Inexpensive DIY Ceiling Mount VR System

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This DIY ceiling mount VR system is brilliant. Anyone that has ever used a VR headset like the HTC Vive or the Oculus Rift knows that the cables can be kind of a pain in the ass. Well, this guy has a brilliant idea to keep your wires out of your way and it only cost about $15! Thanks to Johnny Gatt for the link.
 
Instead of tripping on the wire with your feet you'll be swatting it away with your hands. Those of us that aren't 3'8", anyway..

Guess it would add immersion if you were playing a game with thick spider webs.

Wireless is what's really needed and I will pay handsomely for it.
 
That's a pretty good Idea it would avoid the whole tangled up legs issue I have, but I don't think I can cause it would look pretty terrible hanging in the center of my living room. I mean I get enough crap about the long polls running floor to ceiling holding the base stations that are off in the corners. ;) Though if I had a dedicated room for it I'd definitely consider it.

Wireless would be great but there is going to be added lag to have to deal with. Even short distance direct game streaming between my PS3/PS4 to my Vita can have noticeable lag.
 
What about one of those retractable dog leashes, that's what this reminds me of.
 
Cool idea, unfortunately my ceilings are not high enough - the thing dangling down would just smack me in the face.
 
That's a pretty good Idea it would avoid the whole tangled up legs issue I have, but I don't think I can cause it would look pretty terrible hanging in the center of my living room. I mean I get enough crap about the long polls running floor to ceiling holding the base stations that are off in the corners. ;) Though if I had a dedicated room for it I'd definitely consider it.

Wireless would be great but there is going to be added lag to have to deal with. Even short distance direct game streaming between my PS3/PS4 to my Vita can have noticeable lag.

I think bandwidth is more of a problem with wireless than latency. Intel has a Oculus DK2 working with WiGig that apparently has acceptably low latency.

I'm expecting any wired-equivalent wireless solution to cost in the hundreds of dollars and have hardware more involved than a plastic antenna sticking out of a USB port on my computer.

Edit: Speak of the devil..

HTC Vive wireless VR prototype in the works to be shown this fall
 
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So...how is it supposed to get power? Battery pack?

What I do like, though, is that it would be an accessory to the existing Vive.

I was thinking about a DIY one. Power either way would be batteries. Biggest problem is I know wireless HDMI increases latency which I hear is pretty crucial to not get sick. Sounds like that's the main thing they are working on.

Wasn't there a guy on this forum that was going to strap a SFF desktop and batteries to his back? Obviously that takes way more batteries.

Personally I think a few cables will bother me less than more shit strapped to me. But low latency wifi could be tempting. Either DIY or the product above.
 
I think the main problem with the cable now is that it's just so stiff, and it gets wound up very easily. HTC has already started shipping a single fat cord rather than the tri-cord as a replacement, but I'm not sure how much more flexible it is.

New Thinner, Lighter HTC Vive 3-in-1 Cable Spotted in the Wild - Road to VR

NOTE: Apparently it's not possible to guarantee you get a newer cable at this point.

The cable honestly doesn't bother me that much, but if I had to complain it would be about the lack of flexibility.
 
I think the main problem with the cable now is that it's just so stiff, and it gets wound up very easily. HTC has already started shipping a single fat cord rather than the tri-cord as a replacement, but I'm not sure how much more flexible it is.

New Thinner, Lighter HTC Vive 3-in-1 Cable Spotted in the Wild - Road to VR

The cable honestly doesn't bother me that much, but if I had to complain it would be about the lack of flexibility.

I just quickly looked at some things on Google - yeah one problem could be actually finding a wireless adapter with enough bandwidth and low latency. Most seem to be 1080p.

If it's something you can really fit into your pocket it probably will sell like hot cakes.
 
I'm sure there is going to be backpack / mini-pack accessory which is going to be essentially a 25000mah battery in a backpack. And as long as you're not an out-of-shape individual shouldn't be an issue.
 
That cable looks a lot better than the included one. I don't know if I'd order one at $40 right now if they were available. I'd rather stick with my current cable and get another game for the money. :)

Wireless would be great, I guess the modular nature of the Vive is a pretty good design. I would be concerned about the battery life assuming the bandwidth and lag can be overcome. My tablet is older but IIRC it can't even do 3 hours worth of video chat and that would be comparible to what the VR set will be doing. Strapping on a backpack would probably be a possibility but I don't know if that would go over well with some people.
 
There's a few companies that are working on 60Ghz wireless chipsets. HUGE amounts of bandwidth but incredibly short range and nearly zero penetration ability. Nitero was talked about back near the beginning of the year as being the first company to talk about development of the chipset specifically for VR, Broadcom is also working on one. After we get the chipset, it's a simple setup for the antenna and a base station transceiver. Power is the only issue at that point, we need a battery pack that's large enough for hours long play and either light enough that it isn't gonna weigh you down in one spot or formed into some kind of wearable that distributes the weight. Oh and of course safe enough for lots of charge/discharges so that we don't have them catching fire while we wear them, lol.
 
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