Extending range of connection between VIVE Pro 2 and host PC to 15m (50ft)

[Infineon]

I just wanted to share a success story of extending a range of my headset from my PC, because I usually put my rig in one smaller room, and to play VR I had to physically move it to a bigger living room, which is approx 12m away from my desk. When I searched forums I have seen different results achieved with different cables, and I haven't been able to find a specific list of components I need to achieve my desired result. Going wireless wouldn't fit me, because first - you lose resolution, second - range listed on wireless is less than I need.
What I bought definitely works, different type/brand/length might work for you too.

Here is how a final result looks like:

 

First component was less problematic - the USB cable. I have replaced stock USB-A (male-male) with an "Active AOC 10Gbps Fiber Cable USB-A 3.1 to USB-A 3.1" From Nördic. Price was too high for my liking, but I figured that optic was best option for lengths over 5m without introducing any noise to the signal. I think you can search by "usb optic cable" and chose one you like, just remember: they have "HOST" end (one that goes into PC) and I think that can be either USB-A or USB-C, make sure that you choose appropriate port for your PC marked as "HOST". I am not sure if it makes difference if cable is 5Gbps or 10gbps, when I was looking which one to order the price difference wasn't too big, both options were expensive I just figured that going 10Gbps over 5Gbps is a safer option and I didn't want to go through another purchase if 5Gbps didn't work for some reason.

 

Second component was pain in the butt in my case, because somehow I was absolutely sure that VIVE link box has a full size DisplayPort, so I figured I need male-male DisplayPort to replace shorter stock DP cable, and I have ordered a "YIWENTEC 15m 50ft Fibre 8K 4K DisplayPort Cable DP 1.4 8K@60Hz 4K@144Hz High Speed 32.4Gbps". Since I went with optical cable for USB part, I thought it would be logical to stick to same on video signal cable. This cable was less than a half price comparing to USB, which is surprising, since it is capable of more than 3x times data transfer (32.4Gbps vs 10Gbps). Same rules apply - you stick end of cable marked as "Source" into PC GPU, and other end into VR link box. Now my mistake with "the other end", and how I solved it.

Now price for my stupidity: I needed to convers a full-size DisplayPort connector on that cable into a mini DisplayPort male connector. I have ordered 3 products just to be able test all options and see which (if any) work, and I was lucky - first that was delivered today worked, and now my kids play VR in living room while I work on my PC writing this 🙂

Option that was tested and works for sure is straight forward - adding a female DP to miniDP adapter. I searched for one that is rated for DisplayPort 1.4 specs. "Mini Displayport till female Displayport 8K UHD adapter" from Capida. There is another spec that I was worried about and that was not specifically listed on the Capita description page: is it unidirectional or bidirectional. I had a feeling that unidirectional mini DP to DP adapters might be meant for laptops where there is miniDP port as a signal source and signal only is transferred miniDP->DP, and in my case DP->miniDP signal will not go through. Therefore I have order couple of other adapters that I will test upon their arrival and will update this post if they work too.

And this is how cables are plugged into VIVE link box:

 

I hope this will be useful for someone who has a similar PC /play area arrangement as me.

Cheers!