TPCast announced over on their official English website that their wireless adapter for the Oculus Rift will be made available starting December 11th. The adapter has already been made available for the HTC Vive throughout the year, for a hefty $299.99 price tag.
The Oculus Rift adapters will be a lot more expensive than the HTC Vive adapter, clocking in at $349.99 for a single wireless adapter. While the device will be available on December 11th in North America at participating e-tailers, don’t expect the shipments to start going out until December 18th later into the month.
The Rift and Vive aren’t the only ones receiving the wireless adapter treatment. According to Udi Yuhjtman, TPCast general manager of North America, other VR HMDs will also receive the wireless treatment, mentioning in the press announcement…
“Following the OC4 announcement, TPCAST is excited to announce the availability of the first and only wireless adapter for Oculus Rift HMD. We are committed to the VR market, and we will continue driving the company vision of supporting all VR HMDs,”
“The adapter provides the Rift VR users a unique, high-quality immersive experience, allowing complete freedom of movement.”
I do wonder if they will support the Windows Mixed Reality HMDs that recently came out? Those headsets support both VR and AR functionality, so I suppose it’s a matter of whether the TPCast wireless adapter and PC transmitter can read and transmit the signals to properly display AR as well?
Surprisingly, the router that comes with the TPCast is actually one of the most versatile and options-heavy routers I’ve ever encountered, despite it being rather cheap and being designed for the basic purpose of transmitting data between the PC transmitter and the HMD receiver. It has data flow and bandwidth throttle controls, 2GHz, and 5GHz options, along with a number of security and other options available for those looking to have complete administrative control over the router’s functionality.
The router comes in the package along with the PC transmitter, HMD receiver, cables, power-pack, and battery.
As soon as I get more time in with the TPCast I’ll provide a review to determine if it’s actually worth the price of entry. So far, it definitely makes the VR experience a lot more convenient than the heavy cord(s) attached to the Vive. The HMD receiver also balances out the weighty, front-loaded visor of the Vive. For the Rift, it could create a slightly different sensation given that the Rift is already better balanced than the Vive in vanilla form, but with the added weight on top of the Rift, it could potentially create discomfort. I guess we’ll find out from users when the TPCast wireless adapter for the Oculus Rift launches on December 11th and starts shipping out on December 18th.
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