Best VR Headset: HTC Vive Reviews

That’s it, and virtual reality is here! After years of waiting patiently, seeing Oculus revive interest in technology, and seeing big companies like Sony and HTC sneaking into the breach, the hardware has finally arrived. If we are still waiting for the PlayStation VR to come out, and as Oculus is experiencing some severe manufacturing problems, the Taiwanese company HTC has managed to grill its competitors on the pole by being the first to send its products. We were lucky enough to recover HTC Vive, and we were quick to plug everything in to discover what life is like in the matrix.

HTC Vive Before was getting into the thick of things, and you should know that this headset offers a lot of small subtleties and differences from its competitors. Indeed, where the Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR offer a motion recognition system that uses a camera, the Vice has opted for a different order. Instead of placing transmitters on his headphones (like the light bars of the PSVR for example) and a receiver in front (the camera for the Sony headphones), HTC has placed the receivers on his headphones and his controllers, while the emitters are placed in the room.

A difference that does not look down on paper, but is crucial on several points. First of all, as the helmet contains all the tracking devices, it is more imposing than the competition, without being heavier. Well done HTC! On unpacking, we find a complete bundle since everything is included in the box, except the big PC that is necessary to play quietly. We will use the machine that is used to test PC games, equipped with an exemplary configuration (Intel i7-3770K, 16GB Ram and NVIDIA GTX 980Ti) according to the Steam VR benchmark. We discover in the box the mask, the levers and their chargers, the interface box and all its connections, and finally the bases and their respective power supplies. For lovers of small details, be aware that the microfiber cloth for cleaning the lenses is included, just like foam in Arab if you ever have a thinner face and insulation of the outside world is not perfect

How does it fit?

HTC Vive for installation, plan a little while. Nothing is complicated in itself, but there is work. Two options are available to us: a configuration that allows gaming motion and which requires a space of 2mx2m, or a configuration without space limit that allows playing is sitting in front of your PC. Whatever the option is chosen, it is necessary to start by placing the emitters facing each other, on a diagonal of your playground. Each transmitter requiring its electrical outlet, think about studying their location, especially they must not be more than 5 meters apart. At the fixation, they can be placed on a shelf, attached to the wall via the supports provided, or use any foot or photographic attachment system; each transmitter had two threaded holes to fit the standard supports. Then connect the two power supplies, then wait for both wires to recognize. Full manipulation takes less than two minutes, and press the button on one of the two bases to show a small “b,” the next will automatically show a small “c,” the system is ready when the diode of each plate has turned green. First step successful, we move to the second: connect the case. The latter has two faces, the first with orange jacks for the headphones, the second with blackjacks for the PC. The black side we plug the USB cable provided to connect PC and housing (USB 3.0 preferably, but the 2.0 works just as well). Then join the HDMI cable to the graphics card, then power. If the HDMI port of your graphics card is busy, the box also accepts the DisplayPort knowing that the cord is not provided this time. Once these connections are made, you have to wait until the box downloads the latest firmware and installs on the PC. We do not touch anything, and everything is done automatically.

We take this opportunity to launch Steam and do a little tour in the library to the tools tab, to recover the user interface named SteamVR. Once the installations are complete, all that remains is to plug the headphones into the case for the equipment to be ready. As soon as you start SteamVR, you feel at home since the menus are those of Steam and all the interface comes from its Big Picture mode. The software detects the headset, then turn on the joysticks for them to be recognized. The final step is to set up the game area by running the SteamVR setup that requires multiple manipulations, such as laying your gear on the ground to determine where the land is, aiming at your screen, and then delineating the outline of your game. Your playground with one of the joysticks. When the software validates the setup, we are ready to play. No more adjustments will be necessary, except for the definition of the playground when you want to change it. Everything is saved, and to plunge into virtual reality, it will now be enough to connect the power supply of the box, attach the Vive to it and launch SteamVR. It’s as simple as for a console. With the HTC Vive on the head, we can now observe the basic clean room that serves as a hub on the headphones, nothing else appears, except the pads and the great blue fence when approaching the limits of the game are set.

Moreover, pressing the menu button of one of the joysticks brings up the SteamVR menu, and all that remains is to navigate using a hand-held pointer. No more adjustments will be necessary, except for the definition of the playground when you want to change it. Everything is saved, and to plunge into virtual reality, it will now be enough to connect the power supply of the box, attach the Vive to it and launch SteamVR. It’s as simple as for a console. With the HTC Vive on the head, we can now observe the basic clean room that serves as a hub on the headphones, nothing else appears, except the pads and the great blue fence when approaching the limits of the game are set. Pressing the menu button of one of the joysticks brings up the SteamVR menu, and all that remains is to navigate using a hand-held pointer. No more adjustments will be necessary, except for the definition of the playground when you want to change it. Everything is saved, and to plunge into virtual reality, it will now be enough to connect the power supply of the box, attach the Vive to it and launch SteamVR. With the HTC Vive on the head, we can now observe the basic clean room that serves as a hub on the headphones, nothing else appears, except the pads and the great blue fence when approaching the limits of the game area set. Pressing the menu button of one of the joysticks brings up the SteamVR menu, and all that remains is to navigate using a hand-held pointer.