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System Requirements & Setup Process
If you want to get into a VR kit from HTC or Oculus, you’re going to need a fairly powerful gaming system. The requirements for each platform include a quad-core processor and either a GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon R9 290 graphics card. In comparison, the OSVR HMD requires less powerful hardware, largely due to its lower resolution and slower refresh rate.
The Rift and Vive feature side-by-side screens with a combined resolution of 2160x1200 pixels that operate at 90Hz, adding up to more than 233 million pixels per second (and that’s not counting the additional pixels that are often rendered). The OSVR HDK 1.4 utilizes a 1920x1080 resolution at 60Hz, which is only 124.4 million pixels per second. A less intensive workload allows the headset to run smoothly on decidedly mainstream gaming PCs.
Razer says you only need a GeForce GTX 660 or better. A great many gamers can satisfy that requirement. But can you truly extract a satisfying VR experience with four-year-old hardware? You might be surprised by the answer. I know I was.
Setup Process
The OSVR Hacker Development Kit 1.4, as its name suggests, does not have the polish of HTC's Vive or Oculus' Rift. These kits are meant to help the OSVR group and its affiliate members establish a foundation on which to build an open VR platform. Razer was adamant that we not treat this as a typical review, and we understand why. If you do happen to pick up an OSVR HDK, expect to tinker with it a little bit before you get it working.
The OSVR setup process hasn’t been locked down completely; it's still subject to regular changes. In general, though, there are two ways to use the HMD. As mentioned, OSVR has native content that requires a specific setup procedure. But the HMD is also compatible with SteamVR, which allows you to experience most of the seated content found on Valve’s platform.
Native OSVR Content
Getting native content working is fairly easy, though the process isn't terribly refined. OSVR’s instructions say to download the latest drivers for your GPU. But be careful. Nvidia releases drivers so often that it actually might be better to use an older build if you're having compatibility problems. These titles aren’t updated as quickly as Nvidia's release schedule.
Once the right driver is installed, you need to install the latest OSVR runtime software. Razer provides the URL for this when you purchase a Hacker Developer Kit. The runtime is available in 32- and 64-bit versions, so pick the one that matches your OS.
The next step depends on your graphics cards. If you own a GeForce GTX 970 or better, then your GPU should already be detected. The OSVR HDK supports Direct Mode when paired with Nvidia’s VR-Ready boards. All you have to do is start OSVR server, which is installed as part of the runtime package, and launch the VR app you want to use.
If you have an older or less powerful GPU, there are a few extra steps. First, check to see if the HMD is powered on. If there’s no image on the display, you have to use “Disable DirectMode” (found under OSVR in the Start menu) and then power-cycle the headset. You may also have to change the HMD's resolution. If you're seeing 1080x1920, change that to 1920x1080 but don’t alter the orientation.
There are two ways to use the OSVR HDK 1.4 when Direct Mode is disabled. It can be used in Extended Mode (needed for SteamVR) or Duplicate Mode. The former allows you to have multiple active displays (we tested with three LCD panels hooked up) while the HMD is in use. The only caveat is that the OSVR kit must be directly to the right of the primary monitor in Windows' display properties pane. Duplicate mode is less forgiving. It only works if the primary screen's resolution matches the OSVR display resolution.
SteamVR Content
Native OSVR content is useful for demonstrating what the hardware can do, but if you really want to put the HMD to use, you’ll want to configure the HMD to work with SteamVR. The setup process for this is definitely not set in stone, as the instructions we received from Razer were unusable by the time we received the kit (Valve recently made a change to the SteamVR beta options menu that broke the former procedure).
When then installation instructions were created, SteamVR had a list of different beta versions and you could manually select the build you wanted to install. OSVR was only compatible with a specific version. But in a recent update, Valve removed the option to pick and choose. You either opt in to the beta or not. The fix is the aforementioned beta package that Razer worked with Valve on, and again, it requires a special code to activate. With the correct version of SteamVR installed, you have to download the SteamVR-OSVR plug-in from Github and paste the contents into your SteamVR folder.
The OSVR HDK must be configured for Extended Mode, the HMD should be to the right of the primary Windows display, and your resolution has to be 1920x1080.
Once the resolution is set correctly, you launch osvr_server.exe and wait for the headset to be detected. You have to hold the HMD steady and in view of the IR camera for a few seconds while its position is calibrated. Once the OSVR HDK is found, start SteamVR and verify that the compositor is visible in the HMD. You should then be able to launch SteamVR content as if you were wearing a Vive or Rift.
You will notice that SteamVR throws an error about the room configuration being invalid. Razer advised us to ignore that message. The IR tracking system that OSVR uses isn't compatible with SteamVR's calibration process. The headset is designed to automatically locate its center point when the OSVR Server software is launched.
