The HTC Vive is one of the best virtual-reality platforms on the market (provided you have a PC that’s beefy enough to handle it.) Unfortunately, the online ordering process involves astronomical shipping costs from overseas suppliers.
This month, the HTC Vive will finally be available to purchase locally from JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman. Here are the specifications, pricing and pre-order details for Australia. We’ve also listed all the locations where you can test the device for yourself prior to buying.
Developed in conjunction with video game studio Valve, the HTC Vive is a complete VR solution (minus the PC.) It comprises a head-mounted display equipped with dual cameras, two wireless handheld controllers suitable for professional applications and a pair of “Lighthouse” base stations that track your body’s movements around the room.
HTC Vive Australian availability
The HTC Vive will be available from November 21. Plenty of time to put it on lay buy in the lead-up to Christmas.
HTC Vive Australian pricing
The HTC Vive’s RRP is $1399, which is significantly cheaper than the overseas price once shipping, exchange rates and import tax are taken into account. It is currently available from JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman for $1399 and $1398, respectively — although we imagine JB Hi-Fi will be happy to shave a dollar off if you really care.
HTC Vive Specifications
The twin ocular displays in the Vive headset have a refresh rate of 90 Hz and a native resolution of 2160×1200 pixels (1080×1200 in each screen.) There are over 50 individual sensors packed into the headset and controllers, which range from a MEMS gyroscope for assessing rotation to an accelerometer for measuring your momentum in the room.
In addition to the headset, the package comes with a pair of Vive touch controllers and two wireless Lighthouse sensor boxes which map the physical room you’re playing in. Here are the chief specifications:
HTC Vive | |
---|---|
Display | OLED |
Refresh Rate | 90Hz |
OS/Platform | Windows/Steam |
Tracking area | 110 degrees |
Chief sensors | Accelerometer, gyroscope, laser position sensor, front-facing camera |
Connectivity | HDMI, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, 3.5mm headphone jack |
Lens type | Fresnel |
Positional tracking | Lighthouse, Optical – Laser Based; 360° |
RRP | $US800 |
HTC Vive pre-orders
You can pre-order the HTC Vive from JB Hi-Fi’s and Harvey Norman’s online stores from November 7.
HTC Vive experience booths
You can also try before you buy in approximately 60 Harvey Norman and 50 JB Hi-Fi stores with a dedicated store person walking you through the experience. Here are the dates and locations:
- Adelaide City, Rundle Mall Plaza, SA
- Bankstown JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Bondi, NSW
- Booragoon, WA
- Bourke Street, Melbourne
- Brighton JB Hi-Fi Home, VIC
- Brisbane Central, QLD
- Broadway, NSW
- Cairns Central, QLD
- Canberra City, ACT
- Carindale, QLD
- Carousel, WA
- Castle Hill JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Castle Towers, NSW
- Chadstone, VIC
- Chermside, QLD
- Doncaster Westfield, VIC
- Elizabeth St Melbourne CBD, VIC
- Perth Enex Shopping Centre, WA
- Erina Fair JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Helensvale JB Hi-Fi Home, QLD
- Hobart Collins St, TAS
- Hornsby, NSW
- Indooroopilly, QLD
- Ipswich, QLD
- Knox Shopping Centre, VIC
- Lakeside Joondalup, WA
- Macarthur Square, NSW
- Macquarie North Ryde, NSW
- Malaga, WA
- Marion, SA
- Midland Central JB Hi-Fi Home, WA
- Moore Park JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Myaree JB Hi-Fi Home, WA
- Newcastle JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Osborne Park, JB Hi-Fi Home, WA
- Penrith JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Prahran, VIC
- Robina JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Southland Westfield, VIC
- Strand Arcade Sydney, NSW
- Sydney City George St, NSW
- Top Ryde, NSW
- Townsville JB Hi-Fi Home, QLD
- Warringah Mall, NSW
- Waurn Ponds, VIC
- Chatswood Westfield, NSW
- Parramatta Westfield, NSW
- Sydney Westfield JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- World Square Sydney, NSW
JB Hi-Fi
- Adelaide City, Rundle Mall Plaza, SA
- Bankstown JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Bondi, NSW
- Booragoon, WA
- Bourke Street, Melbourne
- Brighton JB Hi-Fi Home, VIC
- Brisbane Central, QLD
- Broadway, NSW
- Cairns Central, QLD
- Canberra City, ACT
- Carindale, QLD
- Carousel, WA
- Castle Hill JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Castle Towers, NSW
- Chadstone, VIC
- Chermside, QLD
- Doncaster Westfield, VIC
- Elizabeth St Melbourne CBD, VIC
- Perth Enex Shopping Centre, WA
- Erina Fair JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Helensvale JB Hi-Fi Home, QLD
- Hobart Collins St, TAS
- Hornsby, NSW
- Indooroopilly, QLD
- Ipswich, QLD
- Knox Shopping Centre, VIC
- Lakeside Joondalup, WA
- Macarthur Square, NSW
- Macquarie North Ryde, NSW
- Malaga, WA
- Marion, SA
- Midland Central JB Hi-Fi Home, WA
- Moore Park JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Myaree JB Hi-Fi Home, WA
- Newcastle JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Osborne Park, JB Hi-Fi Home, WA
- Penrith JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Prahran, VIC
- Robina JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- Southland Westfield, VIC
- Strand Arcade Sydney, NSW
- Sydney City George St, NSW
- Top Ryde, NSW
- Townsville JB Hi-Fi Home, QLD
- Warringah Mall, NSW
- Waurn Ponds, VIC
- Chatswood Westfield, NSW
- Parramatta Westfield, NSW
- Sydney Westfield JB Hi-Fi Home, NSW
- World Square Sydney, NSW
Harvey Norman
Naturally, all this fancy hardware requires a beefy PC to run: HTC recommends an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 graphics card, an Intel i5-4590 or AMD FX 8350 CPU, 4GB of RAM, HDMI 1.4 and Windows 7 SP1 as a minimum. (You can check if your current PC is compatible here.)
For more information on the HTC Vive, check out our Hands-On review.
Comments
5 responses to “HTC Vive: Australian Pricing, Specs, Availability And Where To Play”
Screen resolution?
Didn’t you read the article?
FTA:
“Here are the dates and locations:”
Not sure if it’s just me, but all I see are locations.
Plus those locations would be better served by state than alphabetically by suburb…
Please list the Harvey Norman stores instead of listing the JB stores twice.