Remember when Acer’s OJO 500 launched last year? Yeah, we don’t either. In a perplexing move, the Taiwanese tech giant quietly opened up sales for its business-friendly Windows VR headset today, something that was slated to launch back in November 2018.

As far as hard specs go, OJO 500 was always poised to be a Johnny-come-lately, with its dual LCD displays offering a total resolution of 2,880 × 1,440 pixels running at 90Hz, the very same as their previous model (AH101-D8EY) from 2017.

What OJO 500 did offer though was a pretty attractive package for businesses. With its detachable display, washable soft and hard head strap, integrated audio, manual IPD adjustment, and even customizable faceplates, making for a not-so-unthinkable offering for companies looking for a tried and true headset variant boasting Microsoft’s mostly serviceable inside-out tracking.

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The headset was last advertised at $400, or €500 in the Eurozone, however starting today you can order from the European-facing Acer stores for €450/£400, as reported by German VR publication MIXED (German).

It hasn’t shown up on North American Acer stores yet, so it’s not sure if the USD pricing has changed at all. And yes, it comes with the standard Windows VR controller.

Acer hasn’t mentioned what’s happening with their higher-res ‘ConceptD’ version of OJO, but if OJO 500 is any indication, we won’t hear much about it either until it releases.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • GunnyNinja

    Taking marketing lessons from HTC…

  • Kyokushin

    2880×1400. Meh. At now there is completely no reason to buy anything different than Reverb or upcoming Pimax 8KX.
    2160p is next dimension of quality.

    • henk

      8k gaming lol forget that. 1440p is most common for gaming u need a rtx 2080ti Ti play some 4k at a reasonable fps rate. The rift s is cheap but gaming on 1440p vr is super great.

      • Kyokushin

        No.

        Reverb is working better than O+ because you not need so much supersampling.

        And 8KX is not 8K gaming, is 3840×2160 per eye, so its 2x4K and it will work similar to Pimax 5K by the same reason why HP Reverb is giving me more FPS than O+.

        I am using the Reverb, its 2x2160p per eye on the 1080ti without issues.

    • Moe Curley

      The 8KX does look good. Looks like Pimax may finally be stabilizing with a good product. Sweviver has some great thru the lens videos up today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGVxBpMXpzc. The sweet spot looks sharp. If they fixed the edge abberations this may be a great one.

      • Erilis

        It certainly looks good. I think something is cooking, brewing. Nvidias holodeck is having raytracing, pimax8kx wasn’t supposed to be manageable with 2080ti. I think they are all waiting for the ampere graphics cards. At that point we’d see new headsets with higher pixel count and new wmr

        • Moe Curley

          Yeah, next year should be big moves. Ampere scheduled for 1st half of 2020. Gives headset maker a good runway. If we get lighter weight, 140° FOV with no distortion at 90Hz I’d be ecstatic. I’d like to see off headset hardware (belt clip) although most I’ve spoken to don’t like it for some reason. I just want a much lighter headset.

  • Moe Curley

    HMD manufacturers. VR enthusiasts are knowledgeable. They are going to buy one of these 4 headsets for these reasons;

    The Rift S- has quality, good resolution and great library of exclusive titles.
    The Quest- has quality, is wireless and the best library of wireless titles.
    The Index- has highest quality on all fronts, great tracking and wider FOV.
    The Pimax(s) have the widest field of view.

    Unless your headset that can beat any of these headsets hands down at their game your headset will not sell.

    • The Bard

      Good points, but…. big BUT….. = 1. Samsung HMD Odyssey+ ??????? You forgot about the best VR headset on the market till Index release (still better than Index in some aspects like OLED screen, no-screendoor effect visible and super audio). I would like to ask you to edit that post and add it to place 1. Rift S is a total s^%t comparted to Odyssey+, in all aspects. O+ = Screen which is OLED (!), screen resolution, high definition audio, working perfectly with multiple platforms – Oculus, Vive, Steam VR, Windows Mixed Reality. NON-EXISITING IMMERSION-KILLING SCREEN-DOOR EFFECT due to anti-SDE technology.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8oJe_NgMvA

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a2d532426a1d61f79aa51c1bbd915c209e0eefc6b902d11d2e4728370c8285d8.jpg

      • Moe Curley

        Gotta disagree with you there if you think any WMR headset is on the same level as Index or Oculus. Even the Reverb has a clear advantage over the Odyssey+. See the 2:00 mark in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu1-lmiHcUU Watch it on youtube full screen to see how your Odyssey+ compares to other headsets. And parroting marketing materials doesn’t help to make your case. Have fun with your WMR tracking.

        • The Bard

          First, TRY, once, then comment. I tried both. Rift has no single spec better than Odyssey+. It is like a Peugot compared to Mercedes-Benz e-class. About the video. What he does is really amateurish. Left side of screen this detail, right side this detail. Wrong method to record thru the lens. Sure Reverb has some more sharpness as it is 2k x 2 k. HP Reverb was just released. 1 year after Odyssey+ I wrote about. HP Reverb has higher resolution, but s&t contrast and colors. Is immersion not about what you actually see in VR?

          • Moe Curley

            Sure. That’s why everybody is out buying Odyssey+’s I guess. And saying “the Reverb is only better because it’s newer!” Doesn’t help to make your point.

          • Kyokushin

            Its not better because its newer but its because its better.

            I used Oculus CV1, VIve Pro, Acer VR, i had O+ and now i got the reverb, not because i am fan of WMR or MS or HP, but because Reverb is best on the market at the moment.

          • Moe Curley

            I know it’s better. I was talking about Bard saying “Sure Reverb has some more sharpness as it is 2k x 2 k. HP Reverb was
            just released. 1 year after Odyssey+ I wrote about. HP Reverb has higher resolution…”

          • Kyokushin

            Only what is poor in Reverb is the HP and MS marketing.
            Microsoft lost a war of smartphones, tablets, mails and cloud and now want to loose the war for VR.

          • Moe Curley

            I agree

          • Kyokushin

            And IPD – HP Reverb have very good sweetspot but… its designed for IPD 63.
            Do not worry if you have a bit more or less, but adjustments is only by the software (they not learned a lesson from 1st gen), so it is limited for ‘standard’ persons like me (i have 63, i am born for VR).

            They claim the max is 67, but when you move an eye a bit left or right, a someone with higher IPD may notice lower fov or lower sweetspot at some point.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            No hardware IPD, crap controllers, still WMR tracking… Sorry, yeah maybe great high resolution displays, but if the rest of the set is crap……

          • Kyokushin

            Urban legend. controllers are ok, tracking is ok.
            honestly i prefer wmr tracking and controlers than vive.
            its just works and you do not need to make a mess in the room to set it up.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Yeah, it’s an urban legend that wmr controllers are ok and the tracking is ok compared to vive…….. Don’t know what mess you’re talking about..

          • Erilis

            There has to be a bit more of range thank only 63. I happen to have that as well. I thought it would feel like the sweet spot would move around a lot

          • Erilis

            There are only losers in the war of VR. There are no profits to be made, except for the makers of beatsabre .

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Have they finally fixed their problems with the displays?

          • Kyokushin

            yes

          • crim3

            I wish there would be OLED panels for VR with the same resolution and RGB layout than the LCDs in the Reverb. I guess we are still on the trade-offs era and no headset can have it all.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Uhm, I’d rather drive the Peugot 5008 than ANY mercedes-Benz car especially the boring crap e-class..
            But the biggest problem with the Odyssey+ is still it’s tracking and controllers.. If only they released a better newer headset soon.. They said months ago they would show/release new AR/VR hardware soon..
            Also OLED has it’s own problems…

          • Kyokushin

            same as for any other wmr’s.
            its not the problem or issue. It works pretty well.

            that opinion its classic urban legend – told by a people who never used is in most, or simply had wooden hands.

            But there is one fact – wmr tracking need a light in a room.

          • Rogue Transfer

            And good high-powered rechargeable batteries with no competing bluetooth interfering devices nearby – both help noticeably with the WMR tracking.

          • Erilis

            I agree that they track well, until you put trackers to waist or below, then they start floating away and doing a little dance around the room. I wish one camera at least was pointing downward. I can’t keep the trackers awkwardly in front of me the whole time

          • Alan Harrington

            Man, you are so deluded…

          • Justin Davis

            Odyssey+ feels terrible. Worst comfort of all headsets. It’s in competition with Quest.

          • Erilis

            It’s light at least. I’m still struggling with quest. Counterweights and straps and thinner padding, not even the frankenmod helps, but it’s getting there.

          • MeowMix

            Rift has no single spec better than Odyssey+

            Tracking

          • Erilis

            Meow

          • JesperL

            If tracking sux, you loose!

        • DjArcas

          Index/Oculus screens aren’t on a par with the Odyssey+. The controllers are much worse tho – the curse of WMR.

          • Chris Greig

            agree

        • Erilis

          Pictures of screen door is irrelevant on current gen headsets, it’s almost not noticeable. My problem with wmr is that they seem to have a very small spot of clarity and only in the middle. Optics on odyssey is odd, being only vertical and so narrow horizontally. I have a pretty good experience with odyssey, but I think it’s unacceptable that text is almost not legible. Text on rift s, is shockingly clear in comparison.

          If I was promoting an experience, a dark music video or something, I’d get a bunch of odyssey+ and play in a loop. It’s so cheap and nimble and runs on low specs.

        • Graham Botha

          I own both. Samsung O+ is not very comfortable, audio is not great or removable and sweet spot is small. I upgraded to the HP and realized why I started going back to my VR rig less and less. For me the experience with the Samsung was a lemon. Passable but a lemon non the less. BTW I have the VR cover and other bits to make the Samsung better (Which they did). Also had to cut the nose flap a bit as it has an edge that pushed on the bridge of my nose. Samsung display is really good though. That being said, I think the 1-4 is not rated from best to worst, its most likely just in order of whatever Moe Curley thought of first.

          • Moe Curley

            Correct, Just a list pointing up the strong points of the leading headsets (and the futility of trying to market mid-range headsets like the ojo against them)

      • Chris Greig

        Totally agree.. I choose it to use at home over all our other headsets from projects because it is super reliable and the screen door effect cancellation is awesome.. its still my go to

    • Kyokushin

      In fact none of above have a ‘quality’.

      All of them have the pixel in size of a fist, and the first headset where we can talk about the image quality is the HP Reverb which have 4320×2160.

      • Moe Curley

        Talking about build quality. And talking about what people are buying and why. I agree about the Reverb, that’s why I mentioned it in my original post.

        • Kyokushin

          I have readed. I shared my opinion in overall.

          Build quality of Reverb is very good, and in fact its (for me) pretty comfortable.

          • Moe Curley

            Looking forward to see HP and Samsungs next release.

          • Kyokushin

            True, i though to wait for the O+ successor, but it was stronger than me and finally decided for the Reverb – and i am impressed on that headset.

      • JesperL

        My index is very good quality, except the small joysticks which are ok at best. But the rest is cool!

    • Alan Harrington

      Nail; head; well done…

      • Moe Curley

        Thanks. Don’t know why some manufacturers don’t seem to get it. I guess they can’t all win and HTC and Acer are just hoping they can recoup some of their development losses. Have to release anyway.

      • Erilis

        I think HTC is still in the game. It’s going to be the best wireless panels around, and has the best flip up casket. Both are features that once you have them, it’s hard to go back. With the index controllers, it’s going to be quite a good experience, although insanely expensive. I personally think their biggest mistake was not having wireless module and base station module out at launch.

    • JesperL

      I would not touch the Pimax, since its low quality.
      But you are spot on the rest.

      Although being better in just 1 area is not good enough..
      Pimax has the best FOV, which is one thing I want more of, but the rest of Pimax sux, so its not an option

      • Moe Curley

        Yeah, but I had to list them because they’re the one to beat on FOV. They’re driving the innovation in that area.

        • Erilis

          They are very bold, I have to give them that. What’s human eye resolution, 8k? Let’s make 8k headsets, no graphics card can handle it properly, but we’ll swing it somehow. And our own rendering softwear while we are at it, frame reprojection and all

          • Moe Curley

            You hit on it earlier. Processing and optics advancements are making lower PPI headset shine right now but I still can’t wait for next gen GPU’s, optics and panels to give me indistinguishable VR. I can forget sometimes now and believe but I want it to be… like life. Crazy right?

      • Erilis

        I don’t think they pimax has the right lenses or configuration for the widest FOV. I think at least they should have canted the lenses a little. StarVR was canted almost 45degrees, and people said they had the perfect lens profile. I actually tried them once, they were one of the first VR headsets I tried at a show, but I didn’t even appreciate it at the time.

        • Moe Curley

          StarVR lenses were canted but I don’t think they were anywhere near 45 degrees.

          • Erilis

            Seems like such a long time ago now. Mrtv sebastian angh went through these really thoroughly on YouTube. 45 may be an exaggeration, but not far from, they are really really canted, and the warped edges feel more natural that way than the Pimax, not being canted at all. Simple trick

          • Moe Curley

            Yeah, the edges of the panels on the Pimax are way away from the lens’s. The wider the panels the further they are angled away. Canting them puts them more aligned with the lens’s.

          • Erilis

            I think SAMSUNG has the patents for curved lenses for headsets, they better do something with them. If everyone else have to license them it might be an obstacle. Although everyone are licensing the halo style headband from Sony, so maybe it’s still possible.

    • brandon9271

      and even those quality headsets you mentioned don’t really offer than much over the Samsung Odyssey that I have already. The Reverb has better resolution but the same crappy WMR tracking. The Index has the much better steam VR tracking but no better resolution and cost WAY more. The rest all have pros and cons but nothing to sway me. I’m waiting on a truly next gen HMD before I make the jump. Something like the Reverb, with SteamVR tracking for around $800 for the whole kit.

      • Moe Curley

        Something with Reverb Pixels per degree, Pimax FOV, Index features and build quality, that’s wireless like the Quest (and includes a next generation video card and 5g wireless) Me too please. ;)

  • gothicvillas

    Then they scratch their heads and think why company is making losses

    • Moe Curley

      yeah. When your stock goes from $30 down to $2 you know things aren’t looking too good.

  • The Bard

    Still enjoying the best VR headset produced till date, Samsung HMD Odyssey+. There were many promotions for 299$. I bought it for 299$. OLED, no screen-door effect, super sharp image with best resolution for almost 1 year, super audio and comfortable headphones. What’s more – all platforms work with it – games for Rift / Rift S from Oculus store, Viveport games, Steam VR, Windows Mixed Reality apps.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8oJe_NgMvA

    • Tomas U

      2 tracking cameras lul.

    • Kyokushin

      Its very good headset, and better than Rifts/Vives, but at now its not the best headset. The King is HP Reverb (for now).

      I switched my O+ for the Reverb a three weeks ago.

      • Justin Davis

        Reverb is only best at resolution. Index wins the rest.

        • Fabian

          O+ wins at black levels

          • Justin Davis

            Correct

          • Erilis

            I think they win for olead display, with minimal sde, any other olead have a pretty annoying sde

        • Rogue Transfer

          Index doesn’t win though at glare – there are headsets with lower glare.

      • Joe Pineapples

        I bought the reverb to replace my O+. I ended up sending the Reverb back…In my opinion the Reverb is shit. Yes the resolution is a bump up but in every other department it sucked balls, Colours, black levels, fitments, IPD. Sound, controllers, Cable lenght and awkard cable attachment so many issues with the reverb. When all weight up just because it had an increase in resolution was not enought to overlook all its other issues. So I decided to stick with my O+ until there is a definitiave HMD that can tick all the right boxes. The index does not interest me, in fact any LCD screens do not interest me.

    • Grey Lock

      I’ve heard rumors Samsung has another headset coming out this fall? If they could add two more cameras and sell it for $399 they would really be one-upping the Rift S.

      BTW, I have a CV1, Rift S, Quest, Acer and Lenovo WMR and they are all great. Almost bought a O+ but I really have no need for another one… I only have two grand-kids. https://www.youtube.com/user/Greylock3491/search?query=ryder

      • Moe Curley

        I wouldn’t be surprised if they do a strong wireless HMD. They are one of the most advanced phone manufacturers. I hope they up the resolution or FOV but I’ll say it again. If they don’t hands down beat any of these 4 leading headsets it won’t go anywhere.

    • alboradasa

      I really like my Odyssey+ but I can’t see how you can call it the best VR headset produced to date when the Index outclasses it in most areas.

  • Me

    Really, aren’t you just a little late to the party? And 400 BUCKS?!? I bought my Lenevo WMR for around 200 bucks almost a year ago. My next HMD is going to be a Quest or something very similiar. WMR is a great starting point, but the tracking is not great. The two cameras do not cut it.

  • mfx

    Agree with everyone, it has nothing interesting enough to top the selling charts, meh definition, meh tracking, meh ecosystem, to be able to separate electronics from wearable parts is a good idea though.

  • It seems to me a bit too little too late… Where is the ConceptD? A more washable Acer WMR headset is not what we need now…

    • Rogue Transfer

      According to recent reply claimed to be from Acer, I saw online, it won’t be commercialised, sadly.

      • Erilis

        I thought that was what this was at first. Which had a little audience, aReverb with iPd adjustment. I still can’t get my head around why this exists

  • When is Microsoft going to roll out the next generation spec for WMR headsets? Unless I missed something, none of these latest headsets fixes the tracking issues inherit with such a limited camera system. The only WMR headset that has added more cameras is the Oculus Rift S.

    (Yah, YOU, Rift S, we know you’re just a slightly tweaked Lenovo WMR headset, ADMIT IT!)

    • Immersive Computing

      Headset tracking on my Lenovo Explorer was impressive, the controllers not so…to keep it polite, I no longer own a WMR.

      They obviously have the computer scientists and algorithms?

      -multi camera system
      -switch to IR controller tracking? (visible light too power greedy)
      -hire an ergonomist for the next controllers
      -LRA haptic motors (ERM is weak and crude)

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a48345876b09a7c89233e3dec3a096c48ea3e2c60bb4557d2aa27f46d60927d5.jpg

    • MeowMix

      Compare the Rift S to the Oculus GO. You’ll see the Rift S is a derivative of the Oculus GO, and NOT a WMR headset. The halo is from Lenovo, but it’s design is also licensed from SONY (PSVR design).

  • dota

    great
    but Huawei also declared a vr headset that has less than 4cm thickness.

    • Moe Curley

      and less than 90° FOV at low light output.

    • dk

      which one the one I’m finding looks like it’s 3dof and has 1 3dof controller and most likely low fov because that’s how it works with a standard lens setup

      • Moe Curley

        yeah, Skarredghost is a good source of unbiased info. Travels far to expos so he gets some stories before other sites too.

  • AlanWake

    No one need this with those specs..

  • Ardra Diva

    New to this site. what makes people so cranky? we all love VR. I’m hoping for guidance on some of these products, we should be helping each other. “Put aside the alienation, get on with the fascination, the real relation, the underlying theme” – Rush

    • Moe Curley

      Hey! Kid! Get off my lawn!

    • This place is incredibly toxic, with no moderation from the owners. To have a good community, you’ve got to have some kind of rules in place, and they don’t have any. It drives me nuts too…

      • Ardra Diva

        I can only surmise it’s based on which visor you bought and a need to feel like you got the best one, and stubborn refusal to believe otherwise.

  • dk

    wasn’t it launched in Thailand or whatever

  • Ratm

    Weird why would they do that?
    They got Starvr one , they have a 2k version of that mojo prank, why did they release this trash?.. —->Headset companies<Game developers<STEAM+Nvidia = L.O.V.E

    • Moe Curley

      One of the StarVR team said that Acer is not moving forward with the StarVR One. Sucks. What a waste. But I hope they surprise us.

      • James Cobalt

        Where did you hear that? They’ve not made any official announcement from what I can tell.

  • JesuSaveSouls

    I got a pimax 5k plus which looks as high in res as the hp reverb with not more pixel noticability.The software options adjustable is the cool thing with htz and fov in many ranges.But the need for sensors using the base stations isn’t impressive but primitive.With rift s,wmr and others eliminating sensors it’s unusual to release new hmds requiring sensors.They don’t always connect either.On the positive side of things,you only need a 1070 and get such a scale and spectrum to adjust for optional gaming experiences.I like it the best but get rid of sensors and that would be great.If you get a hp reverb not the problematic first releases with defective chords.The fixed releases come with two controllers and need no sensors with a high res.It’s more of a flat not bright color like the odyssey first gen.With fpsvr on steam you can adjust to add color gain and the res too.It’s a bargain for 650 new to get everything needed in vr at a crystal clear image.But Pimax has a large fov and high res and that is my pick.