Good news for VR headset users who are very much bothered by the screen door effect affecting many of today’s VR headsets. Apparently, VR headset maker arpara has completely eliminates the mesh-like VR images. How? Well, by packing it with more pixels.
The new arpara VR Tethered offers 95-degree field of view (FoV) and it is outfitted with silicon-based dual 1.03-inch micro-OLED displays to offer an eye-watering 5,120 by 2,560 resolution that packs a whopping 3,514 pixels per square inch (PPI) and up to 120 Hz refresh rate.
Beyond the resolution, the headset further features a manual inter-pupillary distance (IPD) adjustment of 56-71 mm and a diopter adjustment of between -100o and 500o. With this pixels-packed headset, there should be no screen door effect. Should.
Resolution is not the only noteworthy feature; the design is pretty drool worthy too. The arpara 5K VR Headset is just about as compact and lightweight as a VR headset can be, with the actual headset measuring 164 mm across and just 55 mm tall (6.5 by 2.2 inches), and tipping the scales at mere 200g (7.1 oz.).
However, the compact size is not without its caveats. The arpara VR Tethered, as the product name implies, is not standalone; it needs to be tethered and it does not has tracking solution for full 6DoF immersion. If you want the latter, you have to use separate spatial tracking kit which is not included.
To be fair, being tethered is not entirely a caveat per se because, it actually gives you the freedom of using the headset with a variety of devices, including PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, for examples.
So, if you can do without tracking out-of-the-box, welcome the tethered nature, and wants a VR headset that it is light on your head and looks super cool at the same time, this US$599 new kid on the VR headset block may be worthy of your consideration.
The arpara VR Tethered is available now from arpara website.
All images courtesy of arpara.
