Category: HTC Vive Cosmos

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HTC Vive Cosmos ist eine kabelgebundene VR-Brille

Gestern kündigte HTC die HTC Vive Cosmos auf der CES 2019 an, doch einige Details blieben noch geheim. Jetzt ist klar, dass die VR-Brille nicht kabellos ist, obwohl der Trailer den Anschein erweckt.

HTC Vive Cosmos ist eine kabelgebundene VR-Brille

Die HTC Vive Cosmos ist doch kein direkter Konkurrent zur Oculus Quest, sondern reiht sich eher neben den Windows-Mixed-Reality-Brillen ein. Das bedeutet, dass die Brille zwar auf Inside-Out-Tracking mit vier Kameras setzt, aber nicht autark arbeitet und mit einem zusätzlichen Gerät verbunden werden muss. In erster Linie soll die Brille per Kabel mit einem PC verbunden werden, doch zukünftig könnten auch ausgewählte Smartphones die Brille mit Inhalten versorgen.

Vive Cosmos 2

“Es ist zunächst eine kabelgebundene Lösung, aber wir kommentieren nicht die Spezifikationen oder die PC-Spezifikationen, die dafür erforderlich sind […]. Wir wollten ein Produkt auf der Verbraucherseite entwickeln, […] welches der Benutzer aus der Box nehmen und sehr einfach einrichten kann.” (O’Brien gegenüber UploadVR)

Somit wird die Vive Focus weiterhin die einzige autarke Lösung von HTC bleiben und die Vive Cosmos soll eher durch ihre einfache Installation und Verwendbarkeit punkten. Ob HTC damit tatsächlich neue Kunden erreichen kann, bleibt abzuwarten und wird letztendlich auch vom Preis abhängig sein. Immerhin soll die VR-Brille direkt mit OpenVR und SteamVR kompatibel sein und somit werden auch alle VR-Inhalte auf Steam spielbar sein.

(Quelle: UploadVR)

Der Beitrag HTC Vive Cosmos ist eine kabelgebundene VR-Brille zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

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CES 2019: HTC Vive Cosmos Is A ‘Tethered’ VR Headset, Not A Standalone Like Quest

vive cosmos controllers ces 2019

Yesterday at HTC’s CES 2019 press conference, the company revealed not one but two brand new VR headsets known as the Vive Pro Eye and the Vive Cosmos along with a slew of other announcements.

After the conference was over we got an up-close look at the Vive Cosmos and got the chance to chat with Dan O’Brien, General Manager at HTC, about the newly announced headsets and more.

Following the announcements, the biggest question we had was whether or not the Cosmos is a standalone headset like the Oculus Quest, Vive Focus, and Shadow VR, or if it needs to still be powered by something else like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive do currently. As it turns out, it’s the latter.

“It is a tethered solution initially, but we’re not commenting on the specs or the PC specs that will be required for it,” said O’Brien. “We’ll have a lot more information on future functionality and form factors that it will be supported by in the future.”

When he says “initially” that’s because the plan is to have it become a scalable VR headset that can be used in more than just one configuration, such as perhaps powered by a smartphone like the Gear VR when you’re not at your PC, or a low-power laptop. That’s the idea, anyway.

For those that wanted an answer to the Oculus Quest, HTC has the Vive Focus as an enterprise-targeted product and the Shadow VR headset on its Vive Wave platform as the consumer-facing product.

 

“The Vive Reality system will be able to work with different headsets but this [Cosmos] is the first one,” said O’Brien. “Vive Wave is an SDK that can be ported and used by other headset manufacturers. We have six other headsets that use the Vive Wave SDK and what that gives the hardware partners is not only a run-time that operates in their headset but it also gives them a united storefront for developers to use on the backend and consumers to use on the front end. Whereas the Vive Reality system is a completely new user experience built for the Cosmos, which is a premium-end VR system.”

“This is just the first look of this product, but we wanted to make a product on the consumer side that helped us expand the audience a little bit with an easier set up process that a broader user might be able to take out of the box and set up very easily having an intuitive experience with Origin and Lens to help navigating in there. It’s not us pivoting away from anything, we’re just trying to broaden the audience.”

Until HTC decides to share more information we’re just left wanting more. The Cosmos has a really sleek design, attractive Touch-meets-Tron style controllers, and the potential to be a really great headset. Let’s hope they can deliver something impressive at an affordable consumer-friendly cost.

Let us know what you think of the HTC Vive Cosmos down in the comments below!

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The post CES 2019: HTC Vive Cosmos Is A ‘Tethered’ VR Headset, Not A Standalone Like Quest appeared first on UploadVR.

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Viveport Infinity: Neues Bezahlmodell bietet unbegrenzten Zugriff auf VR-Titel

Auf der CES 2019 veröffentlichte HTC ein neues Bezahlmodell für seine Plattform Viveport. Mit Viveport Infinity erhalten Kunden für ein monatliches Entgelt Zugriff auf sämtliche VR-Inhalte des Stores. Dabei wird Cross-Plattform-Support für Vive-Brillen, Oculus Rift und die neue Vive Cosmos gewährleistet.

Viveport Infinity – Unbegrenzter Zugriff auf Viveport-Content mit neuem Abomodell

HTC führt mit Viveport Infinity ein neues Abomodell als Bezahloption für den Viveport ein. Damit bietet das Unternehmen seinen Abonnenten zukünftig die Option, auf Limitierungen zu verzichten und freien Zugriff auf sämtliche VR-Inhalte zu erhalten. Dabei kommen nicht nur Besitzer einer Vive-Brille auf ihre Kosten, auch Oculus-Rift- Nutzer können sich frei an der Auswahl bedienen.

Bisher konnte man in unterschiedliche Laufzeiten mehr oder weniger Zugriff auf den bereitgestellten Content erhalten:

Viveport

Durch das Infinity-Abo steigert sich die Auswahl allerdings massiv von fünf monatlichen Titeln auf ungefähr fünfhundert VR-Erfahrungen. Somit liegt die Analogie zu einem Netflix- oder Spotify-Abo nahe.

Genaue Informationen über den Preis des neuen Abomodells wurden derzeit noch nicht veröffentlicht. Laut HTC soll es dabei jedoch um eine kostengünstige Variante handeln. Das neue Abo soll am 5. April 2019 zum offiziellen Vive Day erscheinen.

(Quellen: Upload VR | HTC Vive Twitter | Video: HTC Vive YouTube)

Der Beitrag Viveport Infinity: Neues Bezahlmodell bietet unbegrenzten Zugriff auf VR-Titel zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

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HTC Confirms Vive Cosmos Will Support OpenVR/SteamVR

HTC might have given a first look at their new Vive Cosmos headset today, but they weren’t ready to offer many details. The headset is said to be compatible with tether to a PC, but the company also teased that it could be powered by a smartphone too, all under the ‘Vive Reality System’ platform. That’s left some questions about whether or not the headset will interface with SteamVR.

While the Vive originated from a deep partnership between Valve and HTC, in recent years HTC has made moves to be less reliant on Valve’s SteamVR ecosystem. Both the Vive Focus and now the Vive Cosmos have ditched the SteamVR Tracking technology in favor of optical inside-out tracking, and HTC has been focusing heavily on building out its Viveport content platform to pull users away from the SteamVR content library.

SEE ALSO
Viveport Infinity to Bring Unlimited VR Game Downloads to Subscription Members

So when HTC started talking about the ‘Vive Reality System’ (“a completely reimagined way for people to experience the virtual world—encompassing the total user experience from the moment a headset is put on to how content is interacted with,”) and didn’t mention Steam at all, it seemed like they were setting up the headset to be the start of their own, all inclusive ecosystem.

Executives were notably hesitant to talk about SteamVR compatibility for Cosmos when asked, but after some pressing, HTC has confirmed to Road to VR that Cosmos will be OpenVR compatible. Still the company company said it isn’t ready to talk about the “exact implementation.”

OpenVR is Valve’s open API that acts as the interface between VR hardware and software built against the OpenVR API. SteamVR is a runtime that implements OpenVR, which means that it’s interoperable with any OpenVR compatible headset. Because Cosmos is confirmed to support OpenVR, we know it’ll be able to run SteamVR too.

Image courtesy HTC Vive

And even though Cosmos will technically support SteamVR, it sounds like HTC doesn’t want that to be the default condition. The company plans to launch the Vive Reality System alongside the headset, and with it they want to have end-to-end control of the entire customer experience.

Details are still thin on the ground, but from our conversations with the company, we’re getting the sense that the plan is for Cosmos to run the Vive Reality System out of the box, instead of SteamVR. The Vive Reality platform itself could be built as an OpenVR-compatible runtime, allowing HTC layer in its own functionality in place of SteamVR—like the Viveport store, social services, and the default homespace, ‘Origin’, which they talked about today.

They could also potentially expose any OpenVR applications (including those from Steam) from within Vive Reality, effectively allowing users to access their SteamVR content through Vive Reality, though perhaps only if the content doesn’t explicitly rely on any Steam services (like social frameworks) in order to function.

The goal for Cosmos, it seems, is for HTC to make SteamVR optional, but not required, while Vive Reality stands in as the defacto platform.

For now, HTC doesn’t want to get into details, so we’ll have to wait to hear more about how it all comes together by the time Cosmos and Vive Reality launches later this year.

The post HTC Confirms Vive Cosmos Will Support OpenVR/SteamVR appeared first on Road to VR.

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HTC Teases Smartphone Capability With Vive Cosmos

Vive Cosmos is HTC’s newly unveiled PC VR headset that’s slated to release sometime this year. While it’s a tethered device meant to support PCs at launch, HTC teased that it could also be driven by a smartphone.

At its CES 2019 unveiling, a trailer (linked below) prominently showed Cosmos beside the outline of what appears to be an HTC U12+, pointing to the company’s intentions to eventually support mobile devices in addition to PCs.

Afterwards, HTC Vive America GM Dan O’Brien announced that they’d have more to share leading up to Cosmos’ launch, including “the kinds of form-factors it can expand into.”

An HTC spokesperson later confirmed with Road to VR that Vive Cosmos definitely has “additional ambitions” beyond its function as a tethered PC VR headset.

At this point it’s unclear how smartphone connectivity could be handled technically. HTC is staying mum on specs, although we speculate that Cosmos will likely connect to PCs via the VirtualLink connector, a new USB Type-C format that meets the data and power requirements of current and next-generation VR headsets.

Image captured by Road to VR

HTC’s U12+ is a Snapdragon 845 device that supports DisplayPort over its USB-C. It’s not so far-fetched that the company could certify its current and upcoming flagship smartphones to drive the headset’s graphics similar to the way Samsung does with Gear VR. Although less likely, HTC could also certify a wider swath of smartphones from various manufacturers such as Google does with Daydream.

Note: conventional DisplayPort over USB-C can push 4K resolution at 60Hz. Depending upon the final resolution of the headset, which we still don’t know, that could be a higher number.

SEE ALSO
HTC: Vive Cosmos is Not a Successor to the Original Vive

Again, HTC hasn’t put any specs on the table at this point, so it’s uncertain if the headset has Wi-Fi connectivity on-board either. However if it does, the company could go an entirely different route by letting smartphones stream VR content via Wi-Fi to Cosmos. That will invariably introduce additional latency, which is a major factor that a more direct connection would mitigate.

We’re hoping to learn more about Vive Cosmos in the coming months before dev kits head out in early 2019. Moreover, we still need to try it out, as the company didn’t allow demos at CES 2019.

The post HTC Teases Smartphone Capability With Vive Cosmos appeared first on Road to VR.

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HTC: Vive Cosmos is Not a Successor to Original Vive

Today at CES HTC revealed its latest headset, the Vive Cosmos. While the headset is in many ways an evolution from past learnings, the company says it isn’t designed to succeed the original Vive.

While the original HTC Vive launched way back in April of 2016, HTC says that it continues to see strong sales. Today the company unveiled its latest tethered headset, Vive Cosmos, but it isn’t designed to be a ‘Vive 2’.

HTC says its original Vive headset is still going strong. | Image courtesy HTC

With four headsets now in its stables—Vive, Vive Pro, Vive Focus, and Vive Cosmos—HTC is attempting to appeal to range of different users.

Speaking to HTC’s GM of Americas, Dan O’Brien, we learned that the Cosmos is primarily designed to draw new customers into VR, specifically those who haven’t pulled trigger on a headset purchase because of the complexity associated with many of today’s headsets.

O’Brien said that 85% of would-be VR purchasers are citing setup complexity as their roadblock to purchase. HTC is tackling that by putting an inside-out tracking system on Cosmos, which means user’s won’t need to set up any external beacons for tracking, and the headset is expected to connect to the host PC by a single cable. The company is also putting a heavy emphasis on comfort and minimal weight for Cosmos—presumably other areas they’ve identified as keeping customers from purchasing—and further introducing a new software experience called the Vive Reality System to tie everything together.

But the headset isn’t a replacement for the original Vive, O’Brien said. HTC plans to continue to the original Vive product line alongside Cosmos. Another HTC executive wouldn’t say ‘Vive 2’, but did say that the company has plans for a proper successor to the original Vive.

SEE ALSO
HTC Announces Vive Pro Eye Headset With Integrated Eye-tracking

O’Brien broke down the positioning of the company’s four headsets. Vive Pro (and the new Vive Pro Eye) are really focused on enterprise. The original Vive is for enthusiasts who want the precision of SteamVR Tracking, and are looking for a high-end experience. Cosmos is being positioned more as a comfortable headset designed for ease-of-use and flexibility. Meanwhile, Focus represents the company’s standalone effort.

Photo by Road to VR

Put that way, HTC’s four headset strategy seems pretty tidy, but how consumers view the array of devices might not be so cut and dry, especially depending upon the price of Cosmos (which so far HTC isn’t talking about—not even saying if it will represent an ‘entry-level’ price point).

There’s still a lot of questions about the headset, including the fact that Cosmos could one day run from a smartphone, or perhaps lower-end PCs—something which HTC heavily teased but wasn’t ready to talk about. The company plans to begin sending out developer kits for Cosmos soon, with the eventual launch coming later this year, so we expect to hear much more in the coming months.

The post HTC: Vive Cosmos is Not a Successor to Original Vive appeared first on Road to VR.

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CES 2019 Roundup: New VR Headsets, Controllers, Graphics Cards, And More

CES 2019 Roundup: New VR Headsets, Controllers, Graphics Cards, And More

Now that the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is in full swing it can be tough to keep track of everything. Each day is jam-packed full of announcements and as we get the time to go hands-on with everything we’ve got impressions and news stories coming out extremely quickly.

As a result, collecting everything in one place is super handy! You can let this article serve as your one-stop shop for links to everything we’ve written about CES 2019 to date. We’ll try to keep it updated within 24 hours of a story posting, but you should check the CES tag or the UploadVR homepage for real-time updates on all current CES stories.

Headsets

Controllers

Graphics Cards

Software

Other

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Vive Reality System Will be Vive Cosmos’ new VR Portal

The HTC Vive press conference at CES 2019 has certainly been memorable thanks to the unveiling of the Vive Pro Eye and the Vive Cosmos headsets. As part of the latter’s announcement, HTC Vive has revealed the Vive Reality System, designed as a new portal for users to enter virtual reality (VR) worlds.

Vive Reality System

Designed by HTC’s Creative Labs, the Vive Reality System encompasses the total user experience from the moment a headset is put on to how content is interacted with.

Explaining more about the system, Drew Bamford, VP, Creative Labs, HTC Vive said in a statement: “Our philosophy has always been focused on developing great products and experiences that create a natural and effortless bridge from the real world to the virtual world and with Vive Reality System we set out to reimagine Vive’s core software experience to meet these needs. The tools and environments that make up Vive Reality System aim to make spatial computing accessible to everyone, wherever their journey into immersive worlds takes them. We want VR to feel less like launching apps and instead like stepping between worlds.”

The system is still in development, with HTC Vive saying that it ‘includes both operational and experiential elements’ designed to impact its entire portfolio. From the looks of these first images, the Vive Reality System has similarities with both Oculus Home and SteamVR Home, both of which are aiming for a realistic and welcoming home environment.

Vive Reality System

Eventually, the Vive Reality System will power all of HTC Vive’s hardware products, with the first being Vive Cosmos which is slated for launch by the end of 2019. Vive Cosmos is a consumer-focused device that’ll be PC powered whilst providing inside-out tracking for ease of use and setup, hopefully enticing more consumers into VR.

There’s still lots VRFocus doesn’t know about the Vive Reality System. As more details surface in the coming months, we’ll keep you updated on the latest announcements.

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CES 2019: Vive Reality System Looks Like HTC’s Big Departure From SteamVR

CES 2019: Vive Reality System Looks Like HTC’s Big Departure From SteamVR

HTC had a lot to share at its CES 2019 press conference today. Two new VR headsets, Vive Cosmos and Vive Eye Pro, undoubtedly stole the show. But it may be the announcement of the Vive Reality System that proves the be the most significant in the long run.

Vive Reality System is a brand new platform that will power Vive Cosmos. On the one hand, it appears to be the new user-interface where players will launch apps and access HTC’s VR storefront, Viveport. But the trailer below also suggests Vive Reality System will incorporate social VR, allowing friends to meet up with personalized avatars.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this news, however, is what it might mean for SteamVR. Until now, HTC Vive headsets have been entirely dependent on Valve’s VR platform. They utilized the company’s Lighthouse tracking and base stations. But, with Cosmos, HTC is introducing its own inside-out tracking system, free from Valve’s existing hardware. This might mean that Vive Reality System is HTC’s first move away from SteamVR on PC.

HTC has been experimenting with its own VR platforms for some time. In the mobile sector, the company created the Vive Wave platform for use with its Focus standalone headset and third-party devices. It’s possible that Cosmos will end up prioritizing Vive Reality System but also allow access to SteamVR games. Microsoft’s Windows-based VR headsets already do something similar for the Windows Mixed Reality platform. Cosmos will be releasing later this year, so we’ll be able to clean up our many questions then.

Still, HTC won’t be entirely abandoning SteamVR. The Vive Eye Pro will still require base stations for tracking. Speaking to UploadVR at CES, HTC’s Dan O’Brien said that the company will continue to make products that support Valve’s platform.

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HTC Unveils PC VR Headset Vive Cosmos, Dev Kits Coming Early 2019

At a special CES event today, HTC unveiled their latest PC VR headset, Vive Cosmos.

Unlike Vive Focus, the company’s 6DOF standalone headset that launched first in China with a single 3DOF controller, Vive Cosmos is being advertised as a 6DOF PC VR headset, replete with all the room-tracking & controller-tracking tech packed onto the headset itself.

Vive Comos is said to launch sometime in 2019, although HTC isn’t talking about a more exact launch window just yet. HTC will first offer developer kits of Vive Cosmos in early 2019, with more details on availability and price will be announced later in the year.

Image captured by Road to VR

Cosmos is said to have the capability to be powered by “more than a traditional gaming PC,” with the possibility teased in the trailer (linked below) that it might also be driven by a smartphone in the future. It’s uncertain what wireless capability it has. The headset on display didn’t feature any wires, although HTC hasn’t announced either at the press event or in press literature that the headset is wireless.

The company is staying tight-lipped on specs for now as well, although from looking at the headset it’s clear Cosmos features Fresnel lenses (very similar, if not the same lenses as in the Vive, Vive Pro and Vive Focus), IPD adjustment knob on right side, a flip-up design, and possibly also internal active cooling as evidenced by a vent located prominently on the front of the headset.

Image captured by Road to VR

The headset features integrated audio that appears to flip up as well, similar to the Vive Pro’s audio solution. Cosmos’ headphones also appear to be removable. Images provided by HTC show both the headphones attached and detached.

Image courtesy HTC

Cosmos sports six on-board camera sensors, giving the headset a presumably large-enough capture area to track the Cosmos’ optically-tracked controllers, which features LEDs in an always-on tribal-esque pattern.

Image captured by Road to VR

Above all, it seems HTC is billing Vive Cosmos as an easily-deployable headset that doesn’t require a lengthy setup such as the original HTC Vive, which requires placing (and plugging in) SteamVR tracking stations in optimal areas in the playspace.

“We found that over 85% of VR intenders believe that ease of use and set up is the most important factor to consider while purchasing a headset,” said Daniel O’Brien, GM, Americas, HTC Vive. “We believe Cosmos will make VR more easily accessible to those who may not have invested in VR before and also be a superior experience for VR enthusiasts.”

Again, we don’t have much further info at this time, as there aren’t any hands-on demos going on here at CES. However if we learn more in the coming hours at the event, we’ll update here.

The post HTC Unveils PC VR Headset Vive Cosmos, Dev Kits Coming Early 2019 appeared first on Road to VR.