Well, with 10 days left to go and how much the event’s being hyped up, what are everyone’s
Idealistic Hopes:
More Realistic Expectations:
Fears:
For the event?
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HT works 100% with the integrated USB? Did the problem with the 5k+ USB being detected/configured as USB 1.1 get fixed then so that the HT would work? I didn’t see anyone on my thread follow up saying the issue had been fixed, so it would be great if it has now. Would love to get to use it without setting up some extension cords and a way to attach it to the headset.
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Hopes: a new hmd with wireless capability, also wireless add on module for existing hmd’s.
Realistic: a new hmd.
Fears: that nothing interesting will be announced but i doubt that 
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I guess he’s talking about 8kx. I’m pretty sure they don’t care about 5k+ anymore (except for pitool updates because they have no choice).
The announcement is indeed a set of highly significant ones and in the event we will show the technical aspect details and more. Some of this we are saving for CES which should be amazing this year.
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I hope The Pimax Experience will be discussed, IPD update? etc…
PE won’t be discussed at this one, this will be focused on specific items we’ve been working on a long time.
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so lets hope a new great vr headset that we need…
But i have a feeling that only Varjo is coming with a new vr headset…
My guess is an 8KX with integrated hand- & eye-tracking. So nothing truly new as they are offering the same through optional modules today (yet in the case of the eye-tracking not reliably working). I read somewhere that Pimax claim to be offering a headset „generations further“ than the competition. In theory that case could be made: wide FoV, eye-tracking are still absent in most headsets; the native resolution is also ahead of them.
It‘s just that the implementation of these specs has its flaws with Pimax, and I wonder if offering such in an integrated manner will move the needle substantially. Sure, a truly working eye-tracking would be a welcome improvement, but unless we see some real breakthrough on the bridging towards the games to be able to apply DFR with substantial gains in performance, the big question remains, what good does it do at the end of the day.
I am curious what we will learn in the coming two weeks, but I hunch that some of the announcements have been made just to remain in the conversation. It is quite interesting to see that Oculus felt the need to counter the HTC and Varjo announcements/teasers with their prototype tweets though: would that have been done if they were going to announce any significantly improved headset two weeks later ? Don‘t think so. So it could boil down to just Varjo announcing a really interesting product in the coming weeks; what Pimax has to add remains to be seen, but I am not expecting anything overly exciting as pointed out above.
Prognosticating is not for you. 
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Well, I don‘t mind to be proven wrong.
I just hope that if there is more progress than that in the new product, this will be properly QA‘d and works as intended when in the user‘s hands. I saw a shorter portion of the Next Generation podcast yesterday and they observed that Pimax seemingly is releasing a new headset every couple of months while not doing enough to remove the rough edges off their existing ones instead, and creating a confusing product portfolio along the way. In their eyes Pimax should rather focus on one entry level and one high end headset, and polish those until they work with less hassle for the users. While I don‘t necessarily agree on the only two products part, I share the sentiment that Pimax tend to focus too much in adding yet another shiny spec instead of getting the existing line-up up to par with the competition in terms of build-quality, ease of use, etc… To quote the podcast: it seems that every time a new display is released, Pimax grab it and release a new headset with that new display [while not fixing the existing issues on their line of headsets].
And it will be interesting to see if it is a true product release or just a future road map announcement, which may or may not come true; that then would in my book count more as an act to remain in the conversation than anything of true substance. Just like the Oculus tweets; at the end they don‘t mean much, just serve to distract, to take the wind out of the competitions‘ sails…
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Well, if one were to speculate on the word: “frontier” being chosen for more than its: “cool-sounding” quality, its obvious signified implication would be the breaking of new ground, which in turn could be in the technological sense, as well as in the sense of further extended vision ranges.
New devices so far, ever since the 5k+, have all been another sourced display panel (+associated required logic, driver circuitry, and software support), being slapped into the exact same optical setup we’ve had since engineering on it was locked.
So if one were to E.g. imagine new lenses, and, contrary to the whole “breaking new grounds” thing (unless those lenses were to be quite something), them being first tried with an absolute miniumum further effort expended on other things; One could imagine the opposite situation this time around: Same displays and chipset as 8kX, but new lenses, that sacrifice the “large” FOV mode for slightly higher resolution with those same panels. :7 (…with such a sacrifice being guided by current bandwidth restrictions and viewport limitations.)
There would be nothing: “frontier” about that, though - quite the opposite. The rumored: “generations ahead” would imply major advances in every area. :7
I’ll say, though, that as much as I crave full human FOV, I think I’d want medial FOV to be filled out first, before adding more laterally (I.e: More stereo overlap, please). :7
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I agree Pimax have a too big portfolio, only the Artisan and 8KX need to exist in the current lineup in my opinion.
But I understand Pimax strategy also to not polish existing headsets as this is becoming an highly competitive market so you have to move on quickly with innovative products to grab market shares. Instead of put big efforts to solve “small” issues (I think the big majority of the headsets works properly).
Moreover throughout the first “batch” of headsets I hope they have figured out what is important for us and then hopefully they will launch a perfect (or almost) headset.
Let’s see!
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The problem is, these „small“ issues have given Pimax a dubious reputation in the community, and I am not only referring to Youtubers who you could argue may have personal interest conflicting with their judgements. These „small“ issues crop up time and again in Pimax products because they never got resolved while Pimax is re-using them in each of its new products. These „small“ issues hold back a fair number of VR enthusiasts to even seriously consider buying a Pimax headset.
In my view it is not at all a question of investing in an existing, soon to be obsolete product as opposed to investing into an exciting new product. It is much more a question of skipping one new display release on the components market in favour of polishing away the flaws of their current base headset design, and then the next headset could offer both new shiny specs but also reliable performance with little hassle.
Just take the DMAS as a symbol of their approach. The SMAS was poor (not that Oculus knocked it out of the park with their implementation either). The KDMAS was better, but not at the Index level. They could have focused on improving the KDMAS to make it an appropriate aufio solution for a 1,300$ headset. Instead they designed yet another solution with a different approach (no visible earphones, on ear, hovering above the ear) and - from what I have read so far - it has not managed to get level with the Index solution, some even prefer the KDMAS. Lots of efforts, and a number of different products while not one of them manages to get all goodies into one (high, medium, bass, volume). So did that approach really work out well for them ? Imho it didn‘t. They would have been much better off with one MAS which simply performs well.
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I have actually been advocating for frequent spec refreshes since Rift DK1 days, and I stand firmly by that, so I am absolutely not going to fault Pimax for revising their lineup with higher resolution screens as they become available (although I’d see this being in the form of revisions to existing models, rather than swelling the ranks with new ones).
…but about: “small things”…:
So the Valve Index didn’t really have any particularly remarkable specs, even at launch.
What makes it still considered a premium option to this day, is that they made sure to get the fundamentals as close to right as they could. -Does the view project with a realistic degree of geometric verity(TM Risa) into the viewer’s eye? -Does it project onto the retina as clearly and sharply as we can currently make it?
If questions like those are not answered positively, you can have a 256k screen, and it does not matter.
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Indeed, that is the point, even if these small issues don’t immediately make for a good marketing spec, getting your base assets right makes the experience so much better. The Index clearly addressed those well. Although I have to admit that it lost out against the 8KX and G2 in my personal show-off mainly due to the limited resolution - the other two just were one step ahead, and resolution unfortunately is a really really important step. So I sold it off. But I still see a number of VR users favor the Index. If I wasn’t putting so much weight on racing, flight and space sims, I might have preferred the no hassle, all good approach of the Index above the other two.
So, let the coming two weeks tell us what to expect for the near future. If Pimax only have road map, but no product release information, I will take note of it but it wouldn’t stop me from purchasing another headset. Who knows when and in what shape & quality such road map materializes - Pimax haven’t exactly been precise and reliable in living up to their announcements… cough Sword Sense cough
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No matter what the news the competition in the market is good for all of us. We are lucky the tech is hanging on and not going by the wayside as the 3D TV did (which I didn’t buy surprisingly). I’m glad I helped Pimax exist and look forward to any news they want to announce. Although not punctual on their time frames or level of quality we all would hope for, they have delivered. I don’t wont F B to own this industry.
I do want the competition to drive down the cost and force the development of new technology. Cheers to Pimax and their efforts. Although constructive criticism is needed down right bashing them is not needed. If someone can do better lets see it! I would love to see a $500 ultrawide standalone headset without distortions or resolution problems. Until then we depend on the development no matter how small. Maybe the “Pimax Atom” 1000th headset will be it. Until then I’ll take whatever news we can get from behind the scenes that they have been willing to spill to keep everyone on their toes! Kudos
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Agree. I’m tired of the Pimax bashing. They’ve come a long ways in the last year in terms of customer service, and I’ve been very happy with my 8kx. They aren’t perfect, but neither is the competition. It’s time to let it go and look forward. I am very excited to see what comes next from Pimax. It would be great if they could offer some kind of auto IPD adjustment. I saw a really interesting Varjo video that demonstrated real world visuals of the actual cockpit environment while operating in VR. That would be fantastic for racing and flying sims! I’d love to be able to see the physical switches and controls while in VR.
The main thing I hope for is a more plug and play approach. I’m convinced some of the YouTube reviewers’ issues arose from the tweaking process
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Me too. They are far from perfect and the delays are legendary, but their habit of improving specs (original 5K → 5K+) and software updates to improve specs of existing products (8KX 90Hz update) are something no other VR headset producer would ever do (as far as I know).
I’m very pleased with my 8KX, even though I’ve had numerous software update hassles. Mostly, I wish they would do more testing before releasing software updates.
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I would love to see at least one of the following things announced:
4K wireless technology.
144Hz screen @ 4K native.
DP 2.0 support for 2022/2023.
OLED/HDR screen options.
New lens designs.
A compact model that is lighter with smaller FOV.
Equal build quality to competition.
Discount for pre orders/KS backers.
Guarantee of refund if timeline for delivery not met.
Increased links with AMD.
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