Category: VR Accessories

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VRGE VR Dock Hits Kickstarter with Support for Multiple Headsets and Controllers

VRGE’s VR Dock is a storage and charging unit compatible with multiple headset and controller designs. Featuring a wood finish and protective rubber bumpers, the prototype has an elegant appearance, and is currently seeking crowdfunding via Kickstarter.

The current generation of VR hardware is bulky. The headsets are large, awkward shapes, and motion controllers are full of rounded surfaces and tend to roll about; resting everything on a table is untidy, and the original packaging isn’t all that practical for day-to-day storage.

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VRGE hopes to address the problem with their VR Dock, a stylish unit with a wood finish and rubber inserts that allow compatibility with the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR headsets and controllers.

VRGE Kickstarter

vrge vr dock (5)It can be placed on a surface or wall-mounted, and USB cables can be routed into the base, allowing the charging of the Vive controllers. An optional adapter allows charging of PS Move controllers, and a second optional adapter has been designed to store Oculus Touch controllers (there is no facility to charge these, as each Touch uses a standard AA battery).

There are some well-considered ideas in VRGE’s design, such as the central slot at the front that allows for cables to be arranged with minimal hassle, and the fact that the headsets can be placed upright, so that the lenses aren’t exposed to sunlight or dust, as is often seen when users hang their headsets from hooks.

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Further information about this prototype can be found on VRGE’s website, and via their campaign page on Kickstarter, which ends on February 16th.

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HTC Plans to Certify Accessories Approved for Use with Vive Tracker

At CES earlier this month, HTC announced the Vive Tracker, a standalone tracking device which taps into the Vive’s Lighthouse tracking system, and which can be attached to objects to track them in VR, including purpose-built accessories. The company plans to have an official certification process for accessory makers.

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The Vive Tracker is a standalone Lighthouse-tracked device, made to attach to other objects.

Yes, you can attach the Vive Tracker to pretty much anything to establish a tracking point inside the VR world, but for companies planning to make purpose-built VR accessories like guns, gloves, bats, and more which will make use of the Tracker, HTC will offer an official certification. The completion of the process, which the company plans to detail at a later date, is likely to result in something like a ‘Vive Ready’ badge that can be used on the accessories to show that HTC has verified compatibility with the Tracker, the company says.

SEE ALSO
Hands-on: HTC's New Vive Tracker Makes VR More Immersive With Specialized Accessories

“That’s why we’re going to be giving away a thousand of these [Trackers] around the world, and the ones who get them, we’re going to work with them and continue to make sure they’re compatible before they go out to market,” Alvin Wang Graylin, HTC’s China Regional President of Vive, told Road to VR at CES 2017.

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Pin connections on the bottom of the Vive Tracker can be used to communicate with the accessory.

It isn’t clear yet exactly what the certification process will entail, or what benefits the grantees will be entitled to, but one obvious guess is that the company will check the accessory to make sure the Tracker mounting point is adequate in both rigidity and placement, and that the creator is properly using the input/output functionality afforded by the Tracker’s wireless connection to the host computer. That connection could be used to send information like trigger pulls and button presses through the Tracker so that the accessory can control the corresponding VR application.

One thing we’re certainly hoping for is that all officially approved Vive Tracker accessories would have a precise 3D model of the accessory available in an open repository, giving developers an easy way to integrate with any accessory brandishing HTC’s approval.

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“Guns. Lots of guns.” – The Vive Tracker is likely to open to door to a range of third-party gun accessories for VR.

If the accessory plugs into the Tracker via the pin connections on the bottom, it could communicate model information to the host computer, which could be used to lookup the corresponding 3D model and bring that model quickly into the game. That might be a bit beyond the scope of HTC’s certification process for Vive Tracker accessories, but it would be especially ideal for handling what may turn into a broad range of gun choices, and other more niche use-cases too (like the crazy firehose simulator we saw at CES).

HTC says details of the certification program will be revealed when the company starts shipping the Tracker to developers, which will happen ahead of the device’s Q2 consumer launch. So far the Vive Tracker has not been priced, though Graylin says the company expects it to be attractive to end-users who want to buy one Tracker and use it across different accessories.

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Hands-on: HTC’s New Vive Tracker Makes VR More Immersive With Specialized Accessories

The Vive accessory market is about to get a huge boost thanks to the newly announced HTC Vive Tracker. Gaming, training, and more benefit from the enhanced immersion that comes from wielding “real” tools, weapons, and instruments.

Today I was a sniper, a firefighter, and a professional baseball player, all thanks to VR. I’ve actually done all of those things in VR before, but this time I actually held a real (mock) gun, a high-pressure hose-nozzle, and a regulation baseball bat, and the immersion was far greater than just pretending a controller was any of those things.

While motion controllers are great for in-home use and cover a wide range of general VR uses cases, there’s always going to be niche experiences that benefit from having the genuine article in your hands. For the most part, pistols are fine with a generic motion controller, but if you want to do virtual long range shooting, you’re going to want a proper rifle-shaped device so that you can hold it in the right position, look down the scope, and keep the stock to your shoulder.

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Thankfully, HTC’s new Vive Tracker is about to make specialized VR accessories way easier to use for both consumers and out-of-home VR businesses. The self-contained device is tracked by the same system as the Vive headset and controllers, and can be easily attached to everyday objects or custom-built VR accessories. With an integrated battery and its own wireless connection to the host computer, the device not only tracks objects, but can also send information like button presses and trigger pulls to the computer. With all tracking and input unified into the same system that VR devs already know how to build for makes things easier all around.

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As a testament to the Vive Tracker’s breadth of uses, HTC today showed off the device with integrations across a huge range of different use-cases thanks to accessories from a number of partners. Everything from gloves to guns to bats, and even a “real” virtual camera were demonstrated.

Among a number of experiences which used the Vive Tracker with specialized accessories, here’s what it was like to be a sniper, a baseball player, and a fireman in VR.

VRsenal VR-15 and ‘The Nest’ – Sniper

vive-tracker-and-accessories-15VRsenal had their VR-15 gun controller and haptic backpack running with The Nest, a sniping game for the Vive. The VR-15 had formerly housed an entire HTC Vive controller, but has newly integrated the Vive Tracker into the gun. The rifle, which is built for out-of-home VR systems, is appropriately heavy and robust, and includes a trigger along with two joysticks on either side of the foregrip for interacting with the game (in The Nest, this was used to toggle zoom power).

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This version of The Nest had an integrated 3D model of the VR-15 that was identical to the controller in my hands. Sniping enemies at a distance from the vantage point of a small, high window was a blast thanks to the realistic weapon, which allowed me to tilt my head down to get an angle on the gun’s virtual scope.

Unlike trying to use a two-handed weapon like a rifle with two disconnected VR controllers, it was easy to use my forehand for subtle adjustments before firing, and the weight of the gun meant I didn’t get that annoying shaking that can easily be seen in VR when a large virtual object is connected to a much smaller real object (like the Vive controller). When I finally squeezed the trigger, the haptic backpack I was wearing gave me a very satisfying rumble that added to the immersion.

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Audeze Announces $400 iSine VR Headphones for Rift and Vive

Audio continues to be an important part of VR as different companies are starting to make headphones especially designed for it. Audeze has announced a pair of in-ear headphones that work with the Rift’s proprietary connection as well as the Vive’s standard 3.5mm input. Priced at $400, the headphone are available for pre-order today and said to be shipping at the end of the month.

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Audeze’ planar magnetic driver technology

Audeze is known for crafting high end headphones that utilize a special planar magnetic driver technology which contributes heavily to their products’ highly rated sound quality. The company’s new VR headphones are a part of Audeze’s iSine product line, which first debuted as a non-VR option that claimed to be the first in-ear headphones with planar magnetic drivers. Other than the connector that makes the headphones directly connectable to the Rift and Vive, it is unknown at the moment if there have been any other changes to the headphones to better suit VR.

My review of the Oculus Earphones revealed that tuning and frequency response is extremely important for VR applications, because you want it to represent sound as accurately to its real life characteristics as possible. This means that even some of the best headphones out there made for music might actually not be as good for VR than cheaper options that were specifically designed for the task. In my review for example, an ultra high-end pair of headphones was compared to the Oculus Earphones and they were not better for VR, but they were for listening to certain genres of music.

isine-vr-headphones-coulus-riftAudeze however claims that the iSine VR is “the world’s best headphone for virtual reality.” Whether this is true or not has yet to be determined by other sources, but it may end up veracious to a degree. It makes sense since Audeze has such a high pedigree in audio and is now attempting a VR specific pair, but also since the market for VR headphones hasn’t seen that many product entries in the first place, let alone such a high-end option.

The iSine VR might be tuned for VR, which could make it very fitting, but one thing I’m hesitant about is how they’re not entirely noise isolating. Audeze says that they were designed to allow some ambient noise in so that users in VR would less likely be disoriented or “lose their balance,” according to their webpage. How true that is, or even how significant the disorientation problem is, seems questionable to me as a long-time VR user. Especially since Oculus themselves sell a totally noise isolating pair of earphones, it seems unlikely it would be such a big problem. It would make more sense if the reason was so that the user could better hear people outside VR talking to them, like in a demo scenario. This design choice brings up the question of why they went with an in-ear design, as other configurations might be more comfortable or sound better. It may be that the company wasn’t ready to design an entirely new product just for VR, as the iSine VR takes its form from their regular iSine products, and their other larger headphones don’t seem like they’d fit well with a VR headset strapped on.

If nothing else, it’s great to have a high-end option for VR audio, and good to see third-party audio options for the Rift’s unique connection.

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More Details Surface on Wireless Vive Upgrade Accessory, Global Orders May Be on the Way

Earlier this week it was revealed that HTC would be offering a wireless Vive upgrade kit made by TPCAST. More details have surfaced on the device ahead of its Q1 2017 launch.

Made available so far only through HTC’s Chinese Vive website, alongside other official accessories, the TPCAST device is said to make the Vive completely wireless from its host PC, with the Vive division’s Chinese president, Alvin Wang Graylin, claiming there’s no noticeable difference in the wired vs. wireless performance. The company creating the device is part of HTC’s ‘Vive X’ accelerator program.

The 1,400 RMB (~$220) device went up for pre-order last week through the Chinese Vive site and had sold out within minutes. There’s no telling how many units were actually available for pre-order, so it’s unclear whether or not there’s reason to be surprised, but it’s clear that people are very interested in the idea of making the Vive wireless.

Though it was reported prior to the pre-orders that the Chinese Vive site would allow customers to order the device internationally, several people who attempted to ship it outside of China reported that they were unable. Graylin tweeted that we’re likely to see a new round of pre-orders for the TPCAST wireless Vive kit, and that it “should make global orders easier.”

Details of the device are beginning to surface, including indications that it could be used with other VR headsets. TPCAST’s website reveals that the product is based on 60GHz wireless technology. The company claims 15ms latency, though it isn’t clear at this time exactly what that latency figure encompasses. The VR industry largely agrees that latency needs to be lower than 20ms to make things quick enough for high immersion, but it isn’t clear if the TPCAST device adds an additional 15ms to what’s already there, or if it fits within the existing 20ms envelope.

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The TPCAST transmitter sits atop the users head

60GHz wireless technology is being investigated by a number of companies for use in wireless VR applications, including one that Valve invested in separately from HTC. While the frequency provides lots of bandwidth, it isn’t great at penetrating surfaces, meaning that it’s most effective when the transmitter has direct line-of-site to the receiver. The TPCAST wireless Vive kit has the transmitter mounted on the user’s head to give it a direct view to the receiver, but there’s certainly times during room-scale VR play where the user may be turned away from the receiver with their head tilted at an angle that would break line of sight; the player’s hands could also get in the way, though it isn’t clear yet how these situations might impact the TPCAST device’s performance, mostly because we don’t know the recommended setup for the system which could possibly use multiple receivers or recommend a special placement to prevent transmission issues.

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Seen on the company’s site is also a concept sketch of what the battery connector and packs could look like. The company has shown some concept images of their product with a small head-worn battery, but also suggested that a larger battery is in the works that the user would wear in their pocket. The bigger battery is claimed to be able to run the Vive for 2-5 hours, and it looks like the system is made so that batteries can be quickly swapped.

A Reddit user who detailed some info of the device claims that when it comes to whether or not the wireless kit could be used for other headsets like the Oculus Rift, TPCAST “hints about this quite clearly.”

Skepticism about the device remains, but excitement at the prospect of a wireless high-end VR headset is palpable. We’re hoping to learn more before the unit begins shipping in Q1 2017.

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Oculus Earphones Review and Comparison with Ultra High-end Earbuds

Announced at Oculus Connect 3 and launching alongside Touch, the Oculus Earphones were touted as a noise-isolating, more immersive alternative to the standard headphones. After days of using and testing the Earphones, I’ve been able to judge how good they really are (spoiler: very).

Oculus announced the Earphones last month as a replacement for the headphones that ship with with the headset in the box. The sensibly priced $49 pair is available for pre-order now from  and the Oculus Store, and ships on December 6th.

Summary

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First, the quick rundown, and then we’ll get into more details as well as a comparison with a much pricier pair of in-ear monitors (IEMs) further below. Remember, too, that these are subjective impressions, which is important because everyone physiologically hears sound differently to some degree.

Pros

The Oculus earphones are noise-isolating, which leads to not only less distractions from the real world, but an easier time hearing the ambient noises from VR content that you may have never been able to hear before, an important factor in immersion.

Balanced sound signature comparable to the standard headphones, but at an even higher quality.

No pressure on the ear lobe (this is if you have a problem with the comfort of the standard headphones).

Easy to install.

Great value for the price.

Cons

People in your vicinity can have a harder time communicating to you while you’re effectively blind and deaf to them.

Pressure in the ear canal (this is for people who generally dislike the feeling of IEMs or earbuds in their ears).

ore annoying to switch out if you let other people use your headset often.

Slightly longer ‘setup’ time to use the headset compared to the headphones.

Can’t be used on their own, since they have a unique connection to the Rift headset.

The improvements in sound quality and noise-isolation far outweighed any of the negatives for me, and at $49, these Earphones are a steal.

Installation

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Getting the Earphones onto the Rift is simple. In Rift box, Oculus provided a small plastic rod that tapers down to the shape of a flat head screwdriver. This is used to unscrew the existing headphones from the headset. If you threw this piece out not knowing what it was, Oculus handily included another one with the Earphones (you could also use a screwdriver or coin, but risk scratches).

Ones the headphones are unscrewed, put the Earphones in place and tighten using the same tool. The Earphones are labeled L and R, and their design also implies which side of the headset they should be on. The audio contacts align automatically when you have the Earphones installed correctly, and now you’re ready to listen.

Comfort

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It was pretty easy to find the optimal placement for the earphones so that they feel good and create a seal with the ear. An improper seal often results in less bass, and less noise-isolation, so getting it right is important. For me, the medium tips fit well, but so did the large and the small. I could also switch out for other brands of tips, including Comply (model T400 and T500), Spinfit (CP100), and Meelectronics (single/double flanged), which I’ve tested and confirmed to work. The Comply tips were the most comfortable, but I still preferred the stock eartips for the sound they produced.

Sound

Using VR applications, music, and sine wave generators, I’ve determined that these IEMs have a similarly balanced sound signature to the original Rift headphones, but extend and emphasize slightly better in the high and low frequencies, meaning that the sound of both rumble and sizzle, for example, were heightened, and just enough to make things sound better to my ears. Not at one time did I feel like any part of the frequency spectrum was overpowering the others. As a result, I noticed that sounds were more accurate to their position in 3D space, and music came out more clear, more impactful, and with better texture. The differences weren’t a huge step up from the original headphones, but were noticeable.

The bigger difference was that bass and treble frequencies were slightly boosted, with slightly better extension as well. In essence, the Earphones sound like a revision to the tuning they did on the original headphones, where the boosts help in different areas to make things sound even more natural in VR

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HTC to Offer Wireless Vive Upgrade Kit, Pre-orders Start Friday

HTC plans to offer a wireless upgrade accessory for the Vive created by TPCAST. Launching in early 2017 with pre-orders starting Friday, HTC claims the device will eliminate the direct connection to the PC without any noticeable difference in latency or gameplay.

Reported first by UploadVR, the battery-powered “tether-less VR upgrade kit” is being made by TPCAST, a company which HTC bought into as part of its ‘Vive X‘ investment program. The device is listed alongside other official Vive accessories on the Chinese HTC Vive website.

The tranmission module of the TPCAST accessory seen sporting HDMI and USB ports
The tranmission module of the TPCAST accessory seen sporting HDMI and USB ports

The TPCAST wireless Vive upgrade kit mounts to the existing Vive headstrap with a pocket in the back which holds a small battery that powers the headset and a top transmission module which communicates with the host computer to send tracking data and receive the resulting image; it isn’t clear yet if the device will be able to transmit the full 90 FPS framerate that the Vive natively runs at, or if the headset would operate at a lower frequency to fit into the available bandwidth.

The battery on the back can last around 1.5 hours of gameplay, though there’s plans to sell a bigger battery at a later date which would be stowed in the user’s pocket rather than mounted on the head. According to Alvin W. Graylin, China Regional President of Vive at HTC, the TCPAST wireless Vive accessory “greatly improve[s]” the overall Vive experience by eliminating the cable with no “noticeable difference” in visual performance and gameplay, UploadVR reports

Wireless video transmission technology has been around for a long time, but major VR companies like Oculus and HTC Vive had consistently said that existing technologies were not up to the task of delivering low enough latency and high enough quality for use in high-end virtual reality headsets. With that in mind, HTC’s endorsement of TPCAST’s solution is a big deal, one which could foreshadow future Vive headsets with the tech built right in. Valve, HTC’s close collaborator on the Vive, also recently announced they had invested in Nietro, a company building wireless VR video transmission technology, though that company has yet to announce any consumer ready products.

SEE ALSO
Second-gen Lighthouse Chip Could Improve Tracking, Reduce Cost of HTC Vive 2

Pre-orders of the TPCAST wireless Vive upgrade kit start via the HTC Vive Chinese site on Friday, 11/11 at 7AM PT for 1,499 RMB (~$220 USD) and can ship internationally, says UploadVR; the accessory is not yet listed or sold by HTC’s Vive operation in the US. The release date for the TPCAST device is said to start in Q1 2017.

On the minds of many is surely whether or not the TPCAST solution can be used with the Oculus Rift or other PC-based VR headsets; right now the answer isn’t clear but we’ve reached out to HTC for comment. Last month Oculus demonstrated a different approach to tether-free VR; instead of transmitting information wirelessly to and from a host PC, the headset did all of the computing on-board and used an integrated camera array for positional tracking.

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PlayStation VR Accessories Hit Major Online Retailers

With the PlayStation VR launch just around the corner—October 13th to be exact—major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and GameStop have started to stock a few accessories that are sure to keep you charged-up at moment’s notice and travel-ready for those VR evangelist missions to the people who still haven’t tried out virtual reality.

While pre-orders for PSVR have been out of stock for months now in the US, with GameStop executives reportedly revealing that PSVR pre-orders were the “quickest sellout in GameStop’s history,” and the retailer running out of allocation “literally in five minutes,” there’s bound to be a pretty large consumer base for aftermarket accessories.

Amazon and GameStop so far seem to have all officially licensed accessories currently, which for now are exactly two display stands with built-in controller charging cradles, and two robust-looking carrying cases.

Attention: Pre-order release dates for PSVR accessories are different across each retailer. Amazon is so far releasing all accessories  pre-orders in late October, while other retailers may release earlier.

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PowerA Charge and Display Stand

The ‘PowerA’ Charge and Display Stand gives you a convenient place to stow all the important bits while keeping them ready for use. The stand features a charging cradle for two Move controllers and a single Dualshock4 controller. With this set-up you’ll still need to find a place for your audio headset however, which seems less than elegant at MSRP $49.99.

Puchase Links: Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop

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‘Collective Minds’ Charge & Display Stand

‘Collective Minds’ Charge and Display Stand packs in a little bit more for a modestly lower price at $34.99. The stand includes charging space for two Move controllers, two Dualshock4 controllers, an additional USB port for rechargeable gaming audio headsets (and a nifty place to hang them)—all of which feature an individual charge LED.

Purchase Links: Amazon, GameStop

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RDS Industries PlayStation VR Headset and Accessories Deluxe Carrying Case

Lugging around an awkwardly-shaped VR headset is no fun, so it pays to have a reliable solution on hand if you’re planning on trekking around to friends and family with your new purchase and want to keep it safe along the way.

See Also: Hands-on: ‘PSVR Aim’ Controller Debuts with ‘Farpoint’ FPS

To this end, ‘RDS Industries’ created a hard-shell carrying case with a few separate compartments. The main compartment holds the PlayStation VR Headset and HDMI/USB cables, while the second holds both the breakout box and AC adapter with cable. It’s unclear from the production description whether the interior is injection molded plastic, or high-density foam, but at $59.99 we’re certainly hoping for foam.

Purchase Links: Amazon, GameStop

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PowerA Storage Case for PSVR

‘PowerA’ offers a much more streamlined case for the PSVR which seems to omit almost everything from the full PSVR Core bundle besides the headset itself. The production description does mention an internal mesh pouch for additional storage, but the overall size of the case suggests that it won’t be for much beyond cables and possibly a game or two. MSRP: $39.99

Purchase Links: Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop

Considering there are precious few accessories out for HTC Vive (besides replacement parts and the odd Hyperkin skin) and hardly any to be found Oculus Rift, this is a meaningful first step by a headset manufacturer to get useful accessories into the hands of gamers. While we’re still holding out for that perfect travel case that lets you bundle the entire kit and kaboodle, PS4 included, these are sure to do the trick until then.

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