HTC demonstrated its upcoming virtual reality (VR) headset the Vive Pre at the 2016 CES in January. The user manual of the headset is now available directly from HTC's website so designers and studios can start developing software for the head mount.
The user guide of the Vive Pre details the contents that customers will get, such as the headset, base stations and controllers. There are also sketches showing how to put the Vive Pre on the head and adjust it for various settings.
The manual also gives instruction on how to set up the play area for getting the best experience from the Vive Pre. According to the user guide, the play area sets the virtual boundaries of Vive. The interaction with VR objects occurs only within the play area.
Customers can designate any room as the play area but HTC has some recommendations on how to set it up.
First, decide whether your play area will be seated/standing-only or room-scale. For the room-scale setup, which lets you move around, the play area should be a minimum of 5 by 6.5 feet. There is no set minimum for standing and seated play as the space requirements will depend on the VR content.
Remove furniture and other heavy objects from the area to allow for free movement. Any reflective surface like mirrors should also be removed, and make sure to cover sources of direct sunlight, such as windows.
The computer should be placed outside the play area. Note that the connection cable can be extended by about 16 feet from the computer.
Place the two base stations diagonally from each other above your height. Mount the base stations on a stable tripod, wall, ceiling, or a high shelf.
The controllers and the headset should be at a distance of at least 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) and no more than 5 meters (16 feet) from a base station.
After setting up the hardware, Steam software users can open the SteamVR app from their computer and click on the down arrow. Select 'Run Room Setup' then 'Room-scale.' It only takes a few minutes to review the on-screen prompts and follow the instructions.
For those who have decided to set up a standing-only play area that also allows for a seated VR experience, choose 'Standing only' from the room setup option on the SteamVR app. Review the prompts and follow the detailed instructions to finish the setup.
HTC will start taking preorders for the VR headset starting Feb. 29 and deliveries will start in April this year.
