A VR glasses for three applications. With the Vive XR Elite, HTC pushes established boundaries. The new glasses should be suitable for gaming, conferences, films and office work.
The duel with the Metas VR headset quest goes into the next round. HTC presented new virtual reality glasses at the CES technology fair (until January 8th) with the Vive XR Elite. The multi-part system consisting of glasses, battery and accessories should cost upwards of 1400 euros and will be available from March 2023. Areas of application are games, films or somewhat unclearly defined metaverse applications. Content is available via the HTC portal Viveport, Steam VR or Epic.
The design of the Vive, which can be used both alone and with a PC, is a bit reminiscent of snow goggles with a mirrored front. The glasses can either be worn with a headband or connected to the large battery that is worn on the back of the head. A circumferential band with an adjusting screw ensures a firm hold. Together with the battery, the ensemble weighs 625 grams.
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4K resolution and 90 frames per second
There is image display for each eye in 2K resolution, i.e. together in 4K (3840 to 1920 pixels) at a maximum refresh rate of 90 Hertz. There is a correction of up to -7 dioptres for people who wear glasses. Far-sighted people, on the other hand, should be able to do without.
There is a lot of technology in the glasses, a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR, sensors, cameras, fans for cooling and more. Four cameras are used for spatial orientation. They also record the hands of users and display them in virtual space. The ring-shaped HTC controllers are also supported.
Virtual objects in real space
A fifth camera can play the image in front of the wearer on the eye screens. This is used for mixed reality applications in which, for example, virtual objects are displayed in the visible space. This mixed reality mode should also be used for work applications. HTC demonstrated, for example, a virtual office 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 running time under power are possible with the large battery connected. The battery can be exchanged during operation. The glasses can also be used without a battery, they can be powered by a cable. The basic configuration of the HTC Vive XR Elite comes with eyeglass temples, a battery pack and a pair of controllers.