PiTool supports now 120Hz for 5k+ 202 series, BUT it's unusable (the picture is so dark you think the screens are turned off)

https://community.openmr.ai/t/pitool-1-0-1-253-jan-18-2020/25304

The latest pitool added 120 Hz mode to 5k+ Models with a serial number starting with 202, but it’s completely unusable.
I know when it first got introduced, people complained about the image being darker than usual but I doubt it was as bad as it is for the 202 right now.
After switching to 120 Hz I thought it’s bugged and the screens turned off.
I’ve put on the headset and couldn’t see anything.
After around 10 seconds I started seeing something and thought it’s light bleed or the thin housing allowing a fraction of light traveling through the hmd.
But after around 30 seconds my eyes started adapting and I recognized the default SteamVR environment but you can pretty much only see different shades of black right now.
I turned on OBS screen mirror + fpsVR and I could see (on my monitor) that the hmd does run at 120 FPS.
@PimaxQuorra

Edit: a new PiTool + firmware update was released which fixed the problem

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It hasn’t been released yet. 202 will have a firmware/pitool released likely sometime after cny to support 110hz.

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then I’m wondering why they implemented / released this 120 Hz mode with the latest pitool. It just spreads confusion (the 120 Hz mode never showed up so far for 202, until this release)

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I believe others mentioned it in 245 but blank screen.

Non 202 users also have refresh rate issues.

My headset is SN204 and I can only use 90hz. Can you use 65hz? Lucky you, I can’t.

I can select 65hz and I can select 120hz and the headset will restart and Pitool will pretend than my headset has been changed. In 120hz it even forces the smaller 120hz FOV’s on me. But the refresh rate of the headset doesn’t actually change and my games still run at 90fps or at 45fps with motion smoothing on which also isn’t smooth.

Now I’m not suggesting you should not also have the same full functionality I should have but I am saying the issues are not limited to 202 owners. I can also select 120hz, yes I do get an image but I don’t get 120hz and all I get is a new FOV option slightly smaller than Normal in 90hz and framed horribly with partially clipped flat sides.

I fear 202 owners will get 110hz working before I get any option other than 90hz as Pimax who I tagged in my thread have not responded to my simple question even though they have been replying in other threads. So since my question was “can I expect to see a fix anytime soon?” I guess their silence is my answer.

In my case they are aware of the issue as they mentioned in the release notes when 5700 compatibility was finally provided

Amd 5700 Compatibility:

  • Note Only supports max refresh Rate. Lower Refresh rates has display issues.

But as I said, I also don’t get the max refresh rate of 120hz, I only can use 90hz so even the notes were not accurate.

All that said I am happy they released it broken so I can at least partially use my headset. I hope they are working on fixing the issue to get the other refresh rates working. I’m most likely going to have to create a ticket for this as my forum post has remained unanswered as I had expected a fix to have been provided already.

This unfortunately is the con of Pimax ownership and IMO a potential red flag against spending premium dollars on the new Vision series. Premium products need to be backed by premium support. The people at Pimax seem genuine and when they get around to it they seem genuinely interested in doing the right thing and providing a good product but the company seems to be very small and struggling. They seem to be stretching themselves too thin and as an outside observer I can only imagine they have financial issues to need to both focus on all these new products and at outrageous prices. One would hope they would be focussed on making sure their current products function as advertised at least and perhaps one day they will but there does not seem to be the same urgency to fix issues with their existing products as there is to both develop new products and deliver products underdeveloped before the issues are ironed out. And everything on preorder. I can only suspect they are a company that is struggling to keep their head above water.

I was asked to provide an honest review on Amazon and in return I would be provided a protective sleeve.However I am afraid my honest review would be harmful to Pimax. I’ve been trying to wait to post a review until after they provide advertised functionality so my review can be a positive one. At the moment there are some significant positives such as the FOV that I love and think is amazing but there are some major negatives I would have to point out as well that Pimax could fix any day. I’d just like to know if they are working on it and if it is expected soon and even then I could remain more positive.

At the moment I have selectively recommended the Pimax to a few people and said very positive things about it with warnings also about possible issues they could have and the Pimax experience and I tell people who may be interested to research on this forum specifically looking for any issues with particular headsets and any compatibility issues with the hardware they own and the games they play but no one should have to do this for a premium priced product. I also mention that Pimax is more of a project headset, less refined and needs tinkering, may need modifying and most importantly may require an adaptation period. I can imagine this recommendation itself might be enough to turn people off. The last thing many consumers want to do when they are buying the most expensive product of its type on the market is need to work or wait to get it to function correctly.

And yet IMO I don’t want to use any other VR headset outside of the Pimax product line because no one else is offering a comparable FOV. But if another manufacturer released a headset with the same FOV as the Pimax in Normal mode, I imagine I’d switch in a flash and would not look back.

Sorry for the rant. I understand your frustration but it isn’t just you 202 owners who are frustrated.

As for why they released 120hz with issues. I expect it is related to typical Chinese business practices. 120hz is no doubt designed to compete directly with the Index. It is very common for Chinese businesses to act in a way for an immediate gain with no regard to long term loss even if the potential long term loss is much greater. So it is no surprise to me they would release 120hz because they know it works for some people with no regard for the damage it might cause. While we may think that even if they feel the need to release it urgently it would have been better to release 120hz as a partial release with clear notation citing the conditions it will work in and with it not available as an option for others by performing a simple hardware check. And we may think it would be best for them to express their desire to bring this same experience to all users but over a staged rollout. I would think it would be better for them to deliver on advertised functionality before advertising new functionality and also before the new function is working correctly for all users. But as a Westerner we don’t think the same. This is the well known issue that we all potentially face when buying products from China. many companies just don’t have the same business ethics and practices we are familiar with as a minimum standard of conduct. Of course we have typically paid more for better quality and better service locally but in this case we are paying more for something that is unfinished, unrefined and poorly supported. Again the personal support is good when they can help you but offset by situations such as this.

Pimax have expressed a desire to improve. I can only hope they take that commitment more seriously than just words and back it with actions by responding to the feedback and customer concerns. Unfortunately I am not seeing an improvement when my question is being ignored by the reps who are tagged in it.

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Wow , that is the most accurate summary of Pimax & the Pimax experience I have ever read.
You nailed the Pimax customer dilemma really well.

Just like you said, Pimax seems to have the best of intentions, I truly believe they just want to make the best VR products on the market, but they way they do things is nonsensical to most outside of China. (Nathie mentioned this after his tour of Pimax offices)

Think about this, Oculus has a button in their software that allows you to opt in to their beta branch. New features are rolled out and stabalized before becoming final.
And its not like Pimax is the only company to roll out surprise features to customers. Oculus quest was not planned to have the link cable, and when they announced it they sure as hell made sure it would work on 100% Quest models . If link would only work with 99% of quest oculus likely would never have announced the feature at all. John Varmack stated that theortically the Quest panels VAN do 90hz. And a user modded the quest to 90hz easily, bit Ocilus does jist do it bevause it would require recertidication fron the FCC and re-testing. Pimax has no regard for this way of thinking, they just chuck 120hz out the door and say phuck-it.

Your post also nails the Pimax dilemma we as consumers and fans of their product feel.

I like to brag about how awesome my Pimax is to friends , and would never want to be without it. But I would also never recommend it to anyone I cared about. :blush: (It’s so strange I’ve never had a product that was on paper so awesome and I love, but wouldn’t recommend) I consider my self an oddball who accepts the risk of buying such an expensive product because I also have another headset to fallback on should pimax not work with something I want to play. This is NOT a typical scenario.

I remember I went to the Pimax meetup in Toronto to try the headsets and alot of people showed up. I was conversing with a guy who confessed to me that the Pimax would be his first headset , I applauded his courage but warned him not to gauge VR on a whole based on what he was probably about to go through.

Anyway, I recently have been following the uploadVR controversy and I also cringe when the dudes from FReality podcast speak negatively about the Pimax, because alot of the things they say are true, but some things are also NOT true and either misconceptions , or said out of lack of actual research or fact.

I will defend Pimax and I will never apologize for loving my headset. But at the same time, I also acknowledge that Pimax isn’t for everyone and the comany’s support is great when you can get their attention. (which is harder than it should be, which isn’t good.)

I think the Pimax dillemma is that we :heart: their products because there really is nothing else like it but at the same time we hate other things that are clear problems, but we will also defend them if need be.

(Edit) @Virtual I couldnt quite beat your post on word count :rofl:

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Hmm, based on those release notes it doesnt seem worth going through risking bricking my headset for.

All i see is superficial changes tonadd support for more pimax sku’s I will never own.

Is there more to this update like software improvements, distortion profile corrections

stutter fixes, controller remapping for oculus titles
or having the correct game title in the drop down list when trying to find a game to create a custom profile for?

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Still working on them to have better quality release notes.

Like instead of
“Support for Latesr NoloVR sdk”
“Support NoloVR Sdk vX.X”

Same with Oculus support should note Oculus version. Etc…

With having Report Bug subcategory they can use that as a base for detailing bug fixes.

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They should just put releases on their github,
and release notes there

Also github has an “issues” section so we can see issues being resolved as they are created.

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Github would only work if they use it correctly.

Ie with their current release notes issues still wouldn’t be detailed properly.

“Some Bugs resolved” - what bugs are these?

They need to change methodology for a new idea to work and change is often hard. As many want to continue with the familar easy way.

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probably similar to these

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In the post for the new firmware. Wanna bet people without 202 5k+ will attempt to install it, despite the warning?

maybe make the font size 2 sizes bigger for that.

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Good idea as many don’t read things completely. I usually put box furniture instructions aside and treat it as a puzzle til need to reference instructions if needed lol.

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I wonder what would happen though…if if a non 202 hmd installed it… :thinking:

Guessing a bricking case… Maybe best not try and hopefully no one takes the challenge to try.

Now with the P4k and B1 used to have separate Firmware that was not compatible and only resulting in bricking and was fixable. But as said best not to test fate.

Lol, I tried it and it turned into and my 5k+ turned into an 8k+!!:grinning:

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Lol good one. Wonder if my og 8k would morph into an 8kX. :beers::joy::+1::sparkles:

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My 202v screens have a weird pixel flicker at 110Hz so I went back to 90Hz

Lesson to self: don’t buy the first batch :slight_smile:

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Yeah Video cards an CPUs often fall into tjis category as well.

May just need some tweaks for the 110hz mode as was a Alpha release.

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Agreed. Not complaining. It is what it is

I noticed it playing Elite. 90Hz isn’t a problem is slow games that I play

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