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link cable confusion

GuruShastry
Explorer
Ive been using alvr since pretty-much day one on the quest and I love it, mostly been playing racing games and shooters and its been a great experience once you set it all up properly so obviously im keen to get the oculus link working as soon as poss, the problem is what cable? I figure that 3m long will be fine for my play area and if so will any 3.1 usb cable be ok? ive been searching for 5gbps but there isn't a lot of difference in range of price or quality so its a proper headache!
 If Oculus had the cable-on preorder I would have it on order already but until then im reluctant to buy any cables in case they don't work, can someone at oculus just go get a ten quid 3m cable and try it for us? or send me a beta and ill try it for myself just so people know! lack of info kills me at the best of times!
loving the idea of usb for the link as my laptop was the best I could get for the money but doesn't have display port or tb3 or anything (asus tuf fx505 i7 8750, 16gb 1060 6gb) but runs everything fine and most at max without issues so using usb is an awesome idea, pat on the back for oculus there!
6 REPLIES 6

ezop73
Rising Star
I think the answer to your question is NO .. the cable has to be able to send and receive data simultaneously, as of yet I don't think there are any cables currently available that will work with the Quest, Its just a waiting game until Oculus release there cable then 3rd party companies will start to release there alternatives.




Nunyabinez
Rising Star

ezop73 said:

I think the answer to your question is NO .. the cable has to be able to send and receive data simultaneously, as of yet I don't think there are any cables currently available that will work with the Quest, Its just a waiting game until Oculus release there cable then 3rd party companies will start to release there alternatives.


I'm pretty sure you are incorrect. First of all, how could they make link available in November if the cable won't be released simultaneously?

To the OP, we have heard from Oculus that any USB 3.1 cable should work. It is possible that lower quality cables may struggle with the data, but good quality cables should work just fine based on the amount of data that is reported to be being sent. I bought a USB C cable and an adapter to go from UBS C to A since I don't have USB C on my PC. I already have a pair of Rifts, so I'm excited to see how the link works compared to a dedicated HMD.

From Andandtech: "According to Facebook, most of high-quality USB Type-C cables will work with the Quest, so it looks like the device relies on a VirtualLink USB-C AltMode interface that needs 6 lanes of high speed data: 4 DisplayPort HBR 3 channels for video, a single USB 3.1 Gen 2 channel (2 lanes) for data, and a mandatory 15W of power. The manufacturer says that its own optical fiber cable for Oculus Quest will be available later this year and will provide enough bandwidth and plenty of length to move around the room when playing."

We won't know for sure until it is released, but hopefully in the next few weeks we will test it out.

i7 8700, 16GB, RTX 2080 TI, Rift CV1 | i5 4690K, 16GB, GTX 1660 TI, Rift CV1 | Quest | Quest 2

ezop73
Rising Star



ezop73 said:

I think the answer to your question is NO .. the cable has to be able to send and receive data simultaneously, as of yet I don't think there are any cables currently available that will work with the Quest, Its just a waiting game until Oculus release there cable then 3rd party companies will start to release there alternatives.


I'm pretty sure you are incorrect. First of all, how could they make link available in November if the cable won't be released simultaneously?




@GuruShasty initial question was
I figure that 3m long will be fine for my play area and if so will any 3.1 usb cable be ok?  

And my answer was NO, you can't just go out and buy ANY USB-C 3.1 cable and expect it to work, for starters not all USB-C 3.1 cables are Fibre Optic which Oculus states on there Store page is what it needs.

Oculus Link Headset Cable

Coming Soon

Leave no game behind with Oculus Link. A high-speed fibre-optic cable that connects your gaming PC to an all-in-one Oculus Quest headset. Its lightweight, flexible design empowers you to take on hundreds of titles from the action-packed Oculus Rift library.

Also there are NO cables currently on the market (that I know of) to purchase that will meet the needs of the data transfer for under $80, At Oculus Connect 6 it was announced that Oculus is openly making Link’s specs available to third parties. I'm pretty sure Oculus isn't going to release the specs to 3rd parties until its released it's own cable to market.


vargablood
Expert Protege
Theres no need for Fibre Optic - ist just a question of how long it should be and dont forget how heavy!!! full features copper cables heavy pull on your quest, especially if you havent a very very good concept to tighten it on your headstrap.
You can use any full featured USB3 or 3.1 cable (5-10Gbit/s). But you have to take attention that it really is ... Typically Cables under 30 Dollars (1-2 meters cable) are not and just wired for USB2.0 (480 Mbit/s)...##

And yes the official cable will come later this year for all ive heard or read until now - link software will be released before.

nalex66
MVP
MVP
From the Oculus blog:
Oculus Link: The Best of Both VR Worlds
One feature we’re
definitely excited about is Oculus Link, a new way for people who own a
Quest headset to access Rift content and experiences from their gaming
PC. Starting this November, anyone who owns Quest and a gaming PC will
have access to popular Rift games with Oculus Link software, which can
be used with most high-quality USB 3 cables. Later this year, we’ll
release a premium optical fiber cable to provide a best-in-class
experience with maximum throughput and comfortable ergonomics.
Link should work with most USB 3 cables, and should be fine with USB A ports using an adapter or an A to C cable. It does not need exceptionally high bandwidth, because the video decoder in the Quest is limited to handling about 150 Mbps. It could even use USB 2 in terms of the data rate, but USB 3 allows full duplex communication, i.e. data going both ways at the same time (tracking data from the Quest and video data to the Quest).

The reason they're making their own cable is so that it can be lightweight and long. USB 3 passive cables are limited to about 3 m (10') before the signal quality starts to drop off. Active cables can deal with the length limitation, but they tend to be stiff and heavy. The official Link cable is essentially an active cable, but it converts the signal to light and transmits it over a fiber optic cable, allowing the cable to be long, thin, lightweight, and flexible. It also includes power conductors in the outer sheath around the fiber optic for keeping the Quest charged during use.

We'll all be testing Link with our own cables when it releases (possibly next week), because the Link cable will not be available to purchase until a bit later this year.

DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3.


Try my game: Cyclops Island Demo

warcious
Honored Guest
Hello nalex66,

Have you guys done any more testing of the oculus link fiberoptic cable?