Valve recently began shipping out units of its Index virtual reality (VR) kit to all of the fans cum consumers who supported the project by pre-ordering it. In addition, Valve also hosted a launch party for both the new headset and a select number of customers.
During the party, Gabe Newell, owner and founder of Valve, gave a speech, saying that the launch of the Valve Index is one of his company’s “critical milestones”. Other milestones of the company being Counter-Strike and the creation of its Steam digital platform, obviously.
The Valve Index VR headset was first announced back in April 2019. The headset is developed independently by the brand, free of influence from HTC or Facebook’s Oculus. Valve says that the headset is designed to deliver the “highest fidelity VR” experience possible. The headset also features special off-ear headphones that hover a distance from the ears without ever touching them.
To that end, the Index is fitted with RGB LCD displays with a combined resolution of 1440 x 1600. Plus a refresh rate 120Hz, which is higher than the refresh rate on the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Virtual interaction is conducted via the headset’s “Knuckles” controllers and two base stations based on Lighthouse technology.
The Valve Index is sold separately for US$499 (~RM2062), while the Knuckles controllers costs US$279 (~RM1159). Valve is also selling the full set for US$999 (~RM4128). Unfortunately, the headset isn’t available for purchase in Malaysia, and there’s no indication if the company ever will bring it in.
(Source: PCGamesN via Reddit)
