In this video I will be comparing the field of view of the Varjo Aero, the Quest 2, and the Pimax 8KX in all FOV modes.
Chart:
All tests were done using the TestHMD tool v1.2
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Om myā¦,That vertical field off view off the aero is far below my treshholdā¦
I also found it too small on the varjo vr3,i can have a lower field off view but it was too muchā¦
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for me its more than fine and I am an fov fanboy 
Due to the edge to edge clarity you dont percieve the fov as beeing small
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Yeah same here. In fact, I tried the FoV mod, the FoV got indeed noticeable bigger but the comfort went from about perfect to uncomfortable, even slightly hurting my face. I felt that comfort was more important than that extra bit of FoV so Iām back to the default foam which is just the best in my opinion on any headset Iāve tried, super comfortable.
So yeah, sure, FoV isnāt all that on the Varjo and if thatās a deal breaker to someone I could of course understand that. But unfortunately even in 2022 the perfect headset still doesnāt exist, they all have disadvantages. And right now the Varjoās are just the best out there in my experience, Iām not using anything else anymore.
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I knew the Pimax potato was larger than all other headsets, Iāve been using it quite a lot for performance hungry titles
I believe the vertical fov is wrong at pimax.
For me and other partner pimax gives us 120. On the other hand, horizontal fov is so similar to your messuares. For me is 160/140/120
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When I measured vertical FOV, the dot above me disappeared early and the bottom dot was still visible for several degrees. I always measure until I can no longer see either dots.
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So after having used my VR3 exclusively for the last few months, today I decided to hook up the 8k-X again. There was a firmware update which failed, but knowing you really canāt break the 8k-X with FW updates, I went against the instructions and just disconnected it, restarted pitool and this time it flashed successfully.
So first thing that hit me: godrays!! Damn!! Even though I remember they were much better than on the Index, man, this is quite a big change coming from the VR3 and not for the good.
Second thing that hit me: the distortion. In my memory the distortion on the VR3 was WAY worse than on the 8kX but now Iāve changed my opinion, maybe because Varjo improved on their profile. Theyāre about the same now. Theyāre different in how the distortion manifests though. On the 8kX it feels much more like described by many before, water running down at the edges of your skimask. While on the VR3 it just feels much more like the image is made out of rubber. But they bothered me about the same. I think the difference might be that on the 8kX, thereās a much wider center part distortion free. But seeing the distortion in your periphery results in that āwater at the edgesā effect. FYI I had the 8kX on ānormalā.
Third thing: colors! Better on the Varjo.
Fourth thing: pixels and SDE!! Damn, not happy going back to seeing those!
Fifth: Mura!! Thereās just none on the VR3. Varjo image quality is just really much better
Sitxth: comfort! Not sure how I forgot, but even after all mods that I did to my 8k-X, it never really got comfortable. While the VR3 really has best comfort Iāve experienced on any headset (I do use the studiocreative head strap though)
Seventh: Eye strain!! Damn! I forgot that that even was a thing in VR! I remember I spent hours/days fine tuning my 8k-X and in my memory I had fixed it, but thatās really not the case. Itās to a point now that I could live with it, but when you come from the VR3, this really is a bummer
Eight: FoV. Ok, this I really missed, thatās for sure! The Pimax FoV is really a relief when coming back from the Varjo.
Ninth: Sweetspot! Haha I totally had forgotten about sweet spots. Adjusting your headset on your head because the image gets fuzzy. On the VR3 thereās no such thing. Edge to edge clear image.
All in all, quickly switched back to the VR3. Itās interesting how things can be different in your memory. Iāve been defending the 8k-X on the Varjo discord a few times, but man ā¦ I just canāt do that anymore. The VR3 is really a way better headset, by quite a lead ā¦
FYI: I do have one of the earliest 8k-Xās out there. Itās been speculated that along the way, Pimax silently upgraded the panels on the newer versions, not sure if thatās true, itās never been confirmed or denied by Pimax, but itās possible that on newer 8k-Xās some things have changed for the better. I think @john2910 seems to think so at least.
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The comfort of the Varjo is calling to meā¦
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72 vertical is brutal honestly,for 2400 euro i dont care how much clear it is thats looking trough a test tube lol,i was stalking the discord and as soon as someone gets it they ask about the extreme distortions some even in the middle,soo many disadvantages.
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thats the thing , you dont percieve the fov as if looking trough a tube
really?at 72 you should constantly see the lower black edge,its way too small for the price,i actually had it preordered but cancelled after i saw person after person getting their package and one hour later coming back to ask about the severe distortions on such a small fov for 2400 euro its unacceptable to me,i wanted to see how the SDE is on 35 ppd,but for that might as well gamble with the cheap arpara 5k,mrtv didnt mention any distortion on that just low brightness but also oled blacks,wich i dont mind,so might as well save 2k for something that might come out in the future.
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I was also sceptical but I was wrong . You should have kept your preorder . The Aero is the best hardware that Iāve experienced so far !
Its the first VR Hmd that is really fun to use and like I said the Fov is bigger than G2 , Vive pro 2 ( the perceived fov) . I never think of the fov when I am wearing that headset. And I am a Pimax large fov Fanboy . That says it all
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Iāve followed the aero feedback closely and to be fair thereās more people who have said its edge distorsion only and that they have to look for it and because of that it doesnāt really bother them. Yes thereās been several who have made more severe complaints, but lets not forget that those who are unhappy are often the most vocal. One discord user who was having a terrible time with distorsions and was letting everyone know, he just wasnāt wearing the headset properly.
I canāt wait to get my aero (hopefully early feb) to see what the fuss is about with distorsions. It seems some people were expecting none; did they not watch all the varjo youtube vids which practically all mention distorsion before ordering? I did and Iām expecting edge distorsion. If its more than that then it will be returned.
Edit: yeah ive just watched mrtv through the lens aero vid again, thereās literally no distorsion although i know there will be on the periphery where he hasnt filmed. Look for yourself:
As some people donāt trust well known youtuber vids to be impartial, hereās a vid (theres more on his youtube channel) by a normal aero customer:
I see no distorsion (yes thereās peripheral distorsion which we dont see here).
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These vids donāt help much Iām afraid, since the camera position relative to the lens doesnāt change. Itās only when that changes away from the center (when your irises move) when youāll notice distortion.
Thereās almost nobody in the Varjo discord who hasnāt seen any distortion at all. Pretty much everybody sees it. Of course, like said, thereās differences in how they see them or how much they bother them. But distortion obviously is a downside of the current Varjo headsets. In my personal experience itās even THE biggest downside. The small FoV really doesnāt bother me that much. Sure, I wish it was bigger but because of the edge to edge clarity Iām ok with it.
That being said, itās still my favorite headset, even by quite some lead. Is it worth $2400? Thatās highly personal of course and everybody needs to decide on their own.
without a doubt
and this is my point. everybody sees the edge distorsion, but some say they see distorsion throughout the whole or large parts of the fov (it all or mostly āwarpsā etc). its this that i just dont get. surely this warping would show to some extent in through the lens vids? none of the well known youtubers comment on this phenomena. if my aero warps where i look normally i.e. straight ahead and/or slightly to the sides then itāll be returned. i donāt think i could get used to that. edge distortion then yeah np.
Yeah thatās very interesting the least. If pretty much all users report it and none of the well known youtubers ā¦ then whatās going wrong? You tell me. Honestly Iāve grown skeptical of ALL youtubers these days. Then again, I think Sebastian touched upon the subject? But in his perception, the distortion update pretty much fixed it. Again, could be the case of course since weāve seen reports from users who also feel thereās not a lot of distortion going on anymore. But for me itās very far from fixed unfortunately.
I think that one factor is that our brains like to play tricks on us. When you look at the center of the image and then move your head only slighly up/down, you (or at least I) clearly notice distortions. As youāre watching the center and you see the distortions, you think itās the center but itās actually the periphery that distorts. So a cam that only records the center, wonāt show that effect. That being said, the center also slightly distorts but itās only very very lightly.
But not all users report distortion away from the periphery.
I think Seb mentioned ābarrel distortionā once in that vid above and i think yeah he said it was fixed or much improved. I think heād mention such distortion issues more prominentlyā¦heās not been shy in telling us the downsides of other hmdās like Arpara and 8KX.
I guess its just one of those things than I can only make a true assessment of when I receive the headset. I just hope Iām not disappointed. Distortion apart from peripheral is not something I will accept. Itād remind of a Vorpxād game with a bad profile, I have no tolerance for it.
Like I tried to explain, it can be hard to pinpoint the location of the distortion. You look at the center, you see distortion but itās not in the center itself (well there is some but itās very fine). So two users seeing the same thing might result in 1 saying āitās in the centerā (because thatās where they look) and the other āits in the periphery onlyā
And then again, it also really depends on the game you play. If there are long lines, your brain picks up on it much easier. Also if you in general just look ahead (like beat saber) you wonāt notice them that much. If you play HL:A, where you look around a lot, youāll see them much easier.