HTC unveils new Vive strap with built-in audio + other accessories

[christianled59]

Today at CES, HTC showed off their new replacement strap for the HTC Vive. The new strap, called the "Deluxe Audio Strap," seemingly mimics the (imo) superior Oculus Rift strap and also provides built-in audio. It has an adjustable dial in the back to fine tune the fitting. The lack of proper built-in audio at launch was the reason behind a lot of the Vive's criticism. 

 

No price has been announced yet, but it will be available in the second quarter of this year. 

 

Quote

Featuring interior padding, a new 3-in-1 cable path and an easy-to-adjust sizing dial, the Vive Deluxe Audio Strap makes it easier to put on and take off the headset by effortlessly adapting to any wearer. Integrated on-ear headphones provide superior sound with height and angle adjustments for maximum comfort and convenience.

 

In addition to the new strap, HTC has also unveiled the new Vive Tracker. The Vive Tracker is an accessory that can be attached to any real world object to be tracked in virtual space. This allows for 3rd party objects to easily be added in the game. For example, a tennis racket or a gun model. 

 

Quote

HTC also unveiled the Vive Tracker, a tiny device that'll let developers track just about any object in virtual reality. You can think of it as a miniaturized version of the Vive touch controller's top portion, which is where most of the motion tracking magic happens. HTC says it's created a "simple connection" for developers to integrate the Tracker into their accessories. And at under three ounces, it won't add much heft either.

 

 

 

As a VR developer myself, this is incredibly exciting news. We get a more comfortable device and open the door to many accessories. I've already reached out to Valve for a dev kit, so follow me if you'd like to see an unboxing and review in the near future. 

 

Sources:

 

http://www.polygon.com/virtual-reality/2017/1/4/14170560/htc-vive-deluxe-audio-strap

https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/04/htc-vive-tracker-wireless/

 

[ARikozuM]

Looks like I'll be buying this when it comes out. Though I will probably still use the 5.1 surround system.

 

Edit: This is, once again, confirming that this forum makes me want to buy everything that comes out... At least I paid my vet insurance for the year...

[vong]

Bringing gun controller back out eh?

[Mihle]

that strap, in other words it should make comfort closer to what Oculus is.

[AlTech]

Meanwhile I'm waiting for the VR hype to die and VR to die so that we can get back to what matters in gaming........

[Jamtoad]

1 hour ago, AluminiumTech said:

Meanwhile I'm waiting for the VR hype to die and VR to die so that we can get back to what matters in gaming........

becase having VR means that every other game dev and hardware devs have stopped developing stuff that doesn't revolve around VR? 

 

someone is salty that they are too poor to afford VR other then google cardboard

 

 

I have no issues with the current vive strap but ill get this forsure just to see how it is. an improvement is an improvement, not so hot about the built in headphones tho

[AlTech]

2 minutes ago, Jamtoad said:

becase having VR means that every other game dev and hardware devs have stopped developing stuff that doesn't revolve around VR? 

 

someone is salty that they are too poor to afford VR other then google cardboard

I find no practicality in it. There's no way that VR will ever be mainstream and so i'd rather it die quickly so that everybody can move on...

 

[christianled59]

8 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

I find no practicality in it. There's no way that VR will ever be mainstream and so i'd rather it die quickly so that everybody can move on...

 

M8, have you ever tried it? For gaming, there's another level of immersion. 

 

There are plenty of practical uses of vr. Don't make me bust out my college research papers. It's been used for everything from assisting surgeries to cognitive therapy. 

 

Judging by all my buddies enjoying the fucking hell out of their PSVR, I'd say it's becoming pretty mainstream. Price will drop, quality will get better. I'm not saying 100%, because I can't see into the future, but you can't say it'll die for sure either.

[Jamtoad]

1 hour ago, AluminiumTech said:

I find no practicality in it. There's no way that VR will ever be mainstream and so i'd rather it die quickly so that everybody can move on...

 

you remind me of someone named Adolf Hitler, he didnt like jews so he wanted them all to die.

 

you dont like vr so you want vr to die,

 

the world does not revolve around you buddy, and who knows what vr can lead to in the future, maybe it can be used for more then just video games. just because you cant afford it doesn't mean it should just die off. all other technology in gaming is still advancing, i rarely hear about VR on a day to day basis even with how many tech forums I browse. most don't even have VR specific subforums becase its not a very popular topic.

 

love to see that people like you exist in this world.

[TOMPPIX]

I want something like the oculus rift dk 2 but with higher resolution displays. that's the perfect vr for me.

[Scitesh]

5 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

I find no practicality in it. There's no way that VR will ever be mainstream and so i'd rather it die quickly so that everybody can move on...

 

What if it does?

Disclaimers

I  don't own either for reasons

 

The same was said for self driving cars and now almost every car comes with a  myriad of features

[Scitesh]

3 minutes ago, christianled59 said:

M8, have you ever tried it? For gaming, there's another level of immersion. 

 

There are plenty of practical uses of vr. Don't make me bust out my college research papers. It's been used for everything from assisting surgeries to cognitive therapy. 

 

Judging by all my buddies enjoying the fucking hell out of their PSVR, I'd say it's becoming pretty mainstream. Price will drop, quality will get better. I'm not saying 100%, because I can't see into the future. You can't say it'll die for sure either man.

I  am waiting for gen,2/3  of VR  headsets

[Jamtoad]

1 hour ago, christianled59 said:

M8, have you ever tried it? For gaming, there's another level of immersion. 

 

There are plenty of practical uses of vr. Don't make me bust out my college research papers. It's been used for everything from assisting surgeries to cognitive therapy. 

 

Judging by all my buddies enjoying the fucking hell out of their PSVR, I'd say it's becoming pretty mainstream. Price will drop, quality will get better. I'm not saying 100%, because I can't see into the future. You can't say it'll die for sure either man.

he is just salty and has zero idea what he is talking about.

[christianled59]

Just now, Scitesh said:

I  am waiting for gen,2/3  of VR  headsets

I don't blame you one bit. Rumors of the second Vive sound pretty damn good and current headsets leave a little something to be desired (not that they're bad, but you get what I mean). At least you aren't calling VR "dead". It's anything but. 

[AlTech]

2 hours ago, christianled59 said:

M8, have you ever tried it? For gaming, there's another level of immersion. 

At this rate I never will. The headsets are way too expensive. The GPUs required are always needing more horsepower to power these panels in the headsets.

 

And I don't have the space for VR. literally don't have the space and probably never will unless I become rich when I'm older.

2 hours ago, christianled59 said:

There are plenty of practical uses of vr. Don't make me bust out my college research papers. It's been used for everything from assisting surgeries to cognitive therapy. 

I have no difficulties with understanding and seeing something like a HoloLens being used. Because it works, it has an ecosystem of apps which will work with it, it is a great piece of tech that I could use hours on end without having to feel like i'm using half of my house to facilitate a $800+ USD toy.

2 hours ago, christianled59 said:

Judging by all my buddies enjoying the fucking hell out of their PSVR, I'd say it's becoming pretty mainstream.

I don't know a single IRL person who has bought a VR headset or accessory. I don't plan on buying one anytime soon and I don't think anybody else will.

2 hours ago, christianled59 said:

Price will drop

If your claim of it becoming mainstream is ever to happen, it sure as hell needs a price drop. Like drop the price in half and I MIGHT consider it. Drop it in half again and I might actually buy it.

 

[porina]

 

6 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

The GPUs required are always needing more horsepower to power these panels in the headsets.

Current requirements aren't that bad with a mid range card being adequate.

6 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

And I don't have the space for VR. literally don't have the space and probably never will unless I become rich when I'm older.

This is a major problem for room scale, but fixed spot sitting/standing should be manageable.

 

I note you're in HK, which is possibly one of the most densely populated places so I can well imagine that being more of a problem there. 

6 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

If your claim of it becoming mainstream is ever to happen, it sure as hell needs a price drop. Like drop the price in half and I MIGHT consider it. Drop it in half again and I might actually buy it.

Might not be for high end gaming, but look at MS' announcement earlier this year on low cost VR.

[Sakkura]

2 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

If your claim of it becoming mainstream is ever to happen, it sure as hell needs a price drop. Like drop the price in half and I MIGHT consider it. Drop it in half again and I might actually buy it.

 

Lenovo's saying their VR headset will cost between $300 and $350.

 

Of course, their VR headset is likely going to be compromised in a few areas, particularly when it comes to tracked controllers. But it's obvious that prices are going to drop over time.

 

2 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

I have no difficulties with understanding and seeing something like a HoloLens being used. Because it works, it has an ecosystem of apps which will work with it, it is a great piece of tech that I could use hours on end without having to feel like i'm using half of my house to facilitate a $800+ USD toy.

That's ridiculous. The HoloLens content library is pitiful compared to VR headsets, either on PC, console or mobile.

 

2 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

At this rate I never will. The headsets are way too expensive. The GPUs required are always needing more horsepower to power these panels in the headsets.

 

And I don't have the space for VR. literally don't have the space and probably never will unless I become rich when I'm older.

You don't need any space for VR, you walnut.

[suicidalfranco]

2 minutes ago, Sakkura said:

That's ridiculous. The HoloLens content library is pitiful compared to VR headsets, either on PC, console or mobile.

what did you expect from the resident MS fanboy? in fact i'm surprised, i would have thought he would have just bashed Vive and cheered for oculus considering their partnership with MS

[Unexas.]

This is very interesting. After seeing this yesterday i will now be choosing between the kick starter one or HTC's.

[christianled59]

3 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

At this rate I never will. The headsets are way too expensive. The GPUs required are always needing more horsepower to power these panels in the headsets.

 

And I don't have the space for VR. literally don't have the space and probably never will unless I become rich when I'm older.

I have no difficulties with understanding and seeing something like a HoloLens being used. Because it works, it has an ecosystem of apps which will work with it, it is a great piece of tech that I could use hours on end without having to feel like i'm using half of my house to facilitate a $800+ USD toy.

I don't know a single IRL person who has bought a VR headset or accessory. I don't plan on buying one anytime soon and I don't think anybody else will.

If your claim of it becoming mainstream is ever to happen, it sure as hell needs a price drop. Like drop the price in half and I MIGHT consider it. Drop it in half again and I might actually buy it.

 

PSVR is cheap and immersive. So I don't really see the excuse. You can buy a used ps4 for less than $200.

 

One of my friends is quite poor and has a super tiny house. He has his psvr in his bedroom (his bedroom is the size of my bloody bathroom) and it works. 

 

(also, why are you only okay with paying a quarter the price? People are find dishing out $600+ on a high res monitor, when I'm pretty sure vr brings more to the plate at a similar price).

[Guest Kloaked]

7 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

Meanwhile I'm waiting for the VR hype to die and VR to die so that we can get back to what matters in gaming........

/r/im14andthisisdeep

[Guest Kloaked]

25 minutes ago, christianled59 said:

PSVR is cheap and immersive. So I don't really see the excuse. You can buy a used ps4 for less than $200.

 

One of my friends is quite poor and has a super tiny house. He has his psvr in his bedroom (his bedroom is the size of my bloody bathroom) and it works. 

 

(also, why are you only okay with paying a quarter the price? People are find dishing out $600+ on a high res monitor, when I'm pretty sure vr brings more to the plate at a similar price).

 

Have you tried the PSVR? I'm wondering about the framerate and pixel density.

[christianled59]

4 minutes ago, Kloaked said:

Have you tried the PSVR? I'm wondering about the framerate and pixel density.

Yeah. Framerate is fine in games that are actually optimized. For example, first thing I tried was the Resident Evil VR demo and I got sick. It was bloody terrible. I'm surprised a AAA studio made that shit. 

 

Every other game I played though was perfectly fine. Framerate isn't noticeably bad, but you can notice if you try. Same with resolution. If the game is good, you really won't notice much of a difference from the Vive or Rift. 

 

FOV is slightly lower, but not significant. 

 

It's also by far the most comfortable headset imo. The Vive and rift weight down on your cheeks. The PSVR has this plastic band that distributes weight over your entire head. (which is why im excited for this new vive strap, because it looks like it works just like the PSVR strap)

 

The controllers aren't good, but they aren't unusable. Didn't break my immersion any. 

[Guest Kloaked]

Just now, christianled59 said:

Every other game I played though was perfectly fine. Framerate isn't noticeably bad, but you can notice if you try. Same with resolution.

 

That's how I feel about the Pixel XL and Daydream currently. I thought I was going to be using it a lot for videos but the damned pixel density ruins the immersion for me. I should have just stuck with my 5X for another year and just bought a Vive or Rift.

[christianled59]

Just now, Kloaked said:

That's how I feel about the Pixel XL and Daydream currently. I thought I was going to be using it a lot for videos but the damned pixel density ruins the immersion for me. I should have just stuck with my 5X for another year and just bought a Vive or Rift.

Yeah. I've used the gear vr and I cannot stand it. I stand with Luke when it comes to VR. The PSVR is bloody great for its price and I would recommend that over the Vive or Oculus if someone already has a ps4.