Vive

Virtual reality and all the gizmos/headsets that go along with it are very hot topics in the tech world nowadays. HTC's take on the virtual reality subject is called HTC Vive, and it is built to transform any room into an interactive 3D space with the help of a neat headset, controllers, and sensors.

This said, setting up and properly configuring this modern headset along with its controllers, base stations, and other sensors would be quite a hassle if it weren't for the useful bundle of utilities, called Vive.

Since the whole system requires a reasonably competent hardware platform, before you being the setup, you should take a quick look at the specifications sheet, in order to make sure that at least the minimum requirements are met.

As we mentioned before, Vive is actually comprised of multiple components, a comprehensive installer, a desktop app, the Steam client, SteamVR and other bespoke utilities such as Vive Diagnosis, Vive DirectX, and ViveDriver.

The intuitive install process basically deploys all the aforementioned Vive and Steam software on your computer. Please note that during this process you will be prompted to log in using your HTC account (you can use your Google+ or Facebook accounts, as well) and your official Steam credentials.

Next, you will be guided by a very intuitive and visually pleasing wizard through the whole process of configuring all the included components, starting with the base station components and following with the link box, controllers, cables and the actual headset.

Once everything is dealt with, you should be greeted by the SteamVR's black-themed, compact user interface. Basically, this is the most important component of the bundle in question since it allows you to interact with and get the best out of your HTC headset.

The main window is comprised out of a convenient drop-down menu on the upper left side and five control/status buttons on the bottom, one for the headset, two for the controllers and two for the base stations.

From the drop-down menu, you can run the 'Room Setup,' preview tutorials, pair controllers and, as expected, access the app's Settings section. Here, you can change the app's behavior but, more importantly, you can easily enable or disable some other headset-related features.

Taking everything into consideration, Vive is a well-rounded, useful and very stylish bundle of components that goes along brilliantly with the HTC Vive headset, helping you to efficiently configure it with the least amount of effort and without taking ages.