I finally got the chance to test the replacement unit of the StarVR One. Note: I got Face foams of various thickness. They did make differences on the image.
The biggest problem with the first unit was the ‘Mura’. The image always looks as if dirt or sand was over the image. The new unit fixes that and now i have a clear image and it does make a big difference. The image (perceivable) resolution also looks higher than the first unit. It felt like quite liberating.
FOV:
The FOV also looks more impressive now. Just knowing that you can look around and not being plagued by the Mura really added the sense of presence. I mentioned I got various face foams. Since I am 59 IPD according to the StarVR One unit, I used the thickest foam. Surprisingly did help mitigate a bit of the blurring issue I hade before. Did it completely fixed it, no but it doesn’t bother.
For the older people here. Think it like this, in the late 1980’s many arcade games used RGB monitors. ‘Some’ those monitors had an ability to add an element of blurring that help the low resolution graphics of many games. You can see this when trying to play emulated ‘Mame’ games. You will realize that those games are very pixelated but on those monitors they looks less pixelated and overall looked great. The StarVR One sort of feels like that. It almost feels arcade like to a degree.
Colors:
The Colors, Holy sheeet!!! Just wow! Now I can see the really colors and they are beautiful! After comparing it to the Pimax XR, the colors really standout. A good title that shows the vibrancy of the colors id ‘Pistol wip’ and boy those colors really pop!!! Like previously stated, it just feels more immersive as a whole. The other Title was The Blu Encounters with the Whale. The FOV is just mesmerizing. The image looked very good and not pixelated. The screen door is not very noticeable, certainly better than the XR.
Resolution:
Now that I don’t have the Mura problem it is easier to see the image resolve power. Even though I don’t have the ideal IPD for the Unit, but with the thicker foam and lack of Mura I can say that the image is closer a Samsung Odyssey Plus. It is better than the old Oculus Rift. It is not as sharp as the O+ however but it certainly feels much better than the first Gen headsets.
Drawbacks:
Chromatic Aberration is a problem and quite noticeable at times. All headsets have Chroma Aberration to a degree. The HP G2 and Microsoft have made headway to minimize it via software. StarVR should try do the same. However, part of the problem for me is that I am not on the sweet spot of the lenses due to not having manual adjusting display to match my natural IPD. This will bring Chroma Aberration more pronounce than to others of ideal IPD.
Vs Pimax
Comparing it to the Pimax XR (Oled). The StarVR is better than the XR unit, in that the display are brighter and therefore the colors pop more. The screen door is less also.
Comparing it to the 8k X, well my X still in the box and I have yet to test it for the first time. I will write some thoughts after I hook it up.
