[PIMAX] All about the VR headsets

you suggest that pimax 8k is better option than oculus rift or htc live?

We hope for. Better Field of view, better resolution, lighter helmet.

But the refresh rate at only 80 Hz. Distorted images on edges.

This is why I hope they solve everything and ship it before the end of 2018.

But I still like my heavy Vive.

Yes, after the long wait for DK2 and CV1, I always felt that it was going to take a while to get this product right for release.

Latest Update.

Hi Futurists,

We have recorded all your questions and double checked the progress with the team. There are quite a lot to share today:

M1 closed beta We will ship M1 to the closed beta testers this month. There will be around 10 Pimax 8K testing units in total.

Kickstarter shipping After super intensive development and testing, now we are very confident about M1. The plan is to start the shipments in June if testers give the green light. As always, we will take the suggestions from the community into consideration to finalize Pimax 8K.

5K shipping time We will ship 5K and 8K in the same time frame.

Brainwarp Brainwarp is proven feasible in the lab. We will test it in the new hardware structure and will adopt Brainwarp in the final version.

Refresh rate 8K is stable at 80Hz. The team is still trying to improve the refresh rate. The worst case is 80Hz when we start to ship. 5K can reach 90Hz.

Roadshows We plan to hold meetups in different cities when the working units of the controllers are ready.

Controllers The working units (prototype v1) will be ready in June/July, and the shipping time will be Q4.

Lighthouses We plan to ship the lighthouses in Oct.

Pi-tracking We have been working on Pi-tracking. The prototype has passed the internal test. We are testing a new prototype for public demo and will showcase our solution when ready.

Audio quality and specs We have finished the design and will demo the mockup when ready.

Oculus games Pimax 8K supports Oculus games, we will make an Oculus gaming video with M1.

Stretch goal gifts and add-ons

- Modules

We are working with partners for the modules. The top priority is the hand tracking module and eye tracking module. We are working with several wireless partners as well.

- Free content

We plan to have one content for controllers, one content for hand motion, and another tbc. We have locked a great controller game and will disclose more info when we have the permission.

- 10m cable

The cable has passed the internal sample test. We are doing more tests and will disclose more info later.

- Headstrap

The team is refining the design of the headstrap for better ergonomics.

- Face cushion, cooling fan, VR frame

Not hard to produce at all, we have mockups ready. With limited resources, we are now focusing on the headset. We will update the progress when ready.

Thanks for your passion and patience! While you are waiting for your packages, please join our discussion in the forum: forum.pimaxvr.com and the closed facebook group 8K VR CLUB.

If you have any question, please let us know and we will give the answers in the next update.

Best Regards,

The Pimax Team

So.. possibly shipping some 8K headsets in June, but no lighthouses until October .....

I still keep my hopes for 2018, but June, even at 80Hz, would be great.

Yea

M1 testing units shipped
Posted by Pimax 8K VR (Creator)
Hi Futurists,

We started to ship M1 to beta testers!

It was a long journey to improve the VR experience as a whole e.g. it takes lots of resources for lens iterations, but we believe it's worth the costs.


Besides "how were the headsets made", we would also like to show you how they were tested.

Here is part of the testing process:



Temperature & Humidity Test


Special Environment Test


Mechanical Endurance Lab



Vibration Test



Tumbling Drop Test


ESD Test


Strength Test of Packing

BTW, we are testing the eye tracking module. More information coming soon!


Join our discussion about Pimax 8K: http://forum.pimaxvr.com/c/pimax-8k

Best Regards,

The Pimax Team

Thanks for the info @noorbeast . but IMO - don't bother with the video as it was 30 minutes of my life I won't get back, as he is under a NDA ...

I skipped after 10 min. Totally agree. Waste of time for now.

it is simple, they should mark yet one important information :

Agree, mostly waffle, but better then nothing. The graph seems to say we are currently at the 200-300 stage...so if we are lucky, I expect no better then very late 2018 before they start shipping.

Latest from Pimax - For me I would like to see a timeline with some expected dates....Looks like they will ship with performance and distortion issues - the rest is just more waffle..

-------------------------------------

Pimax 8K progress update & the upcoming backer meetups
Posted by Pimax 8K VR (Creator)
Hi Futurists,

We have been working with M1 testers to improve the product for almost two months and over 400 games tested, the community contributed to the beta testing a lot as well. http://forum.pimaxvr.com/t/how-to-contribute-to-the-closed-beta/7173

As planned, we are assembling the 2nd batch of ~230 M2 (improved M1). The process goes smoothly.

On August, we plan to bring M2 to offline backer meetups to learn from your thoughts.

What we will do during the meetups:

1. Demo the potential of 8K with recommended graphics cards and games;

2. Compare 8K directly with other VR headsets;

3. Show you how to adjust settings on PiTool to reach the best experience;

4. Collect your requirements and suggestions;

5. Answer your questions face to face.

When confirmed, the time and location of the meetups will be updated via Kickstarter.

Thanks to the hard work of testers and the team, the experience has been largely improved.

Here are some of the issues you concern about:

1. Performance

Performance has been improved by 30% - 40% for new games, including Unreal 4.18 or later, most Unity games, and Oculus 1.17 or later. We will share a list of games we have tested so far.

GTX 1070 is the minimum graphics cards that we can run 8K with, however, GTX1070 cannot utilize the full potential of Pimax 8K.

We have integrated different FOV options in PiTool for users to choose from. 1070 users would use smaller FOV before upgrading graphics cards.

Worth to mention that, with GTX 1070, 5K performs better than 8K. For those who are not planning to upgrade the graphics cards, we will provide you options to exchange your 8K for 5K + accessories.

Another good news is that the next-generation graphics cards and VR technology are around the corner. We cannot disclose details, but you can find relevant information online.

2. Distortions on the edge of the big FOV

With large FOV, it is hard to find the "one fits all" algorithm.

The distortion is impacted by different FOV options, IPD, myopia/hyperopia, and the different distance between eyes and lenses. This is not an issue with small FOV headsets, but an issue with big FOV headsets.

With the most recent PiTool version .61, we have improved the lens correction profiles significantly. Previously the equipment can only measure up to 120 degrees, the engineers rely on subjective estimations to correct the distortions beyond the 120 FOV range.

Now we have the new equipment that supports 190 FOV test, it definitely will help the engineers to test and correct the distortions at the edge, the accuracy will be largely improved.

Whatsmore, we plan to offer several settings for users to find their best fit. More information will be shared later.

3. Software and UX

We are working with testers to speed up iterations, we have resolved most of the issues identified by the testers.

When key issues resolved, we plan to allocate more resources to improve UX/UI, and share the improved PiTool with you to collect feedback and localization support. We plan to open the UX/UI/Localization projects to the community and provide rewards for top contributors. We believe the UX/UI will be largely improved with time and efforts from Pimax team and the community.

As business clients do not require perfect software / UX, and they usually only adopt one type of PC for each scenario, we can meet their expectations already. We have received enough business orders and have reached a consensus with our clients:

"Backers come first, business clients second."

By that saying, we will move on with the mass production, if some backers prefer to wait until software ready, we can still deliver the prepared units to business clients.

FAQ

• Will the M2 in the meetups the same units with those the testers are testing with?

M2 = improved M1. M2 is exactly the result of the join effort of Pimax team, testers, and the community.

• Do the backer meetups mean the end of closed beta or the embargo is about to lift?

No, the closed beta will keep going and the embargo will not be lifted until ready. However, no NDA required for the small-scale, private, backer-only meetups. Testers can express their impressions as backers, but in-depth reviews will be reserved until embargo lifted.

• What's the difference in terms of purpose between backer meetups and M1 closed beta?

Testers are the backers nominated by the community. The whole purpose of the closed beta is for testers to give M1 in-depth testing and high-quality feedback.

We are working with testers to keep improving software and user experience, many details are subject to change. Thus, we will not offer closed review during backer meetups.

The purpose of backer meetups is to bring backers the optimized M1 headset, demo the potential of 8K, and learn your preferences about shipping, and anything we haven't considered.

• Will backer meetups impact the mass production and shipping progress?

It won't. As planned, we are producing around 230 units, there will be around 700 one month later, and scale up progressively.


(previous plan on tracking)

During the backer meetups, you can let us know, in person or by email, whether you are willing to receive earlier even when software not ready.

It is possible backers prefer to wait until software and user experience improved. In case there are headsets left, we will ship the units to our business clients.

We have business orders of thousands of headsets and our business clients are very nice and agreed on taking care of any unit left.

• How to distinguish the business version and the consumer version?

The community provides brilliant suggestions for the business ID. http://forum.pimaxvr.com/t/pimax-business-version-id/7177/166

Before the ID fixed, we will make minor tweaks in the appearance, so you can tell the difference between the two versions.

With the following updates, we will address the following questions:

1. What exactly improved on M2 when comparing with M1

2. Game list we have tested;

3. The time and location of the backer meetups and how to participate;

4. When and how to let us know if you want to receive your units earlier even if software not ready;

5. Detailed testing reports when the M1 closed beta ends;

6. Return/exchange policies.

Based on our internal testing and other feedback, we are confident that once tried 8K, it will be hard for you to get used to old generation headsets anymore. We won't let our backers disappointed.

Best Regards,

The Pimax Team

Sometimes, I rather not think about it. One day, it will show up on my door steps and it will be the sign to update my graphique card.

I doubt it will be redundant. Unless an unknown maker pop out a 8k vr headset with all the bug sorted out, I doubt someone makes something better. They are ahead and have 14 millions to help them. It's a tough race to beat.

I was not aware of the Oculus Half-Dome. I don't follow much the VR new lately. It's interresting. Are they still with Facebook? I don't follow much the VR new lately. If they still do, they do have millions to back them up. Still, it is a prototype that nobody has seen so far (I did not find any videos of it demonstrated live). Pimax has put his prototype in the hands of people for about a year now. I think they are still ahead as Oculus features are only speculations. Its easy to say that you have a working prototype, but put it to the test in the hands of people, and you will see how well it stands. That's what Pimax did. They said they had a working prototype with all the features. But guess what, people were able to find flaws right away. Oculus Half-Dome is a speculation, but an interresting speculation.

You are talking about eye tracking, but I did not see anything about it. Varifocal is demonstrated, but it looks like it was focusing on the center of the screen. I could be wrong. I don't follow mu...