tpcast plus – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

January 31, 2018

See Wireless VR In Action In Our TPCast Untethered Showcase

Still one of the biggest barriers for many existing virtual reality (VR) owners happens to be wires. Wires and cables dragging behind the user and potentially causing a mishap, since they’re often far out of view. As a result, there’s naturally a lot of demand for untethered VR that will allow users to experience, and TPCast are one of the few companies offering a comprehensive kit that allows for untethered VR experiences.

TPCast are striving to offer users the best possible wireless VR experience, which is why we’ve already seen a TPCast 2.0, which lowers latency and overall offers an even better untethered VR experience.

We also have a full TPCast set up guide ready for you to use, if you’re interested in getting started with untethered VR experiences.

Untethered VR is definitely going to be a focus for a lot of companies going forward, as demonstrated by HTC announced their HTC Vive Wireless Adapter, which we tried, and found to be promising, though a show floor wasn’t the best place to test it. TPCast have the advantage of already having a working product on the market that it is constantly improving on.

We talk to Udi Yuhjtman, TPCast’s General Manager for Americas, and he talks to us about TPCast’s vision, the product, and what’s in store for the future of the company. Yuhjtman reaffirms that PC is always going to be the place to experience the highest quality, premier VR experiences, and therefore isn’t too concerned about mobile and all in one head-mounted displays (HMDs) taking up the market share of untethered VR.

Regardless of which HTC Vive HMD you’re using, either the Vive or the Vive Pro, you’ll be able to use the TPCast wireless kit in order to get an untethered experience running. Sure to be a relief to any VR fans out there who have already put their preorders down for the new HTC Vive Pro.

Watch the full video interview and showcase below for more insight from Udi Yuhjtman, and stay on VRFocus for all of the latest VR news, technology and more.

January 12, 2018

TPCast Aims to Bring up to 8K Resolution with New 2.0 Wireless VR Solution

Following reveals of TPCast Plus and TPCast for Windows Mixed Reality, the wireless VR specialists TPCast have also announced their “next-generation” technologies, called TPCast 2.0. The company claims their improved system can ‘easily adapt’ to VR headsets as high as 8K resolution, while reducing the latency to 1ms.

Despite HTC’s announcement of an official Vive Wireless Adaptor that supports both Vive and Vive Pro systems, TPCast refuse to have their CES thunder stolen, announcing a “next-generation” wireless VR solution adaptable for “any headset” up to 8K resolution. No launch window or pricing estimates were provided.

According to the press release, TPCast 2.0 employs a “new generation ultra-low latency codec technology and an upgraded TPCast real-time data control protocol.” The new codec is capable of a 50:1 compression ratio, which “significantly reduces the bandwidth required for video data transmission while bounding the latency to 1ms.”

TPCast 2.0 is said to benefit from scalability, “making it easy to adapt to any headset including 3K, 4K, and 8K video resolution,” and has the capability to “preserve the user experience compared to a wired connection.” The statement also claims TPCast’s proprietary technology can deliver a “commercial-grade VR experience.”

“The new TPCast 2.0 announcement is another milestone for TPCast’s innovation,” said TPCast CEO, Michael Liu. “As a leader in the Global Wireless VR space, TPCast is committed to moving the industry forward with its technological advancements. TPCast 2.0 has the highest performance, the broadest scalability, and the most mature product capabilities. (Its) support for a full range of mainstream headsets in various deployment ranges allows TPCast to continue with its vision of unleashing the VR world.”

With the recent announcement of 5G cloud VR rendering technology, combined with the new TPCast 2.0 technologies, the company claims to be the first wireless VR provider to support “short, mid and long range VR demands in multi-user environments,” through the use of WiGig or 802.11ay for short range, Wi-Fi or 802.11ax for mid range, and 5G / 4.5G / FTTH for long distance.

The post TPCast Aims to Bring up to 8K Resolution with New 2.0 Wireless VR Solution appeared first on Road to VR.

January 11, 2018

TPCast to Support Windows Mixed Reality with ‘Universal’ Wireless VR Module

Alongside its reveal of the TPCast Plus product range, the company also announced plans to bring their wireless technology to Windows ‘Mixed Reality’ VR devices. With the intention to transition into an OEM business model, TPCast is creating a reference design to support all WMR headset manufacturers.

As explained in the official press release, TPCast wants to “accelerate the development” and integration of wireless adapters into Windows Mixed Reality HMDs by “creating a reference design for the VR module in order to support all VR HMD OEMs and manufacturers.” TPCast intends to licence their patented wireless technology by offering an OEM reference design.

“We are delighted that TPCast introduces this powerful platform design in the field of Wireless VR,” says Michael Liu, CEO of TPCast. “This platform possesses high video quality and low latency performance like the other TPCast products, and will support the current WMR and other 3K/4K resolution HMDs.”

HTC’s Vive Wireless Adaptor to Support Both Vive and Vive Pro at Launch

During HTC’s pre-CES event where the new flagship Vive Pro headset was revealed, the company also announced an official Wireless Adaptor for Vive. The optional accessory will allow for a tether-free VR experience, and will support both the Vive and Vive Pro systems when it launches in the summer.

As mentioned during our liveblog, the Vive Wireless Adaptor uses Intel’s WiGig technology and is “optimised for low latency.” Much like the third-party solutions we’ve seen from DisplayLink and TPCast, the official adapter operates in the 60GHz band in order to handle the significant data throughput requirements. Unfortunately, no battery estimates or pricing was announced.

According to the press release, the Vive Wireless Adaptor will be “the first to market with a truly wireless VR headset integration for both Vive and Vive Pro.” The technology could be using the DisplayLink XR codec that was demonstrated at Computex last year as a collaboration between HTC and Intel, but that hasn’t been made clear in the latest communication.

It is also unclear whether the TPCast Plus solution also announced at CES will support the Vive Pro.

“Wireless VR has been on nearly every VR user’s wishlist since the technology was unveiled,” said Frank Soqui, General Manager Virtual Reality Group at Intel Corporation. “By collaborating with HTC to commercialize Intel’s WiGig technology, we will guarantee that wireless VR meets the most discerning quality bar for home users and business VR customers.”

We have feet on the ground at this year’s CES, so make sure to check back soon, as we’ll be bringing you a detailed hands-on of the Vive Wireless Adaptor along with all things virtual and augmented to come from the show.

The post HTC’s Vive Wireless Adaptor to Support Both Vive and Vive Pro at Launch appeared first on Road to VR.

January 9, 2018

TPCast Plus: Neue Version für Vive und Rift, Windows-MR-OEM

Derzeit ist TPCast die einzige Möglichkeit, eine PC-Kabelverbindung durch eine drahtlose Lösung zu ersetzen. Allerdings bleibt bisher ein Kabel übrig. Den Akku müssen Anwender in der Tasche oder am Gürtel tragen. Auf der CES 2018 in Las Vegas hat der Hersteller nun eine überarbeitete Version vorgestellt, die auf den Namen TPCast Plus hört und das letzt Kabel zur Brille kappen soll. Außerdem will TPCast ein Referenzdesign für Windows Mixed Reality Brillen bereit stellen.

TPCast Plus: Batterie trifft Kopf

Auf der CES 2018 lässt sich die neue Version des TPCast bereits ausprobieren. Das TPCast Plus System besitzt eine neue Kopfplatte, die neben dem Wireless-Adapter auch das Akkupack aufnimmt – damit entfällt die externe Kabelverbindung zur Energieversorgung. Der Akku lässt sich im laufenden Betrieb austauschen. Neben dieser wichtigen Änderung hat der Hersteller laut eigenen Angaben die Stabilität der kabellosen Verbindung entscheidend verbessert und die Zeit für eine Neuverbindung dramatisch reduziert. Zudem unterstützt TPCast Plus einen automatischen Neustart. Außerdem will TPCast Probleme mit dem Mikrofon gelöst haben, Audiosignale werden jetzt auch ohne Hack übertragen.

TPCast Plus Oculus Rift

Ansonsten ändert sich wohl nicht viel. TPCast Plus unterstützt wie der Vorgänger 2K-Auflösung pro Auge mit 90 fps und mit einer Latenz von unter 2ms. Theoretisch müsste TPCast also auch mit der höheren Auflösung der Vive Pro zurecht kommen. Zumindest hat der Hersteller Zeit, sein Produkt an die neue Brille von HTC anzupassen: die Vive Pro soll im ersten Quartal 2018 erscheinen, TPCast plant die Auslieferung seines Drahtlos-Systems in der ersten Jahreshälfte 2018. Konkurrenz bekommt der Hersteller allerdings von HTC. Das chinesische Unternehmen hat seine eigene Drahtlos-Lösung für das dritte Quartal 2018 angekündigt. Der Vive Wireless Adapter setzt im Gegensatz zu TPCast auf Intels WiGig-Technologie. Offen bleibt derzeit noch die Frage nach dem Preis. Die Lösung von TPCast funktionierte bei uns im Test zwar gut, jedoch stößt der Preis von rund 350 Euro sauer auf.

Ebenfalls im Rahmen der CES 2018 hat TPCast angekündigt, ein Referenzdesign zu erstellen und Herstellern von Windows Mixed Reality Brillen zur Verfügung zu stellen. Diese könnten dann in Eigenverantwortung eine Drahtlos-Lösung für ihre Headsets bauen.

(Quelle: TPCastVR)

Der Beitrag TPCast Plus: Neue Version für Vive und Rift, Windows-MR-OEM zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

January 8, 2018

TPCast Announces New ‘Plus’ Version of Wireless VR Adapters for Vive and Rift

TPCast, manufacturer of wireless adapters for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift systems, has announced an upgraded version of its eponymous wireless system called TPCast Plus. According to the company, the new Plus version, which will be demonstrated at CES this year, offers several hardware and software improvements, including a new mounting system that supports hot-swap batteries.

Cutting the cords on high-end VR is an important step for the future, but some early adopters have looked to third-party solutions such as TPCast that already offer products to transform a Vive or Rift into a wireless system, albeit at a high price. TPCast’s initial hardware launch hasn’t been the smoothest of rides, both in terms of delayed product availability, and the rather complicated setup process. The current hardware also had issues with microphone support, although there are workarounds.

TPCast’s first generation device, image courtesy TPCast

The TPCast Plus product family aims to address many of the problems based on customer feedback, claiming ‘full support’ for microphones, and “increased stability and anti-interference.” The setup process is said to be simplified in various areas, most notably with a “plug-and-play” USB wireless adapter rather than a router. According to the press release provided to Road to VR, the new adapter “supports automatic restart, wireless interference reduction, and automatic wireless channel detection that substantially improves the stability of the wireless VR connectivity.” It claims the restart time has also been ‘dramatically decreased’. The performance of the connectivity appears to be unchanged, with the same ‘2K resolution per eye’ at 90 fps with sub 2ms latency.

An improved integration with the headset is achieved with a “built-in backplane” that incorporates the battery and wireless adapter into a single area, while supporting a hot-swap battery. A 4-cell battery charging cradle, is said to be part of a series of complementary products that enhance TPCast Plus product family. Production of the existing TPCast solution continues, and the expected release date for the TPCast Plus, which will be available for both HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, is in “the first half of 2018.”

“The launch of the TPCast Plus Adapter positions TPCast as the leader in the wireless VR market. The consolidation of the adapter components into one wireless VR unit allows a fully immersive user experience,” says Michael Liu, CEO of TPCast. “We expect that this upgraded product family will lead to a rapid increase of VR content that takes advantage of wireless VR experiences, thus bringing more consumer and enterprise customers into the wireless VR market.”

The post TPCast Announces New ‘Plus’ Version of Wireless VR Adapters for Vive and Rift appeared first on Road to VR.