Wireless PC-Connected VR HMDs Might Not Be Far Off: Quark VR Made A Wireless Vive Transmitter

[kcarbotte]

Quark VR announced that it is working with Valve to create a wireless transmission solution for the HTC Vive VR HMD. The company said it is almost ready to showcase the system and has plans to do so later this year.

Wireless PC-Connected VR HMDs Might Not Be Far Off: Quark VR Made A Wireless Vive Transmitter : Read more

 

[hdmark]

this would be great but im wondering about powering the HMD then? would they then need battery packs connected to them ? (not sure if they already do have batteries that i just didn't realize)

 

[Jeff Fx]

this would be great but im wondering about powering the HMD then? would they then need battery packs connected to them ? (not sure if they already do have batteries that i just didn't realize)

Yes, the headset would need battery packs. it's now powered via the cable. The cable is getting to be more of a problem as more advanced games come out, so this can not come soon enough.

 

[-Fran-]

Wait, are they going to use the 2.4Ghz/5.2Ghz band or they will use *WiFi* as a transport layer? If it's the latter, then the lag will be perceivable and, most probably, annoying to boot.

You have to think you're tricking your eyes into movement and the brain-to-eye lag is ~13ms. So, moving your neck, your brain will expect "something" in less than that amount to process and then have a reaction to it. WiFi plus processing will put that north of 50ms, so I don't know if it's a good idea (considering the target of 90FPS translates to ~11ms + WiFi lag of ~35ms).

Cheers!

 

[kcarbotte]

this would be great but im wondering about powering the HMD then? would they then need battery packs connected to them ? (not sure if they already do have batteries that i just didn't realize)

There would definitely need to be a battery system of some sort. They will probably talk about that when they reveal it later this year.

Wait, are they going to use the 2.4Ghz/5.2Ghz band or they will use *WiFi* as a transport layer? If it's the latter, then the lag will be perceivable and, most probably, annoying to boot.

You have to think you're tricking your eyes into movement and the brain-to-eye lag is ~13ms. So, moving your neck, your brain will expect "something" in less than that amount to process and then have a reaction to it. WiFi plus processing will put that north of 50ms, so I don't know if it's a good idea (considering the target of 90FPS translates to ~11ms + WiFi lag of ~35ms).

Cheers!

Valve is involved with this project and is intimately aware of the need for low latency to acheive comfortable VR. It sounds like this company has made some sort of breakthrough that gets around that problem.

Again, we'll know more when Quark VR is ready to talk about it.

 

[jaber2]

The two things that is stopping me from getting one in the market are the bulky HMD and the wires

 

[dstarr3]

Honestly, I wouldn't be opposed to wearing some battery pack on a belt or something with a wire running down my back. I hope they don't get too optimistic and put too small a battery in the HMD itself to avoid that. I'd rather have six hours of use on my belt than an hour in the device.

 

[Jeff Fx]

Wait, are they going to use the 2.4Ghz/5.2Ghz band or they will use *WiFi* as a transport layer? If it's the latter, then the lag will be perceivable and, most probably, annoying to boot.

You have to think you're tricking your eyes into movement and the brain-to-eye lag is ~13ms. So, moving your neck, your brain will expect "something" in less than that amount to process and then have a reaction to it. WiFi plus processing will put that north of 50ms, so I don't know if it's a good idea (considering the target of 90FPS translates to ~11ms + WiFi lag of ~35ms).

Cheers!

I expect it'll be WiFi-like on the same band, but with optimized communications protocols. It only needs to get signals to and from a single device in the same room as the base-station, which removes a lot of complexity. The only issue might be with the FCC for using WiFi frequencies for something that is not quite WiFi.

 

[edhem]

As a user of the HTC Vive, neither the wires nor the weight of the HMD are a problem in regards of use. Of course I would prefer to have it wireless, but as an early adopter, the device is doing a great job. As I recall they were talking that 5G speeds could replace the wires and reduce lag, I am curious what happened to that idea.

 

[Jeff Fx]

As a user of the HTC Vive, neither the wires nor the weight of the HMD are a problem in regards of use. Of course I would prefer to have it wireless, but as an early adopter, the device is doing a great job. As I recall they were talking that 5G speeds could replace the wires and reduce lag, I am curious what happened to that idea.

The wires are an annoyance, and occasionally disrupt game play, so I'd say they are a problem. This is still the best toy and exercise device I've ever owned, but it will be a lot better without wires.

The HMD annoyed me too, becoming uncomfortable pretty quickly, but replacing the straps with welding head-gear solved that part of the problem.

 

[jjbtexas]

Running the entire unite over thunderbolt would be the best option right now. Wireless is great but lag and battery packs are not the solution.

 

[dstarr3]

Running the entire unite over thunderbolt would be the best option right now. Wireless is great but lag and battery packs are not the solution.

I assume you're referring to the Linus video, wherein he loaded up a backpack with a Thunderbolt hub, two giant battery packs, and some heavily modified cables, all of which cost about as much as a Vive again. So... yeah, if you feel like doubling your VR cost, okay, that can be done after A LOT of work. But that's not exactly realistic for most people.

 

[jackt]

Cool but I would the antenna far from my brain!