Anyone Else Going Wireless?

ActionVR

We are just starting up and love the wireless, although we have nothing else to compare it to. We have 13 wireless units on regular Vives. We have a set up similar to others. Using PCI slot 1 and connected the link box to enable the base stations to update through Bluetooth. We are also using an Intel processor. Vive has reported an issue with the wireless units when using an AMD processor. We are having some intermittent issues that we thought may have been the wireless units heating up over time, but are currently attributing the problem to the setting sun. We are putting some film on the windows this week. If that doesn’t fix the issue, the next step will be to wire in to eliminate the wireless as the culprit. If it turns out to be a wireless issue, I’ll report back. So far though, our biggest issue with the wireless has been with the batteries that come standard with the units. One just flat out broke (the USB portion fell inside the unit) while a couple of others are fully charged, but don’t charge the headset any longer. We were charging them with the cord provided on a regular USB 2.0 charger, so I’m not sure if I ruined them doing that, so everything now charges with the cord provided on a USB 3.0 charger. We purchased backup batteries that are compatible and fit into the holsters, but are half the price of the Vive ones. They seem to work much better and so far have gotten more use than the originals. Since we are completely wireless, we store the headsets in glass cases. Customers essentially check them out and once returned, they get cleaned and stored. At the bottom of the glass case is a battery charging station, so we have a battery in use and a battery on charge at all times. Overall, we love the wireless and would recommend them for the experience, but between having to purchase extra batteries, chargers and charging strips, plus of course the cost of the units themselves, we’re not sure it’s much cheaper than replacing the wires. Of course that will depend on how often the wires are being replaced. Good luck!

geralexandr

ActionVR

How do you separate sets of 3 stations from other 3 stations? Is a drywall enough or you need more substantial wall to block the beam?

Edge

ActionVR

[quote="ActionVR, post:25, topic:255"] e stations to update through Bluetoot [/quote]

We are using 2 wireless on the original vives. The main problems we experienced were dropouts and connection issues seemed to be related to the cheap, thin USB cable that connects the headset to the battery. Buy new good quality cables and replace the stock/oem cable. Battery life is a bit of an issue(about 2 hours of life and long time to charge). Just keep a few extra batteries on hand for each station. Sunlight through the windows have affected tracking as well.

geralexandr

How do you separate the sets? My understanding is that you can do no more than 3 in one space (3 modes in settings only), so the next three should be separated from the other 3, correct? What is your solution to block the interference?

VR-ARRIVAL

There are 3 independent wireless channels that you can select in the settings of the wireless adapter program and although I have quizzed the HTC guys about effective range of the wireless (they do report that it isn't reliable past 6m), they didn't really know the answer. It will be similar to other forms of wireless interference though where solid walls will diminish the signal and so if you can spread out the independent channels, you might not have problems with cross-talk. From what I am hearing though from this discussions and other forums, if you are using the original HTC Vives, the wireless tends to work well but if you are using the HTC Vive Pro you will tend to struggle at best with lots reporting that they just aren't usable at all with the wireless adapters. We are still working with the HTC Vive Tech support out of Taiwan to try to solve our wireless adapter issues with the Vive Pros.

ActionVR

geralexandr

We have two sections. One section is drywall and the other section is black essentially cubicles, which are enough to block interference as well. We do not have more than 2 stations without some type of barrier.

thenexusvr

ActionVR

We have nine foot framed drywall separating our wireless stations. Everything is excellent. Six headsets running wireless and not a single problem in any game. Not juddering or frame loss.

VR-ARRIVAL

For the guys that are using wireless, would you be able to let everyone know within the posts whether you are using the original HTC Vives or the Vive Pros and also maybe some of the basic computer specs (graphics card; Processor etc.). Would be interested in seeing whether there are any common threads between those that are having issues and those that aren't.

ActionVR

Edge

Hey Rob,

The window coverings are on order and I’m too embarrassed to tell you how many batteries we bought to avoid the embarrassment of not having a battery on hand. The cord we have not tried yet. That’s a great suggestion. Is there a specific cord that has proven to work well? Thanks! Jenn

Edge

ActionVR

I bought these on Amazon. USB 3.0 A to A Male Cable, JSAUX USB 3.0 to USB 3.0 Cable 2 Pack(3.3ft+6.6ft) USB Male to Male Cable Double End USB Cord for Hard Drive Enclosures, DVD Player, Laptop Cooler and More (Red) They come in multiple color options (I have color coded stations) and in 2 packs with one 3.3 foot and one 6.6 foot cable in the same package. This works great to use the shorter one for the kids and the longer for taller adults when necessary.

Correction these cables are not enough! Please do not use them. They worked great initially but now we are now getting power drops with these cables after 2 weeks of use. A thicker more robust cable is needed to be reliable. I am trying other cables now and will keep you posted.

Edge

ActionVR

Please see the new correction I made. Sorry for any issues this may have caused.

ActionVR

Edge

Hey Rob,

I found a similar issue with those ones as well, but still have a need for cables as I've lost a couple. All the Amazon ones I look at seem thin as well. Any luck finding a suitable replacement? Thanks! ~ Jenn

FNSArcade

I am actually loathing the wireless with our Vive Pro's so far, mostly because it's very VERY finicky with what order you turn on the headset and controllers instead of just syncing up and tracking, it's incredibly annoying. IMHO the wireless SHOULD BE managed and controlled by steam VR, not a separate piece of software for HTC that has to have the headset connected and synced with before starting steam VR.

The other issue is the HTC batteries only last so long, the controllers actually seem to outlast 2 - 3 full charges on the battery pack for the headset.

The biggest issue I have been having now is that the USB cables from the wireless to the battery pack are breaking. We tried replacing them with ones from amazon and now I have 2 battery packs that won't seemingly won't turn the headsets on even when they are fully charged, trying to figure that issue out now. If anyone else has had this problem let me know, especially if there's a way to solve it. I am hoping these $70 battery packs aren't dead in the water just because of a replacement cable or damage to the original cable, that would seemingly be unacceptable.

ActionVR

FNSArcade

Seems like issues with the Vive Pro and wireless are pretty common. I've running wireless Vive's, so I good connection, syncing and tracking as long as the battery is connecting. The only time I seem to have an issue with connection and tracking is when the wire connecting the battery to the headset is on the fritz. This has happened twice so far and I haven't found a suitable non-Vive replacement yet for the wire. The original Vive batteries also seem to be terrible. I have 13 and maybe half of them are still working. The other half I only use if I'm desperate. I bought a bunch of these. They are half the price and have way outlasted the original Vive batteries so far. They are slightly smaller than the originals, so fit nicely in the original holster.

Edge

ActionVR

I am currently experimenting with other cables. It seems that the much thicker 3.0 cables create an issue with movement of the stiffer cable but a much improved transfer of information. Less issues with dropouts but a few more instances with unplugs by customers accidentally hitting the more rigid cable.

VR-ARRIVAL

ActionVR

Hi All, Problems with the USB cable aside (completely recognise that this is a major issue though), I am still curious about who has and hasn't had success with the wireless and what they are using it with. If I can suggest, can people who are using wireless just take a moment to jot down how many, what they are using it with (Vive or Vive Pro) and basic computer Spec (Graphics card, CPU) and how it compares out of 10 to a cabled performance (10/10 being it would be very difficult to tell the difference in games between cabled and wireless performance). Then we can all see what it tends to be working (or not) on. If anyone has any suggestions of hardware changes or settings in SteamVR etc they have used to get it working, that would also be very handy. I'll start... 1 x Vive Pro (RX2080; Intel i7 8700K) 10/10 5 x Vive Pro (RX2080; Intel i7 8700K) 6/10 1 x Vive Pro (GTX1080; Intel i7 8700K) 6/10

As you can see, we have 6 identical PC systems and on one it works perfect and we cannot replicate it on the other 5 identical systems which has been very frustrating. We have ensured there are running the same BIOS and Graphics settings and versions and the same hardware configuration but with 5 of the systems, we still have significant latency (hence we have gone back to a cabled approach for these systems). We have even cloned the OS drive on the one that is working and tried booting off that on the other systems but no joy. Am out of ideas and have approached HTC Vive to get a refund on at least 5 of the wireless systems. Understand that everyone is very busy so thanks in advance... Cheers, Andrew

ActionVR

VR-ARRIVAL

We have 13 Vive's, all wireless, running is separate 8x8 play areas; Intel i7 8700k processor; 32GB RAM; 2TB hard drive (no SSD), using about half of it; GTX1080 graphics. I am using the first PCI slot. Started with wireless, so don't know how it compares to the wired experience, although I expect that I am losing some resolution. I am using the Steam suggested super sampling, which last I checked was at about 180%, so not sure if that is making up the resolution difference. If there is some latency, it is not noticed or at least is not bad enough to ruin the wireless experience. Almost all of my users are new users, so they wouldn't generally know if they are losing resolution or a slight increase in latency anyway.

Whenever I get an error with connection or tracking, I check the following:

Ensure that the wireless unit is getting power Check the connection to the WiGig to make sure it is tight Ensure that Windows, the graphics card and WiGig drivers are up-to-date Reset the USBs in SteamVR Replace the cable. The cable between the link box and the computer works in a pinch.

I have the link box connected to be able to update the base stations via bluetooth, but have them connected into a USB2.0 slot specifically, not a 3.0

I was also having a lot of problems with tracking because of loose wires in the headset. Being wireless I think leaves customers to feel free to take the headset off and on and walk around with it, leading to loose wires often, so I now routinely check the wiring between customers.

SteamVR Cameras are turned off Using Direct Mode Bluetooth turned off, except for when I want to update the base stations (gratis advice from others here)

With all of this, I am able to quickly fix any connection errors.

FNSArcade

VR-ARRIVAL

If you have wireless stations close together you need to go in and set different channels on the wireless if you are having issues with connections. Problems is there are only 3 channels last time I checked.

Most of my issues right now though are stemming from the controllers not connecting all the time, bad usb cables, new usb cables possibly ruining the batteries.

The only issues I have had with tracking is reflective surfaces, and it was hard to deal with since they decided to decorate the VR area.

Also note, WiGig is very directional / line of sight, make sure your antennas are pointing where the player will be and nothing is obstructing it. WiGig doesn't even seem to be able to pass through a single layer of drywall.

The PC's I am running are all the following spec: Intel 8700K 16 GB Ram 500GB NVME Samsung SSD's 1TB Western Digital Black EVGA 1080Ti GPUs Gigabyte Z370 Gaming 3 Motherboards

gameovr

Hi All,

We have 12 stations and currently and have 7 of them wireless on regular vives using tpcast adapters. Our stations are all gtx 1080ti and i7 7700k 16 gb ram. Compared to cabled performance 10/10 there is no noticeable difference. Haven't tried the vive adapters but they sound like a nightmare. We were thinking of picking up 1 just to test out and see if there is interference between the 2 ( we can't add anymore tpcast without having issues with getting them synced up)

VR-ARRIVAL

FNSArcade

Hi FnsTech, From an earlier post of yours, it looks like you are using the Vive Pros with the wireless adapter. Performance-wise (when the controllers were connecting and you had power), would you give it a 10/10 compared to a cabled system (ie. no latency as you move your head side-to-side)?

KeithJ

We have tried the TPCast, both the consumer version and the business edition. The consumer edition is only meant for someone that has 1 system, maybe 2. Any more than that and we found that we had a lot of issues with gray screens. We returned the CE and they gave us the BE in place of it for all the headaches that we had with it. We have since put it in place, and didnt have to many issues with it right away. Was working great in 2 booths so we decided to incorporate it into the other 2 booths. Worked for a weekend, then the issues started. Grey screens, the software would loose connection but show it was working, just a few different things that made us take it down. We are thinking that maybe the drop ceiling metal framing is causing some kind of small Faraday cage and interfering. The router is after all mounted above the drop ceiling to the roof trusses. We have since decided to set it aside for now, and maybe go back to it once we get our free roam area setup and can mount the router below the drop ceiling. Will let you know how that goes when we get there.

gameovr

KeithJ

The tpcast has a few quirks to be sure, it was like learning how to set up the lighthouses all over again. It does need direct LOS to work, but the signal will "bounce" so even though we have physical walls in between our stations, they are all open on at least 1 side so once you get 6 or 7 clustered close together they start having trouble pairing up when we swap batteries. Once they are paired they work perfectly. The constantly greying out is from the wifi signal not the 60 ghz signal from the transmitter. First, check to make sure they are all operating on different bands, second, reset the router, if you are still getting grey screen, check the cord from the battery pack to the headset, we have had a few fail and getting a lot of greying out is usually a symptom.