HackPerception

@Fuufler Haven't seen this one before - I sent you a PM with info about the team you can contact for help

@demonslayer I'd personally recommend to clean install Windows on your VR-PC and to clean install it religiously every 3-6 months. Every single OEM has at least 1 piece of software/middleware that can negatively effect VR/gaming performance - it wouldn't make sense to single out a specific OEM/software since it's a pretty widespread problem. Moving away from the factory image is a great way to take some of your fate into your own hands but it really depends on your setup and how much of your HW's functionality is mediated by middleware. In the least - it helps prevent all of the bloatware from collecting data on you.

We are still partnered with Valve and are an active SteamVR licensee - the community acts as if there was a hard fork in the relationship when in reality it was a soft fork as the SteamVR ecosystem grew. Our desktop HMDs are still SteamVR HMDs.

@Tektolness Like a HUD that stays static in your FOV? I'm not aware of any tools that can accomplish this - every tool I know spawns windows in volumetric space. I'm sure you could probably use SteamVR's overlay system to craft a custom overlay that does this but I'm unfortunately not aware of any released solutions that do this. I think the technical term for this would be picture in picture.

@pbjunky - the Cosmos/Elite comes with integrated headphones that are upgraded versions of the original deluxe audio strap drivers.

@rainkat84 Try enabling the tools" view to your library filter. You'll be able to scroll down, find SteamVR, and install it manually.

@Expora9 - You can use them with any SteamVR headset (Pimax, Index... ect). The primary requirement is that you need base-stations - they cannot be used without base-stations. There is a tool called OpenVRSpaceCalibrator which can be used to try and hybridize SteamVR tracked devices with other tracking systems like Oculus but it's an advanced setup that can be really finicky and I'd not recommend going down that route unless you have time on your hands.

@mrk88 - There's not a clean answer here - the Pro has "eye relief" so you can adjust the distance until it comes into focus. The bigger problem though is that everybody has different facial morphology and depending on how the HMD sits on their face, the type of facial interface you're using, and how "sunk" into their face their eyes are, there can be a pretty significant range of values across a sample pool even when you control for the eye relief.

All - we've posted an updated set of cleaning instructions here. Remember to let the HMD air out a bit before getting it near your eyes. @JohnyDL @jakethorn @chilli chubb It's been on

@Ampersand Tilde The GTX1050 is unfortunately below the minimum requirements for first-gen consumer headsets (OG Vive, Rift CV1...) and is far below the min reqs for higher resolution second generation gear (Pro/Cosmos/Elite/ect...). The display is upside down because SteamVR is unable to "enumerate" (initialize) the HMD on that graphics card and enable direct display mode. You may be able to some simpler content on lower resolutions on a WMR headset using that GPU but otherwise it's simply not VR-ready.

SteamVR saw upwards of 2 million + connected headsets in April 2020 and that's just one VR ecosystem. That said, the PS4 install base is over 100m units - the total buy-in for the hardware is dramatically less than PCVR. VR is expensive - it's in a relatively good place right now considering where we were only 5 years ago. It will take time for a thriving developer and consumer ecosystem to grow - it remains to be seen how COVID will slow or accelerate XR's growth trajectory. You can SteamVR theater mode or apps like bigscreen/remote desktop for 2D theater gaming modes. You can use an Xbox controller instead of KB/M in a ton of flat games - and can always use mods/tools to try and add unofficial support. The majority of people do not like using KB/M in VR and I am inclined to agree with them. I'm all in on motion controls. I think the gaming community is extremely guilty of stagnation - PC and console gamers often want the exact same thing year over year and it inhibits the adoption of newer and more advanced technologies like motion controls. There are literally tens of thousands of FPS's now with little variety in the core gameplay - alot of the gaming ecosystem is pretty generic or are strong IP's that don't iterate much on the core mechanics. Alot of VR developers are tying to do something different - it's one of the few wild west's out there right now and I strongly believe the innovations occurring in this ecosystem will become the norm.

@YeshiYeshi78 @PTrottier - Please see my response below. In short - there are two compatible SDKs you can use. Our SDK cannot give you raw data but Tobii's can. Our SDK can provide more anonymous feature data such as gaze location and provides features such as foveated rendering.

Vive Community, We've released updated cleaning/hygiene guidelines to address some of the common questions we've been hearing in response to the ongoing global health crisis: Vive Cleaning Guide - May 2020 You can also access this document under the support header on VIVE.com.

@ggvive000 - We have posted an updated cleaning guide here.

@davide445 - Official cleaning recommendations have been posted here

@SeverusVR - The sun will definitely mess up your tracking. In an optical system, it basically ruins your exposure values and having an environment that's too bright means the controller's tracking fiduciaries don't stand out against the background and instead blend in. VR doesn't vibe with sunlight. The lenses in an HMD are basically magnifying glasses - if they catch sunlight they will focus the light onto the screens like a laser beam and will physically burn the screens (example). You can damage the screen with just a second or two of direct exposure to the sun - it's super easy to accidentally kill your HMD with stray sunlight and you need to ensure that sunlight can't hit the HMD.

@davide445 Our teams wrote up a cleaning guide - we'll be releasing it later this week

@davide445 I don't know of any disposable covers specific to Cosmo's controllers/headset. I don't think I've ever seen a disable controller cover for any controller type - they're generally wipe-able surfaces. The whole trend of disposable face masks was first started by MoragaVR which released a universal product called the "Ninja Mask". They still sell the Ninja mask - they're relatively affordable at volume. VR cover went and iterated on the Ninja Mask and created a self-adhesive version that eliminated the elastic straps - that one isn't universal and is model specific and they haven't released a Cosmos version - you could probably cut these in half to get them to work with Cosmos. I've never seen those IRL and thus can't test if they work with Cosmos. I've previously just cut/sewed closed PLU covers for other Vive models to get them to work with Cosmos. In any case, I'd still recommend hitting it with non-bleach Clorox wipes. The covers act as a sponge to soak up sweat and microbes but the headset itself is still contaminated after use.

@hollandera Tagging in some eye tracking specialists. My understanding is that if no compatible eye-tracking hardware is detected, it should fall-back to fixed foveated rendering in most scenarios if the end-user is on an Nvida card. @Daniel_Y @Corvus @Jad

I would also recommend trying a session with only the repaired station powered on. That should give you a good indication of it's tracking quality. That said, the 2.0 stations have pretty good self-diagnostics features embedded into the firmware and generally don't emit tracking data unless the motors are spinning at a very precise speed. With the exception of environmental factors - the basestations are all or nothing; they either are operating correctly and emit data or the firmware detects something is iffy and shuts it down.

@Mrtaylorisaac So that confirms there's at least one position in your play-space where reflections are impacting your tracking to some degree. The tricky thing about it is that the SteamVR logs don't tell you over what period of time those back-facing hits occur. 500-1100 isn't alot if it's spread out over a long play session but that's a ton if it happens all in a short burst. Base stations operate at 120hz so 500-1000 back-facing hits all at once could represent 5-20 seconds of bad data which could result in your hands flying off in a weird direction (which is a classic reflection behavior). It does tell you which base-station is emitting the bad data though which can be helpful. If you can reliably figure out a spot in the room where it happens, you can do some rough angle math to try and figure out which surfaces may be causing the problem. This is a nifty lifehack that provides a good approximation. You can use something like your finger over your cellphone's LED to create the effect. It's tricky though since the flashlight is optical light and IR light interacts with materials - it can only afford an approximation.

@Yur0 - we're still doing RMA's but everything is a little slower as you can imagine since there is a huge strain on the entire shipping system. You can set up an RMA by collecting the S/N off the back of that specific base-station and going to vive_care@vive.com -> contact us -> contact us. With the age of that station, it's unfortunately likely going to be an out of warranty repair/replacement but I'd recommend contacting care for their word on the status. You can increase the longevity of the base stations by going into SteamVR -> Devices -> BaseStation Settings -> Power management. This will allow SteamVR to turn the stations on/off when you open or close SteamVR so the stations are only spinning when you're in an active VR session.

@Johny I'm using 2.0 basestations - I think the standby/sleep option is only shown on 2.0 stations and not 1.0 stations. IMO, the "standby" option is more for enterprise and power-users as it shave a few seconds off the startup time at the cost of the motors continuing to spin. Note that if you force quit SteamVR or do something like pull the power from your PC, SteamVR won't have a chance to send a shutdown command to the base-stations and they'll stay on.

@ggvive000 24x7 usage is only recommended if you are running a commercial operation like an arcade. Basestations are high-speed mechanical devices and will wear out with usage. There is something called basestation power management. You can use this to automatically startup/shutdown the basestations when you open/close SteamVR. It is highly recommended to turn this on to maximize your basestation lifespan. To turn it on: SteamVR (dropdown menu) -> Devices -> Bluetooth Settings. Enable Bluetooth connectivity. SteamVR -> Devices -> Base Station Settings -> Power Management. Set this to "sleep" to completely turn off the motors when not in use. You'll add a few second of startup time to SteamVR but will dramatically improve the longevity of the stations while also eliminating the noise of the stations spinning when you're not in a VR session.

@ggvive000 - The headset itself is surface clean only - you never want to open up your headset because you'll get dust inside of it and it will be very visible on the display. For the most part, using a slightly damp microfiber cloth is the best way to clean the surface of the HMD. Here's instructions on cleaning the face-cushion. Partially why we ship with a foam face cushion is that the sweat has to go somewhere. If we shipped with one that was water-resistant the sweat would be channeled onto the HMD itself and potentially into the electronics. The foam effectively captures and sequesters it far away from the electronics.