HTC’s stand-alone viewfinder makes the leap to the West with the focus on commercial and professional use.
Live Focus, the autonomous viewfinder of HTC, you can buy now from the Vive por business website 699€ (excl. VAT:€577.69). The package comes with the viewfinder, the controller for one hand (3dof) with its 2 AAA batteries, a USB-C cable, a charger, a user and safety guide and the warranty card. HTC specifies that its use is only for “business developers”, although apparently anyone can make the purchase and remove the support and commercial license they add from the cart Vive Focus Advantage, the same service that HTC launched in April for Vive and Vive Pro. In this case, Advantage has an additional cost of€ 158.60 (excl. VAT:€130). Focus is also available in the United States, also having one more package of support and license with the name of Plus.
“This release reinforces Vive’s growing commitment to delivering best-in-class software design and expertise, along with the world’s best VR hardware, to businesses of all sizes. With this complete solution powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Mobile VR Platform, the enterprise market can now create, collaborate and engage in a new and effective way with employees and customers alike, ” they comment.
Then the list of viewer features, which has absolute inside-out positioning, and controller for one hand, which does not have 6dof, although the company is already working on new controllers:
LIVE Focus HMD
| Tracking technology and sensors: | World scale (inside-out with 6 degrees of freedom), 9-axis sensors, proximity sensor |
|---|---|
| Screen: | 3K AMOLED, resolution 2880×1600 (2 screens of 1440×1600 each) |
| Refresh rate: | 75 Hz |
| FOV: | 110 degree |
| Adjustable IPD: | Support |
| Processor: | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 |
| Storage: | microSD slot, up to 2TB of external memory |
| For data and load: | USB Flash Drive |
| Audio input and output: | Built-in microphone, built-in headphones, 3.5 mm stereo jack input |
| Wireless: | Wi-Fi ® 802.11 a/ b / g / n / ac, support for streaming content to Miracast-compatible devices |
| Battery: | Built-in rechargeable battery, QC3.0 for fast charging, up to 3 hours of use time and more than a week in standby mode. |
VIVE Focus controller 3dof
| Sensor: | 9-axis sensors |
|---|---|
| Button: | Touch pad, app button, home button, volume buttons, trigger |
| Battery | Two AAA batteries, up to 30 hours of use |
The HTC viewer is compatible with the platform Live Wave that uses the Viveport content store, a solution that more manufacturers like Pico or Shadow Creator are betting on. Currently Viveport has more than 150 applications compatible with Vive Wave.
