HTC Vive has been the best headset for many years but soon there was a burst of VR mixed reality headsets and then the Oculus came up with the Quest and Rift S. So, where does the Vive stand now, with the new Samsung Odyssey Plus VR headset.
Samsung Odyssey Plus VR headset is one of the best-mixed reality headsets and for anyone who is looking for a wonderful high-end PC VR experience on a budget, this headset might be the answer.
There was a significant price drop in the HTC Vive as well, giving it around $100 price difference with the Odyssey Plus. Anyway, which one is a better headset and does the Vive still have the charm?
Without wasting any more time, let’s get started with comparing the two headsets and figure out which one is better than the other.
Table of Contents
Design and Quality of the headsets
The HTC Vive comes with a three-way strap that is going to secure the headset on your face. The quality of the headset is premium and it feels really comfortable.
The Samsung Odyssey Plus, on the other hand, comes with the Halo Strap deisng where the weight of the headset is focused more on the forehead and you get an even weight distribution of the headset on your face.
This design works for so many headsets but sadly it did not seem to work for everyone. There were people who had issues with the design of the Odyssey Plus and they wanted more room for their nose.
Although it is way better than what the Samsung Odyssey had to offer. When it comes to the better design and quality of the headsets, then the headset that steals the show is the HTC Vive.
Display and Resolution
The display on the HTC Vive headset is pretty decent as you get a resolution of 1080×1200 per eye. It has an OLED display so the colors feel really rich and you are going to appreciate the visuals in VR as they feel very realistic.
The Samsung Odyssey Plus is no less in this aspect as you get a resolution of 1600 x 1440 per eye along with an AMOLED display. You are going to have an anti-SDE effect on the Samsung Odyssey Plus which means that you would get a very clear VR experience.
The display and resolution of the Samsung Odyssey Plus are amazing and in my personal opinion, I liked it more than the Vive. Something I thought I would never have to say but yes, the HTC Vive is amazing but the Samsung Odyssey Plus has a better display and resolution.
Refresh Rate and Field Of View
The refresh rate and FOV on the headsets are the same, so there is not much that you can compare in this section. You get a FOV of 110 degrees along with a refresh rate of 90 Hz which is not the standard refresh rate for most of the headsets.
Refresh rate basically helps you avoid any motion sickness, so the higher the refresh rate that you have, the better are your chances of not feeling motion sick.
The Valve Index has the highest refresh rate that I have come across so far and that is about 122-140 Hz. This means that the VR experiences on the headset are very comfortable and there are no instances where you would feel motion sick during gameplay.
Field Of view basically determines how immersive your experience would be and what you would see if you turn around in the VR space. The higher the FOV, the more immersive the VR experience gets, as everything feels and looks very realistic.
Tracking and Controllers
Tracking on the HTC Vive is pretty typical like it was in the past with the headsets, you have two cameras that you need to set up and they would detect the controllers making the tracking precise.
The controllers were really easy to use and it feels like an extension to your hand. The controllers and tracking are so amazing that you can use these controllers for really long periods of time without having any issue.
This makes gaming on the HTC Vive really comfortable.
Now, moving on to the Samsung Odyssey Plus, the headset comes with an inside out tracking. This helps you avoid all the extra wires that one might get to see with the HTC Vive.
The Samsung Odyssey comes only with a single wire that connects the. headset with the PC. The controllers are being tracked with the cameras that are present within the headset.
This makes your experience wireless and you are not worried about tripping on teh wires, while you are enjoying your VR gameplay.
Gaming on the headsets
The HTC Vive and the Samsung Odyssey Plus are both compatible with the SteamVR platform hence you can play any game that you find on the platform.
SteamVR is the largest gaming platform for VR games and if you have never played any game then it would take you years to try all of them on this platform.
The VR game library is so huge on this platform that you are going to love everything about it. There are som classic best selling games that can keep you hooked onto them for days.
So, when it comes to playing games on these headsets, you are not going to have any issues.
The gaming experience on both the headsets is good but I felt the HTC Vive felt slighlty more comfortable(only if you have sorted the wire management issue otherwise, it can be a pain) since it has a little better tracking in comparison to the Samsung Odyssey Plus.
Just make sure that you have a compatible PC before you get any of the two headsets because the gaming experience also depends on how powerful your PC is and if it would be able to handle games that are slightly heavy on the graphics.
Conclusion
So, which one is better the OG HTC Vive or the Samsung Odyssey Plus?
I personally think that if you are into inside out tracking and do not want to undergo the pain of setting up a VR headset and doing the wire management that needs to be done with the HTC Vive, then you should go for the Samsung Odyssey Plus.
But, the comfort on the Samsung Odyssey Plus can be a deal-breaker for many, so make sure that the headset is pretty comfortable to wear, otherwise, you might just end up not using it at all as there are many people who have complained about getting headaches with these headsets.
The HTC Vive is a pretty comfortable headset and if you are fine with all the setup that needs to be done then you can choose this headset over the Odyssey Plus.
The bottom line being, both the headsets give you a nice immersive VR experience so choose the one that is more convenient to use in your situation.
Check out the headsets and let us know what you think in the comments below!
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