Proximity sensor

Pimax 8K Series
21

I can confirm the proximity sensors are gone on my pledged 5K+ and 8K… dont ask me why :thinking:

6 Likes
22

Now that’s a silly thing to back paddle on.

Even a lowly gearvr has proximity sensor…

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23

Have you noticed any other downgrades/ Improvements compared to the M2s?

3 Likes
24

@Matthew.Xu Can you please tell us why there is no proximity sensor? This needs to be present for the longevity of the LCD screens.

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25

So the headsets that are being sent to backers aren’t the same specs as the ones that the testers reviewed? Just when I thought things were looking up .

5 Likes
26

Absence of a proximity sensor is not a big deal to me as long as there is another reliable method for detecting inactivity and powering down the screens. (Such as a period of time with no motion in the headset, and hopefully it isn’t too sensitive). Nothing magical about a proximity sensor, it’s the result we want not the sensor itself.

4 Likes
27

It’s the fortune cookie model full of surprises :wink:

1 Like
28

I’m more agreeing with this than the majority of other opinions here. Motion sensors can fill the same purpose as the proximity sensor, for sure. The main issue I see with it too is that the screens (backlight) should go OFF, not into “screensaver” mode. At least we need an option in PiTool to configure it to do this. In the meantime it would be a good habit to hit the Standby button every time, I guess.

3 Likes
29

I find it is stupid decision to remove this sensor, esp. on a premium HMD like that.

Proximity sensor has the advantages of being instant and not being prone to false positive.
Using motion sensor instead might not provide the same quality for the sleep mode and pause features.

You will have to tweak the sensitivity so that it doesn’t go out of sleep due to accidental HMD movements, and then if sensivity is tweaked too low you may end with sleep mode being activated while you are using the HMD.

You may then add time factor to prevent that but then it won’t be instant as could be done with a proximity sensor (= no instant pause when removing the HMD). And even with time factor added I could still imagine the HMD could go into sleep mode while your are using it (like when watching a movie and not moving your head so much).

Bad decision imho, and really bad that pimax has done this secretly after organizing reviews with HMDs equiped with a proximity sensor…

4 Likes
30

I’m with You. Kind of a #1stWorldProblem, which there seems to be a lot of in these forums… :wink:

I’m looking forward to receiving the best headset (for the price) sometime next year (pre-order).

1 Like
31

Dears,
Please be patient. I will give you a satisfactory explanation. Thank you

7 Likes
32

LCDs don’t get burn in…

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33

Did the 8k ever had a proximity sensor? I don’t remember seeing one on the 8k v2 I tried at CEATEC 2017. I remember seeing a usb-c connector where my Vive has the sensor.

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34

Yes, but the LEDs providing the backlighting will dim with age (usage). You do NOT want to leave them on, all the time.

1 Like
35

You’re right that I don’t want them to be on all the time, but not because of the lifetime of LEDs.

Those things can do years of continues use before a noticeable drop (assuming they are good quality).

For reference, here is a brightness chart of some LED over time (hours)

2 Likes
36

I just think they should at least have warned the backers they were going to take off the proximity sensor… i just hope that are not other things that they take out or reduce like the quality of plastic material, screens or lens. or the dust/sweat protections between lens and screens for example.

1 Like
37

My guess is that the IR-based proximity sensor conflicts with the eye tracking modules anyway, so for that, cost cutting, and alternative solutions being available, they decided to remove it.
For what it’s worth, I believe XTAL and StarVR One do not have a proximity sensor either.
Doesn’t really bother me. I plan on turning it on/off manually like I do with everything else.

5 Likes
38

That could very well be. In addition the eye tracking would also be able to detect if you are using the pimax or not. I also agree that it does not bother me much.

39

well if the eye tracking really do that, so its understandable they cut. But we need the answer from pimax. when the eye tracking will be available. how they will insert in the headset in a way that dont harm the glasses users without using the vr frame lenses.

40

I would much rather have a proximity sensor than some software trying to determine whether or not the headset is being worn.

As an example, a few years back Nvidia released a new driver for their video cards. Unfortunately, someone had mistakenly changed the coding for the cooling fan profile in such a way that the software allowed the fan to completely turn off even while the card was under full load. As a result, some people actually found their video cards being damaged or even outright destroyed by overheating. AMD cards had their minimum fan speed set in the hardware which could not be overridden by software. A proximity sensor is a foolproof hardware method for the HMD to know if it is being worn or not. Software has to guess.

Pimax, unless you have some concrete reason why you’re eliminating the proximity sensor (and not just to save a few cents per unit), please put it back.

2 Likes