It seems that these days new Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) are being released every month or so, with their cost rapidly declining since the days from 2004-2006 when I worked with one in graduate school.
Overall, my impression with recent HMDs is that they are hands down better than the one I worked with during graduate school (a nVis nVisor SX). In my opinion, the Oculus Rift’s design and form factor is leaps and bounds ahead of the nVis HMD (lighter, less light leak-through, smaller tethered cables), which is a great thing for VR!
With so many HMDs arriving, I figured it’s useful to track the specs and features of all of these new displays for easy comparison. Instead of providing a completely new list, here are some links to existing ones, followed by a small chart comparing the most recent HMDs.
http://www.stereo3d.com/hmd.htm#chart
http://www.roadtovr.com/head-mounted-display-hmd-vr-headset-comparison/
| HMD | Resolution (per eye) | Refresh | Field of View | Weight | Wireless | Cost | Type of Display | Tracking? |
| Oculus DK 1 | 640×800 | 60 hz | 110 degrees | 380 g | No | $300 | LCD | Rotation |
| Oculus DK 2 | 960×1080 | 75 hz / 72 hz / 60 hz | 100 degrees | 440 g | No | $350 | OLED | Rotation + Position via External Camera |
| Oculus Crescent Bay | 1280×1440 | 90 hz | 110 degrees | ? | No | ? | OLED | Rotation + Position via External Camera |
| Oculus Samsung Gear VR | 1280×1440 | 60 hz | 96 degrees | ? | Yes | 200 + $700 Samsung Galaxy | AMOLED | Rotation |
| Sony Morpheus | 960×1080 | 120 hz | 100 degrees | ? | No | ? | OLED | Rotation + Position via Playstation Move Camera |
| Valve Vive | 1080×1200 | 90 hz | 110 degrees | ? | No | $200-$500 | Position + Rotation – 15ft x 15ft tracked space |
Comparing all of these to the nVis nVisor SX – the nVis had a 1280×1024 resolution per eye, 60 hz refresh rate and only a 60 degree field of view. Plus the kicker: its cost was $24,000…
It’s definitely exciting times for HMD technology.