Category: HTC Vive Cosmos

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HTC Vive Cosmos is the Latest Headset to Feature Inside-out Tracking

Not satisfied with announcing one new headset at CES 2019 today, HTC Vive has gone and revealed a second which looks to be far more consumer-focused, the HTC Vive Cosmos.

HTC Vive Cosmos

The new head-mounted display (HMD) has a focus on comfort claims HTC Vive, with the device featuring a flip-up design for ease of use and an adjustable headband similar to the PlayStation VR. More importantly, Vive Cosmos includes inside-out tracking, meaning no external sensors are required when setting up.

“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 in a statement. “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.”

Another aspect of the Vive Cosmos that HTC Vive is touting is its modular design. Currently, the headset is powered by a PC – which sounds like it’ll be cable-based – but the design does have aspirations of adding mobile support. While seeming like a direct competitor to Oculus Quest, the Vive Cosmos isn’t quite there yet.

HTC Vive Cosmos

The new controllers also bear a similar design to those found on Oculus Quest and Windows Mixed Reality headsets, although the illuminated sections do feature a far snazzier design.

Vive Cosmos also happens to be the first HTC Vive headset to employ the new ‘Vive Reality System’, described by HTC Vive as ‘a completely reimagined way for people to experience the virtual world.’

Specifications for the headset haven’t been revealed just yet, with Vive Cosmos developer kits expected to go out early this year. As for consumer pricing and availability, HTC Vive isn’t going to reveal anything until late 2019.

With Oculus Quest expected in Spring 2019, and Vive Cosmos looking to be its direct competitor, HTC Vive may not want its rival getting too much of a head start. VRFocus is at CES 2019 all week, if we can get our hands-on a Vive Cosmos then we’ll let you know our impressions as soon as possible.

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CES 2019: Vive Cosmos Display Is HTC’s ‘Sharpest Yet’, Dev Kits In Early 2019

Vive Cosmos controllers inside-out tracking VR headset

HTC says the Vive Cosmos display will be its ‘sharpest screen yet’.

That much comes by way of the new Cosmos website. At its press conference today HTC confirmed that Cosmos is an inside-out tracked headset that connects to PC. However, a message on the new website reads:

“Introducing our sharpest screens yet. The all-new pixel-packed displays with minimal screen door effect delivers crystal clear graphics bringing every detail in VR alive.”

The site also confirms that the headset uses ‘Real RGB displays’. Further specifics aren’t shared.

It sounds like Vive Cosmos could best even Vive Pro’s 2160×1200 resolution then. By extension that should mean the newly-announced Vive Pro Eye is beaten too. That’s exciting to think about but it also has us asking: how much is this thing going to cost?

The site also notes that Cosmos is a ‘modular’ headset that can be customized. During the presentation, HTC noted that it wanted Cosmos to run on more than just PCs. Could this mean that we could buy upgrades to make the kit compatible with other tech?

Meanwhile, there are a few more details on an official press release sent out after the show. Namely developer kits will be offered in ‘early 2019’. Details on a consumer release will be coming later this year. Judging by HTC’s past few years, there’s a good chance that our next update comes at the 2019 Game Developer Conference and Mobile World Congress events in March.

We’re at Vive’s booth at CES right now so stay tuned for more updates and some hands-on impressions.

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CES 2019: First Pictures Of HTC Vive Cosmos And Pro Eye Arrive

CES 2019: First Pictures Of HTC Vive Cosmos And Pro Eye Arrive

We’re at HTC’s booth at CES 2019 where the company just revealed two new VR headsets. Did someone say Vive Cosmos images gallery?

The first of the two headsets announced today was the HTC Vive Pro Eye. It’s the next version of last year’s Vive Pro with one key upgrade: integrated eye-tracking. This allows you to use your eyes as a form of input. More importantly, though, it allows for foveated rendering. This uses eye-tracking to fully render only the part of the VR display a user is looking at. The rest of the screen isn’t completely rendered, but this isn’t noticeable to the user.

Other than that, it looks pretty much like the regular Vive Pro with a new sensor located inside the headset. We don’t have price or release dates yet, but HTC says this is an enterprise-level product. Seeing as the Vive Pro itself starts a $799, expect the price to be steep.

The next, arguably more exciting reveal is for Vive Cosmos. This is a consumer-grade headset that integrates inside-out tracking. We know it can run on PCs but HTC is also hinting at some kind of portable functionality, possibly supporting a new smartphone.

We’re especially fond of the Cosmos’ new controllers. They look a little similar to the new Oculus Quest controllers but the tracking pattern around the rings is pretty funky. Again, we don’t know when it’s out or what it will cost, but stay tuned for updates.

All in all it’s been a pretty big CES for HTC. Check back soon as we go hands-on with Vive Pro Eye (it doesn’t look like Cosmos is available to try, sadly).

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CES 2019: HTC Vive Cosmos Inside-Out Tracked VR Headset Revealed

CES 2019: HTC Vive Cosmos Inside-Out Tracked VR Headset Revealed

After weeks of speculation, the HTC Vive Cosmos has finally been announced.

HTC revealed the kit at its CES 2019 press conference in Las Vegas today. As some had guessed, it is indeed a brand new VR headset with inside-out tracking.

HTC’s Dan O’Brien said that the Vive Cosmos was a “glimpse of where VR is going.” Inside-out tracking means that the kit can provide six degrees of freedom (6DOF) positional tracking without the need for external sensors. The headset looks very different to previous Vive designs, with a top ring much closer to Sony’s PSVR. It runs using Vive’s newly-announced Vive Reality System platform, which we’ll have more on later. That said, it apparently runs on a PC but O’Brien hinted that there might be other ways of running it too. In a follow-up tweet, HTC noted the kit can be used ‘at home or on-the-go’.

In the below trailer there’s a hint that there may be some sort of smartphone compatibility.

It comes with a new pair of controllers that look very similar to the Oculus Quest controllers. As the picture below shows there’s a snazzy flip-up feature too.

That’s about all we got; we still have a lot of questions about the device.

We first heard about Vive Cosmos when HTC trademarked the name back in November 2018.

That’s not all HTC is announcing at CES yesterday. During yesterday’s Nvidia press conference the company also unveiled a partnership and in today’s conference it introduced the Vive Pro Eye, too.

HTC Vive Cosmos joins the company’s ever-expanding line of VR products. Last year at CES HTC introduced the Vive Pro, an enhanced version of its original VR headset with a better display and integrated audio. The year before that it debuted the Vive Trackers.

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Vive Cosmos: Autarke VR-Brille von HTC vorgestellt

HTC hat neben der HTC Vive Pro Eye noch eine zweite VR-Brille auf der CES 2019 vorgestellt. Das Headset wird als Vive Cosmos auf den Markt kommen und die VR-Brille stellt eine autarke Lösung dar. Somit hat HTC bald einen echten Konkurrenten zur Oculus Quest im Programm, welcher auf Inside-Out-Tracking setzt und mit trackbaren Controllern ausgeliefert wird.

Vive Cosmos: Autarke VR-Brille von HTC vorgestellt

Die Controller der Vive Cosmos erinnern stark an die Controller der Oculus Quest und besitzen einen großen Ring am oberen Ende. Ebenso wird die Brille mit vier Kameras ausgestattet sein, um einen möglichst großen Tracking-Bereich abzudecken. Zwar verrät HTC noch nicht, wann die autarke VR-Brille auf den Markt kommen wird, jedoch soll sie schon bald erscheinen.

Dennoch ist die Vive Cosmos in einem Punkt eventuell der Oculus Quest deutlich überlegen: Die Brille soll mit Content vom Smartphone und von eurem PC versorgt werden können! Dementsprechend scheint die Cosmos nicht ohne eine Smartphone oder ohne einen PC funktionieren, was wiederum die Nutzbarkeit einschränkt, wenn kein leistungsfähiges Smartphone dabei ist und kein PC in der Nähe steht.

Über die verbaute Hardware in der Vive Cosmos ist aktuell noch nichts bekannt, aber wir werden diesen Artikel updaten, sofern es neue Informationen gibt.

Der Beitrag Vive Cosmos: Autarke VR-Brille von HTC vorgestellt zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

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Vive Cosmos: Autarke VR-Brille von HTC vorgestellt

HTC hat neben der HTC Vive Pro Eye noch eine zweite VR-Brille auf der CES 2019 vorgestellt. Das Headset wird als Vive Cosmos auf den Markt kommen und die VR-Brille stellt eine autarke Lösung dar. Somit hat HTC bald einen echten Konkurrenten zur Oculus Quest im Programm, welcher auf Inside-Out-Tracking setzt und mit trackbaren Controllern ausgeliefert wird.

Vive Cosmos: Autarke VR-Brille von HTC vorgestellt

Die Controller der Vive Cosmos erinnern stark an die Controller der Oculus Quest und besitzen einen großen Ring am oberen Ende. Ebenso wird die Brille mit vier Kameras ausgestattet sein, um einen möglichst großen Tracking-Bereich abzudecken. Zwar verrät HTC noch nicht, wann die autarke VR-Brille auf den Markt kommen wird, jedoch soll sie schon bald erscheinen.

Dennoch ist die Vive Cosmos in einem Punkt eventuell der Oculus Quest deutlich überlegen: Die Brille soll mit Content vom Smartphone und von eurem PC versorgt werden können! Dementsprechend scheint die Cosmos nicht ohne eine Smartphone oder ohne einen PC funktionieren, was wiederum die Nutzbarkeit einschränkt, wenn kein leistungsfähiges Smartphone dabei ist und kein PC in der Nähe steht.

Über die verbaute Hardware in der Vive Cosmos ist aktuell noch nichts bekannt, aber wir werden diesen Artikel updaten, sofern es neue Informationen gibt.

Der Beitrag Vive Cosmos: Autarke VR-Brille von HTC vorgestellt zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

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CES 2019: Watch HTC Vive’s Press Conference Live

HTC Vive Cosmos CES 2019

If you’re a regular to HTC Vive’s press conferences you’ll know the company isn’t too big on streaming. Well never fear, we’re in the room for the company’s CES 2019 show and we’re going to try to broadcast it.

Emphasis on try.

We’re streaming the show from a phone inside the room. Connection’s pretty good right now but that can always change. Please bear with us if we run into any technical difficulties or if the stream’s a little fuzzy. Enjoy!

We’re hoping for a big show from HTC. There’s been speculation about a new device named ‘Vive Cosmos’ in the past few months. Is it a new PC VR headset with inside-out tracking? Does it have a VirtualLink connection? Or is it something else entirely? If there’s any weight to those rumors we’ll probably find out here.

Other than that let’s just hope for a lot of awesome new VR stuff. The Vive Focus standalone VR headset is already available to businesses and the new 6DOF controllers are already shipping out to developers, so we’re a little curious as to what else there is to announce. We’re hoping for some new games and experiences at the very least.

Stick around after the show; we’re at CES all week to get hands-on with all things VR. Hopefully we’ll have some hands-on time with whatever HTC is announcing today. Either way, it’s going to be a big week.

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CES 2019: NVIDIA Partnering With HTC On VirtualLink And Foveated Rendering

nvidia htc partnership

At the NVIDIA CES 2019 conference, the company announced a special partnership with HTC on two key VR technologies: VirtualLink and foveated rendering.

VirtualLink is the new USB-C single cable standard for future PC VR headsets and GPUs. Promisingly, it’s backed by Oculus, Valve, Microsoft, HTC, NVIDIA, and AMD. The standard is intended to simplify the setup process of PC VR and allow laptops to easily support VR.

Foveated rendering is a process which renders most of the view of a VR headset at lower resolution except for the exact area where the user’s eye is pointed, which is detected with eye tracking. That area in front of the eye — where humans perceive the greatest detail — is rendered at a significantly higher resolution. Foveated rendering is considered crucial for future advancement of VR as it allows for higher resolutions without impossible GPU requirements.

It’s unclear exactly how the two companies are cooperating in these areas, but it seems likely to be related to research & development. Key to making foveated rendering work is finding a way to render at multiple resolutions efficiently. NVIDIA explained that its GPUs have hardware acceleration for this process, which could reduce any overhead.

NVIDIA ended this announcement by recommending tuning in to HTC’s special press event. The event will take place at 1PM PST (21:00 UTC). It certainly sounds like HTC could be revealing a PC VR headset with a VirtualLink cable- and perhaps even with foveated rendering. We’re attending HTC’s event and will report what they announce.

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CES 2019: HTC Vive CES Press Conference – How To Follow And What To Expect

HTC Vive CES Press Conference 2019 vive Pro

CES is the first big event of the year for VR fans. We’re not too sure what to expect from this year’s show but you can be sure that there’ll be news at the HTC Vive CES press conference today.

HTC’s latest showcase will kick off at 1pm PT in Vegas today. In the past the company hasn’t streamed its shows and we wouldn’t expect this to be any different. We will, however, be on-site to bring you the latest updates. Expect breaking headlines from our home page, hopefully followed up with some hands-on time with new kit.

Last year’s press conference saw HTC announce its Vive Pro headset. We’re hoping for some equally big announcements in 2019. HTC is certainly teasing some kind of exciting reveal, but what is it?

Vive Gl…something

In the image above you can see a blurred logo, though the letters seem to resemble at least a G and an L. Some people say this might mean ‘Vive Gloves’, suggesting HTC is working on gloves for VR input. My personal favorite suggestion is ‘Vive Glados’ for a new VR Portal game but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that.

Vive Cosmos

The more common theory is that this pertains to the ‘Vive Cosmos’ trademark the company filed last year. HTC may well have altered the lettering in the image as a red herring. We have plenty of ideas about what Cosmo could be. It might be a new PC VR headset using inside-out tracking. Or it could be HTC’s consumer-level standalone headset to compete with Oculus Quest. Or it could be something entirely different and we’re getting too carried away just thinking about it.

Third Party Hardware

HTC has gradually begun positioning itself as a VR service provider as much as it is a hardware maker. Its new Vive Wave OS is being used in a handful of third-party VR headsets already. We wouldn’t be surprised to see more announcements of this kind today.

New Software

It’s not all about hardware, of course. Last year at the HTC Vive CES press conference the company revamped its Viveport digital store with a VR interface. Viveport was a big focus for HTC in 2018 and we’d expect to see more improvements in 2019. We’d also like to hear about what’s new from Vive Studios.

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CES 2019: HTC Vive Teases ‘New Gear’ For Reveal Next Week

CES 2019: HTC Vive Teases ‘New Gear’ For Reveal Next Week

It was around this time last year that HTC Vive teased the reveal of its Vive Pro headset at CES 2018. It looks like the company is now hinting at yet another reveal for CES 2019.

HTC Vive just tweeted the below image of its CES 2019 gear all boxed up and ready to move to the big show in Vegas. The accompanying message teases ‘some new gear we can’t wait to unbox for you’. Perhaps more importantly, though, the picture features on box with a logo that’s been blurred out. The other two boxes both have clear logos. Why the secrecy?

It certainly looks like HTC is set to reveal some new hardware at CES, then. The real question is: what? The developer’s standalone VR headset, Vive Focus, is now available and Vive Pro is less than a year old so we weren’t sure we’d see anything new from HTC this year. But, back in November, the company did file a trademark for something called Vive Cosmos. It seems like that this could be the name for whatever’s in that box.

There’s been plenty of speculation about Cosmos. Is it a new PC VR headset that utilizes Focus’ inside-out tracking? Or is it an upgraded SteamVR headset ready and waiting for Valve’s Knuckles controllers? Or is it another peripheral similar to 2017’s Vive Tracker?

We’ll have to wait until next week to find out. CES kicks off on January 8th. We’ll be at the show to bring you all the latest from the world of VR.

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