At the ongoing CES 2017 expo in Las Vegas, HTC has come up with great news for its VR headsets users. The company has announced two new HTC Vive accessories – namely The Vive Tracker and The Deluxe Audio Strap. Additionally, there is also a Netflix like subscription plan for Viveport and a tie-up with Intel for a wireless VR headset.
So before we get into the specifics of each of these, take a look at the promo video below.
The Vive Tracker
The Vive Tracker is basically a motion sensor that makes use of the Vive’s “lighthouse” tracking system and takes real objects into VR space. As seen in the above image, The Vive Tracker has a circular shape and comes with a built-in standalone controller. It weighs just under 3 ounces (85g) and measures less than 10cm in length.
The Vive Tracker can be connected to other real objects via USB and offers 6 hours of seamless operation on full charge. During the demo hour at CES 2017, Vive showed a number of Tracker-enabled accessories like haptic gloves for VR, first VR camera, multiple rifles for VR shooter and training applications for professional firefighters and Major League Baseball players.
The Vive Tracker will be available by the Q2 of 2017, however there is no word yet regarding its price.
Deluxe Audio Strap
Image Credit: techshout.com
One of the major features missing for the HTC Vive headset was the absence of integrated audio. To fill this void, HTC announced this Deluxe Audio Strap for its Vive headsets. This headstrap assembly is a set of on-ear integrated earphones which can be connected with the Vive headset. The Audio Strap comes with good form factor and customisable sizing dial for fast and easy adjustments. This shows HTC’s serious efforts of giving high-quality sound enough importance for richer VR experiences.
As per the press kit briefing from HTC, The Deluxe Audio Strap comes with “interior padding, a new 3-in-1 cable path and an easy-to-adjust sizing dial”.
The Deluxe Audio Strap will be shipped by the Q2 of 2017 and the pricing will be disclosed closer to that date.
Viveport Subscription
Image Credit: UploadVR
Back in August 2016, HTC announced the Viveport platform for its Vive headsets users. The Viveport program aims to bring quality content to its users across several streams like edutainment, social media, 360˚ video, news, sports, health, travel and shopping.
With a bold decision to make it more mainstream and without wasting any time further, HTC has announced a monthly subscription service for Viveport which will start in early 2017. This new service will make it easy for Vive users to watch content across plethora of apps and will even benefit VR developers to monetize the content.
The company is said to launch dedicated VR app stores in 2017, with total 3000 apps available for professionals.
HTC and Intel join hands for wireless VR
Wireless and standalone VR headset is the next big trend in the VR industry. Lenovo recently announced its plans to venture into wireless VR headsets based on the Windows Holographic Platform. A similar deal has been done between HTC and Intel to come up with wireless untethered virtual reality experience.
For those wondering if TPCast and new @htcvive Deluxe Headstrap work together…yes it does. pic.twitter.com/L1S4zULbrH
— Daniel O’Brien (@obriend17) January 5, 2017
Moreover,Daniel O’Brien General Manager US and EMEA Vive, also showcased TPCast – a wireless adaptor unveiled last year with the Vive accelerator program. The adaptor offer latency rates as low as 2ms. Currently it supports a battery life for one-and-a-half-hour, but HTC promises to bring a five-hour XL battery support ahead during its shipment in Q2 2017.
TPCast will be available for a price of U.S. $249.
So glad that HTC/Valve are continuing so much innovation. There’s lots of great players in the VR space.
I think they should build a walking tracking device to play games such as call of duty.. that would be awesome.