Discrete HMD

Discrete HMD also known as Tethered HMD is a type of mostly virtual reality head-mounted display that supplies everything required for an immersive VR experience aside from the processing. It contains display, lenses, rotational tracking, positional tracking, audio and advanced input. For processing, Discrete HMDs are connected to PCs through cables. Certain Discrete HMDs such as the PlayStation VR use consoles instead of PCs for processing. While this type of HMD is less mobile than its 2 counter parts, it is able to deliver the best VR experience. To deliver positional tracking, Discrete HMDs utilize external sensors that are placed external to the user or HMD. They also have custom Input gadgets built with 6DOF tracking in mind. Note that newer Discrete HMD such as Pico Neo 2 is not tethered to its PC, instead it wirelessly streams from the PC to the HMD.

Discrete HMDs require powerful PCs to run their demanding games and software. Not counting the cost of PC, Discrete HMDs is cheaper than Slide-on HMDs and more expensive than Integrated HMDs.