Hey all. First off, I hope you are all safe and well 2022 was a life changing year for me. My mother was diagnosed with cancer and despite all my efforts, we lost her. I decided to make some changes in my life, and changed career somewhat. I left my previous DevOps role and moved into QA.
Some small solace was that I landed my dream job - a QA role at a VR creative studio, with sister companies also focused on VR. Keeps me busy, absolutely love it. Currently the focus is on Quest 2 and Pro, and I have these through work. HTC Vive XR Elite is also used, even looking at Apple Vision Pro for one upcoming project, will let you know if I get my hands on one. Pimax has been mentioned too (mainly by me! ). One project has been focused on aviation and engineer training. Was a dream come true to show VTOL VR and DCS World to the teams as part of my job (!!!), and learn from those how to build VR UX and so on.
TL,DR: Iāve been away, on to the points.
Iām still running PiTool and Pimax Experience from 2021. Havenāt tried Client yet. Fired up 8KX and performance seemed to have dropped a lot - canāt make Smart Smoothing hit 45 in many apps now even dropping quality. Latest Nvidia drivers, my GPU, not sure yet. Will Client help? Just saw some posts saying ā1.12 has problems, try 1.11ā - but I only see 1.10 and 1.12 for download. Anyone have a link for 1.11? Or is 1.10 usable? I think 1.10 will prompt to install 1.11? And I can still use the old Pimax Experience in headset, right?
I was originally thinking of upgrading my 8KX to 12k. I see the Crystal has appeared. Just watched some videos about it, sounds like the clarity is very good but concerns about weight and battery. So, do we have weight details for the Crystal and 12k compared to 8KX? And is it 100% correct that both require to run through the battery even when cabled to PC? Six hours of life or so? The battery is replaceable, correct? Thoughts on the FOV? Is it less than the 8KX? Does it cater for lower PPDs better than the X?
Other thoughts - I would not have ever called myself a Meta fan, but having used the Quest 2 for a year, and the Pro for a few months, I am very impressed with the hardware as complete packages. In terms of user experience they are like smartphones for VR and the depth of thought for the whole experience is a league above the Pimax offerings. Instant clarity within 1 minute, with either the simple mechanicals of the Quest 2, or the auto setup of the Pro (eyetracking, pancake lenses etc). Clever power save systems to maximise battery life. The Pro is insanely comfortable, huge plus point. 100% compatible with the Quest 2 as well.
Going back to the 8KX last night, I realise how much distortion I was just ignoring through lack of experience with other headsets. Glad to hear the Crystal does not have much distortion. I hope Pimax really works on the UI and overall experience. I work with whole teams of VR enthusiasts now, but still, to sell Pimax to them, partners, or clients, is not easy until the quality of the experience is on par with Meta or inevitably Apple (plenty of pros and cons on that unit ofc but thatās another story!). We are focused on B2B immersive learning apps with a very strong gaming-like experience, itās an area Pimax could certainly do well in. Clarity and FOV are important, but so is ease of use and comfort.
I have been giving a lot of demos at expos recently including Meta ones in the UK and US, getting a good feel about what works and doesnāt work for the average company looking to use VR for commercial purposes.
TLDR 12K was reduced to the Crystal. Pray for 12K someday. PiClient not perfect. As for the performance issues it may be so many things that you would have to be more specific.
Welcome back, my friend! Iām sorry for the loss youāve experienced.
Iām thrilled to hear that youāve taken on the role of QA at a VR creative club! Thatās fantastic news!
Let me provide you with some updates on Pimax:
Pimax Client 1.12 primarily focuses on ensuring compatibility with the 4090 Graphics Card and introducing exciting āAdvancedā settings. The great news is that you can still fully enjoy the Pimax Experience on your headset without any issues. Isnāt that wonderful?
Now, letās talk about the Crystal and 12K headsets. They have a similar weight, approximately 960g with the battery. The Crystal operates through battery power, even when tethered to your PC, and can provide a solid six hours of usage. Additionally, you have the convenience of hotswapping the battery when itās low, without any impact on your gameplay experience. The Crystal offers a slightly smaller field of view compared to the 8KX and is currently shipped with 35 PPD lenses.
Fulfilling our dreams is always a wonderful feeling!
By the way, I sincerely hope that one day weāll have the opportunity to collaborate, whether itās during a visit to the UK or the US. That would be amazing!
Wishing you a fantastic day, my friend! Take care and cheers to more exciting adventures ahead!
Hi PimaxQuorra, thank you for the support, itās much appreciated, and for replying back with these answers
Good news on the Experience compatibility - I will install 1.10 and upgrade to 1.11, and go from there. I have a i9900k / 2080 Ti and system performance remains the same for non-VR games, but Pimax VR performance is not behaving so well as before. Iāll look further into it.
Thanks for the detailed info on Crystal and 12K vs 8KX. And the main difference between the Crystal and 12K is expected to be the resolution? I understand standalone mode is not enabled yet on the Crystal (from a video review I saw), is that correct?
When the time comes for an upgrade, I will have to bring up an old issue again - I originally cancelled my Sword controller order and received a discount voucher for the 8KX. I hope the X will be considered at its full value and not discount value, so adding that voucher value back on - otherwise I simply lose that money, and it was quite a lot. I hope that makes sense, are you able to comment on that @PimaxQuorra ? I should have all the original correspondence with Pimax to back that up, if needed.
And yes Iām in the UK, if Pimax showcase at an event I will try to attend and say hi! So far at the events I am involved in the UK and US, we have guides who look after our booths and headsets while I work remotely in our app (as an aviation instructor, for example) - but ofc in this case Iād come in person hehe!
I recommend checking out this article that compares the 12K with Crystal. You may find it interesting. Here is the link: 12K comparison with Crystal
To determine the value of your discount voucher, I suggest opening a support ticket. Our support team will be able to provide you with accurate information and clarify the situation. Unfortunately, I cannot make any promises in this regard.
If we organize any events in the UK, I believed we could have engaging conversations.
Thanks! Iāll check the article and also get in touch with Support.
Re UK - yes for sure, Iāll keep an eye out for announcements.
On the business side, we are now looking at other standalone headsets beyond the Meta ecosystem (and possibly PC tethered ones too), for example we just delivered a medical project on the HTC Vive XR Elite. It wouldnāt ultimately be my decision about headset choices, but I will have some influence and of course I will be happy to show Pimax products to my colleagues
Once the Standalone mode feature becomes available on Crystal, you will have the opportunity to conduct a demo session with your colleagues.
Your colleagues are likely to be amazed by the exceptional clarity of the headset.
2022 was a life changing year for me. My mother was diagnosed with cancer and despite all my efforts, we lost her. I decided to make some changes in my life, and changed career somewhat. I left my previous DevOps role and moved into QA.
). One project has been focused on aviation and engineer training. Was a dream come true to show VTOL VR and DCS World to the teams as part of my job (!!!), and learn from those how to build VR UX and so on.
I hope you are well!