HTC VIVE launches new upgrades to deliver premium VR experience

HTC VIVE has recently announced new hardware upgrades that deliver premium VR experiences to consumers and enterprises with the introduction of Vive Pro and Vive Wireless Adaptor. In addition, the company debuted new improvements in how VR users discover, experience and acquire VR content through a radical redesign of Viveport VR and Vive Video. These advancements deliver on VR user’s desire for higher resolution, improved audio, greater comfort, wireless freedom and immersive content discovery.

Vive Pro is a new HMD upgrade from Vive, built for VR enthusiasts and enterprise users who want the best display and audio for their VR experiences. Vive Pro includes dual-OLED displays for a crisp picture resolution of 2880 x 1600 combined, a 78% increase in resolution over the current Vive HMD.

Vive Pro also features integrated, high-performance headphone with a built-in amplifier to offer a heightened sense of presence and an overall richer sound. Vive Pro’s new head strap was built with enhanced ergonomics and comfort, including a sizing dial for a more balanced headset that decreases weight on the front of the headset. Additional improvements include dual microphones with active noise-cancellation and dual front-facing cameras designed to empower developer creativity.

“There’s a clear need in the VR market for a premium VR experience with high-resolution display, integrated audio and the best components available today in a headset,” said Daniel O’Brien, GM U.S., VIVE. “Vive Pro offers an immediate upgrade for both VR enthusiasts and enterprises that want to utilize the best VR experience.”

In the largest upgrade to the Viveport customer experience since launch, Viveport VR redefines how users, discover, experience and acquire VR content. Instead of a traditional 2D catalog, Viveport VR content is delivered in fully immersive interactive previews. Viveport is embracing a VR first approach by including VR-enabled "VR Previews", which are interactive glimpses of content that give customers a room-scale preview of an experience and the opportunity to interact with content before purchasing or subscribing.

HTC VIVE has also unveiled the Vive Wireless Adaptor features Intel’s WiGig technology and offers a premium VR wireless experience that operates in the interference-free 60Ghz band, which means lower latency and better performance. The Vive Wireless Adaptor will ship in Q3 to customers worldwide.

“Wireless VR has been on nearly every VR user’s wishlist since the technology was unveiled,” said Frank Soqui, General Manager Virtual Reality Group at Intel Corporation. “By collaborating with HTC to commercialize Intel’s WiGig technology, we will guarantee that wireless VR meets the most discerning quality bar for home users and business VR customers.”

HTC Creative Labs also rolled out an upgrade to its native VR video player, Vive Video. Vive Video solves the discovery and acquisition problem for VR video content by delivering a large catalog of high quality streaming video directly to VR headsets. In addition to new features and UI upgrades, Vive Video has integrated content from Vimeo, the world’s largest ad-free open video platform home to millions of creators worldwide.

In the new Vive Video experience, a curated selection of Vimeo content will be made available to browse and view in a highly optimized native VR experiences within Vive Video-compatible headsets.

Vive Video has consistently been one of the most-downloaded and highest-rated apps on the SteamVR platform, enabling users to view 180 and 360-degree video content. Vive Video is available for both Vive and Google Daydream platforms, and will arrive on Vive Wave in the near future.