The bridge chip in the basic 8k (non X) is fully technically capable of delivering a native full 4k @ 50hz stereo as was discussed prior to kickstarter.
To free up some bandwidth, I think the Pimax engineers should try offering a mode for a resolution of 3840x1600 at 60hz (thats 5 million pixels v native 4k’s 8 million) possibly in conjunction with using the 170 degree FOV option. @deletedpimaxrep1
You could also try 3840x1440 if you need more bandwidth.
This will give ALL of the Pimax customers (not just the 8k x owners) a choice of premium visual fidelity with their existing unit, even if they only have a gtx 1070.
Its a premium fidelity that would be on par if not slightly better than Star VR’s 1st enterprise headset used by Imax. In fact, on reflection it would stomp Star VR’s 1st HMD, which the new one is derived from.
Beat your competition where you know you can.
There is also the added benefit that the scaler would have access to all of the color data and the full horizontal resolution for an image, thereby requiring that the scaler only need interpolate 500 lines on the vertical axis during an upscale.
It would also allow Pimax to offer yet more choice to their customers. I think Pimax would be wise to offer all of their customers the clearest, least distorted image that they can with the hardware available to all of their customers.
It would be difficult for pimax to compete with OLED, and since pimax is having trouble with frame rate, I think that offering the most premium experience you can, even to customers who have a mid range PC (1070 is now mid range? lmao)would be invaluable with more and more competition heading your way.
The point I am making is that 60hz is a proven and viable framerate and upscaling a 5 million pixel image (3840x1600) to native 4k (which is 8 million pixels,) will look way better than 1440p at 80hz (a 2 million pixel frame ) blown up to full 4k.
And as I mentioned, it would work on all units.
50hz at native 4k might work for a video mode, but 3840x1600 is already the native standard for 4K Blu-ray discs, so I don’t see the point in having a 50 hz mode, even for movies because you would get a native presentation on 4K Blu-ray with the mode I am suggesting.
if brainwarp actually works you would be able to have 60 warped to 120. bu given they have literally not said a word about brainwarp working im pretty concerned it aint happening.
Native is always better than trying to simulate frames. This mode would also offer the benefit of being better visually than Star VR’s initial enterprise HMD used by IMAX which used a 60hz mode.
[quote=“VRGIMP27, post:3, topic:7591, full:true”]
The point I am making is that 60hz is a proven and viable framerate and upscaling a 5 million pixel image (3840x1600) to native 4k (which is 8 million pixels,) will look way better than 1440p at 80hz (a 2 million pixel frame ) blown up to full 4k.
50hz at native 4k might work for a video mode, but 3840x1600 is already the native standard for 4K Blu-ray discs, so I don’t see the point in having a 50 hz mode, even for movies because you would get a native presentation on 4K Blu-ray with the mode I am suggesting.[/quote]
However, I couldn’t care less for Blu-ray or even movies. I don’t watch movies on my computer, only short YouTube clips. What I care about is games, particularly Elite Dangerous. I’d love to have a way to display the game at full 4K resolution. As noted above, BrainWarp would double the framerate to 100 Hz. That would be an awesome way to play. @deletedpimaxrep1, would this be possible?
We dont know what their brainwarp implementation even looks like, but it would be irrelevant with a 60hz mode.
Just imagine having 3840x1600 60hz mode at 170 degrees, which you could also use on a higher-end graphics card by the way. (A real possibility for supersampling?)
Elite dangerous would look so beautiful on on the pimax 8K with a mode like that
It also wouldn’t hurt given that Star VR’s new HMD is rgb stripe. I think the 8k is pentile, so the better the native image that you feed it, the more impressive your results will be
I have no idea if it is actually possible with your existing circuit board design, but if it is, that would be awesome. It also means that (at a reduced framerate) the 8K could actually use 2x4K native resolution. That would be very good, for marketing purposes.
60hz is a reduced but very usable frame rate with massive gains for clarity. PSVR, Star VR V1, Gear VR, and other hmds have demonstrated that 60hz is viable.
I would think that almost 1,000 fewer lines of resolution in 3840x1600 (not quite native, but you wouldn’t notice,) and 170 degree FOV should free up enough bandwidth to work.
Options are never a bad thing right?
It makes good business sense in light of all the competition they are facing, and makes every headset able to utilize its max potential.
That’s a really good idea!
At the very least, having options is always positive.
Being happy with lower framerates, whilst giving you the option of increasing the resolution (and the already existing option to lower FOV) is fantastic!
That’s how I play all my regular games these days. I don’t even need 60fps on a 2D monitor, I don’t notice any lag as long as it doesn’t go below 30fps. I’d much rather run 4K 30fps than 2k 60fps. Or in the case of the 8K, 2x 4k 60fps should in theory work with the 1070 I have, even ?
Of course, there are plenty of people who are a lot more sensitive to framerates and for whom anything less than 90fps would be a problem. But, giving us the option for those who can deal with it would be excellent.
Go for it Pimax, make it happen ^.^
There has already been strong push by @aesopfabled to trade resolution for refresh rate, now your suggest the opposite trading refresh rate for resolution. Both proposals are somehow trying to overcome bandwidth limitation imposed by DP standard (and its implementation).
I guess both approach have some merits, but both are more suitable for 8K-X because on this headset the bridge chip (or chips) will be directly feeding the panels, while on 8K there is also the scaler. I would assume that the design of 8K (non-X) is basically hardwired to the hardware design, so everything is processed sequentially, without the options to bypass the scaler or reconfigure the resolutions on any of chips on the fly (bridge chip, scaler chip and the panel itself).
Other thing I would add, as it seems Pimax is struggling with the large FOV and the fidelity at the border, and you suggest to reduce it, it would be only possible by reducing the horizontal resolution unless you design the lenses which can reconfigure for different FOVs. With fixed lenses if 3840 represents the original 170° FOV (I am using horizontal figure here not diagonal), then for 150° only corresponding part of the horizontal res would be used (i.e. updated by visual data).
Last detail which is not clear, during KS Pimax admitted they were not able to use the full horizontal resolution of the panel, but only like 80% of it. We do not know where we stand today with the new design, but it is also possible that bandwidth limitation we assume no longer apply, or are different.
I do not want to shoot the idea, just saying we will be much smarter once 8K is released and it becomes clearer how it is designed and what were the real design challenges.
Not only bandwidth, but also simply the power of the GPU. You’re probably gonna need 2x rtx2080 to power the 8K-X in even the demanding games of today. Sure, Foveated Rendering and whatnot will help but we really know little about how well it’ll work.
But yeah, it is clear that some people want more framerate whilst others want more resolution. Therefore, having the option to choose would be ideal. But yeah, it may indeed not be technically possible if the chips are fixed on it.
I agree because I currently use in DCS world and Il2BoS with a Pimax 4k, that can not handle more than this frequency. Moreover this games can often not generate the 90fps for most users, who are using ASW to cope with that. In fact I have more often 40fps than 60 fps when I play.
This is understandable. I want both options (if possible).
Low res, higher framerate for the 980Ti I have now and highest res for the 2280Ti I’ll buy in 4 years. I don’t upgrade monitors very often and I hope to use the 8K for at least 5 years.
[update] I find it hard to believe, but rumors report that the third party customized 2080Ti boards will be available this month (along with the 2080 non-Ti boards). That’s never happened before, but if it’s true, it’s great news!
With all the suggestions flying around, perhaps a utility that allows full customization of the refresh rate, %of screen used, and resolution would be a good solution. This way you can leave it to the customer base to tinker around and find stable settings. As long as it had a way to test and back out like any other monitor control panel.
You want them to have a dedicated mode for ease of use for those who dont tinker, lol but nice idea. I do like the idea of being able to test with custom distortion profiles.
should in theory work with the 1070 I have, even 
?