Valve Index hardware

Experience high fidelity virtual reality with the Valve Index VR Kit. Visual, audio, and ergonomic technologies were pushed in order to create the best-in-class VR experience.

Visual clarity isn’t just about panel resolution. Multiple attributes contribute to how clearly and comfortably you see details in VR.

Optimized pixel layout

The headset's dual 1440x1600 RGB LCDs provide 50% more subpixels than OLED, resulting in greater sharpness for the same rendering cost. In addition, the fill-factor is three times better than OLED, greatly reducing “screen door” effect.

Higher frame rates

The Valve Index^® Headset runs at 120Hz with full back-compatibility to 90Hz, as well as an experimental 144Hz mode. Higher framerates improve realism and optical comfort, allowing longer and more comfortable play sessions.

Extremely low persistence

Valve Index displays have a reduced illumination period of 0.330ms to 0.530ms (framerate dependent), allowing imagery to remain just as sharp when your head is in motion as when you're standing still. This is a 5x improvement over first-generation PC VR HMDs.

Fine-tuned lenses offer the sharpest, widest view across the eye's full range of travel.

Optimized for FOV

The best way to improve field of view is to position the optics as close as possible to the eyes. Physically adjustable IPD (distance between eyes) and eye relief (distance from lens to eye) lets you optimize the field of view for your face. With these features, as well as the dual-element lens and canted optics, this headset provides 20° more FOV than the HTC Vive for typical users.

Dual-element lens

The custom lenses built into the Valve Index Headset maximize field of view without sacrificing edge-to-edge clarity. High geometric stability allows you to look around the scene by moving your eyes (not just your head) with minimal shape distortion.

Canted optics

Instead of a mount perpendicular to the user’s eyes, the headset’s displays cant outward by 5 degrees. This improves outer FOV while balancing the inner FOV.

Innovative off-ear audio solution optimized for immersion and comfort.

Off-ear immersion

Designed to provide a more natural way to experience audio, Index Speakers do not touch the ears, allowing sound to freely flow and interact with the geometry of your own head and ears. With this earspeaker design audio feels greatly externalized - virtual sound sources appear to come from the environment around you, rather than from inside your head.

Long-session comfort

No physical contact means cooler temperatures and a huge improvement in comfort, no matter how long you play. Each speaker's position is also adjustable and can be moved to the audio sweet-spot for all heads.

Ultra-nearfield flat panel speakers

The composite honeycomb-panel speaker drivers in the Valve Index provide their full-frequency range across a nearly 180-degree dispersion pattern. This allows us to accommodate the widest possible diversity of ear and head shapes without sacrificing sound quality.

Ergonomics designed for all heads and faces.

Adjustments for every head

You can adjust Valve Index for your head size, face angle, and ear position. Then fine-tune your visual experience with IPD and eye relief adjustments.

Antimicrobial fabrics

The soft surfaces that touch your head and face are made with high-quality, woven antimicrobial fabric, which is soft on the skin and easy to clean. Ergonomically designed padding means pressure is evenly and comfortably distributed.

Quick-swap face pads

The face gasket for this headset is replaceable with a magnetic interface for easy cleaning and swapping. We encourage after-market mods and solutions, and will soon be providing the specifications for these face pads.

We are a company of modders and makers. We made sure there was room to experiment and play.

Cameras

The Valve Index HMD includes stereo, global-shutter RGB cameras made for computer vision, enabling applications like high-quality stereo pass-through. We are excited to see what the computer vision community creates.

Front expansion slot

Lovingly referred to as the Frunk, the front compartment includes a USB 3 Type-A port - specifically made for tinkerers and makers. Specs and details will be provided soon.

Tech specs

Displays: Dual 1440 x 1600 LCDs, full RGB per pixel, ultra-low persistence global backlight illumination (0.330ms at 144Hz)
Framerate: 80/90/120/144Hz
Optics: Double element, canted lens design
Field of View (FOV): Optimized eye relief adjustment allows a typical user experience 20º more than the HTC Vive
Inter-pupillary Distance (IPD): 58mm - 70mm range physical adjustment
Ergonomic Adjustments: Head size, eye relief (FOV), IPD, speaker positions. Rear cradle adapter included.
Connections: 5m tether, 1m breakaway trident connector. USB 3.0, DisplayPort 1.2, 12V power
Tracking: SteamVR 2.0 sensors, compatible with SteamVR 1.0 and 2.0 base stations
Audio: Built-in: 37.5mm off-ear Balanced Mode Radiators (BMR), Frequency Response: 40Hz - 24KHz, Impedance: 6 Ohm, SPL: 98.96 dBSPL at 1cm. Aux Headphone Out 3.5mm.
Microphone: Dual Microphone Array, Frequency response: 20Hz – 24kHz, Sensitivity: -25dBFS/Pa @ 1kHz
Cameras: Stereo 960 x 960 pixel, global shutter, RGB (Bayer)