HTC Reveals Standalone Vive Focus VR Headset

Megalith

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HTC has announced Vive Focus, a standalone virtual reality headset that eliminates the wires found on the regular HTC Vive. The company unveiled its standalone device at an event in China, explaining that its new VR device gives people the freedom to enjoy virtual reality content wherever they are. Unlike some other standalone VR headsets, you don’t need your phone.

The HTC Vive Focus features a high-resolution AMOLED screen alongside a Snapdragon 835 VR Platform. HTC boasts that its model is the first of its kind to feature an inside-out 6-degree-of-freedom tracking tech otherwise known as 6DoF. Focus uses an open platform called Wave VR and can access the Viveport VR content.
 
Always wondered what sort of bandwidth would be required to make these things wireless. I'm guessing a lot?
 
Always wondered what sort of bandwidth would be required to make these things wireless. I'm guessing a lot?

You can check out the TPCast, which I believe uses the 60 Ghz band and has a pretty small range, so yeah...quite a lot.

This one has the computing power built-in, though, so no issues with bandwidth. Although, you are also talking a way slower machine than a gaming rig to drive experiences on the headset.
 
if by a lot you mean zero, then yea... :D

seriously, what's with making things look like a vibrant dino turd slapped onto your face?
 
This is what VR should be like, no wires, freedom to move, hope its works ok for them.
 
VR this way should also integrate the surroundings like a hybrid VR/AR... I mean I would hate to be in my yard with this and hit a tree.... UNLESS it looked like a light pole (or a tree) in the VR world :D
 
VR this way should also integrate the surroundings like a hybrid VR/AR... I mean I would hate to be in my yard with this and hit a tree.... UNLESS it looked like a light pole (or a tree) in the VR world :D
The current Vive puts up a "virtual fence" in the VR world to let you know if you're going to run into something. Or at least did in the 2 programs I saw... that I'll admit were by the same company.
 
The current Vive puts up a "virtual fence" in the VR world to let you know if you're going to run into something. Or at least did in the 2 programs I saw... that I'll admit were by the same company.

The Chaperone system is built into SteamVR, so it's functional in any game that supports SteamVR functionality (which is pretty much all of them).
 
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I wouldn't be so quick to switch...it sounds like this is locked to certain apps on Viveport, meaning likely the existing Steam VR titles will not necessarily work on this (plus, I highly doubt this is fast enough to render most Steam VR titles in the first place).

It does look like a cool device but it's not a replacement for a real Vive or Rift.
 
The Chaperone system is built into SteamVR, so it's functional in any game that supports SteamVR functionality (which is pretty much all of them).

That is done by the lighthouse units. I don't think this incorporates lighthouse units. Not sure how they plan to fence you in.
 
That is done by the lighthouse units. I don't think this incorporates lighthouse units. Not sure how they plan to fence you in.

Well, it has the camera system on the front so most likely it will try to detect objects around you. We'll see how accurate that is.
 
Although, you are also talking a way slower machine than a gaming rig to drive experiences on the headset.
Way less overhead too though. A bundled SoC that does nothing but drive a game can be finely optimized for that experience. Until display quality catches up high res games dont look very good in VR anyway. Low poly bright colorful games translate better.
 
Well, it has the camera system on the front so most likely it will try to detect objects around you. We'll see how accurate that is.
I know qualcomm has developed inertial gyros for orientation purposes in future generations of chips, so if it's using anything like this the headset could actually "feel" you moving forward, thus allowing you to predefine any play area before you launch and then it is calibrated to keep you within that area mapped out.
 
And this is what I've been waiting for. Bye Oculus!
There's a good chance Oculus's version (Santa Cruz announced a while ago and already has hands-on reviews) comes out before this one...

What we all wanna know is... what's the FOV, resolution, specs, and price...
 
There's a good chance Oculus's version (Santa Cruz announced a while ago and already has hands-on reviews) comes out before this one...

What we all wanna know is... what's the FOV, resolution, specs, and price...

The Oculus Go? It supposedly has 3dof and is gonna cost $199. Seems like the Vive has more tech to it, as it offer 6dof, and will probably cost more.
 
No, not Oculus Go...

oculus-lineup.jpg


Santa Cruz was shown to folks last year, stand-alone, 6dof head (and hand) tracking, dev kits coming next year
 
Is the resolution and graphics the same as the Vive? It didn't look as good as the Rift in pictures. This seems good for people new to VR. It's not worth it to switch over entirely until next revision, unless
you have money to burn.
 
HTC boasts that its model is the first of its kind...
lol, ok HTC, you livin' under a rock or really think most people are that ignorant?
aims to offer something like the best of both current VR worlds — you get a premium experience as with higher end virtual reality headsets
Holy crap! Can you imagine the beast of a mini computer needed to offer the same experience as we have today with Vive/Rift + highend PC?

Or by "higher end" they are referring to GearVR? Hmmm... again something about HTC seems fishy, or at the very least desperate to trick some newbies to the VR scene

All that being said I hope HTC delivers so we can keep up a spirited competition with Facebook.
 
The Chaperone system is built into SteamVR, so it's functional in any game that supports SteamVR functionality (which is pretty much all of them).
Good to know. The demo I went to (actually a talk by a local VR company) was talking about things that it could do, but not exactly a lot of details given.
 
Good to know. The demo I went to (actually a talk by a local VR company) was talking about things that it could do, but not exactly a lot of details given.
Just remember not to push those boundaries too much. ;)
It isn't pretty!
 
Just remember not to push those boundaries too much. ;)
It isn't pretty!
I'll have to admit, watching someone else use it and walk around in the underwater seascape, and seeing them get closer to the wall I was thinking "oh please make this happen, just smack right into the wall... please oh please oh please!"
 
I'll have to admit, watching someone else use it and walk around in the underwater seascape, and seeing them get closer to the wall I was thinking "oh please make this happen, just smack right into the wall... please oh please oh please!"
Yeah, I broke a 46 or so 1080 TV that was hanging on my wall. It was way past my barrier but dammit I had to hit the bartender! ;)
 
The real advance I'd see here is if the VIVE Focus can act as a "conventional" VIVE and compatible with all its accessories, usable with a PC, but use the onboard hardware for ancellary things like Wireless. Otherwise, its kind of useless to me as its basically a "phone permanently merged into a headset" which still can't handle high quality experiences like those served from a PC> Alternately, it would be nice if it used actual 4K displays for each eye as well, plus a larger FOV, to deal with "screen door" effect a la the recent Pimax headset crowdfunded.
 
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