Health, Safety & Maintenance
Before using any product, it’s always wise to brush up on the health and safety precautions. Acer’s quick-start guide offers a handful of tips for operating the WMR Headset. Like Oculus and HTC, Acer recommends that you consult a doctor before using the headset if you suffer from conditions that could be triggered by mixed reality. Issues with your heart, trouble with physical tasks, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress are all potential problems. According to Acer, pregnant women and the elderly should also refrain from using its headset.
The guidelines include a healthy dose of common sense, too. Don't use the headset while you're sick, fatigued, or intoxicated because “a comfortable VR experience requires an unimpaired sense of motion and balance.” Don't use the headset with a sharp object in your hand. And always ensure that your play space is clear of trip hazards.
Acer suggests that its Mixed Reality Headset “should not be used by children under 13” because it can’t accommodate their narrower IPDs. The company cautions against prolonged use, and recommends that parents monitor kids over 13 to ensure they take regular breaks.
Maintenance & Care
Acer’s Windows Mixed Reality Headset isn’t covered in sensors like the Vive, and it isn’t dotted with an array of hidden IR lights like the Rift. As a result, the headset itself isn't as fragile as competing HMDs.
You can wipe down the entire device, including the cameras up front, with a damp cloth. Acer doesn’t advise using detergents, and your cloth should not be wet enough to leave drips behind (naturally, moisture is bad for the electronics inside). The instruction guide even suggests that humidity could cause a short circuit, so store the headset somewhere dry.
Acer says the headset's operating temperature ranges from 0-35°C, but recommends avoiding use following a dramatic temperature change. In other words, don’t plug the WMR Headset into a computer right after receiving it.
It’s also important to keep the headset away from dusty and smoky areas. If dust accumulates inside the headset, it could short out. And smoke can cloud the lenses, which may void your warranty.
Acer’s WMR Headset utilizes two moisture-proof cushions that shouldn’t absorb sweat. Wipe them down with a damp cloth or dry towel, but don’t attempt to wash them, and definitely don't use any detergent. The face cushion is removable, so you should be able to find replacements when the stock cushion wears out. But again, don't attempt to wash it because it may deteriorate.
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really that difficult in an online publication to update pricing before publishing? Not
the first time I've seen pricing off on these articles.
The price didn't drop. Amazon is selling them at a huge discount, but if you look at Microsoft's website the price hasn't dropped for any of them.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-mixed-reality
Amazon is a much bigger store than Microsoft. And this is not the first time the price has dropped either. $400 is just a technicality, the practical price for the headset is under $300 (as are the other Windows MR headset, apart from the much better Samsung Odyssey model).
On another note, I think you should have put more emphasis on the lack of integrated audio. You're forced to fiddle with a separate audio headset, with its own extra cord flopping around, and often physically interfering with the VR headset. It's really a major downside compared to the Samsung Odyssey, Oculus Rift, and Vive + deluxe headstrap upgrade.
It might be worth at least mentioning in the conclusion that it may be possible to find the headsets for well under retail. That could change of course, if adoption of the platform were to really pick up, but I think the main thing selling them currently is their lower price.
I find it odd that you did not delve into the fact the Windows store has very few games and that you really need to use the Steam store for gaming. (Which is what 95% of people want these things for.) It would have been very helpful had you talked about this and mention some potential game compatibility limitations. Personally I have found the MR headsets work very well for every game I have tried but since they are not written for MR you are often looking at a Vive controller and guessing about how controls are mapped.
Having used all available VR headsets at this point, I actually like the Windows MR the best. It is about the ease of setup. You do not end up with a bunch of wires running everywhere for the tracking and unless you have a large dedicated room for VR this is a big deal. The tracking may not be quite as good as a perfect setup of the competitors but it is functionally really good.
Video cards: VR reviews should mention the current state of decent video cards at this time. These things will be very disappointing on anything less than a GTX 1060 6GB or RX 580 8GB. But...getting you hands on one is unlikely at any reasonable price point.
Controllers: The reference controller could be better ergonomically but they are not uncomfortable to use for long periods of time. (Samsung actually made a better version for their headset combo.) What I find nice about the controller is that becase they have both the touch pad and stick inputs you can generally play both Vive and Rift games. The controllers are interchangeable across all the headsets and I expect someone to come out with a better aftermarket controller at some point.
Really the Windows MR headsets are a good entry point for VR. They would not be good value at $399 but they are nowhere close to that price point.
"This is a pretty weak review especially considering that it is months after release."
I'm sorry you feel that way. I'm not going to get into the politics behind the delay in publishing, but the review was written before Christmas.
"The cost of the actual Windows MR headsets has been between $200-300 for more than a month."
Amazon is the only place that I've seen the headset discounted. Acer did no drop the price, and Microsoft didn't step in to subsidize the cost.
When the price comes down at all retailers, we'll update the review. Until then, I stand by what I wrote. Acer wants $400 for the package, and unless you buy from Amazon, that's what you'll pay.
"I find it odd that you did not delve into the fact the Windows store has very few games and that you really need to use the Steam store for gaming."
Page 8 discusses that briefly. What would you suggest should be added?
"Video cards: VR reviews should mention the current state of decent video cards at this time."
We have written a lot about the current state of the graphics card market. I don't believe that has any place in a VR review because it's a temporary state of the market. Yes, it sucks to buy into VR right now because of GPU prices, but that doesn't affect the merit of the headset itself, nor the platform it runs on.
"Controllers: The reference controller could be better ergonomically but they are not uncomfortable to use for long periods of time."
Maybe for you, but my hands cramped up within 10 minutes of using them, and several people who tried it had similar complaints. Not everyone will have that problem, but the controllers were not designed in such a way that most people won't have problems.
As for the Samsung controllers-- I haven't received a sample from Samsung yet, so I can't say much about that. I used Samsung's controllers for about 10 minutes and they are much better ergonomically.
Steam? Did you miss the "Early Access support" support in steam. Or the fact that if you are a steam user; we would see a new headset icon that represents WMR.
Reviews usually go with suggested retail price not a retailer's sale. Now i do agree that a small addition mentioning that Amazon is having a sale on them.
But all in all a great review!
While Intel's igpu peeformane was not good are you able to run some tests on Amd's Apus? Fm2+ & Ryzen Apus would be interesting if they yeild better results.