The Rift now supports four sensors for improved room-scale VR

By Justin Pot July 25, 2016

Quick 4 Sensor Test In SteamVR - EPIC COVERAGE

One of the key differences between the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive is that the latter supports room-scale VR in addition to sitting/standing experiences. With a recent software update, Oculus Home now supports up to four trackers, enabling room-scale VR instead of only front-facing. This will improve the Rift’s performance in room-scale games, in the lead-up to the release of the Oculus Touch controllers later this year.

The initial release of the Oculus Rift was designed for use while sitting down, Xbox controller in hand. The HTC Vive, on the other hand, comes with two motion controllers and a pair of sensors that make it possible for players to walk around a room in order to interact with the virtual environment. Games supporting this are available in Steam, and are compatible with the Oculus Rift, but aren’t really playable with the Rift with just a single sensor.

That’s all going to change in coming months. Oculus Touch, controllers with built-in motion sensors, will bring player’s hands into the virtual environment later this year. Support for additional sensors means games can support larger rooms with greater accuracy.

The HTC Vive currently supports only two trackers, meaning the Oculus is moving from lagging behind to seizing the initiative. No room-scale games are currently for sale on Oculus Home, and it’s not clear if that will change anytime soon. Plus, Oculus has been focused on the standing/sitting experience as a matter of principle, as setting up multiple sensors isn’t exactly straight forward.

For one thing, you’ll need to invest in some long USB cables. Every Oculus sensor needs to be connected by USB, while the Vive’s Lighthouse trackers are wireless. For another, Oculus isn’t selling individual accessories at the moment, so most users won’t be able to take advantage of the improved tracking, at least yet.

But it’s nice to see Oculus support this technology, even if it’s only on the software side of things. This makes the upcoming release of the Oculus Touch, which will bring motion controls to the Rift, a lot more interesting.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Justin's always had a passion for trying out new software, asking questions, and explaining things – tech journalism is the…

Computing

Power up your tech game this summer with Dell’s top deals: Upgrade for a bargain

Dell Techfest and best tech on sale featured.

One of the best times to upgrade your tech stack, be it your desktop, a new laptop, or some high-resolution monitors, is when great deals are to be had. Well, I'm here to share that thanks to Dell's top deals, you can power up your tech game and have most of the summer to make it happen. Maybe you're happy with your current system or setup. That's excellent, but you're likely considering upgrading somewhere, and that's precisely what these deals are all about. Dell has a smorgasbord of deals on laptops, desktops, gaming desktops, monitors, accessories, and so much more. We'll call out a few of our favorite deals below, but for now, know that you should be shopping this sale if you're interested in anything tech-related.

What summer tech should you buy in Dell's top deals?

Computing

I love the MacBook Pro, but this Windows laptop came surprisingly close

Apple MacBook Pro 16 downward view showing keyboard and speaker.

There are some great machines in the 15-inch laptop category, which has recently been stretched to include the more common 16-inch laptop. The best among them is the Apple MacBook Pro 16, which offers fast performance for tasks like video editing and the longest battery life.

The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 is aimed not only at other 16-inch Windows laptops but also at the MacBook Pro 16. It offers many of the same benefits but at a lower price. Can it take a place at the top?
Specs and configurations

Computing

How to set an ‘Out of Office’ message in Microsoft Teams

Person using Windows 11 laptop on their lap by the window.

Many people use Microsoft Teams regularly to communicate with colleagues both inside of the office and remotely. It is considered one of the most efficient ways to ensure you can stay in contact with the people on your team, but what if you need to let people know you’re not readily available? Microsoft Teams has a method for you to set up an "Out of Office" status for your profile to let staff members know when you’ll be gone for the afternoon, for several days on vacation, or for an extended period.
Where do I go to set up my ‘Out of Office’ status for Teams?
It is important to note that your Microsoft Teams and Outlook calendars are synced. This includes your out-of-office status and automatic replies. So, whatever you set up in Microsoft Teams will reflect in Outlook. Similarly, you can set up your out-of-office status in Outlook, and it will be reflected in Teams; however, the former has a more straightforward instruction.

First, you can click on your profile icon in Teams and go directly to Schedule an out of office, as a shortcut. This will take you to the settings area where you can proceed. You can also click the three-dot icon next to your profile icon, then go to Settings > General, then scroll down to the bottom of the page. There, you'll find out-of-office settings and click Schedule.