resolution and
often at very high frame rates known as FPS to ensure a smooth and realistic VR experience.
Processors with higher processing power and better graphics capabilities allow rendering more
realistic textures, effects such as shadows, light reflections, and light scattering. They
also make it possible to generate more realistic animations and show more detail in VR games.
We can divide VR goggles in this category into two camps - those that use built-in graphics
processors. These are called standalone or stand-alone goggles. The second group of goggles
are connected to a computer or console and use graphics cards installed in these devices.
This makes it pointless to compare the GPU power of goggles that use PC graphics cards. After all,
the same goggles could be connected to a better or worse graphics card, and then the result of
our tests would be quite different. Therefore, we decided that we would only compare processors
in standalone goggles. On the other hand, since even the best processors installed in the goggles
are still much weaker than good quality graphics cards installed in PCs or consoles, we adopted the
following scoring. Standalone goggles can receive a maximum of 10 points, while all PC-connected
goggles receive 20 points each in this category. Let's start with the standalone goggles,
the weakest processor has the Quest 2, Pico 4 and HTC Elite XR goggles which use the
previous generation Snapdragon XR2 processor from Qualcomm. A very good processor but
unfortunately it is already years old. The Quest Pro performs a little better here
with a slightly improved Snapdragon XR2+. The most powerful processor of the Meta
models surprisingly has the Quest 3 which, although cheaper than the Quest Pro, has
the latest processor model from Qualcomm, the Second Generation Snapdragon XR2.
Meanwhile, the most powerful in the standalone goggle category will be the Vision
Pro, thanks to Apple's use of its unique M2 model also used in the latest MacBooks.
Goggles that got the maximum number of points for using powerful GPUs in computers are
: Valve Index, Pimax Crystal and Varjo XR-3. Also, the PlayStation VR 2 gets 20 points from us
due to the fact that the PS5 has a very powerful processor that is equivalent to the Nvidia GeForce
RTX 3060, and according to some game developers, the PlayStation VR 2 has better graphics even than
what the RTX 3090 series graphics cards offer! The third category is image frequency
for which you can receive up to 15 points Why is this an important category? The image
frequency describes how often the image is refreshed on the screen. The higher the frequency,
the faster a given goggle refreshes the image. If you don't want to get nausea or headaches from
using VR, you should choose goggles that have the highest possible image frequency!
A sizable number of goggles allow you to set several frequency levels. This is
offered because the higher the frequency, the more load on the processor of our graphics
card. In our ranking, the goggles receive points for the highest adjustable image frequency.
Who took the number 1 spot in this category? The surprising winner is the Valve Index goggles,
which allow you to set the refresh rate up to 144 Hz! This somewhat compensates us for the low
PPD score these goggles received in category 1. 10 points receive 4 pairs of
goggles from us Pimax Crystal, Meta Quest 3 , Meta Quest 2 and PlayStation VR 2
7 points gets us the Vision Pro headset from Apple for its unusual refresh rate of 100 Hz
The last 4 pairs of goggles : Pico 4 , HTC Elite XR, Quest Pro and Varjo XR-3 each received
5 points for a score of 90 image refreshes per second. Surprisingly the headset from Varjo
did poorly in this category . However, it has, as we already know, a very large number
of pixels and refreshing them more often on the screen would put a lot of strain on
even the most powerful graphics cards today. The fourth category is the type of
lenses installed in the headset. For this category we award up to 15 points. The
type of lens has a significant impact on, among other things, image sharpness as well
as minimizing unwanted god-ray visual effects. 5 points for Fresnel lenses go to Valve Index,
Meta Quest 2 and PlayStation VR 2 goggles. Fresnel lenses are the most popular lens type for
VR goggles in the past few years. Unfortunately, it has disadvantages such as the occurrence
of god-ray errors or image distortion in some situations. They also take up a lot
of space, making the goggles themselves weighty and much larger than they could
be if you used other types of lenses. Such another type of lens is the so-called
Pancake Lens. It is for using them that we awarded 10 points to headset such as : Pico 4,
Meta Quest 3, HTC Elite XR, Meta Quest Pro and Apple Vision Pro. Pancake lenses are not
only much smaller, they are devoid of the disadvantages of Fresnal lenses. They no longer
have problems with image distortion or god-ray. The full pot of 15 points was claimed by the Pimax
Crystal and Varjo XR-3 goggles for their unique types of aspherical lenses. They allow the highest
image sharpness and enable the highest image brightness. On the other hand, they are larger
than pancake lenses and also more difficult and expensive to mass produce. Hence the reluctance
of Apple or Meta to use them in their goggles. However, if you value the highest image quality
above all else - there is nothing better on the market today than goggles with aspherical lenses!
The last category is the type of screen, where up to 10 points are up for grabs.
2 points for goggle-mounted LCD screens go to Valve Index, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3,
Pico 4, Meta Quest Pro and HTC Elite XR. LCD screens are currently the most popular types of
displays mounted in headset. It is valued for its good color reproduction and ability to use a high
refresh rate. On the other hand, we can already find screens of a better type on the market.
4 points are claimed by the PS VR 2 for its use of an OLED-type display. It is this technology
in its various versions that is the future for VR goggles. OLED screens allow for better contrast
and deeper blacks than LCD screens. They also have faster pixel response times, better viewing
angles which means that the image does not lose quality when viewed from different angles. This
is important in VR, where our head movements can cause different viewing angles on the screen.
An even better type of display is the Micro OLED type because it allows for a higher
pixel density than standard OLED type screens. For using this type of screen,
the Apple Vision Pro gets 6 points from us. 8 points goes to Pimax Crystal for using a
QLED screen with Mini-LED technology. QLED displays have a 20% larger color gamut than
traditional OLEDs. Mini-LED, on the other hand, provides better black reproduction resulting
in richer colors and cleaner blacks. The maximum number of points was awarded to
the Varjo headset from us for its use of dual displays. The uOLED display allows each pixel
to self-illuminate, which makes it possible to achieve true blacks something that QLED
unfortunately can't technically do. In addition, faster response time and even higher pixel
density make the uOLED screen the winners in our category. It's worth mentioning that
Varjo has also used LCD screens here which complement the uOLED screens at the extremes of
our field of view. However, this does not affect the image quality to any significant degree.
We compared 10 pairs of VR goggles by awarding them points in 5 different categories:
pixel density PPD , processor power, image frequency, lens type and display
type. There were 100 total points to be won. The number one spot with a total of 90 points
goes to the Varjo XR-3 headset. The deciding factor here was the very high PPD number
combined with the bionic uOLED screen. The number 2 spot is occupied by Pimax Crystal with
a very similar number of 89 points. Third place goes to the Apple Vision Pro with its unique
M2 processor in which it scored 65 points. The next places were taken by Quest
3, Quest Pro, PS VR2, Valve Index, HTC Elite XR, Pico 4 and Quest 2.
Before making a purchase, however, it is also worth considering other important
aspects of VR goggles. These include how we want to use the goggles, what they are to be used
for, how much we should spend on the purchase, and whether we will get the right value for the money
we spend. Some goggles being lower in our ranking in terms of image quality may be more useful
and convenient to use than goggles providing very high image quality but significantly
limiting your mobility. To learn more about our upcoming rankings subscribe to our channel.
We have discounts for you to purchase up to 3 headset from our ranking: Quest 3, HTC Elite XR,
and Pimax Crystal. Take a look in the comments. Thank you for being with us. Leave a thumbs
up and a comment if you liked it. Stay tuned!
