Valve INDEX very limited IPD

[ignacj]

Is the new Index headset limited on 70mm IPD on the high end? Even old Rift can be pushed to 72mm, Vive goes all the way to 74. Can anyone with knowledge outside steam product page confirm IPS range is limited to 70mm?
Thanks

[BOLL]

https://www.valvesoftware.com/en/index/headset

Originally posted by Inter-pupillary Distance (IPD):

58mm - 70mm range physical adjustment

Question is if the physical adjustment could be extended in software or not, considering there are headets with software only IPD solutions 🤔

[Lhun]

Here's some important points on IPD:
My ipd is 62ish but I can never seem to get a perfect measurement and I lost the one from my doctor.
The minimum on the vive is about just below 60. At that point, it's a little janky.
Don't forget that optimal ipd also changes if you're much closer to the lenses.
With a -very- thin facemask on the vive I need to go slightly above my ipd to get centered in them.
The ipd adjuster is the physical distance horizontally (x axis) between the lenses to be in the absolute CENTER of the sweet spot. The "sweet spot" is much larger on the index and newer rift headsets.
There is a lens to eye distance adjustment (y axis) AS WELL as a facial interface distance adjustment which moves the whole assembly back.
You will be able to be directly inside the range of the sweet spot even with 74ipd.
You MAY not have as much sweet spot to the left and right of your eyes, but it'll be good all the way vertically (z axis). I would worry much less than you are.
Alternately, you could potentially order glasses or lenses from vr lens lab with an adjusted but comfortable and incorrect ipd, so that the light coming into them will be curved to your actual ipd.
2mm difference on each eye isn't going to be too bad if you are indeed 74, especially if you're on the larger scale. You will actually have sharper focus for things closer to your face.
all optimal ipd does is make things at the infinity focus point (about 1.5m away) sharp. If you bring things closer than around arms length, you're going to be trying to converge your eyes, and the IMAGE presented to you is at a fixed ipd. You'll have some vergence conflict and it'll be blurry. If the lenses in the index curve light towards the eyes in a way that is unique and it's sharp all the way down when you swivel your eyes, ipd will matter a LOT less because it's all sweet spot. In any case, it would be better than perfect ipd on a vive or rift.
Finally, one thing I've always wondered is if, like the vive, the ipd adjustment can be hacked a little.
The vive can actually extend it's ipd a little to the point where you see the edges of the screens by adjusting the way the screw mechanism works. I fiddled with it once my vive was out of warranty. I don't recommend doing it but you can.

[ignacj]

Rift cv1 goes up to 71mm, but you can push lenses further apart to about 72-73. Now Rift does not have good way to adjust lens-to-eye distance, but those extra 1-2mm that you can force lenses apart make huge difference for me. I'm reluctant to sink $1000 into Index if I need to do more hacking to this work. Hopefully new Cosmos will have wider range, altho I was looking forward to traditional station-based tracking Index has.
I'm hoping Index/Cosoms will have lenses that will match or surpass RIft CV1. Vive optics were terrible, very narrow area of sharpness compared to Rift CV1.
Rift S is a dud for me, big step backwards as you would expect from a Facebook product.

[Franc Kaos]

but you can push lenses further apart to about 72-73

I preordered the Index but my IPD is 74. I asked support about it but got a non answer and a link to these discussions. It would be nice to get an official response about this from Valve. I have a Rift and it works ok, but how do push the lenses further apart, I'm curious, cheers.

[Awesomeallen1]

Originally posted by Franc Kaos:

but you can push lenses further apart to about 72-73

I preordered the Index but my IPD is 74. I asked support about it but got a non answer and a link to these discussions. It would be nice to get an official response about this from Valve. I have a Rift and it works ok, but how do push the lenses further apart, I'm curious, cheers.

Hey Franc. Did they every message you back? I only have an IPD of around 74.

[Franc Kaos]

Nothing from Valve, but on Reddit they seem to think I should try it out and just return it if it causes any issues. I might do that and create a Youtube video for people outside the IPD 'norm' on which headsets have a decent IPD range.

Like, the HP Reverb, awesome visuals but they kept with the not great Windows Mixed Reality 2 cam setup / janky controllers and no IPD.

At this point I'm starting to wish Palmer Luckey would get back in the game (his IPD is also pretty big) and build the next gen headset (preferably before my Rift craps out).

[Awesomeallen1]

Originally posted by Franc Kaos:

Nothing from Valve, but on Reddit they seem to think I should try it out and just return it if it causes any issues. I might do that and create a Youtube video for people outside the IPD 'norm' on which headsets have a decent IPD range.

Like, the HP Reverb, awesome visuals but they kept with the not great Windows Mixed Reality 2 cam setup / janky controllers and no IPD.

At this point I'm starting to wish Palmer Luckey would get back in the game (his IPD is also pretty big) and build the next gen headset (preferably before my Rift craps out).

Thank you very much for the reply. If you do ever get your hands on one, doing a review on it would be really helpful :) Thanks!

[Spartan27089]

I just got my valve index myself. It definitely doesn't have enough ipd adjustment. Only goes up to 70mm. I have an ipd of 73.4. I noticed that the lenses were a little loose so I put some cardboard in between the lenses and it seems to work fine now all they needed to do was make the rails a little longer so you can push the lenses out further. Such a shame... great headset otherwise.

[SeriousCCIE]

doesnt work on anything but win 10, right?

I have a few older VR headsets that still work on anything. i am not a fan of this OS dependency when there is no guarantee it'll be supported in the future as business needs change. Same goes for the oculous FB stuff.

I am going to guess there'll never again be a VR headset that doesn't come with a consent eula for privacy violating business practices.

[fl0wf1r3]

I also use the maximum 70mm. I was really wondering why 70mm is already max. I would say I have a very average head. I put on the headset out of the box and I had nothing to adjust

[edhem]

My IPD is 74mm, and as soon as I tried the Valve Index, I started getting a headache. I currently have the HTC Vive and I have tried the Vive Pro, both with 75mm IPD vs the Index' 70mm, and neither of the HTC headsets gave me any issues. I am sad that I will never be able to buy the Index as it appears to be a great device, but only made for smaller people. I have done some research and it also appears that the Pimax headsets are 75mm IPD and are compatible with existing hardware.

I would have thought that the guys in Seattle would have had more consideration to the range of individuals in the US and not the average of the planet where most people are physically much smaller. On the other hand, the Chinese market is much bigger than the Scandinavian and Slavic markets.

[RL Laci]

Dear All.

I'm thinking of buying a Valve Index. Unfortunately only the 70mm max IPD for the Index. My own IPD is 72mm. Do you think the Index would be good for me? Is there anyone using Index with 72mm IPD ?

[edhem]

The HTC Vive has and adjustable IPD, and you can try them at the mall or at Best Buy, or some other stores. Put it on and move the IPD to 72mm then move it to 70mm and see how you like it.

[ignacj]

HTC Vive has VERY NARROW sweet spot, while you can adjust IPD to 74, moving it back to 70 mm will most certainly make things blurry for you. I owed and returned HTC after realizing the sweet spot was too narrow to be able to move your eyes even slightly off-center - i.e. to glance at your vehicle dashboard.
I am getting Index in few days and having IPD of 70mm (reading) and IPD of 76mm (distance). I will report back how well this works for me. Currently I am using Rift CV1 with a foam spreader between lenses that pushes it to 71mm with very good results.