I recently extended my Valve Index cable with
a 16 ft (5 m) cable totaling my distance to
32 ft (10 m) so that I could use cable management
to make my VR experience feel wireless.
Now, this video focuses on the Valve Index,
but you can probably use this setup for any
other VR headset.
You just might need different cables.
So in this video, I’ll show you both what
cables I use for the 5-meter extension so
you could copy that.
Stick around till the end of the video to
find out how I manage my cables now for the
Index.
Hey everyone!
Cas here.
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And now, join me beyond reality.
So, why this video?
The Valve Index has a 5-meter tether that
is connected to a 1-meter breakaway trident
connector.
This is long enough for small to medium playspaces;
if you have your PC closeby, that is.
Our playspace is around 6.5 by 6.5 ft (2 by
2 meters), but our PC is further away (about
13 ft (4 m) further).
So it happens often that we tug the cable
by accident or almost trip over it when we
try to turn around.
You learn to live with it, but it’s probably
better for the headset to find a solution.
This wouldn’t happen if we had a very long
cable as it will lay on the floor, and soon
enough, you will learn to step over it without
tripping.
So if you feel like you are tugging your cable
a lot like us, then getting an extension cable
might be helpful for you too.
If you get an extension, you would also be
able to do some of the nifty cable management
solutions that allow the cable to hang over
your head.
That gives you the feeling you’re using
a wireless headset.
Personally, I needed this solution for our
Yaw Motion Simulator since that thing spins
around 360 degrees all the time, and without
cable management, the cable would get tangled
up too fast.
But when I was looking for solutions online,
I noticed a lot of Valve Index users have
been asking this same question and that there
were a lot of uncertainties.
Many cables do not work, or they would get
something very.
Which… isn’t needed.
So I wanted to make a video sharing what I
use with success and some tips and tricks
of what I’ve learned so far.
If you’re looking for a specific subject.
As always, I added timestamps, which you can
find in the description.
So, the Valve Index connects to a trident
connector that ends in three cables: a DisplayPort
1.2, USB 3.0, and a 12V power cable.
What we need to extend is the DisplayPort
cable and USB cable.
But as with other cables, the length has a
direct impact on the quality of information
being transmitted.
The biggest problem would be extending the
DisplayPort cable as, if you use one that’s
too long, it might cause you to lose signal
quality.
Like you could get screen flickering or not
able to do higher refresh rates or higher
resolutions anymore.
Obviously, we don’t want all that.
We want to be able to keep doing the higher
refresh rate of 144Hz on a resolution as high
as the computer can handle.
Before we move on, I have to be honest here;
I am no cable expert.
I’m learning as we go as well, but I can
at least share what I’ve learned with you.
And if you got tips yourself, please do share
them.
We’re in this adventure together, right?
:D
So what I’ve found out is that a passive
DisplayPort cable won’t be able to handle
long distances well.
Much like USB cables.
While a maximum cable length isn’t defined
in the standard, most of the time, longer
than 3 m (10 ft) won’t work well.
So if you need longer distances than 3 meters,
then you’re going to need something that
helps boost the signal.
Like an active cable or an active repeater.
This is what works for me:
I bought a male to male DisplayPort 1.4 cable
by CABLEDECONN ($26.99 / 28 eur).
It is 16.4 ft (5 m) long, and I picked it
because it said to be able to handle 4K at
144 Hz.
I also picked up an active Cable Matters DisplayPort
1.4 repeater ($20 / 18 eur).
This repeater can extend the signal for a
VR headset that is up to 32 feet apart.
It does need external power to function though.
The box includes a 6ft micro-USB charging
cable that you can put in a USB wall-charger.
Then for the USB, I’m using this active
extension USB 3.0 cable by CableCreation ($19
/ 21 eur).
But actually, I found that you don’t need
an active USB cable.
I also tried a passive 5 m USB 3.0 cable,
which are cheaper cables, and it seems to
work as well, but I have to say that I haven’t
spent much time with that cable.
So I put the DisplayPort extension cable in
my PC, and the other end to the INPUT connector
of the repeater.
This is important as the Cable Matters repeater
is unidirectional; this means that what direction
you plug in the cable…
Matters!
Cable Matters!
Hmmm…
Then, the headset’s DisplayPort slot goes
into the OUTPUT connector of the repeater.
So this is the VR headset cable.
The active USB extension cable goes in my
PC as well and I plug in the headset’s USB
cable at the other end.
Now, the repeater and the headset needs some
electricity to work, so I made sure to place
an outlet extender box near these cables.
And I connected the headset there.
The repeater power cable too using a random
wall-charger.
And this setup works great.
I’m able to play games on 144Hz for over
an hour without any signal loss or latency
problems.
The image quality and colors all look the
same to me as well.
This setup costs around 66 US dollars (67
eur).
But I think you can get cheaper cables, as
long as you use the Cable Matters repeater.
For the DisplayPort cable, make sure you get
a male to male 1.4 version (if you use the
repeater that is) and one that supports 4K
at 144 Hz.
For the USB, make sure to get a USB 3.0 cable.
If you don’t need 32ft (10 m) and only like
3 or 6.5 ft (1 – 2 meters) extra, then you
can also try it without a repeater.
You’ll just need a male-to-female cable
then.
One of our lovely mods, Kcb, has told me that
this male-to-female DisplayPort 1.2 cable
of 3 ft (1m) works for him without a repeater.
But this is a Dutch store, so I couldn’t
find this on Amazon to link it.
But there should be a lot of similar ones
on there.
Now, there are a few things to take into account
when you use our setup.
But before we move on, while you are watching
this video, leave us a like if you found the
video helpful so far.
If the extension doesn’t work for you, there
could be a couple of reasons.
Like…
DisplayPort cables can also be unidirectional.
So if it still doesn’t work, try switching
the cable ends around to see if that works
for you.
It could also be that you are running on different
computer specs, or that the cable isn’t
compatible or fast enough.
I’m using an Nvidia RTX 2080TI graphics
card, so if you’re using different computer
specs, your mileage may vary.
Make sure you get a cable with the right specifications,
as I mentioned earlier in the video.
A last tip is to buy a cable at a store that
allows you to return it as extending cables
seem to be trial and error for a lot of people
online.
Ok, so I then moved on to the cable management
solution.
I’m using this lamp which you can get from
IKEA.
It’s called REGOLIT but you could probably
find similar solutions.
This is actually a solution familiar to those
who are in the VR community for a while; you
can find many images online on Reddit.
But I’ve never needed to use it.
I’m glad I finally found the time to work
this out, though.
And I’ll tell you why, in a bit.
People use this lamp because you can extend
it pretty high.
To give you a better idea, my ceiling is about
8.5 ft high (2.6 meters).
And this lamp is flexible, too, so you can
use it to hang your VR cable at the top and
you still have some wiggle room.
Having the cable float on top of your head
will make it feel like you’re playing VR
wirelessly and that’s the main reason people
do it this way.
I have found that everyone adds their own
twists to it.
At first, I tried using the lamp by putting
the cable through the cable organizers that
came in the box.
However, the cable would then not be flexible
enough and made it impossible for me to crouch.
Or the cable would hang a little around me,
and if that happens and I try to turn around,
I can choke myself, which is not a very nice
feeling…
So I also got these pulleys, these do not
come with the lamp.
These are pulleys that a lot of people in
the community use to tape on their ceiling
for cable management.
However, as you can see, my ceiling is textured,
and tape doesn’t stick well on it.
Some people drill holes in their ceiling to
make it stick, but I don’t like drilling
holes in my house, so that’s why I placed
these pulleys on the lamp instead.
I put four of them on the lamp as you can
see; you can use more if you want.
And for now, I’m using shoelaces to bind
the pulleys on the lamp, but I should probably
find a better-looking solution.
I’m also using some Velcro here to keep
this top part in place as it can slide around.
The front pulley has a different hanger, as
you can see, a different hook, and I feel
like this one is nice for the front part as
the cable doesn’t slide too much in it.
It’s kept in place, which is handy for this
setup.
As you can see, I already put the Valve Index
cables through the pulleys.
Before every use, I do make sure that my cable
is on top of my head.
So it’s not still hanging.
This also makes it possible for users of any
height to use this setup.
As you may know, Chary is taller than me (about
16 cm) so I always need to put the cable a
bit higher for her.
And that’s possible because of the front
pulley.
And as you can see, this works well!
The pulleys make it possible for you to duck
and crouch.
When you stand up, the cable will go back
in place nicely.
I’m able to make turns as I want, and I
don’t feel the cable anymore.
It’s a super nice feeling, actually!
It does feel like I’m playing wirelessly
with the Valve Index.
Which is why I’m glad I finally did this!
Now, the only other thing I was worried about
is that I would tangle my cable too much.
So to make sure you don’t keep on tangling
your cable, you should also download this
free tool called TurnSignal that shows you
how many times you’ve turned.
So that you can untangle it manually every
so often.
I’ve seen people going even more pro with
this setup.
People have been using dog leashes as the
front pulley.
Or other innovative solutions like attaching
the cable to their belt at their backs too,
to avoid the cable hanging around.
Then there are also different versions of
the pulleys nowadays that may work better.
If you’re interested in doing it too, definitely
check out the links below, but also look around
to see what would suit your home situation
best.
We still have a lot of work to do as well
to finetune our setup.
Like we still need a spot to store our VR
headset somewhere near the lamp.
I feel like I said pulleys way too much in
this video.
And also, what’s up with these cable ends
being called… male-to-female.
I just now realized how a little weird that
is… but it does make it easier to remember.
And that’s it!
This is my new permanent Valve Index setup
until hopefully something better comes around…
I mean, maybe Valve will release a wireless
adapter…
Valve I’m looking at you T_T
You can also use this setup with probably
every VR headset so let me know what you think
and if you are going to use it in the comments
below.
Thanks for watching and if you want to support
us further, how about you watch more videos
that are on the screen right now?
Anyway, stay safe… and
A special thanks goes to all our Patrons & Right-Hand
Patron BaxornVR, support him supporting us
and check out his VR YouTube channel!
As always VR on!
