One pair of VR glasses for three applications. With the Vive XR Elite, Vive shatters established boundaries. The new glasses are designed for gaming, conferences, movies and office work.
Las Vegas – HTC launches into a duel with the Meta subsidiary, Oculus, and presented at the CES technical fair (until January 8) its new virtual reality glasses, the Vive XR Elite. The multi-part system, consisting of glasses, battery and accessories, is expected to cost from 1400 euros and will be available from March 2023. Areas of application are for example games, films or Metaverse applications whose definition is still a little unclear. Content is available through the HTC Viveport, Steam VR or Epic portal.
The design of the Vive, which can be used both in stand-alone mode and with a PC, is somewhat reminiscent of that of snow goggles with a reflective side. The goggles can be worn either with headbands or attached to the large battery that is worn on the back of the head. A peripheral band with adjustment screw ensures a firm hold. With the battery, the set weighs 625 grams.
4K resolution and 90 frames per second
The representation of the image is available for each eye in 2K resolution, therefore in 4K (3840 to 1920 pixels) with a maximum refresh rate of 90 Hertz. For spectacle wearers, there is a correction of up to -7 diopters, farsighted people should be able to do without it.
The glasses pack a lot of technology, a Snapdragon XR, sensors, cameras, fans for cooling and much more. Four cameras are used for spatial orientation. They also detect the hands of users and represent them in the virtual space. Ring-shaped HTC controllers are also supported.
Virtual objects in real space
A fifth camera can scroll the image in front of the wearers on the eye screens. This is useful for mixed reality applications, in which virtual objects are for example embedded in the visible space. This mixed reality mode should also be used for work applications. HTC, for example, demonstrated a virtual desktop environment in which screens are displayed in the field of vision. Latency and color accuracy should be better than previous models, HTC promises.
Two hours of runtime under power is possible with a large battery connected. The battery can be replaced during operation. But the glasses can also be used without a battery, they can be supplied with electricity by cable. The HTC Vive XR Elite’s basic equipment includes glasses temples, a battery pack and a pair of controllers. dpa
