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One of the big strengths of Oculus Rift is its plug-and-play simplicity. Put the camera sensor on the desk, plug in the cables and one simple calibration later you're good to go. There's a certain level of simplicity to it, tempered only by the nagging feeling that the product's feature-set just isn't complete. HTC Vive is the hardcore enthusiast's choice. It's not so easy to set up - you'll be drilling holes in the walls to get the base station mounting brackets into optimal position - and there are cables to content with. Lots of cables. Oh and three power supplies. And a breakout box.The Vive package offers up an initial wow factor, for sure. The box itself is about the same size as a tower PC, and opening it up reveals the headset, base stations and controllers in secure foam surrounds. But there's more - a side-package contains the Vive's breakout box, while underneath the base station you'll find the mass of cables, power adapters and chargers. Side-by-side with the Rift, you can't help but feel that you're getting a lot of additional value from your extra $200. Those beautiful, futuristic controllers stand out immediately - this is the full package.
But the bottom line is that while HTC Vive offers the premium, top-end virtual reality experience, you have to work for it. Digital Foundry's landlords won't take too kindly to us drilling holes in the walls, so right now we have the base stations sat on desktop tripods, positioned precariously on top of stacked cardboard boxes. Ideally, this duo of highly accurate positional trackers should be mounted around 30cm above head height, pointing down into the play space. We tried lighting tripods, but found that the lack of tilt severely cut into the viewable tracking area. On top of that, there are further practical issues. Each base station has its own power supply, so ideally you need power points located on each side of the room. We don't, so let's just say that the cabling is a bit of a nightmare. We also note that the base stations are running all the time they are plugged in - even if your PC is shut down.
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