The HTC Vive is a virtual reality headset created in collaboration by the phone company HTC and the pc gaming company Valve. This headset is one of the few on the market with "room-scale" technology. This lets you move around your room as if it were a 3D space in the game.
Development
After Phil Chen (Chief Content Officer for HTC) first learned about the technology behind virtual reality in 2015, he became intrigued and met with Valve, the company behind the successful PC gaming platform. Later that same year, HTC revealed the Vive to the world.
Hardware
The HTC Vive comes with 1 headset, 2 lighthouses (sensors), 2 motion-tracked controllers, as well as all the necessary chargers. The lighthouse sensors keep track of your space which can range from a minimum of 5x6.5 feet to a maximum of 15x15 feet. HTC has also announced that they will be releasing wireless trackers (pictured below on the bottom of the bat) that you can attach to anything. Basically, with these trackers, you will be able to bring any real-world object into the virtual world. Playing baseball? Attach the tracker to your bat! Also not included in the packaging, Vive has a few accessories available that you can buy through their website, such as their Deluxe Audio strap which is essentially a headphone set that attaches right onto you Vive headset. It is helpful to have a computer that can handle this large amount of data that this system requires, with a graphics card that will make the games or experiences not constantly freeze or be slow or not work at all. Here is the information that HTC recommends that you have for your system: (link to website containing information) RECOMMENDED COMPUTER SPECS: Processor: Intel™ Core™ i5-4590 or AMD FX™ 8350, equivalent or betterGraphics: NVIDIA GeForce™ GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon™ RX 480, equivalent or better. For additional graphics card options, .Memory: 4 GB RAM or more
Headset
1 screen per eye at 1080x1200 each and a refresh rate of 90Hz. More than 70 infrared sensors along with gyroscopes and accelerometers allow the Vive to detect movement down to the millimeter. While it does support bluetooth headsets, it also comes with an audio input plug so you can plug your headphones in. It also comes with spare USB slots so if your wireless controllers happen to die right when you are in the middle of a game, you can just plug them into your headset and keep playing.
Pros
There are a lot of similarities between the Vive and its competitors. In my opinion, the biggest reason to choose a Vive is because of it's range of uses and content. Because the Vive software is integrated with your PC, not only do you get the same content (if not more), but you open yourself up to the world of 3rd party apps. Want to watch 3D movies without having to buy the $15 Virtual Desktop app? Not a problem thanks to 3rd party apps like DeoVive that let you watch any movie that you want. Want to play a game that is only exclusive to the Oculus Rift? With the 3rd party app Revive, now you can!
Cons
The biggest con to buying the Vive is without a doubt its price tag. Fortunately, the price was recently dropped in August from $799 to $599. This has made it immensely more competitive with the Oculus Rift still at its original price of $499. Another drawback is its bulky headset cord.
Mixed Reality
One of the coolest features that most people are unaware of, is the Vive's ability to produce mixed reality videos. Mixed reality is when you use a green screen to make in look like you are actually inside the game. To do this, you need a 3rd Vive controller, a green screen, and a camera. The green screen is used to overlay the video game footage, and the controller attaches to the camera as a tracker. Once you match up your camera's perspective with the perspective of the in-game camera, the results should end up like this:
Movies
Hate going to the movie theaters, but love the feeling of watching a movie on a big screen? In addition to video games, you can also watch movies in 360, 3D, as well as in regular 2D format. This means that any 3D movie that you can watch in theaters, you can also watch at home on your Vive easily with programs like Virtual Desktop, DeoVive, and Vive Video.
Vive Pro
Valve announced a new version of the Vive headset called the Vive Pro on January 8, 2018. This new version of the headset improves upon the original version in a number of ways but two of these improvements stand out above the rest. The first is a dramatic increase in display resolution from the original 2160x1200 by 78% to 2880x1600. This greatly improves clarity and helps the user feel much more immersed in the game they are playing. The second major improvement is the introduction of the Vive Wireless Adapter. This allows the Vive headset to be used without any cables making it much easier to move around without tripping over cables. The Vive Wireless Adapter will be included with the Vive Pro model and also sold separately for older headsets. There is currently no release date for the Vive Pro, but it is expected to release for the public sometime in 2018.
Future Plans
Vive has announced that is has partnered up with Logitech to make keyboards visible in VR. One of the biggest issues with VR games is you want to be able to have the option to use your keyboard. For some games, like Elite Dangerous, it's basically a requirement to use your keyboard, but your only option is to either memorize the layout or keep pulling your headset off. In order to fix this Logitech has created a device called the Bridge. Once you plug this into your computer, your Vive will be able to emulate your keyboard into the VR world. At the moment, this only works with Logitech keyboards.
Development After Phil Chen (Chief Content Officer for HTC) first learned about the technology behind virtual reality in 2015, he became intrigued and met with Valve, the company behind the successful PC gaming platform. Later that same year, HTC revealed the Vive to the world.
Hardware The HTC Vive comes with 1 headset, 2 lighthouses (sensors), 2 motion-tracked controllers, as well as all the necessary chargers. The lighthouse sensors keep track of your space which can range from a minimum of 5x6.5 feet to a maximum of 15x15 feet. HTC has also announced that they will be releasing wireless trackers that you can attach to anything. Basically, with these trackers, you will be able to bring any real-world object into the virtual world. Also not included in the packaging, Vive has a few accessories available that you can buy through their website, such as their Deluxe Audio strap which is essentially a headphone set that attaches right onto you Vive headset.
Headset 1 screen per eye at 1080x1200 each and a refresh rate of 90Hz. More than 70 infrared sensors along with gyroscopes and accelerometers allow the Vive to detect movement down to the millimeter.
Pros There are a lot of similarities between the Vive and its competitors. In my opinion, the biggest reason to choose a Vive is because of it's range of uses and content. Because the Vive software is integrated with your PC, not only do you get the same content (if not more), but you open yourself up to the world of 3rd party apps. Want to watch 3D movies without having to buy the $15 Virtual Desktop app? Not a problem thanks to 3rd party apps like DeoVive that let you watch any movie that you want. Want to play a game that is only exclusive to the Oculus Rift? With the 3rd party app Revive, now you can!
Cons The biggest con to buying the Vive is without a doubt its price tag. Fortunately, the price was recently dropped in August from $799 to $599. This has made it immensely more competitive with the Oculus Rift still at its original price of $499. Another drawback is its bulky headset cord.
Mixed Reality One of the coolest features that most people are unaware of, is the Vive's ability to produce mixed reality videos. Mixed reality is when you use a green screen to make in look like you are actually inside the game. To do this, you need a 3rd Vive controller, a green screen, and a camera. The green screen is used to overlay the video game footage, and the controller attaches to the camera as a tracker. Once you match up your camera's perspective with the perspective of the in-game camera, the results should end up like this:
HTC Vive
The HTC Vive is a virtual reality headset created in collaboration by the phone company HTC and the pc gaming company Valve. This headset is one of the few on the market with "room-scale" technology. This lets you move around your room as if it were a 3D space in the game.Development
After Phil Chen (Chief Content Officer for HTC) first learned about the technology behind virtual reality in 2015, he became intrigued and met with Valve, the company behind the successful PC gaming platform. Later that same year, HTC revealed the Vive to the world.Hardware
The HTC Vive comes with 1 headset, 2 lighthouses (sensors), 2 motion-tracked controllers, as well as all the necessary chargers. The lighthouse sensors keep track of your space which can range from a minimum of 5x6.5 feet to a maximum of 15x15 feet. HTC has also announced that they will be releasing wireless trackers (pictured below on the bottom of the bat) that you can attach to anything. Basically, with these trackers, you will be able to bring any real-world object into the virtual world. Playing baseball? Attach the tracker to your bat! Also not included in the packaging, Vive has a few accessories available that you can buy through their website, such as their Deluxe Audio strap which is essentially a headphone set that attaches right onto you Vive headset. It is helpful to have a computer that can handle this large amount of data that this system requires, with a graphics card that will make the games or experiences not constantly freeze or be slow or not work at all. Here is the information that HTC recommends that you have for your system: (link to website containing information)RECOMMENDED COMPUTER SPECS:
Processor: Intel™ Core™ i5-4590 or AMD FX™ 8350, equivalent or betterGraphics: NVIDIA GeForce™ GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon™ RX 480, equivalent or better. For additional graphics card options, .Memory: 4 GB RAM or more
Headset
1 screen per eye at 1080x1200 each and a refresh rate of 90Hz. More than 70 infrared sensors along with gyroscopes and accelerometers allow the Vive to detect movement down to the millimeter.While it does support bluetooth headsets, it also comes with an audio input plug so you can plug your headphones in. It also comes with spare USB slots so if your wireless controllers happen to die right when you are in the middle of a game, you can just plug them into your headset and keep playing.
Pros
There are a lot of similarities between the Vive and its competitors. In my opinion, the biggest reason to choose a Vive is because of it's range of uses and content. Because the Vive software is integrated with your PC, not only do you get the same content (if not more), but you open yourself up to the world of 3rd party apps. Want to watch 3D movies without having to buy the $15 Virtual Desktop app? Not a problem thanks to 3rd party apps like DeoVive that let you watch any movie that you want. Want to play a game that is only exclusive to the Oculus Rift? With the 3rd party app Revive, now you can!Cons
The biggest con to buying the Vive is without a doubt its price tag. Fortunately, the price was recently dropped in August from $799 to $599. This has made it immensely more competitive with the Oculus Rift still at its original price of $499. Another drawback is its bulky headset cord.Mixed Reality
One of the coolest features that most people are unaware of, is the Vive's ability to produce mixed reality videos. Mixed reality is when you use a green screen to make in look like you are actually inside the game. To do this, you need a 3rd Vive controller, a green screen, and a camera. The green screen is used to overlay the video game footage, and the controller attaches to the camera as a tracker. Once you match up your camera's perspective with the perspective of the in-game camera, the results should end up like this:Movies
Hate going to the movie theaters, but love the feeling of watching a movie on a big screen? In addition to video games, you can also watch movies in 360, 3D, as well as in regular 2D format. This means that any 3D movie that you can watch in theaters, you can also watch at home on your Vive easily with programs like Virtual Desktop, DeoVive, and Vive Video.Vive Pro
Valve announced a new version of the Vive headset called the Vive Pro on January 8, 2018. This new version of the headset improves upon the original version in a number of ways but two of these improvements stand out above the rest. The first is a dramatic increase in display resolution from the original 2160x1200 by 78% to 2880x1600. This greatly improves clarity and helps the user feel much more immersed in the game they are playing. The second major improvement is the introduction of the Vive Wireless Adapter. This allows the Vive headset to be used without any cables making it much easier to move around without tripping over cables. The Vive Wireless Adapter will be included with the Vive Pro model and also sold separately for older headsets. There is currently no release date for the Vive Pro, but it is expected to release for the public sometime in 2018.Future Plans
Vive has announced that is has partnered up with Logitech to make keyboards visible in VR. One of the biggest issues with VR games is you want to be able to have the option to use your keyboard. For some games, like Elite Dangerous, it's basically a requirement to use your keyboard, but your only option is to either memorize the layout or keep pulling your headset off. In order to fix this Logitech has created a device called the Bridge. Once you plug this into your computer, your Vive will be able to emulate your keyboard into the VR world. At the moment, this only works with Logitech keyboards.Sources
https://www.vive.com/us/
https://www.engadget.com/2016/03/18/htc-vive-an-oral-history/
https://www.engadget.com/2015/03/04/a-history-of-valve-vr/
https://hothardware.com/news/htc-vive-and-logitech-bridge-bring-a-life-like-typing-experience-to-virtual-reality
https://blog.vive.com/us/2018/01/08/htc-vive-raises-bar-premium-vr-new-vive-pro-upgrade-wireless-vive-adaptor/
HTC Vive
The HTC Vive is a virtual reality headset created in collaboration by the phone company HTC and the pc gaming company Valve. This headset is one of the few on the market with "room-scale" technology. This lets you move around your room as if it were a 3D space in the game.
Development
After Phil Chen (Chief Content Officer for HTC) first learned about the technology behind virtual reality in 2015, he became intrigued and met with Valve, the company behind the successful PC gaming platform. Later that same year, HTC revealed the Vive to the world.
Hardware
The HTC Vive comes with 1 headset, 2 lighthouses (sensors), 2 motion-tracked controllers, as well as all the necessary chargers. The lighthouse sensors keep track of your space which can range from a minimum of 5x6.5 feet to a maximum of 15x15 feet. HTC has also announced that they will be releasing wireless trackers that you can attach to anything. Basically, with these trackers, you will be able to bring any real-world object into the virtual world. Also not included in the packaging, Vive has a few accessories available that you can buy through their website, such as their Deluxe Audio strap which is essentially a headphone set that attaches right onto you Vive headset.
Headset
1 screen per eye at 1080x1200 each and a refresh rate of 90Hz. More than 70 infrared sensors along with gyroscopes and accelerometers allow the Vive to detect movement down to the millimeter.
Pros
There are a lot of similarities between the Vive and its competitors. In my opinion, the biggest reason to choose a Vive is because of it's range of uses and content. Because the Vive software is integrated with your PC, not only do you get the same content (if not more), but you open yourself up to the world of 3rd party apps. Want to watch 3D movies without having to buy the $15 Virtual Desktop app? Not a problem thanks to 3rd party apps like DeoVive that let you watch any movie that you want. Want to play a game that is only exclusive to the Oculus Rift? With the 3rd party app Revive, now you can!
Cons
The biggest con to buying the Vive is without a doubt its price tag. Fortunately, the price was recently dropped in August from $799 to $599. This has made it immensely more competitive with the Oculus Rift still at its original price of $499. Another drawback is its bulky headset cord.
Mixed Reality
One of the coolest features that most people are unaware of, is the Vive's ability to produce mixed reality videos. Mixed reality is when you use a green screen to make in look like you are actually inside the game. To do this, you need a 3rd Vive controller, a green screen, and a camera. The green screen is used to overlay the video game footage, and the controller attaches to the camera as a tracker. Once you match up your camera's perspective with the perspective of the in-game camera, the results should end up like this: