Other devices will recognise it as a standard HD TV.
It turns out that Sony’s new PlayStation VR is compatible with any device that features a HDMI-out port, such as the Xbox One or Wii U, albeit in a heavily limited form.
According to a video by Digital Foundry (which you can view below), third party devices such as consoles or PCs will recognise Sony’s virtual reality headset as a standard 1080p HD TV. This does mean that while you won’t be able to access any virtual reality features with devices that aren’t the PlayStation 4, you could easily use the headset in lieu of a television or monitor for your other game consoles or PC.
The image outputted by the third-party devices devices will then be displayed using the PS VR’s ‘cinematic mode,’ appearing to the player as a large 2D screen.
One thing of note is that even if you’re not sending video from a PS4 to the PS VR headset, the device must still be connected to Sony’s current generation console via the USB port in order for ‘cinema mode’ to function.
I’m curious to see what would happen if you plugged a PS4 into an Xbox One’s HDMI-in port before sending video from Microsoft’s console to the PS VR headset. My guess? Additional input lag.
