OSVR confirmed pre-order date for Hacker Development Kit and launch their own content platform

September 4, 2015: Berlin(IFA Europe 2015 – Organizers of Open Source Virtual Reality OSVR , an open source platform for virtual reality software and hardware, today announced the Hacker Development Kit HDK v1.3 and its public pre-order date of Oct. 1, 2015.

The software platform reveals the names of 65 new sponsor companies, including NVIDIA’s Gameworks VR

It was also announced that in anticipation of the release of the new HDK, the OSVR content platform was launched. It is available on OSVR.org for virtual reality enthusiasts, developers and interested consumers. The platform’s curated content is growing rapidly, ranging from all types of media to VR gamers from the OSVR sponsor network. It also provides a list of VR stores that contain OSVR-enabled content, including:

• Boondogl
• Itch.Io
• Qihoo360
• Razer Cortex
• Steam
• V
• Vrideo
• WearVR

Curated content will rotate continuously so that all partner products are covered equally.

Interested parties can view the platform here: //osvr.org/featured.

Hacker Development Kit v1.3. Preorders:

HDK v1.3 will make it available for general pre-order on Oct. 1, with shipping later this month.

V1.3 differs from v1.2 new optical and display modules:

– Optical module provides HDK with highly regarded image quality, further extending the eyepiece for sharper images without the need for independently adjustable lenses IPD . It will also feature a system of personalized focus adjustment for each eye to allow use without glasses.

– The display module features an advanced 5.5-inch 120Hz FULL HD OLED display to reduce afterglow and deliver a clearer, brighter image at 60 FPS.

Price: US: $299.99 /EUR: &euro 299.99

Available: October 2015

Major Software Updates

The OSVR software platform, driven by the continued investment of its core team and a supportive community of contributors, continues to grow and offers a full suite of features for VR programmers. Some of the latest improvements include:

OSVR Render Manager has enabled low-latency image output on any OSVR-enabled device.

With support for Gameworks VR, NVIDIA technology for VR helmets and games, OSVR Render Manager offers:

• Direct Mode – The nVidia driver treats VR devices as virtual reality helmets that only VR applications can access, as opposed to the standard Windows monitor that you use on your PC, allowing for better Plug-and-Play support and compatibility with VR devices.
• Front-buffer rendering – allows the GPU to output images directly to the front buffer to reduce latency.
• Context Priority – Gives developers control over GPU process sequencing to provide support for advanced virtual reality features, such as asynchronous time-shifting, which reduces latency and instantly adjusts the image during head movement without having to re-calculate it.

“Working with NVIDIA is a key step toward our goal, which is to provide developers with a universal infrastructure that will enable high-quality VR and AR functionality regardless of any particular operating system, HMD platform, game engine or input peripherals,” said Yuval Boger, CEO of Sensics. – OSVR allows the VR/AR community to create amazing functionality without being tied to any one distributor.”.

Support for other graphics architecture in development.

OSVR Performance Profile

Using ETW – Event Tracing for Windows – OSVR Performance Profile allows you to optimize application performance by identifying performance bottlenecks across the software stack.

Event Tracing for Windows ETW is an efficient kernel-level tracing system that allows you to log it and record events caused by applications into a log file for further examination and visualization using graphical tools.

About OSVR:

OSVR™ is a software platform designed to set an open standard for VR I/O devices and games to provide the best virtual reality gaming experience. Backed by industry leaders, the OSVR development environment brings developers and gamers together on one platform.Connect. Play what you want.