Is VR dead?

[RobertR1]

OK, so the 8K and 8K+ are being sent the exact same resolution as the 5K+, but they are uprezzing for their panels. I have to admit the 8K+ does look clean and the fact it can push 120 fps is also impressive.

All you early adopters, enjoy!

Those AC shots and footage on the 8k+ are sooo good! The 8KX is going to be even a step above this from all accounts. That will usher in a true VR2.0 experience.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Changing SteamVR SS has no effect on appearance that I could see at least in iRacing when VRSS is enabled.
I haven't raced in a grid larger than 20 with it at 120 fps.

@DotComRich did you notice it seems just a bit darker with all the additional AA ? I boosted the brightness with VRSS on at least in iRacing.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Those AC shots and footage on the 8k+ are sooo good! The 8KX is going to be even a step above this from all accounts. That will usher in a true VR2.0 experience.

This shows the 8KX vs the Reverb and it appears the 8KX not only holds up but looks better while having a much wider FOV. Pretty impressive!

My only concern is that the 8K+ is probably a better match for current GPU's. the 8KX seems more future proof, but will probably need the 3080Ti to really shine.

 

[RobertR1]

Keep in mind the 8KX won't need supersampling and because it's running at a lower hz, you get that budget back to push towards the higher pixel count. If you watch MRTV's CES video, you can see that the 8KX was running AC at a locked 72hz with Supersampling 100% (normal) and PiTools 1.0 (normal) and it was very good. Ofcourse more power is never going to hurt!

 

[RCHeliguy]

Based on what I'm seeing from NVidia, unless they can come up with a new technology that makes a serious jump, we are still a couple generations away from being able to drive great FOV, high resolution and high frame rate. Now if companies start to offload the GPU and do like the 8K+ we may get there sooner.

Imagine that you were running 32K per eye with internal interpolation. That would look like twice the resolution to the human eye over the 8K displays. The headset would be generating 75% of the pixels dramatically offloading the GPU. That type of interpolation technology is already being used in 8K TV sets that interpolate from 2K HD signals at rates of 120 fps. This means that technology is already on a chip that is starting to become comoditized.

So think 2 generations from now when we can drive 8K per eye at 120 fps and then boost the resolution in the headset using inexpensive mass produced TV technology we will have hit nirvana

 

[anton_Chez]

The 8KX IS an 8K+ with the flick of a switch.

So it's now AND future proof.

 

[RCHeliguy]

The 8KX IS an 8K+ with the flick of a switch.

So it's now AND future proof.

I didn't realize that the uprezzing was switchable. Good deal!
I finally looked at the specs, two headphone options, light weight and more emphasis on comfort.

The specs really are impressive with the exception of the native 75 fps refresh rate. 90fps is only for upscale mode initially. That seems like a bit of a stretch.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Pimax - Project Cars of HMDs.
Hope more serious company drops something higher res.
And that external tracking.

 

[anton_Chez]

I drive with 72hz native on the 5K+ absolutely perfectly. I race every race on 80hz with the Index. Sometimes have to force smoothing giving me 45 or 60hz with certain content and especially ACC online.

Until you use one, there is no place to judge it. I was amazed at what arrived at my door in Feb of 2019. I am prepared to be amazed yet again.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Why are you running at 80Hz with the Index? using a 1080Ti? I never use that or reprojection. The 2080Ti is just enough to keep me in the 90-120 fps range.

I have never been a Pimax fan, however the 8KX makes me think of an XTAL with liquidation pricing. Pimax has a lot in there and it looks like it could have a good value proposition if they follow through, deliver solid products and their customers are happy.

I'm very happy with my Index for now, but I will be watching this closely. It does look like it has potential.

 

[Miguel Batista]

Pimax - Project Cars of HMDs.
Hope more serious company drops something higher res.
And that external tracking.

You should try one. After trying one, for sim racing and flight sims there is no other that is better. It is just better than everything else. Now, for room scale, I don't think it will be as good but for sitting down experiences it is downright amazing. This was a 5k+ no 8k+ But seriously, when I retire my rift, if things stand as they are, I will have a pimax as a replacement.

 

[DotComRich]

So you had to drop SteamVR SS?

Yes I was originally at 150-170% range for iRacing, but that kind of SS + vrss is too much and I couldn't maintain even 100 FPS in full grids. For vrss to work you need to be at or near max refresh rate with a bit of head room, so its critical to keep steamvr SS at 100% or so.

I have a 6700k OC to 4.5Ghz and only 2400Mhz ram, so I am sure if I upgraded both I could add some more steamvr SS back on top of vrss as my R is pushing near 10 at some points. But honestly the picture looks so crisp with no shimmering or jaggies I don't see how more SS would help. I feel like I am at the point where I have the image looking the best the Index can possibly look running at max fps (albeit it 90) where I won't see anything better unless I switch to a higher resolution hmd.

 

[DotComRich]

Changing SteamVR SS has no effect on appearance that I could see at least in iRacing when VRSS is enabled.
I haven't raced in a grid larger than 20 with it at 120 fps.

@DotComRich did you notice it seems just a bit darker with all the additional AA ? I boosted the brightness with VRSS on at least in iRacing.

Hmm no I didn't notice it being any darker.

 

[anton_Chez]

Why are you running at 80Hz with the Index? using a 1080Ti?

Because in a VR headset I am not a hz junkie. I just got a 144hz monitor for my desktop and that is a massive difference between 60hz and 120/144. But in the HMD there are so many variables that can ruin your experiece and I prefer to have a) image quality, b) online stability for league races where we use very poorly optimized mods at times, with a lot of cars on track sometimes 40) and c) I really don't see a massive difference between anything above 90. 80 and 90 are very comparable, but the trade off for 120hz is just too big for me.

When you have 93 laps of Adelaide with 40 drivers on track, the last thing you need is frames skipping all over the place.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

This shows the 8KX vs the Reverb and it appears the 8KX not only holds up but looks better while having a much wider FOV. Pretty impressive!

My only concern is that the 8K+ is probably a better match for current GPU's. the 8KX seems more future proof, but will probably need the 3080Ti to really shine.

That was from SweViver (Pimax employee) back in Oct.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Found more trustworthy feedback from users trying it on CES
Looks promising but not Earth shattering.

Decision time - Index v Pimax 5k+ (or wait 8kX)

Ideally I would like the reverb but with an IPD of 73, this is a non starter. The Index is also outside this range but I am OK with the original Rift, even when set at 68 or 69 so think I may be OK. Valve also have a reliable returns policy so worth the risk. Was going to get the Index pre Christ...

forums.eagle.ru

Decision time - Index v Pimax 5k+ (or wait 8kX)

Ideally I would like the reverb but with an IPD of 73, this is a non starter. The Index is also outside this range but I am OK with the original Rift, even when set at 68 or 69 so think I may be OK. Valve also have a reliable returns policy so worth the risk. Was going to get the Index pre Christ...

forums.eagle.ru

 

[anton_Chez]

Not earth shattering? He owns the most visually impressive headset (Reverb) on the market and he said the 8KX 'blew the reverb out of the water'.............. ???

Sounds pretty conclusive from where I stand.

You don't crave a product you used for 15 minutes on a showroom floor after going back to your own setup if there aren't significant gains to be had.

Also, while I agree that whatever SweViver now says should be taken with a big pinch of salt, I must remind everyone that he started as a VR enthusiast. Someone who was massively impressed with the product he backed and watched progress over various builds. You can take that however you like but the fact remains that he wouldn't have been nearly as excited for Pimax products and the company as a whole had the resulting product been uninspired.

I've had such mixed feelings about Pimax overall. But when that 5K+ finally arrived, I was amazed at how much better VR could actually be compared to what I was using (Rift). I hope they put a smile on my face again.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Found more trustworthy feedback from users trying it on CES
Looks promising but not Earth shattering.

Decision time - Index v Pimax 5k+ (or wait 8kX)

Ideally I would like the reverb but with an IPD of 73, this is a non starter. The Index is also outside this range but I am OK with the original Rift, even when set at 68 or 69 so think I may be OK. Valve also have a reliable returns policy so worth the risk. Was going to get the Index pre Christ...

forums.eagle.ru

Decision time - Index v Pimax 5k+ (or wait 8kX)

Ideally I would like the reverb but with an IPD of 73, this is a non starter. The Index is also outside this range but I am OK with the original Rift, even when set at 68 or 69 so think I may be OK. Valve also have a reliable returns policy so worth the risk. Was going to get the Index pre Christ...

forums.eagle.ru

It looks like you are quoting reviews that you didn't read based on your interpretation of what they said.

I agree with Anthony, they both seemed to think the 8KX was the best out there and were pretty emphatic about it. I wonder what they would have needed to say to sway you ?????

", the clear, consistently colored screens were HUGELY noticeable, and the FOV was just such a good-feeling quality of life upgrade. Now that I've had a night to sleep on things, I find myself craving the 8KX hardcore while playing today on my reverb. I done messed up and tasted (currently) unobtainable glory and now I don't wanna go back xD " <snip> "now I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to resist dropping a 1.5k load on this new hardware just because of how good the improvement felt xD "

and the other one you quoted

"the difference between having peripheral vision vs looking through a box like the reverb is insane "
" I did not realize how annoying the muira was on the reverb until trying a high resolution headset without it "
" the primary issue with Pimaxes besides money has been QA and panel distortion. The CES units had completely fixed the distortion "


So if I boiled things down:
Similar resolution to the Reverb, but massively better FOV, better color, no Muira, and perfect tracking making the experience the best out there.

In fact one guy was saying how much he expected to have to wait for better NVidia hardware to drive anything that improved on the current experience and this surprised him by offering next level performance without a computer upgrade.

Other than the fact these headsets haven't been released and we don't know when they will actually be released based on their track record, everything else sounds pretty impressive.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Not earth shattering? He owns the most visually impressive headset (Reverb) on the market and he said the 8KX 'blew the reverb out of the water'.............. ???

Sounds pretty conclusive from where I stand.

Read the second link

Anecdotally, I can say I was able to exactly replicate my graphics setup at home on the CES rig with nvidia profile inspector (1.4 pd, 2x msaa + mfaa enabled, -0.5 lod filtering) and, to the best of my perception, could not notice any difference in cockpit or outside world clarity + aliasing.

 

[RobertR1]

Read the second link

'But, as mentioned, the clear, consistently colored screens were HUGELY noticeable, and the FOV was just such a good-feeling quality of life upgrade. Now that I've had a night to sleep on things, I find myself craving the 8KX hardcore while playing today on my reverb. I done messed up and tasted (currently) unobtainable glory and now I don't wanna go back xD"

What am I missing?