Sony (NYSE: SNE) has recently confirmed that the Project Morpheus VR headset will require a wired connection to “ensure high-speed data transfers”.

Speaking with Gamespot at this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC 2015), President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida had some interesting things to say about the company’s new virtual reality peripheral.

According to Yoshida, Project Morpheus’ internal hardware is “pretty much done”, but the Japanese console-maker will continue to add in “lots of tweaks and improvements” before it’s ready to ship.

Earlier at GDC Sony slated an early 2016 release window for the VR headset, revealing a slew of specs and a brand new prototype to be demoed at the event.

But there’s something the prototype assets seemed to leave out: the required wire that tethers the headset to the PlayStation 4, and an extra box that will basically process the image data directly to the headset.

Although its a prototype model, this press pic doesn’t adequately portray the headset’s required direct-wired connectivity.

During the interview Yoshida state that Sony won’t be releasing a wireless flavor of Project Morpheus, stating that wired HDMI connections were a must to transfer full 1080p HD at refresh rates of 120Hz–which is responsible for that “immersive VR feel”.

Essentially a wired connection is required to maintain the headset’s reduced latency rate (less than 18 milliseconds) to keep that authentic virtual presence. If there’s too much lag, the illusion of VR breaks down entirely.

It’s worth mentioning that all VR headsets, from the Oculus Rift to the newly announced HTC Vive, will be wired to their respective sources.

Since Project Morpheus’ source is the PlayStation 4, that means an extra bit of hardware is needed to ensure the PS4’s only HDMI out slot isn’t taken up by the headset.

Sony will ship the Project Morpheus with an external “Processing Box” that attaches via HDMI and USB, and currently has its own power input, meaning things are going to get even more trip-worthy.

Yoshida says that the 1080p video signals are being sent to the headset, meaning data is being fed from the PS4 through the external processing box and out towards the headset.

Richard Marks, Sony’s Director of Research and Development, explained what the external box actually does in a recent interview with Tested at GDC 2015:

“We call it a PU, and it’s a box that takes the output from the playstation 4 and it splits it, splits it for something for the headset and something for the television.

And it does this conversion of the 120Hz output of a PS4 that something a TV can display, and it doesn’t get warped. That let’s the people in the room that are there to see what you’re seeing.”

According to Digital Foundry, the Processing Box “features a processor that runs the social screen – an external display output that takes one of the stereoscopic views, ‘undistorts’ the image, zooms into the main area of interest and beams it out via HDMI to your HDTV”.

Essentially Morpheus will need to be tethered to the console by way of this external processing box at all times in order to function, which seems to go against the sleek, stylish form factor that Sony tries to depict.

So in order to operate Project Morpheus you’re going to need an ecosystem of PlayStation products: the PlayStation Camera, the PlayStation 4 that powers it, the external processing box, and a DualShock 4 or PlayStation Move controller to interact with it.

And, of course, the VR headset itself.

One of Sony’s major tenets with Project Morpheus is a “user friendly design”, but instead of focusing on environments outside of VR, they just ensure the headset is physically comfortable to wear.

Good news is the controllers will be wireless, but they’re a modified version of the PlayStation Move free-hand peripherals which are basically Sony’s answer to the Wiimote. The DualShock 4 is also compatible with the headset if you prefer a more direct gamepad approach.

Bear in mind the recent photos of the Project Morpheus are prototypes, and they’re not finalized, so that’s probably why we aren’t seeing the dangling HDMI cord or the extra processing box in any of the photos.

While this isn’t something that will necessarily inhibit your experience with Sony’s VR hardware, it can help you better understand the logistics of the device and how to weigh your expectations before 2016.

Yoshida also had something to say about Project Morpheus’ games library. It looks like Sony is having a hard time winning over publishers to the new hardware, as AAA has its thriving home base centered on the current console and PC platforms.

The Project Morpheus looks quite sleek in this state, but it’s non-operable. The reality resembles something a little different.

“Large publishers tend to wait until there’s enough of an install base,” he said, discussing how VR is still an early gambit for most big-name publishers. To help resolve the gap, Yoshida affirms that Sony’s first-party studios are making VR-ready games for the platform.

In any case, let this be a reminder that it might be too soon to get super excited about virtual reality.

Thing are going to be messy, and there are going to be cables and peripherals everywhere–look at the Vive’s ecosystem that’s comprised of the SteamVR Lighthouse, Vive Controller, the VR headset, and the fact that you’ll need to wire it up to a PC.

And it’s likely going to be expensive, too. So tamper your expectations and save your cash, and we’ll do our best to point you in the right direction.

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Virtual Reality is quickly becoming more and more immersive, but there’s one problem that ruins the illusion: lag. When a user moves their head and the virtual world doesn’t respond as quickly, the illusion is ruined.

This is where AMD’s (NASDAQ: AMD) new Liquid VR API comes in. Liquid VR uses a number of different methods to make sure the VR headset is responsive as possible. These methods are Latest Data Latch, Asynchronous Shaders, Affinity Multi-GPU, and Direct To Display. All of these methods are optimized for AMD GPUs, and support multiple GPUs working in-sync.

Latest data latch promises to reduce the latency by increasing the efficiency of CPU-GPU parallelism. With this method the GPU would be provided a bigger buffer of data from CPU, making more rendered data available so less rendering time would be needed to display virtual worlds.

Moving on to asynchronous shaders, these allow the GCN shaders on the GPU to warp the image of a user’s viewpoint before sending it to the VR headset to further reduce latency. Effectively for every viewpoint the VR headset requests, the GPU will create more data than required so re-rendering isn’t necessary.

The Affinity Multi-GPU feature allows GPUs to work together in creating the stereoscopic image. Effectively each GPU would render a single eye’s viewpoint before combining them into one stereo 3D image.

Finally Direct to Display is simply a plug-and-play feature allowing cross compatibility of VR headsets with Radeon GPUs.

All in all Liquid VR is a promising early step towards a much-needed API for VR gaming. As this API matures AMD will have no trouble getting VR headset vendors on board.

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We know it; VR is now all the craze. This is evidently proven by the numerous design ideas and hardware concepts jumping into its bandwagon. Archos, apparently seeing the mainstream future of VR, had also announced its own VR headset, which might actually look a lot familiar to some already.

The Archos VR headset is, by design, fundamentally similar to other already announced smartphone-based VR headsets such as Samsung’s Gear VR. You slide a smartphone on it, make a few adjustments, launch some special apps if there are any, and wear it to enjoy the 3D show. In fact, the similarities actually make it a lot more parallel to a certain Japanese VR headset that was introduced a while back, being that it touts the use of almost any smartphone on the unit.

The Archos VR headset is compatible with smartphones up to 6-inches in diagonal size, which means that it can slide a lot of different models and units on it. Of course, to fully utilize its 3D VR display capabilities a la Oculus Rift, you will need a unit with at least 1080p HD screen.

While we all agree that the concept is not really original anymore, the Archos VR headset tries to cater to the upcoming VR market by offering a price point that can be considered as more friendly to casual users.  True, at an equivalent price of about $29.99, it might not be as cheap as Google Cardboard, but it’s not as clunky to use either, and there are a lot less DIY hoops to worry about. Incidentally, the price is also a lot similar to that previously mentioned Japanese VR headset.

Archos claims that the VR headset is compatible with over 100 VR apps.  It can also let you watch 3D videos and movies using its Archos Video Player app, and the company promises to release a stereoscopic 3D optional add-on to the device later on.

The post Archos’ VR Headset Can Use Any Smartphone appeared first on VR World.

The burgeoning consumer virtual reality headset now has another competitor with Carl Zeiss announcing Monday that it’s planning to launch its own VR headset called the VR One for $99.

Like Samsung’s Gear VR (KRX: 005935) the VR One headset utilizes the user’s smartphone. Currently, according to Carl Zeiss, the headset is only compatible with the Galaxy S5 and iPhone 6 but more compatibility with smartphones — provided their screen sizes are between 4.7 and 5.2 inches — will soon be available.

“In a few years from now, virtual reality will change our lives and the way in which we perceive things beyond all our imagination,” Carl Zeiss wrote in a blog post. “VR One represents a generation of affordable VR glasses for multiple devices which excel through leading edge optical design and Zeiss precision lenses for an ultimate immersive visual experience.”

The company is coy right now with the full extent of the headset’s VR capabilities, but right now it says users will be able to stream 3D videos from YouTube as well as experience a VR Google Street view. Developers will be able to write VR apps using the Unity3D SDK.

The VR One can be pre-ordered now for an MSRP of $99. The unit is expected to ship before Christmas.

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The VR boom that Oculus Rift has made created a lot of new innovations and ideas, but it has also spawned many creations that try to emulate the concept in a much simpler form. Take this new VR headset in Japan for example. If you need some quick and cheap VR experience, then this simple gadget might be the thing you need.

Called the Smartphone Virtual 3D Goggles, this VR headset has the same concept of slapping your own smartphone into your face a la Google Cardboard. There’s not much tech specs to be introduced here, but it is advertised to be able to use most kinds of smartphones with its adjustable slider. That’s right, you can slap either your iPhone, or your bulkier Galaxy Note into the exact same device. The minimum size specifications isn’t stated (we assume that the iPhone shown in the demo video might be the default), but you can use smartphones with a maximum size dimensions of up to 85x185x12 millimeters.

As for the VR part itself, there are no straight demonstrations or technical explanations as what the user would experience. It is however introduced to be able to view 3D Youtube videos “far better and more clearly than the naked eye”. It is also uncertain if it would be available with special 3D VR apps, or if it would be compatible for use with other special apps for other similar VR devices without the need for special calibrations or adjustments.

If you’re unsure if you want to throw some cash for some real VR experience, then the Smartphone Virtual 3D Goggles might be the perfect test device to see if you’re up for the VR hype. Don’t forget though that your viewing experience will still be largely affected by the screen of the smartphone slapped onto it.

The Smartphone Virtual 3D Goggles is available in Japan with an equivalent price of about $45.00.

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Virtual reality is now the next big hype in consumer tech, and it is definitely proved by Samsung’s big announcement.

Samsung unveiled a new flagship phone at the IFA 2014, which is the long awaited Galaxy Note 4. Aside from the new phone however, an even more interesting announcement came in the form of a new VR headset, the Samsung Gear VR, which the company also promptly presented at the event.

The Gear VR is a VR headset that basically uses the Galaxy Note 4 as it base. It is very reminiscent of the Google Cardboard, where the unit is strapped in front of 3D lenses, though this one is designed as a dedicated unit. The 3D viewing experience is expected to be quite fascinating, and the concept very much picks up on what the Oculus Rift can do in terms of 3D virtual reality immersion. In fact, its software was actually designed in collaboration with Oculus, though this one has its own perks that differentiate it from what was already designed.

Since the entire software is on the phone itself, the Gear VR does not need wires or any other wireless connection (aside from the mounted Note 4 unit). As reported earlier, it uses the phone’s sensors to provide directional orientation to user. There are also various adjustment controls on the headset that lets the user fix viewing settings, or give the user access options. Compatibility with game controllers seems to be a given, though no information is yet available on games that would provide such an option.News and rumors regarding the Samsung Gear VR was already circulating around the web a few months earlier. However this is the only time that Samsung presented the actual working unit that testers could really try out and work on.

There is one flip side to the otherwise enticing VR offer by Samsung. The Gear VR is actually only compatible with the Galaxy Note 4, which means that you’d definitely have to purchase the entire set before you can experience Samsung’s version of a virtual reality experience.

The Samsung Gear VR is slated to be available later this year, though its price is still yet to be announced.

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