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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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.
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that are on the screen right now?
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As always VR on!