DPVR E4C — specification and verdict
The E4C is the DPVR E4 with the inside-out cameras and the controllers taken out, and the price cut to $398. It keeps the 1832x1920-per-eye fast LCD, Fresnel optics and a 116-degree field of view, so a trainee can read gauges, labels and cockpit instruments comfortably at 90 Hz. What it cannot do is let anyone walk, lean or reach: tracking is orientation-only, so the picture turns with the head but does not move with the body. That makes it usable for a fixed-seat scenario driven by a wheel, a stick or a motion chair, and unusable for any lesson where the trainee has to pick something up, point at a hazard or step around a machine. There is no passthrough, so the operator has to lift the flip-up visor to see the room.
The E4C is a display, not a computer: every unit needs a Windows PC with a DisplayPort 1.2 output and a USB 3.2 port, and the PC is what you actually have to manage, patch and secure. DPVR sells directly for volume orders, hardware customisation and integration, but there is no device management console, no kiosk mode and no enterprise licensing to buy, because the headset has no operating system of its own. Hygiene is the one thing it does well for shared use: the silicone facial interface is replaceable and the visor flips up between users, so a queue moves without anyone taking the headset off their head. In Poland and Germany you buy through DPVR's B2B channel or an integrator rather than off a shelf, and the real budget line is the PC and the seat rig, not the $398 headset.
Do not buy this for a standalone VR training fleet. Our courses are Android applications with 6DoF controllers, and the E4C has neither an Android system nor any controller at all, so nothing we ship runs on it. It earns its place only if you already own a motion seat, a racing rig or a flight simulator with its own PC software, and want the cheapest durable headset that shows that software to a queue of people.
How it compares within its class
The axis runs from the lowest to the highest published figure among the VR — PC-tethered devices in this catalogue. The grey tick is the median of that class.
Median for this class: 110°, from 39 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: $899, from 45 models that publish the figure.
Controllers and hand tracking
Ships without controllers, and does not track hands either.
Bare hands
No hand tracking.
Full specification
An em dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure.
- ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from.
- DPVR
- CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all.
- VR — PC-tethered
- Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it.
- PC-powered VR
- AnnouncedThe day it was shown, which is not the day it shipped.
- 2023-10-03
- ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category.
- 2023
- AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today.
- On sale
- Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy.
- Support ends: not published by the manufacturer
- PanelThe screen type. micro-OLED gives deeper blacks and higher contrast; LCD is brighter and cheaper.
- LCD
- OpticsThe lenses in front of the panel. Pancake stays sharp closer to the edges than older Fresnel, which decides how much a trainee has to aim their head to read something.
- Fresnel lenses
- Eyes coveredOne eye or both. Over a full shift this is a real difference in fatigue.
- Both eyes
- Resolution per eyePixels delivered to each eye. Higher means small text and labels stay readable.
- ≈1832x1920*VRcompare — DPVR E4C
- Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort.
- 90 Hz
- Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work.
- 116°
- Pixel densityPixels per degree of view — the honest way to compare sharpness between a headset and a pair of glasses. Higher is sharper. Only shown where somebody published it; we never compute it ourselves.
- Pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does.
- Brightness: not published by the manufacturer
- WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour.
- ≈250 g*VRcompare — DPVR E4C
- Visible field of viewWhat the eye actually sees through the optics, by axis.
- 95° horizontal · 95° vertical · 115° diagonal
- Rendered field of viewWhat the device draws. Never smaller than what you see.
- 96° horizontal · 96° vertical · 115.03° diagonal
- Binocular overlapWhere both eyes see the same thing — this is where depth happens.
- ≈96°*VRcompare
- Average pixel densityPixels per degree across the image. More is sharper.
- Average pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Peak pixel densityThe sharpest point, usually the centre of the lens.
- Peak pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Subpixel layoutHow the coloured dots sit in a pixel. A stripe looks cleaner on text than PenTile.
- RGB stripe · 3 subpixels per pixel
- Foveated renderingWhether detail is dropped outside where you look, to save performance.
- Foveated rendering: not published by the manufacturer
- PassthroughWhat the front cameras give you: colour, grayscale, or nothing.
- None
- Passthrough camerasResolution, density and frame rate of that camera feed.
- Passthrough cameras: not published by the manufacturer
- IPD adjustmentMatching lens spacing to the eyes. Motorised is fastest when one headset passes between people.
- IPD adjustment: not published by the manufacturer
- IPD rangeHow far the lenses travel to match eye spacing. A narrow range excludes part of any group of adults, which matters when one headset is shared.
- 53–73 mm
- Works with glassesWhether people who wear glasses can use it — fits over them, or takes prescription lens inserts.
- Works with glasses: not published by the manufacturer
- Vision correctionHow somebody who wears glasses uses it, and in what dioptre range.
- Vision correction: not published by the manufacturer
- DimensionsWidth, height and depth of the device itself.
- ≈173 × 80 × 82 mm*VRcompare — DPVR E4C
- Weight with strapWith the strap it ships with — the weight you actually wear.
- ≈450 g*VRcompare — DPVR E4C
- Head strapSoft band or a rigid one. Decides how the weight sits over an hour.
- Rigid strap with a dial
- MaterialsShell and facial interface, in the vendor’s words.
- plastic · silicone facial interface
- ColoursColours the manufacturer sells it in.
- Black
- Haptics in the headsetVibration in the headset itself, not in the controllers.
- No
- TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed.
- 3DoF orientation only, no positional tracking
- Base stationsWhether boxes have to be mounted on the walls before it works.
- Not needed
- Tracking camerasHow many cameras it uses to know where it is.
- Tracking cameras: not published by the manufacturer
- Tracking rateHow often position is recalculated. Higher is steadier.
- Tracking rate: not published by the manufacturer
- Depth sensorA dedicated sensor for distance, on top of the cameras.
- Depth sensor: not published by the manufacturer
- Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone.
- No
- Eye trackingThe headset knows where the trainee is looking. Enables sharper rendering where they look, and attention analytics.
- No
- Face trackingTracks facial expression — for avatars, not for training scenarios.
- No
- Body trackingHow much of the body the device knows about. Estimated legs are not tracked legs.
- None
- Controllers includedWhether motion controllers come in the box, or are bought separately — or the device is hands-only.
- No
- Controller tracking6DoF controllers track position and rotation, so a hand reaches in space; 3DoF only point. “None” means hands only.
- None (hands only)
- Other controllersWhether the headset works with controllers other than the ones it ships with.
- Other controllers: not published by the manufacturer
- Other input methodsWays in beyond controllers and bare hands.
- Other input methods: not published by the manufacturer
- Runs Skillsive appsOur own statement about whether Skillsive training applications run on it today.
- No
- Suitable for trainingOur judgement on whether it survives real deployment: comfort, hygiene, fleet management.
- Yes
- Kiosk mode / MDMVendor tooling to enrol devices, push an app and lock the headset to it. Practically required above ten devices.
- No
- Business tierAn official business tier, so devices belong to the company rather than to employees’ personal accounts.
- No
- Swappable facial interfaceRemovable, wipeable face padding. A consumable, and the difference between shared use and complaints.
- Yes
- CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine".
- Certifications: not published by the manufacturer
- PortsPhysical sockets and charging contacts.
- DisplayPort 1.2 · USB 3.2 · 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi generation — it decides how well wireless streaming holds up.
- Wi-Fi: not published by the manufacturer
- BluetoothFor controllers, headphones and accessories.
- Bluetooth: not published by the manufacturer
- Video from a computerWhether a computer can drive it, over a cable or wirelessly.
- Video from a computer: not published by the manufacturer
- AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working.
- Built-in speakers · Headphone jack
- MicrophoneBuilt-in microphone — the other half of talking to a remote expert.
- Yes
- MicrophonesHow many. An array picks a voice out of a noisy hall; one does not.
- Microphones: not published by the manufacturer
- Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale.
- Entry level
- Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale.
- $398
- Price by configurationWhat each configuration cost at launch.
- Price by configuration: not published by the manufacturer
- Price todayApproximate current net price in USD — a general figure, since these barely differ between regions once tax is stripped out. A snapshot from the date shown, not an offer.
- $398
- Comfort (from reviews)How it wears over a full session. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers, not from our own testing.
- Comfort (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Edge clarity (from reviews)Sharpness away from the centre of the lens. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Edge clarity (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Tracking reliability (from reviews)How tracking holds up in poor light and fast movement. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Tracking reliability (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews)How usable controller-free hand tracking is in a training scenario. Scored from agreement between reviewers.
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
Who this device is for
Arcade and theme-park operators, driving and flight simulator builders, and anyone running a fixed-seat rig where a PC application already provides the interaction and the headset only has to show the picture and survive being handled all day. Not for EHS or fire-safety courses, and not for anything a trainee is meant to do with their hands.
What is missing, and what the manufacturer does not publish
DPVR does not publish a full spec sheet on the product page - it asks you to download one or contact sales - and where its newsroom does give numbers they disagree with VRcompare: DPVR states 90 Hz and DisplayPort 1.2, VRcompare lists 120 Hz and DisplayPort 1.4. We took the manufacturer's figures. The 116-degree field of view DPVR quotes carries no axis, and VRcompare's 115-degree diagonal suggests it is a diagonal number rather than horizontal. Nobody publishes an end-of-support or end-of-sale date, so how long the E4C stays orderable is unknown.
DPVR E4C in independent reviews
Reviews we consider worth your time, each with a note on what the reviewer actually tested and why it matters for a training rollout. We do not own this hardware, so the tests are theirs — the reading of them is ours.
- Cas and Chary XR2023
This tests the E4 rather than the E4C, and the shared optical and tethering design is what carries over. The reviewers say outright that the previous DPVR PC headset was bad enough that they nearly skipped this one — a useful reminder that this maker's generations differ sharply.
Watch on YouTube - SadlyItsBradley2022
An unboxing of the E4, the sibling model, from a channel that takes headsets apart for a living. He flags design decisions he considers strange before the device is even switched on — worth watching for the build critique, which the E4C shares.
Watch on YouTube - MRTV - MIXED REALITY TV2023
Again the E4, run in Microsoft Flight Simulator on a mid-range card, and framed as the option for people who cannot pay flagship prices. That is the position the whole DPVR PC line occupies, this SKU included. The description carries an affiliate link.
Watch on YouTube
Nothing is sent to YouTube until you press play. Once you do, Google receives your IP address and device data and may process them outside the EEA — see our privacy policy for the details.
DPVR E4C — frequently asked questions
- Does the DPVR E4C have positional tracking?
- No. The E4C is the E4 with its inside-out tracking cameras removed, which is how DPVR got the price down to $398. It reports head orientation only, so the view turns when you turn your head but does not shift when you lean or stand up. Anything that requires room-scale movement needs a different headset.
- What do you give up by paying $398 for the E4C instead of the full DPVR E4?
- Two things: the inside-out tracking cameras and the controllers, which are not included in the E4C box at all. You keep the same 1832x1920-per-eye LCD, the Fresnel optics and the flip-up halo strap. If your simulator already supplies the input through a wheel, a stick or a button box, you lose nothing you were going to use.
- Can I run Skillsive VR training courses on a DPVR E4C?
- No. Our courses are standalone Android applications that need 6DoF controllers, and the E4C has no operating system of its own and ships without controllers - it is a screen driven by a Windows PC over DisplayPort. For our training content choose a standalone Android headset with 6DoF tracking instead.
Compare this device
Consider these too
The nearest devices in the same class, ranked by availability and launch price — not by our opinion of them.
Specifications checked against the manufacturer's page on 2026-08-08. Manufacturer's specification
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