This question is about the smaller fov’s.
It basically doesn’t render the edges as much to save bandwidth but does that mean the displays simply show black screen?
And because these are not OLED screens, are those areas grey-ish?
Do they not seem fully black and is it noticeable?
It depends on if u play a dark or light game. In very dark games the black borders will be a bit greyish yes. But in lighter/normal scenes the black borders/edges will look black or almost completely black thanks to a big contrast and limitation in our eyes i guess…
I see. So in a dark game like ED or any horror game where you walk around dark areas, you will be able to see the whole lcd panel?
I wonder how distracting that would be and if custom made shields to insert onto the lenses would help
In the dark horror games you will have infinite fov 
You mean like a dynamic iris lens? That kind of technology you would be paying high end projector pricing 
Lots of effort just to cover the shortcomings of LCD. Probably better for Pimax to lift the bar and use the new OLED’s coming out next year
They need a good product manager who can do the deals
on the 5k+ the black level is rather poor, in very dark scene it felt like there is a “bloom” of white mist everywhere that makes the view blurry. but when it’s not dark scene everything looks clean and clear.
And the fov is really the game changer (comfort changer?), I no longer have to move my head around so much just to see things on the side, this really changes the way I play game.
5 days in on 5k+ I no longer even notice the distortion on normal fov. and also another strange difference i noticed is that, when i was on my vive any framedrops below 90fps i would instantly notice and felt discomfort, but with the pimax when framedrops It still felt smooth and I did’t have the discomfort like I did on vive. I can’t explain this but i am able to spend so much more hours in skyrim then i was ever able to with vive. (i just did a 4 hr session).
But in my honest opinion, if all you play is dark games, 5k+ is not for you.
but if you play a mix of different games, 5k+ is a great hmd and brought back my passion for vr games again.
In small fov the black on the sides are much more noticeable, for normal fov its very hard to notice the black parts on the side. I would say its unnoticeable during gaming. Noticeable only if you roll your eyes all the way to the side, sure you can see it, but its all a blur anyway when you do that and… no one would do that really.
human eyes are not designed to focus when turning the eye all the way to the side.
Nice to hear yours landed in good working order 
Would you be keen for a NZ meetup? I can provide the Odyssey+ for comparison
Well that would be nice but I was just thinking a black paper cut out or something. Simply to turn any side area 100% black when I want it
But wouldnt that be more noticeable and annoying then, from darkish greyish view of the game to the unused lcd screen greyish to sudden pitch black area?
I think I’d rather have the lcd black all the way…
That’s what I was wondering. How bad is it and would it be an improvement
Yeah lucky mine arrived without flaws, only wonky piservice you fix by restarting it in task manager.
(This is actually the fastest way, no need to reboot pc)
Yeah if you like to try out the 5k+ sure
But perhaps abit later as I have some holiday activities lined up.
Temper your expectation tho,
This is pretty much my summary of 5k+
Black is bad when in dark scene. prepare to be in a sea of grey mist in complete dark scene.
Resolution is better than vive but moderately.
Not a huge step. But enough improvement to make your desktop text readable.
EDIT: Actually its quite a bit shaper. I have readjusted my strap which reduced the haze and fresnel rings and much improved the clarity. Turns out the facepad is abit thin for me, i need the lens to be alittle more away from my eyes to get the best clarity
Fov is only appreciated when you dont have it.
Almost no godray but there is fresnel rings.
It is actually good for movies because you can see the whole screen rather than 75% of screen if you dont turn your head.
Sde is reduced to you see a pattern, vs vive you see pattern and pixels.
If I dont have a hmd, I would buy 5k+ no hesitation, if I already own one I would hesitate for the upgrade due to price.
As for user experience, i felt it’s quite good, it’s not bug free and sometimes (not alot) required restarting service or reboot. But same can be said for vive. And it’s out for almost 3 years and still hiccup here and there.
Tracking is no different to a vive.
Distortion is non issue once you adjust your ipd right and use it for few days. I dont see it anymore.