How to Enable the Front Facing Camera on the HTC Vive
No more stumbling into things while trying to find your remote. Learn how to turn on the HTC Vive's front facing camera.
The HTC Vive is hitting doorsteps as we speak, and along with it comes the full fruition of room-scale VR. But what happens if you need to quickly find your cell phone, or pick up your drink? This guide will teach you how to activate the front-facing camera on the HTC Vive so you can see what you're doing without having to take off your favorite new head-mounted display.
Want to know what we think of all this new-fangled technology? Check out our full HTC Vive review by our resident VR expect, Asif Khan.
The HTC Vive's room-scale VR already comes attached with a special mode to help you see obstacles standing in your way. They've also included a built-in front-facing camera that will allow you to quickly and easily activate a small window into the real world in case you need to do something silly like answer your phone.
Step 1: Open SteamVR
The first step is the simplest. Open up SteamVR on your computer and wait for it to boot it. Once it has booted it is time to go to your Settings tab.
Step 2: Go to Settings
With your settings tab open, quickly scroll through your options to the tab marked "Camera".
Step 3: Click on the Camera Tab
Go ahead and click on the tab marked Camera to move to the fourth step of this simple process.
Step 4: Click Enable Camera
Once inside the Camera settings look for the box that enables the camera and check it off to enable the Vive's front-facing camera.
Step 5: Select Your Camera Permissions
This is where your own personal perferences come into play. Once you've enabled the camera you have several different options you can select that will determine the camera's permissions while you are using it. These options include automatically activating the camera in the Dashboard, when you hit Chaperone boundaries, as well as a button activated mode for Room View.
If you want to use Room View you will need to press the System Button twice in a row, as if double click a mouse button.
Step 6: Restart SteamVR
Now that you have your permissions selected and the camera enabled it is time to restart SteamVR and jump into your next virtual reality experience.
