Pimax 5k+ first impressions (sjefdeklerk)

So here’s the thing and why some people don’t see it:
It is because it depends of the content, most content tend to focus gaze away from the ground or area were these issue are not super distracting, they will not impact you as much.
You will “feel them” and the VR excitement will compensate (for a certain time…)

But so if you know what to look for with en educated gaze… it’s there.

This is the reason I did test only in my content (To this day, this is not true anymore, as I launched a few games and another variety of content), so I notice immediately the difference.

Once again, it also depends of user “physical configuration” (Their IPD, eyes, face features etc…) So some will be more impacted than others.

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But the 4k issues weré too big… The ghosting is unacceptable… I dont think the 5k+ problems are like this, you can adapt yo them st least

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can you try dolphinVR with metriod prime.

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For sure. I think the Pimax 4k has far worse issue’s than the Pimax 5k has. The fact alone that you can’t buy any good controller for the Pimax 4k makes it not a serious contender of the big guys. And then indeed add the horrible ghosting … No the Pimax 5k+ doesn’t have issue’s THAT serious, I totally agree. Like said, I really enjoy playing Skyrim on it already, more than on my Vive Pro! But on the other hand, I’m sure that the big guys would never release a product in this state. I’m sure that when Valve/HTC/Facebook/Samsung will release a next gen product, then it will be geometrically distorted correctly, the software will be easier to use, no obvious design flaws like the audio plug, no weird rendering quirks at the edges, no big ring of blur at the edges etc. If Pimax can fix most of that, then they have a real grown up product that easily blows ALL competition out of the water. And it’s doable, I’m sure of that. But the question is if Pimax sees that too.

I wonder what Ben from RoadToVR would say right now if he would do a review in its current state. I’m afraid it wouldn’t be too good, much like Olivier’s review I think.

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You know, before receiving the 5k+ I really had a hard time figuring out how it would be. I’d read quite a few different opinions, some not so good, like the ones from @OlivierJT , Tom’s hardware (@pumcy), and Oscar. And then some pretty/real good like the ones from @Sweviver and @mixedrealityTV. And I just couldn’t really figure out what to think of that, who was right? But now I totally understand it! They were all right! From a technical point of view there’s quite a bit left to be desired. My first reaction was quite a bit disappointment when I first put on the HMD, mostly because I immediately felt something was just not right and then quickly saw it was because of objects being horizontally stretched when nearing the edges (incorrect distortion). And of course the big ring of blur immediately was in my face, just like that rendering problem where objects just pop in/out your peripheral vision. I found it so disturbing at first sight that I really didn’t understand why MRTV gave it such a good review.

But then, after playing some games, it all started to grow on me and for the first time I REALLY enjoyed Skyrim, it’s just so much more fun to play on the 5k+! So yes, I understand now, all those reviews I had read were correct, but it’s really how you look at it: there are a lot technical issue’s that are just ‘not right’, but playing games is just FUN!

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the geo distortion issue happens with my lenovo explorer . For example in creed rise to glory. And there are other games that happened the same. This problem canot be because the games where not directed made for pimax ? And in some games will happen and other will not? So more a software problem than hardware

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I personally suspect it’s because the lenses are so big that iris position starts to matter. A year ago we had a technical discussion here regarding rendering and lens design and I think this is exactly the problem, like I described it back then in this post: https://community.openmr.ai/t/110-degrees-fov-stretched-to-200-degrees-edit-all-the-games-render-in-a-native-wide-fov-through-the-engine/3024/155?u=sjefdeklerk

Which would imply one would need eye tracking and then apply distortion profiles based on your iris position. The StarVR One does exactly that and according to all reviews, there’s no distortion problem there at all.

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But hapened with lenovo explorer and the lens are small. But yes eye tracking can help. Can be a software problem that can only be fixed with eye tracking

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Ah in that case it’s most likely just an incorrect distortion profile. If you’d do the “vive lens mod”, where you put GearVR lenses in your Vive, you’ll see the exact same problem. That’s why people then apply the new distortion parameters and then everything is normal again. But supposedly Pimax already has optimum distortion parameters in place.

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Truth They haven’t in a way released it yet. Save an early adopter phase. But granted we need to see where things are at once pre-orders start to ship.

We are the pilgrims that with time and good fortune hopefully they will have it ready by then with our feedback and input. Remember at this time the software is not considered in release ready state.

But they have made significant gains since the m1 testing and the early m2 release reviews. Early testing the 980ti was more or less a complete no go. But recent trials have shown it is doable now. (True not enough to put back in the min spec)

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Great that you got it now @Sjef! Glad that you can enjoy it as well. Agreed, it has technical flaws but the joy of playing is fantastic. It is quite funny to go back to the small FOV headsets once you got used to the huge FOV, would you agree?

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Im happy to hear this man! You are right on spot, there are issues and there are things that needs to be corrected but overall the experience is much better and more fun and immersive, no matter what :slight_smile:

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It is, there’s simply no way I’d go back to play Skyrim on the Vive pro!

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Indeed Illusionists create wonderful seemingly real effects. While trickery quite enjoyable.

Pimax stated that wide fov comes with it’s own compromises but that doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable. It’s just not perfect much like gen1 headsets are not perfect. In gen1 we had to change how we use our eyes. While wide fov fixes this somewhat it’s not perfect either. But is much better than having to keep eyes straight and move the head only.

So maybe the distortion profile is not yet perfect. Its playable but not perfect. The question is if will be possible to fix even with eye tracking.

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Software is like the art. Often it is never truly finished and can always use touch ups to make it better.

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Don’t forget this real detailed review:

It’s from the Prototype, but you’ll see that many conclusion they have are similar to mine.
I found out about that review after I wrote my (non detailed) one.
Just put it in Chrome with Google translate, the translation is not too bad. (Keep the Spanish version open on the side to compare, if you can understand a little Spanish like I do)

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Yeah the one from Oscar, I mentioned it above. And again, I totally agree to what he and you have said. It’s correct. But I also realize that playing games is really fun. So I also understand the reviews from sweviver and mrtv. It just depends from what angle you look at it.

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@mixedrealityTV , @SweViver
Hello! A million dollar question! :smile:

  1. Tell me the last time, is it worth going to 8K for a smaller SDE instead of 5K +?
    Just @Sjef sometimes compares SDE 5K + with VivePro, and for me this is not a very good point.

  2. Can I get SDE on 5K + comparable to lenovo Explorer, Oculus GO? Or is it the Vive Pro/Odyssey level?

  3. And what is the level of SDE at 8K?
    Is it at 3840x2160 also at the same level as 5K + 2560x1440 and the difference is minimal?

  4. What headset will match SDE 8K: lenovo Explorer, Oculus GO?

I think many will be grateful for the answers to these questions. Thanks.

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If you expect an SDE free HMD, then you’ll be disappointed with the Vive Pro, with the 5k+ and, from what I understood, also from the 8k. The only HMD’s that so far are ‘near sde free’ seem to be the pimax 4k and the Odyssey+. However, at least in my personal opinion, the SDE on both Vive Pro and 5k+ are so small that they’re not an issue. Of course everybody is different and some might feel different here. But again, I think most have said that even on the 8k you’ll see SDE. Oh and keep in mind that there might not be such thing as ‘better’, not 0 or 1, but ‘better in certain scenario’s or colors’. I strongly feel that applies when comparing the 5k+ and Vive Pro in terms of SDE

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