The PVR IRIS: A Stand-alone VR Porn Headset That Won’t Break The Bank [UPDATED]

Product gains backing from adult industry bigwigs. 

One of the top consumer barriers to accessing VR porn is the cost of the necessary equipment.

If you have a few hundred dollars to spare, you can buy a VR headset like Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. But then you’ll also need a pricy computer that supports the technology. Even if you opt for the more affordable smartphone-compatible headgear like Google Cardboard, you’ll still need to have the funds for an expensive phone to begin with.

Enter the PVR IRIS, an option that could very well give people a VR porn experience without breaking the bank.

Designed for one purpose

Currently being crowdfunded on Indiegogo, the PVR IRIS is advertised as an all-in-one head-mounted display designed solely for immersive adult entertainment. The current discounted pricing for the headset starts at $199.

It has jumped in the ring with other stand-alone headsets, such as WeVeer and VRotica, made solely with VR porn in mind. But the PVR IRIS may have an edge with VR entrepreneur Ela Darling as its Chief Marketing Officer.

In addition to selling headgear, the PVR IRIS will also offer a subscription-based virtual reality service, similar to that of VRPorn.com [NSFW] that will cost $99/year. Initial backers, however, will receive free access to the content library’s full-length clips for two years.

Hardware-wise, the headset is definitely impressive: 1.5x higher resolution than the Samsung Gear VR system, a three-hour battery life, and a Fresnel optical system that will supposedly prevent wearers from getting dizzy.

Impressive partnerships and IoT compatibility

Content-wise, the PVR IRIS boasts that users will be able to access a wide range of erotic content, including gay and straight videos and—in the future—transgender films.

Apparently, this will be provided through an impressive list of partners, including BaDoinkVR [NSFW], HoloGirlsVR [NSFW], and many others.

After launch, there will also be the opportunity for subscribers to earn PVR tokens, similar to the way Vice Industry Tokens (VIT) work.

Finally, the campaign says that its system will be able to be integrated with remote and interactive sex toys. However, it does not state which devices will be compatible.

Get the perks!

At the time of publication, the Indiegogo campaign has earned just over $11,000; 79% of its goal.

Backers can get a headset for $199; or two for $378; or they can grab a set of “fun tissues” for a pledge of $15. The campaign states that estimated delivery of these perks will happen in October, but the headsets began shipping at the end of August.

Bang for your buck

Darling told Future of Sex the team is still bringing on adult production companies. While she didn’t give a numerical estimate for how large the video collection will be, she added “there will be a pretty large library available at launch with both POV and non-POV content featuring men, women, and hopefully trans folx as well.”

Users will also be able to access content from studios not partnered with PVR IRIS. In order to do so, they will need to load external content on a Micro SD card and plug it into the PVR IRIS headset.

This means that if PVR IRIS backers on a tight budget don’t want to renew their subscriptions after two years, they can still use the head-mounted display.

“They just won’t have access to the VIP content with regular video releases provided under the subscription plan. We will offer [video-on-demand] options as well and are currently on-boarding most of the big adult VR studios to provide easy access to a large variety of content, regardless of subscription,” Darling said.

The idea of the PVR IRIS is certainly intriguing. Its low cost and ease of use could be the deciding factor for people who want to give VR porn a try without having to make a huge dollar investment.

Image sources: PVR IRIS