The wireless adapter for the HTC Vive (and Vive Pro)
is available now. You can find it in the US at vive.com and other retailers
that carry HTC’s virtual reality headset. The price is US$ 300, which is quite
steep considering that the Vive VR headset itself costs US$ 500. And if you happen
to have the Vive Pro headset, you’ll also need to pay US$ 60 extra for the right
adapter.
Note that you’ll also need a free PCIe 1x port in
your computer. And the adapter adds 129g of weight to the headset. But that’s
the only way to get the freedom of mobile VR headsets with the graphics power
of a desktop PC. A bit more about the tech: the adapter receives video over
WiGig with nearly zero latency and it has a battery that should last up to 2.5
hours.
And there’s a cool new feature – up to 3 players can
be simultaneously inside the same play area (6 x 6m, 20 x 20ft). You need a
headset, adapter and computer for each player, of course. The wireless adapter
comes with a 2-month Viveport Subscription, which will let you rent
VR-compatible games for free and see which ones work best without the burden of
wires.
In related news, devs will be getting 100% of the
revenue from Viveport Subscription until the end of the year. The service
already boasts 500 titles, but this move should help bring in new developers.
