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Playstation VR 2 on PC: SteamVR SDK enables HDR

Playstation VR 2 on PC: SteamVR SDK enables HDR
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August 10, 2023:

A recently released software development kit (SDK) for OpenVR and SteamVR could bring higher contrast to the PSVR 2 on PC in the future. As iVRy reports on Twitter, Valve's new developer tools support HDR10, which makes another advantage of Sony's VR headset usable in PC mode.

However, given the expected small user base, only a few developers are likely to bother supporting the feature and adapting their software to the high-contrast HDR display. Other HDR VR headsets like the Shiftall MeganeX with OLED microdisplays have yet to be released.

July 13, 2023:

Meanwhile, iVRy also seems to have gotten the PSVR 2's tracking working on PC. "Yes, it works. I can run through SteamVR Home using only the PSVR2 tracking," the team reported on Twitter.

However, the developers were only able to access data from the front cameras, not from the built-in gyroscope or accelerometer. According to iVRy, the infrared LED tracking of the Sense controllers is also done onboard the headset: The developers told UploadVR that it's very likely that they will make them work on a PC at some point as well.

Original article from July 1, 2023:

Developer iVRy reports on Twitter that Sony's PSVR 2 VR headset can be used on a PC.

iVRy already made the first Playstation VR compatible with PC. Now iVRy says that he has probably succeeded with the PSVR 2 as well. iVRy wrote the following on Twitter

"Day #121: And we're in!
- PSVR2 was blocking VR modes by saying it couldn't do DSC
- We modified an AMD Open Source Linux GPU driver to force DSC
- Now we know how to put the PSVR2 into VR mode, so we can design some hardware to do it on Windows
- "Can PSVR2 be used on PC?" - Yes"

However, it will probably be some time before the solution is available for users at home. Furthermore, it is likely that an additional device will be needed between the PSVR 2 and the PC. "That adapter would need to deal with the power and alt-DP issues," iVRy wrote.

PSVR 2 on PC: Still a long way to go

The progress so far is related to getting the VR headset into VR mode on a computer. Many other problems are still to be solved. For example, iVRy does not even deal with functions like haptics yet.

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"These are questions that we won't even think about for a long time. We have *so much* work to do just to get a basic 3DOF driver working, then we have 6DOF, then we have controllers. This is a long process that we've just begun."

Half-Life Alyx is already running (limited) on PSVR 2.

Just a day later, iVRy announced, "Half-Life: Alyx running on Sony PSVR2, using alpha version of iVRy driver for SteamVR (Windows), with NoloVR for 6DOF tracking and controllers".

However, in the comments to the tweet, iVR reiterates that he is still in the early stages and has a lot of work to do to perhaps achieve full PC compatibility.

Sources: Twitter 1 | 2 | 3 | UploadVR