VRTrek
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| VRTrek | |
|---|---|
| |
| Basic Info | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Type | Latency Measurement Device |
| Platform | Windows PC |
| Creator | Basemark |
| Developer | Basemark |
| Manufacturer | Basemark |
| Announcement Date | March 2016 (with VRScore, GDC 2016) |
| Release Date | 20 December 2016 (VRTrek Library) |
| Website | https://web.archive.org/web/20190723004008/https://www.basemark.com/products/vrtrek-library/ |
| Versions | VRTrek Library (device and SDK); included with VRScore PC Corporate versions |
| Requires | PC running Windows 7 or newer with a microphone input (Basemark tested Realtek integrated audio) |
| Image | |
| Field of View | 12 degrees (sensor) |
| Connectivity | |
| Connectivity | Single cable with a 3.5 mm plug to the PC microphone input |
| Device | |
| Sensors | 2 photosensitive sensors |
VRTrek is a virtual reality latency measurement device made by the Finnish benchmark company Basemark. It uses two photosensitive sensors, one in front of each lens of a head-mounted display, and sends their readings to a PC through the microphone-in audio jack. Software compares the time when an image is requested with the time it appears on the headset's displays.[1][2] Besides latency, it reports dropped frames, duplicate frames and screen persistence, and it measures the left-eye and right-eye displays at the same time.[3]
Basemark showed the device in March 2016 alongside its VRScore PC benchmark, which it developed with Crytek.[4][1] VRTrek was included only with the corporate versions of VRScore.[4] On 20 December 2016 Basemark also began selling it to headset vendors and software developers as VRTrek Library, a package of the measurement device and a software development kit (SDK).[3][5] Basemark has since moved VRScore to its legacy products and says it put development on hold because of low demand in the VR market.[6]
Announcement and release
Basemark and Crytek formed a strategic partnership in August 2015. VRScore was built on Crytek's CryEngine together with Basemark's performance measurement framework.[7] PC Perspective reported the VRScore announcement on 15 March 2016. At that point the corporate version was available through an early access program and Basemark's Benchmark Development Program, it alone included VRTrek, and free and paid consumer versions were planned for June 2016.[4] At GDC 2016, Basemark CEO Arto Ruotsalainen told Road to VR that the device could measure latency with "sub-millisecond precision".[1]
The consumer release was delayed. In December 2016, Tom's Hardware reported that VRScore was still not out to the public. It noted that Basemark had first shown the VRTrek hardware in March alongside VRScore, and had then planned a June release.[5][8] Basemark's press release of 20 December 2016 presented VRTrek Library as a latency tool that works across different HMDs and applications and is available for immediate shipping.[3] App Developer Magazine reported the release of the package for HMD vendors and software developers.[9] VRTrek Library went to qualified vendors, who ordered it through Basemark's sales team.[5][8]
Basemark officially launched VRScore PC on 30 January 2017. The Corporate and Corporate Premium editions were available for immediate shipping at launch, and consumer versions were to follow later.[10][11] In May 2017 Basemark's VRScore page listed five versions (Free, Professional, Media, Corporate and Corporate Premium). It described VRTrek as a "Patent pending latency testing device (included in Corporate Versions)", and the Free and Professional versions were scheduled for the second quarter of 2017.[7]
Design and hardware
The VRTrek device holds two photosensitive sensors on a height-adjustable perspex stand.[2] Road to VR, which called the device the "VRScore Trek", described it in 2016 as three plastic pieces, two photodiodes and a cable ending in a 3.5 mm plug. It folds flat, and its prongs can be raised or lowered to line up with a headset's left and right lenses.[1] PC Perspective, reporting Basemark's announcement, described the sensors as two phototransistors.[4] The user sets the height of the stand for the headset and positions the sensors in front of each lens. The cable at the other end of the device plugs into the computer's microphone-in audio port.[2][5]
Basemark published the following specifications for the sensor:[12][2]
| Parameter | Rating |
|---|---|
| Spectral Range of Sensitivity | Near infrared to deep blue / purple |
| Field of View | 12 degrees |
| Response Time | 8 microseconds |
| Accuracy | 0.2ms |
| Precision | Less than 0.01 ms |
Basemark added that practical measurement precision is "dominated by the variance in how close to v-sync does the application actually submit the image."[12]
How the tool works
VRScore tests both the personal computer and the VR headset: its System Test measures PC rendering only, and its VRTrek Test uses the VRTrek hardware to measure the headset.[2] Basemark said it developed VRScore in close cooperation with NVIDIA, Intel and AMD.[10] In Road to VR's January 2017 look at the software, VRScore supported OSVR's HDK, the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive.[2] Basemark's 2017 product page said VRScore had been tested with the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and OSVR HDK2, and that other headsets were supported through the OpenVR SDK.[7]
System Test
The System Test checks the PC's performance by running Codename: Sky Harbor, a virtual reality experience developed by Crytek on CryEngine. The tool measures the frame rate throughout the test. Each frame of the experience is rendered one after another as quickly as possible, and the sequence is run several times. The System Test only assesses the PC's rendering performance, not the virtual reality headset; measuring the headset requires the VRTrek Test.[2][4]
VRTrek Test
The VRTrek Test uses the VRTrek hardware to measure the latency between images rendered by the personal computer and their display in the virtual reality headset. It runs the same looped experience as the System Test, but shows it on the headset.[2]
The software has the computer trigger timed flashes on the headset's display. The sensors on the VRTrek device pick up these flashes and send analog brightness measurements to the computer through the microphone-in port. Latency is found by comparing the time of the command with the time the flash appears on the headset.[1][2] Basemark describes the measured interval as running "from the point of application frame submit to the point when the frame appears on given display".[12] Tom's Hardware described it as the time an image takes to reach the display after a draw call, in milliseconds.[5] The tool also detects duplicate frames, frame latency and dropped frames, and it measures the latency of the right and left eyes at the same time.[2][3] VRScore also has a VR Experience mode, which lets the user play the Sky Harbor demo in the headset.[2]
Software and features
The latency and performance measuring tool combines hardware (the VRTrek device) and software. The VRTrek Library license covered one VRTrek device and an SDK with examples, API documentation and a user guide. Basemark also offered custom integration work (NRE) on request.[12] The VRScore software was released in DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 versions.[2][10] Basemark said the SDK lets HMD and VR application developers integrate VRTrek into their testing frameworks.[3]
Basemark's product page listed these technical requirements and features:[12]
- VRTrek supports Windows 7 and newer. Windows Audio Kernel Mode Streaming is also supported.
- OLED display devices such as smartphones and virtual reality HMDs are supported. LCD support is provided on request.
- For virtual reality application measurements, the tool uses a multi-frame latency measurement algorithm.
- For display latency measurements, it uses a single-frame latency measurement algorithm.
- The tool uses the PC's audio jack and was tested with Realtek integrated audio cards.
Tom's Hardware reported that Basemark had tested the hardware only with Realtek integrated audio, so results with other audio devices could vary.[5]
Patent
Basemark described VRTrek as patent pending in 2016 and 2017.[3][10] US patent 9,697,800 B2, "Application latency determination method and system for wearable display devices", lists Teemu Virolainen as inventor and Basemark Oy as assignee. It was filed on 7 December 2015 and granted on 4 July 2017, and its European counterpart is EP3179369B1. Its claims describe a photo sensor whose signal enters a computer through a microphone input and is timestamped by an audio API. A headset with two displays has a photo sensor for each display, and the two sensor outputs can be combined into one stereo microphone input.[13]
Reception
In March 2016, Road to VR's Ben Lang called the device "elegantly simple".[1] In its January 2017 first look at VRScore, Road to VR noted that Futuremark had dropped an earlier light-sensor and oscilloscope approach to measuring latency and instead recommended using VRMark mainly as an experiential comparison. A shipping delay meant the VRTrek unit Basemark provided had not arrived when that article was published.[2] Basemark's January 2017 press release quoted Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research, who said latency has to be measured because people notice small delays between the screen and what the brain expects, and said Basemark's VRScore and VRTrek gave the industry "a robust tool for measuring latency" that would help it set standards.[10]
Tom's Hardware ran into compatibility problems when it used VRScore and VRTrek for its OSVR HDK2 review, published on 3 July 2017. The reviewer wrote that the VRTrek device plugs into a microphone input jack, but the software needs a Realtek audio codec, and not every Realtek controller works. An X99-based test PC failed, and a later system built on an Asus Prime X370-Pro motherboard worked. On that PC, the latency test ran on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive but not on the OSVR headset. Basemark told the publication that the OSVR Windows installer was incompatible with VRScore and that it expected a fix in VRScore 1.1.[14]
Current status
Basemark's VRTrek Library product page was still online in July 2019, offering the license, the device and the SDK.[12] Basemark's legacy products page now describes VRScore in the past tense. It says the company put VRScore development on hold "for unforeseen future" because of low demand in the VR market, and that it keeps VRScore as a legacy product with support for the community and interested parties. VRTrek is not listed separately on that page.[6]
About the company
Basemark is a privately held company headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. It develops system performance and power consumption analysis tools that semiconductor and OEM companies use, among them AMD, Imagination Technologies, Intel, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Renesas and Samsung.[3] Road to VR described it in 2017 as best known for Basemark X, a graphics benchmark for mobile devices.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Ben Lang (2016-03-17). "Basemark Has a Dead Simple Solution to Precisely Measure VR Headset Latency". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/basemark-has-a-dead-simple-solution-to-precisely-measure-vr-headset-latency/. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Paul James (2017-01-30). "First Look: Basemark's 'VRScore' Benchmark Arrives With a Unique Solution for Accurate Testing". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/first-look-basemarks-vrscore-benchmark-arrives-unique-solution-accurate-testing/. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "World's First Universal VR Latency Tool". PR Newswire. Basemark. 2016-12-20. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/worlds-first-universal-vr-latency-tool-607614656.html. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Sebastian Peak (2016-03-15). "Basemark Announces VRScore Virtual Reality Benchmark". PC Perspective. https://pcper.com/2016/03/basemark-announces-vrscore-virtual-reality-benchmark/. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Kevin Carbotte (2016-12-20). "Basemark Releases VRTrek Latency Tool, Library For VR HMD Vendors And Software Developers". Tom's Hardware. https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/news/basemark-vrtrek-library-latency-test,33227.html. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Legacy Products". GPUScore. Basemark Oy. https://www.gpuscore.com/benchmarks/legacy-products/. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "VRScore PC - The Essential VR Testing Tool". Basemark. Basemark Oy. Archived from the original on 2017-05-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20170517063007/https://www.basemark.com/vrscore/. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Arianne Gift (2016-12-21). "VRTrek Latency Tool Release Date, News & Update: Basemark Releases World's First Universal VR Latency Tool". GameNGuide. http://www.gamenguide.com/articles/96274/20161221/vrtrek-latency-tool-release-date-news-update-basemark-releases-world-s-first-universal-vr-latency-tool.htm. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ Austin Harris (2016-12-22). "VRTrek Library to help developers reduce VR latency". App Developer Magazine. https://appdevelopermagazine.com/vrtrek-library-to-help-developers-reduce-vr-latency-/. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 "Basemark Presents World's First Comprehensive VR Benchmark". PR Newswire. Basemark. 2017-01-30. https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/basemark-presents-worlds-first-comprehensive-vr-benchmark-612148303.html. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ Jeremy Hellstrom (2017-01-30). "Basemark's VRScore PC, the World's First Comprehensive VR Benchmark". PC Perspective. https://pcper.com/2017/01/basemarks-vrscore-pc-the-worlds-first-comprehensive-vr-benchmark/. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 "VRTrek + Libraries - Basemark Products". Basemark. Basemark Oy. Archived from the original on 2019-07-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20190723004008/https://www.basemark.com/products/vrtrek-library/. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ Teemu Virolainen (2017-07-04). "US9697800B2 - Application latency determination method and system for wearable display devices". Google Patents. https://patents.google.com/patent/US9697800B2/en. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
- ↑ Kevin Carbotte (2017-07-03). "OSVR Hacker Developer Kit 2 Review - How We Tested The OSVR HDK2". Tom's Hardware. https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/reviews/osvr-hdk2-vr-headset,5084-4.html. Retrieved 2026-10-19.