New VR Setup

Soldato
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Hey all,

I'm planning on sorting out a new VR setup for my computer this weekend, as I've recently changed my desk setup - However, I wonder if I will have some problems...

RnQG3wq.png

Here's my crude floorplan :p

The thing I'm wondering is... My desk is not central to the VR area, so the sensors would need to be turned to the area, rather than pointing directly forward.

Would this still work?

Thanks,
Marky
 
Soldato
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If you can, you'd be better wall mounting the sensors in diagonal corners of the room, though that requires at least one extension lead which can be tricky to get working. I used sticky dash-cam mounts for my three sensor setup.

If you can't wall mount then yes you will have to angle the sensors into your play area. Moving the one on the left into the corner and angling it at 45 degrees may be better. The one on the right might be ok pointing forward as it has a wide field of view.

If the oculus setup complains you can always skip past that to try the tracking out anyway. Really though you need a third sensor for decent 360 degree tracking (or a Rift S!)
 
Soldato
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Thanks for the comments guys - I did eventually get the setup working with the sensors on the desk but it definitely isn’t ideal...

I’m really tempted to get some mounts and post them in the corners of the room - but it’s my living room and I’m afraid of being considered a super nerd between my friend group :p :D
 
Soldato
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Thanks for the comments guys - I did eventually get the setup working with the sensors on the desk but it definitely isn’t ideal...

I’m really tempted to get some mounts and post them in the corners of the room - but it’s my living room and I’m afraid of being considered a super nerd between my friend group :p :D

Just get a wall mount and put it right up in the corner, use d-line trunking (corner stuff if it’s in the corner) to conceal the cables. You can paint the trunking if you like.

In my three sensor setup, the front two are about 4 meters away, and the rear one is 4 meters away from the front right.

As to the mates, who cares? I have a three sensor setup in my office, it’s a talking point for clients :p Trunking hides the wires very well, so all you see is the sensors, and the front of their mini tripods.

As the Mrs says; “It’s your hobby. Some people fish, or spot trains, you build computers and play games. What’s the difference?”
 
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For my Vive I have a half-way house solution - The sensors are wall-mounted, but I only connect the power cables when I am using it - Still much quicker than setting up tripods etc, I find.
 
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I can agree with the OP on putting trunking up in the living room. Not something i'd want to be honest. Even in the corners it would spoil the natural lines.
Luckily I have my own room for my toys and have just done a full refit of it all. Small trunking running up to each sensor just above head height. One front right and one rear left of my seating/standing area. Painted the same colour of the walls and blends in really well.

Not sure on the Oculas sensor setup but I know the Vive ones work well in a diagonal orientation. Before I redid my setup the front sensor was right in the corner and I realised I was losing tracking because when I bent down to pick something up in VR my hands went behind my desk. It was actually quite funny to see one of my controllers float off in to distance.

So I'd suggest trying your original idea and see how it works. If you have issues move your sensors and test again. Only way to be sure is with trial and error I suppose.
 
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I use an almost identical set-up with my Rift. I can sit at the desk or stand in the off-set play area and the tracking works fine without adjusting the two sensors which sit at each back corners of the desk. Works fine for me.
 
Soldato
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I can agree with the OP on putting trunking up in the living room. Not something i'd want to be honest. Even in the corners it would spoil the natural lines.
Luckily I have my own room for my toys and have just done a full refit of it all. Small trunking running up to each sensor just above head height. One front right and one rear left of my seating/standing area. Painted the same colour of the walls and blends in really well.

Not sure on the Oculas sensor setup but I know the Vive ones work well in a diagonal orientation. Before I redid my setup the front sensor was right in the corner and I realised I was losing tracking because when I bent down to pick something up in VR my hands went behind my desk. It was actually quite funny to see one of my controllers float off in to distance.

So I'd suggest trying your original idea and see how it works. If you have issues move your sensors and test again. Only way to be sure is with trial and error I suppose.

D-line is the best looking imo, it’s rounded and offers corner profiles. As you say, once painted it’s barely visible. I can understand why someone wouldn’t want it in the living room, but if that’s your play area then your options are limited. Perhaps the Rift S would be more suitable for @Marky.

Ultimately we won’t need tracking for that long, the Rift S is the first generation that doesn’t need sensors, and by the second iteration I’d imagine tracking would be as good as my three sensor setup.

I’m not complaining about needing sensors though, I’m quite skint after the new rig, monitor and room refit, so I picked mine up from the MM for £180. I haven’t had such a mind blowing gaming experience since I was a teenager; Red Faction’s destructible environments made me giddy.
 
Soldato
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I've put the sensors further away from each other on the desk, and the performance is much better :)

I think I'm going to keep it the way it is considering it seems like we're moving into a sensorless future :p

One thing I've noticed since setting up the Oculus again - Every so often in Windows, I keep hearing the "Disconnected" sound. I've since noticed that when I hear that noise, the light on the top of one of the sensors lights up and then goes out. Does anyone know how to stop this from happening? I currently leave the Oculus and sensors connected even when I'm not using them - Is that not recommended?
 
Soldato
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I've put the sensors further away from each other on the desk, and the performance is much better :)

I think I'm going to keep it the way it is considering it seems like we're moving into a sensorless future :p

One thing I've noticed since setting up the Oculus again - Every so often in Windows, I keep hearing the "Disconnected" sound. I've since noticed that when I hear that noise, the light on the top of one of the sensors lights up and then goes out. Does anyone know how to stop this from happening? I currently leave the Oculus and sensors connected even when I'm not using them - Is that not recommended?

If it’s not causing issues I wouldn’t worry. My sensors stay connected and the Rift gets plugged into the HTC LinkBox when I want to use it. Otherwise it’s stored on a stand with the cable coiled up; always watching, tempting me back to VR por..... games, tempting me back to VR games.
 
Soldato
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I've put the sensors further away from each other on the desk, and the performance is much better :)

I think I'm going to keep it the way it is considering it seems like we're moving into a sensorless future :p

One thing I've noticed since setting up the Oculus again - Every so often in Windows, I keep hearing the "Disconnected" sound. I've since noticed that when I hear that noise, the light on the top of one of the sensors lights up and then goes out. Does anyone know how to stop this from happening? I currently leave the Oculus and sensors connected even when I'm not using them - Is that not recommended?

I get it too... i think a lot of us do... The good news (for me at least) it no longer ever happens when using vr - it used to and i would get a horrible freeze and loss of tracking for a split second.

the bottom line is, with CV1 it puts a massive strain on your usb, both in terms of bandwidth and juice, it can cause odd issues with your sensors OR with other devices plugged into your rig..... I believe this is one of many reasons why oculus have gone the way they did with RiftS it just makes everyones lives easier for numerous reasons.

Personally tho, i worry about games like sports bar VR and lone echo with the rift S..... my hope is (and it is technically doable) is that oculus choose to optionally support 2xusb sensors for improved controller tracking. these could be usb 2 or usb 3, and then we get all the bonuses of rift S for those who want a simple solution, as well as an improved experience for those happy to fiddle a little more (and for me would still free up a usb 3.0 )
 
Soldato
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... my hope is (and it is technically doable) is that oculus choose to optionally support 2xusb sensors for improved controller tracking. these could be usb 2 or usb 3, and then we get all the bonuses of rift S for those who want a simple solution, as well as an improved experience for those happy to fiddle a little more (and for me would still free up a usb 3.0 )

Oculus have said they will look into this if there's a demand. It shouldn't be that hard technically - in fact the new touch controllers are fully compatible, as the old ones are being phased out (Yes the new touch controllers will work with the Rift as well).
 
Soldato
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One thing I've noticed since setting up the Oculus again - Every so often in Windows, I keep hearing the "Disconnected" sound. I've since noticed that when I hear that noise, the light on the top of one of the sensors lights up and then goes out. Does anyone know how to stop this from happening? I currently leave the Oculus and sensors connected even when I'm not using them - Is that not recommended?

I also had the disconnecting sound, and the oculus screen was showing that the sensors were dropping out. It turned out to be too many usb peripherals for the mobo bandwidth, so I fixed it with a usb pci card.

 
Soldato
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Will VR last I ask you, with all the faffing to set it up.. I VR sitting down and even thats a tad of a ballache todo,,, getting the headset on your head and getting the game(s) working blindfolded.... Im just glad im in a wheelchar and cant use room scale VR, or I would never use the darn thing.
 
Soldato
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Will VR last I ask you, with all the faffing to set it up.. I VR sitting down and even thats a tad of a ballache todo,,, getting the headset on your head and getting the game(s) working blindfolded.... Im just glad im in a wheelchar and cant use room scale VR, or I would never use the darn thing.

Which is why riftS and Oculus quest is being made.

but yes, i believe VR is here to stay, but like HOTAS, and wheels may remain somewhat niche
 
Soldato
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Which is why riftS and Oculus quest is being made.

but yes, i believe VR is here to stay, but like HOTAS, and wheels may remain somewhat niche

Exactly. The Rift S provides a sensorless experience that is much more accessible, and the Quest provides an experience completely independent of a PC.

It’s here to stay, and judging by the newer games and those to come, it’s about to get awesome.

I absolutely LOVE my VR setup. SuperHot in particular was just so damned fun.

My boy is a Mac and console user, despite all my best efforts. But when he experienced VR for the first time, it blew his mind. And given his generation has had all this awesome technology just dumped in his lap, thats saying something.

To a person like me who was amazed by a 28.8k modem and AOL dialup, it’s practically witchcraft.
 
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