Sony’s updated PlayStation VR won’t block HDR
It’s been almost a year since Sony formally entered the virtual reality arena with the launch of the PlayStation VR (PSVR) headset. In that time, the unit has remained unchanged, but its pricing has slipped slightly, allowing gamers to enjoy popular titles like Superhot VR, Robinson: The Journey and Farpoint. Seemingly out of nowhere, Sony announced today that it’s working on an updated version of the headset and that it will come with integrated headphones and HDR passthrough support.
If you own or have worn a PSVR headset, you’ll know that the headphones need to be connected via the 3.5mm port on the side of the inline “remote.” It’s not particularly taxing, but it does mean there’s another cable loosely dangling around as you’re moving about a room. To improve this, Sony has updated the design of the headset to integrate the stereo headphones at the back of the unit, while simultaneously making the connection cable slimmer to reduce its overall profile.
In order to enable HDR passthrough, Sony’s new headset will ship with an updated PSVR Processor Unit. This will allow headset owners to enjoy HDR-compatible content on their TV without having to unplug the unit first. The PlayStation 4 got an HDR update last year, but it required manual disconnection to enable it.
Sony doesn’t say when we can expect the new headset to launch, but it did note that pricing would stay the same. The company has also warned existing owners that they will not be able to hotswap the Processor Unit in order to enjoy HDR content as the cabling is different. However, all PSVR games will operate as normal, so if you do upgrade from the CUH-ZVR1 to the CUH-ZVR2 model, nothing will change on that front.
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