HTC Re Vive -- Valve backed Rift competitor

[Guitar]

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/03/htc-partners-with-valve-for-virtual-reality-headset/

BARCELONA, Spain—Surprise! HTC just announced a partnership with Valve to make a virtual reality headset. The device is called the HTC Re Vive, and it combines HTC's hardware design with Valve's Steam VR technology.

The device looks unlike any other VR headset. It's covered in sensors—there are over 70—allowing for full 3D room tracking. HTC calls this a "Full Room Scale 360 Degree Solution with Tracked Controllers," though hopefully the final name is a little catchier. You can explore objects from all angles, and look up and down.

The Vive appears to be a standalone VR headset for a PC. We don't know many details about how it works, but HTC says it "features high-quality graphics, 90-frames-per-second video, and incredible audio fidelity." The headset uses two 1200×1080 displays, one for each eye, and the relatively high resolution should help cut down on the "screen door effect" you got with the original Oculus Rift developer kit. HTC will also be producing "wireless VR controllers" along with the headset, which will be sold in pairs and will be less complex than typical gamepads. The company said it was partnering with Google, HBO, and others to make content for the device

A Developer Edition will be availible in Spring, with a Consumer Edition coming "by the end of 2015." More information will be on HTCvr.com.

Seems like since Oculus has been dropping the ball with Rift and taking so long, HTC has stepped up and Valve has decided to back them. Hardware definitely seems more advanced than what OR currently offers, and the support by Valve means more developers would theoretically be supporting this device. I'm excited to see how it pans out.

 

[human_error]

Lets not forget that Oculus got a lot of their ideas from Valve who gave them a lot of the R&D they had been working on for years (things like low persistence IIRC). If Valve approached HTC then they would have been able to share all of their VR tech giving HTC a significant boost.

Hopefully this competition will force Oculus to hurry up - I also hope that they can work together on a common API/driver model so that a consumer can play VR titles no matter what headset they buy (the easiest way to kill VR will be to have titles needing to choose which headset they support).

 

[1Kurgan1]

Lets not forget that Oculus got a lot of their ideas from Valve who gave them a lot of the R&D they had been working on for years (things like low persistence IIRC). If Valve approached HTC then they would have been able to share all of their VR tech giving HTC a significant boost.

Hopefully this competition will force Oculus to hurry up - I also hope that they can work together on a common API/driver model so that a consumer can play VR titles no matter what headset they buy (the easiest way to kill VR will be to have titles needing to choose which headset they support).

Actually, if more support was thrown into the open market I think it would be better. Look at the setup for the LG G3, 3D printed headset, and drop the phone in. Something like that could easily be designed to fit numerous different phones (easy source of higher res monitors for the size). Then it would just come down to a need for software. I'd like to see it go more that way.