VirtualLink Is Dead: GeForce RTX 30-Series Skips the VR Connector, Website Gone

(Image credit: Oculus VR)

Announced in mid-2018, the VirtualLink interface promised a single-cable connection for upcoming VR headsets. But the interface never really took off, and now it looks like it never will. This week it turned out that Nvidia decided not to support VirtualLink on its GeForce RTX 30-series graphics cards. What's more, the VirtualLink Consortium’s website is now offline. 

Single Cable and Strong Backing

The first-generation tethered VR headsets needed three cables: DisplayPort or HDMI for video/audio, USB for sensors, and a power input. Using three cables is not exactly comfortable and in mid-2018 a consortium of high-tech companies introduced the VirtualLink interface, a single-cable USB Type-C connection for VR headsets. The requirements for the cable were rather strict: it had to be USB-C 1.3 compliant, use shielded differential pairs for its USB 3.0 pairs (which typically used unshielded USB 2.0 pairs), and be connected in a particular orientation.

The consortium and the interface were backed by most companies interested in AR and VR technologies, including AMD, Facebook, HTC, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Valve. But it looks like the strong backing was not enough to bring the VirtualLink interface to fruition.

Scarce Support

Nvidia was the first company to support a VirtualLink connector on its first-generation GeForce RTX 20-series graphics cards featuring the Turing architecture. The company’s second-generation GeForce RTX 20-series Super reference boards abandoned the connector, and it failed to return to the GeForce RTX 30-series ‘Ampere’ cards announced this week.

AMD never offered a VirtualLink output on its reference Radeon RX 5000-series graphics cards. Furthermore, the latest VR head-mounted displays, such as HTC’s Vive Cosmos, Facebook’s Oculus Rift S, and Valve’s Index also do not use VirtualLink. Valve tried to build a VirtualLink adapter for its Index, but cancelled its because of reliability issues back in August 2019.

In fact, the only device that can use Nvidia’s VirtualLink connector is the Oculus Quest  (one of the best VR headsets) connected to a PC running the Oculus Link software using an advanced cable. Technically, this was not a VirtualLink connection, but merely a way to take advantage of the port. 

Website Down

Apparently, Nvidia is not the only one to lose interest in VirtualLink. The consortium’s website has been down and redirecting to the VirtualLink Wikipedia entry for months now. If this is not a clear evidence that the technology is abandoned, we're not sure what is. 

While the VirtualLink specification exists and can be implemented by interested parties, without support from giants like Nvidia as well as makers of popular VR headsets, the interface is dead for all intents and purposes. 

What remains to be seen is whether a single-cable connection for AR and the best VR headsets will be possible in the foreseeable future. There are interfaces like USB4 (in its ‘full’ implementation) and Thunderbolt 4 that support loads of bandwidth, a multitude of features, and have rather strict implementation requirements. But could they pick up where VirtualLink left off?

Source: Road to VR

Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

  • nofanneeded
    VR should focus on wireless not wired connection.
    Reply
  • DeauteratedDog
    nofanneeded said:
    VR should focus on wireless not wired connection.
    Totally agree, it seems like a perfect application for 802.11ad/ay (aka WiGig) in the 60 GHz (millimeter wave) band.
    Reply
  • nofanneeded
    DeauteratedDog said:
    Totally agree, it seems like a perfect application for 802.11ad/ay (aka WiGig) in the 60 GHz (millimeter wave) band.

    802.11ad wont make it for it will give 6Gb/s per channel and thats enough for one eye only , 802.11ay (277Gb/s) will do .
    Reply
  • jkflipflop98
    It should also be noted that moving up that far in the frequency range means your signal won't pass through most solid objects. Including your head and PC case. If you tilt your head the wrong way while using your wireless HMD it will start having adverse artifacts.
    Reply
  • lilkwarrior
    Nitpick: The first consumer Oculus Rift also was able to use VirtualLink. It's a shame the standard came & went as it did. Definitely screwed over Nvidia & Valve seems to be the most culpable of it failing.

    I think their reasoning sounded extremely fishy; The Index headset is left with pretty wonky connectivity as a result.
    Reply
  • nofanneeded
    jkflipflop98 said:
    It should also be noted that moving up that far in the frequency range means your signal won't pass through most solid objects. Including your head and PC case. If you tilt your head the wrong way while using your wireless HMD it will start having adverse artifacts.

    Not really , because the VR headset will have horns like Antennas with direct connection to the base Antennas and the base Antennas are better located at the center of the Ceiling wired to the PC. no obstacles at all.
    Reply
  • jkflipflop98
    nofanneeded said:
    Not really , because the VR headset will have horns like Antennas with direct connection to the base Antennas and the base Antennas are better located at the center of the Ceiling wired to the PC. no obstacles at all.

    Until you tilt your head sideways. Then your head becomes the obstacle.
    Reply
  • nofanneeded
    jkflipflop98 said:
    Until you tilt your head sideways. Then your head becomes the obstacle.

    How is that ? the Antennas will still not be blocked they will be horizontal instead of vertical , you need to be upside down for the Antennas to be blocked
    Reply
  • spongiemaster
    jkflipflop98 said:
    It should also be noted that moving up that far in the frequency range means your signal won't pass through most solid objects. Including your head and PC case. If you tilt your head the wrong way while using your wireless HMD it will start having adverse artifacts.
    HTC has had a WiGig adpater out for quite awhile.

    https://www.vive.com/us/accessory/wireless-adapter/
    It's basically the main reason I went with a Vive headset. I own it and it works flawlessly. Never had a signal issue or artifacting. I read practically every review on the wireless adapter before I bought it, and not one review mentioned signal issues are artifacting. It's just not an issue.
    Reply