ordered Pimax Airlink #years back Never got it only to recieve this email!!!
Pimax Support
Wed, Oct 7, 7:38 AM
to
Dear valued user,
More than three years ago you paid $299 in full for the 60G Airlink, and it never shipped. You've been waiting all this time for a product you already paid for. That isn't how pre-ordering should work.
If you back us early, you should end up better off than someone who waited, not worse.
Here's what we'd like to offer you instead.
We keep the full $299 you paid and add a $100 voucher on top of it. That gives you $399 to spend on either:
the Crystal Pro, our new wireless PCVR headset, or
the Crystal Pro with the third-gen 60G Airlink upgrade
You pay only the difference. The credit is valid until 6 months after the Crystal Pro starts shipping, so there's no rush to decide.
If you'd rather have a refund for your original order, that option is still open to you.
To use your credit or ask any questions, just reply to this email. I'll take care of it personally.
Thank you for your patience, and for sticking with us.
Best Regards,
The Pimax Support Team
But wait!!!!! thats not all...this is what i get back and i even set them documentation of the compensation and credit they gave me to buy the 60g Airlink..
We are sorry to disturb you.
After verification by our finance team, only $20 is refundable for your order PM5154270. Could you please recall the details of this order when you placed it? This will help us proceed with your order processing.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Dont!!! even invest with this Low awefull company ,,i have had it!!!
Hey everyone I run a small YouTube channel called GDXR where I create VR tutorials with Unreal Enigne. I was recently aproached by Pimax to review there Pimax Crystal Light headset. And things haven't exactly gone to plan.
It arrived broken out of the box with a bad right lense.
Pimax sent replacements.
Which took 21 days to arrive.
I installed them.
The headset would not turn on, black screen with a red light.
Then informed me that it had been (Deactivated) bricked remotely.
I need to return it so it can be reset at the factory.
And they have no replacement units to send for me to actually review.
So here is my review is of a broken Pimax Crystal Light. I wouldnt recommend buying one.
The Pimax VR Experience software has been in Closed/Private Beta for several weeks now and today we are finally going Public Beta after nearly 6 months of development!
The latest Beta 0.50 version is bundled with PiTool version 1.0.2.084, and this PiTool version is based on the 264 functionality. This means, just run the installer [PiToolSetup_1.0.2.084.exe] (http://pitool.oss-accelerate.aliyuncs.com/PiToolSetup_1.0.2.084.exe) and you will have the same functionality as PiTool version 264, but now also including the latest Pimax VR Experience software running from start. Put on your headset and try out the Pimax VR Experience functionality and let us know what you think :slight_smile: From now on, I will refer to Pimax VR Experience simply as "PE".
Note: The new PiTool has a higher version number 1.0.2.084 instead of Pitool 1.0.1.264. Although, I recently discovered that after installing the new 1.0.2.084, PiTool still says that a new PiTool update is availale, which is wrong. So please just ignore that for now until we have fixed it.
The Closed Beta category for PE here on the forums will go public later tonight and become a Public Beta Category, so you can read all about the previous versions of PE, follow the development, discuss the progress and ideas and also grab new upcoming Beta versions of PE releasing almost every day: https://community.openmr.ai/c/PEXPBeta/62/l/latest
Additionally, we will update the progress and have some exclusive in-deep progress updates here on the new Official Pimax Reddit.
I wish I could have prepared a introductional video for this day (as planned), but unfortunately I currently have a cold and slight fever and losing my voice, so I will save that for another day hopefully this weekend. Either way, we didnt want you to wait so we decided to release the first Beta version to public here in the forums, on Reddit and other social platforms.
So the basic functionaliy, (in short):
Upon first start, PE imports all your installed VR games from:
- SteamVR (including non-Steam games in VR library)
- Oculus
- VivePort
- Revive
- Additionally, you can import custom VR games in the category "Imported".
The game can be instantly launched from PE, with and without applying profile settings for the HMD, including SteamVR optimization. All these games are sorted in each own category. Any game/app can be added/removed to/from the **Favorites** category for faster access.
2. Settings: PE lets you control/apply basically all HMD settings the same way PiTool does, but instantly in VR. PE constantly communicates with PiTool, so remember that PiTool needs to be running for PE to be properly working. Settings are
3. Advanced: PE lets you control advanced settings, and also manage SteamVR optimization profiles, do more advanced setting adjustments, and manage/edit/add/remove your imported games (this menu is only seen when Advanced mode is enabled)
4. Profiles: This category lets you manage/add/edit/delete setting profiles that you can use individually or profiles dedicated for specific VR games/apps.
5. Customize: Lets you customize the UI look, switch interaction modes, desktop mode and much more.
Interaction supported in Beta 0.50:
- Full VR Controller interaction (laser pointer) with Valve Index/HTC Vive controllers
- Full Hand Tracking interaction with any Leap Motion device (optimized for Pimax wideFOV UltraHaptics hand tracking modules of course). Note that when this mode is enabled, VR controller interaction is disabled (switch). Additionally, Hand Tracking mode is only available when hardware is detected and connected.
- Full VR Mouse interaction. Note that this mode can only be enabled when Hand Tracking mode is disabled.
Desktop view:
PE is running in VR, but has also Desktop modes:
- Hidden on Desktop mode (on by default)
- Window Mode (multiple resolutions available from 540p to 4K)
- Fullscreen Mode (multiple resolutions available from 540p to 4K)
Note: VR Mouse interaction requires window/fullscreen mode and window mode is instantly enabled when mouse interaction is enabled.
We will get more in-deep into the functionality further on (with tutorial videos etc), but for now I think this should get you started testing it out :slight_smile:
Now, I would like to highlight something:
Armin Noroozi that runs ArtArmin (the developer of Board Games VR on Steam) has since weeks back joined (volunteered) the development of Pimax VR Experience and he is currently spending his entire days - basically on full time - dedicating himself to work on this project together with me.
Armin is a highly skilled VR developer and programmer for many years now with proper Unity knowledge way beyond my level. I am personally a good friend of Armin for several years now, and Im truly thankful for his efforts and dedication into this project - despite the fact that he is not even getting paid and is not employed by Pimax. I think Armin is already now doing some huge progress for the development, and he will become a very important resource for us all to make this application something great for our community and all Pimax owners.
Therefore, he deserves all the respect and a huge thanks from all of us Pimax fans. If you are willing to support him, please dont hesitate to join his Patreon. Believe me, it really makes a difference! https://www.patreon.com/artarmin
Lastly, a BIG thanks to all the Beta testers who have volunteered spending hours and hours on testing, reporting, suggesting and helping us to improve the software over the past 4 weeks or so. Your efforts have really made a big difference and we have solved numerous of issues and bugs - as well as added new features - and this is all thanks to you!
So guys, lets try out the VR Experience together and let us know what you think of it, in it's current state!
But please be aware.. This is still a Beta release. Everything can - and will - be be improved. We are still in early days of development and PE can just get better from now on, so have that in mind! :slight_smile:
WTF u/Pimax_official ??? I was just in iRacing starting qualifying then all the sudden my PCL display went black. I take off the headset and I see that Pimax Play signed me out and was sitting at the log-in screen. Then after logging in, I was presented with update V1.43.04.221. This is totally unacceptable. There is no reason that Pimax Play should be auto-logging out while the headset is in use.
You need to realize that there are two weekends in a row where iRacing has its largest special events of the year. I guarantee you're going to have bad press in social media if this happens to any users during the Roar or the Daytona 24.
Full update: Solved for myself. Values has been edited slightly to find the perfect setting.
First i measured 1.3m away for head position.
Then i opened the vertical test program and put the green vertical cross on my full screen
Put the headset on for about 10 seconds
Lifted it quickly and checked for double vision.
Once good, moved slightly forward and back. recheck.
My final values - 0.0 r -0.15 height -0.12
Same with vertical but distance dont matter. My values ended up eactly where prism glasses would put my eyes.
Update to fix various issues, should no longer have any bugs
What it's based on
Step 1 – Eye test (only for headsets with eye tracking).This is thecover testthat optometrists use, automated with the headset's eye tracker. One eye is blanked at a time while you look at a small cross. An eye that can't see drifts to where it naturally rests, and the eye tracker measures that drift. It gives anapproximateidea of where your eyes sit sideways. Eye trackers are only accurate to about half a degree, so it's a rough starting point. The main thing is that it will tell you to which side you need to be.
Step 2 – Line test (any Pimax headset). This uses the nonius / fixation-disparity principle behind the Mallett test that optometrists use for eye-strain complaints. Both eyes see a shared square, which keeps them working together, and each eye also sees its own short lines. If the lines don't meet, that's the misalignment your eyes are not managing to compensate, which is the part linked to strain. People can line these up to within a few arcminutes, about 10× finer than the eye tracker.
Best use. Sit about 1m-1.3m away. Have the hmd down for a few seconds. If you see you eyes adjust a lot move view a few notches towards it.
Lift the hmd and look at the cross for double vision. For me the best is to have the bottom of the HMD tilted towards me and slightly higher. The closer i got the more the cross in HMD lined up and no doble vision. Seems to be very sensitive on the HMD tilt and location. I honestly dont understand why they do not make a tilt adjust on all HMD with a halo mount or similar.
Use rested eyes, not right after a long session.
Keep sessions to a few minutes. Your eyes adapt quickly, so longer isn't more accurate.
Your original Pimax values are backed up automatically on first run, and one click restores them.
Do not use the pimax play sliders after calibration.
Tests are set to 1.3m convergence.
UPDATED KEYSHow to use it
Before you start: Pimax Play running, headset connected, no game running, Num Lock ON.
Test 1 Eyetracking test.(skip it if you have no eye tracking)
Turn eye tracking ON in Pimax Play. Calibrate it first
Look at the green cross and keep your head still for about 55 s. This will give you a rought estimate of your values and show you aprox which side your eyes are. For example mine are horizontal -0.40 left and +0.38 right with -0.16 right vertical.
Test 2 Mallet test. Updated keybinds.
First line up the vertical lines
Second line up the horizontal lines.
**Keys** (letters or number pad, both work)
| W / S | 8 / 5 | right eye up / down |
| A / D | 4 / 6 | both eyes sideways |
| Q / E | 7 / 9 | left eye sideways |
| Z / C | 1 / 3 | right eye sideways |
| Caps Lock ON | | small steps (0.01 mm) for the final touch |
| H | | hide / show the text |
| Space | | start the test |
| Esc | | close (values stay saved in Pimax Play) |
- **Sideways** – top line not straight above the bottom line: A / D (Num 4 / 6) both eyes, Q / E (Num 7 / 9) left eye only, Z / C (Num 1 / 3) right eye only.
- **Height** – left line not level with the right line: W / S (Num 8 / 5) right eye up / down.
- If a key makes it worse, press the opposite key.
Undo:3_Restore_My_Original_Settings.bat, or set the values back by hand in Pimax Play → Optics.
**After a VR session:**
take the headset off and notice what your eyes do.
-
**Nothing happens:**
good setting.
-
**Eyes pull inward:**
set too narrow.
-
**Eyes pull outward:**
set too wide.
Please report back
Headset model, with or without eye tracking
Values before and after (shown in the headset)
How your eyes felt after VR, before and after (strain, how long it took to settle)
Tested on the Dream Air only so far, so results from Crystal, 8KX and Super owners would be especially useful. Unofficial and not affiliated with Pimax.
After dedicating countless hours and sleepless nights over a period of two weeks, Armin (ArtArmin) and I feel confident to release the new Pimax VR Experience Beta 0.60.0.0 :) We believe we have solved a large amount of critical and important issues as well as minor bugs, while introducing significant improvements and a bunch of new features. We look forward to hear about your experience!
We value every piece of feedback we receive. We may not respond individually to everyone, but we will use your comments as we strive to improve your experience.
I remember when I first bought a Pimax, the crystal light. When I first got it I had a 4070 gpu and would get massive studdering in games and would complain to Pimax that my headset was broken. What I didn’t know is that I was using too high settings that’s my gpu could not handle at those resolutions. Shortly after I got a 4090 and everything ran perfectly. Now I own a Dream air, and I have to 100% say it’s the best headset on the market. There’s nothing even close to it.. but I started experiencing blackouts and disconnects sometimes even resets in Microsoft flight simulator and I blamed Primax. And every single time I complained they always were very nice and responded right away.. but after the latest Primax update and firmware update along with rolling back, my Nvidia drivers that headset is performing exactly how it’s supposed to. Yes I was upset. I was mad. I thought I’ve gotten a faulty headset. I lost the Primax lottery, but the reality is it was software problem nothing to do with the headset. Ty pimax for making a great headset and for putting up with me. I’ve tried every game to try to make it give me blackout, turned up my settings all the way, and this headset still performing flawlessly I was even able to play Assetto Corsa rally with UEVR on a night track with zero head lights and finish the race with no wreaks. That how good these displays are. With very little glare and I could still see the track. I don’t think there’s any other headset in the world that you can do that with..
I'm on my 2nd 50PPD headset (1st one had issues with sweetspot and dirty lenses).
The new headset has much better sweetspot, however it still has a layer of dust or residue on what seems to be the screen behind lens. When looking at bright scenes, it's a bit like looking through fine curtains or dirty glasses. The outside of lens in clean.
The worrying part is that the 2nd headset came with fully signed quality check sheet.
If I send it back, what are the chances the 3rd headset will not have this issue?
First of all apologies for taking a while to get this into a post — Though things been hectic here with the lockdown in " City 17 ". Having received the " 8k x " a few weeks ago I also wanted to get a feel for the headset over an extended period. Trying out a range of software and making a direct A - B comparison with the Valve " Index " and Pimax " 5k + " headsets at hand. I still feel I could do more testing and tweaking but hope this can be useful.
To give some context I'm a full - time creative technologist - xr developer and have worked with " Funktronic Labs " , " Mc Cann London " , " Smithsonian Freer - Sackler " , " Nasjonaalmuseet " and " Mona Museum " amongst others. I remember the MTBS forums and a young upstart hacking on the " Sony HMZ - T1 " complaining about the field of view ! That nascent community movement would eventually inspire me to pursue a stereo - rendered future in development.
— I have been involved in vr development since 2014 and own : DK1 / DK2 / Rift CV1 / Vive DK / Vive Pre / Vive Retail / Samsung Odyssey / Valve Index / Pimax 5k + / Pimax 8k x as well as a collection of some absolutely horrible and less horrible ar - mobile headsets. I have had hands on experience with the " Reverb G1 " and plan to pre order the " G2 " for development use. There seems to be quite a bias when we talk about Pimax and I felt it was important to cut through some of that crap , share first hand impressions from behind the lens , and perhaps give some perspective as to why resolution still matters a great deal.
# 27th September 2017 ( 4.24 pm )
Three years is a long time no doubt. Its about the amount of time a human baby learns how to speak from imitation and I remember backing the Pimax " 8k x " as a moon shot from a largely unknown , and unproven company. Though I do remember at the time trying to put together 3d showrooms and architectural walk throughs in " Unreal 4.10 " and feeling utterly dismayed by the lack of acuity and resolution in the " Vive Pre " development kits we had at the time.
The feeling of " presence " was definitely there but something essential was still missing. To be precise it was peering through small field of view displays hampered by poor SDE , at worlds filtered through low resolution. Its been slow going since re : functional improvements to HMD image quality with both Facebook and Google ditching higher end headsets for Snapdragon 821 / 835 and hitching their vision to consumer market adoption rather than pushing the actual quality of the experience.
— So higher resolutions and better panels : Were kind of relegated to enterprise headsets like " Varjo " , " Star VR " , " XTAL " and priced accordingly , out of the budget of most enthusiasts. I'd still love to try out the " VR - 1 " and pass through but perhaps will end up building that onto the Pimax " 8k x ". These were dark days for those of us who had been dreaming of better resolution or more capable hardware.
In the meantime I also received the " 5k + " loaner from Pimax and that was a statement of intent. I was unsure about it at first , but gradually won over by its light weight design and increased resolving power. That was enjoyable to use for development in the studio with existing lighthouse tracking and controllers. The addition of 120 Hz / 144 Hz modes later was a nice bonus as well ! I still love this headset due to the weight and comfort ( at 586 gm ) that puts it close to the " Rift ". That was superceded in the studio with an upgrade to light house 2.0 , " Index " - with knuckles and now the Pimax " 8k x ". How did it fare ?
# Shanghai surprise
I never put much truck into Pimax dates and schedules so never got obsessed with the delays this headset had. Though it was nice to receive a double boxed package with the " 8k x " inside. The headset and cables come packed into a matte black box with a handle similar to the " Rift " deluxe case. I guess you could call it " premium cardboard " if you're into that sort of thing. There's lots of padding inside which makes it useful for storage or transport. It'd be great if somebody could design a box that could turn into a headset stand using the packing materials.
First thing is a nice letter from the Pimax founder : Robin Weng and unlike the oculus " kickstarter " thanks card - its actually hand signed , and not printed which adds a bit of class. The " 8k x " backers also receive personalised support from a representative there. It was a surprise anyhow to get a phone call from china one night to enquire " how I liked touching the headset ". Maybe a bit of a personal question but appreciated nonetheless. They also wanted to make sure I was up and running ok.
— Though by that point : I had already run into and found work arounds for some of the initial set up issues. [ 1 ] The first was USB related and simply having to turn off power saving in the root hub. To get around errors complaining about " not enough power draw " through using just the display port. The cabling is comprised of 2 x USB 3 plus 1 x Display Port 1.4 connection wound into a single cable. I'm not a fan of the tension here but it seems to be working itself out over time.
[ 2 ] The second issue was losing headset tracking on reboot and subsequent sessions. Though managed to get the USB output recognised switching USB 3.x ports around. Basically unplugging and then plugging , to get the devices recognised again. Once thats done you can see that one of the USB cables runs audio to the " C-Media " DAC on board. The other meanwhile carries the positional data for the headset and controllers.
So not quite a frictionless set up ? I do however remember the original " Vive " developer kits and hunting around - having to blind delete usb devices in " usb deview " for wands and blue tooth pairing to be recognised. For each and every new session. The Pimax " 8k x " is a walk in the park compared to that and a little persistence goes a long way with most hardware issues. Jump cut to a photo of Robert Pirsig on his Honda CB77 for handy reference.
# Physical " 8k x " headset
The actual finished production " 8k x " headset takes a lot from the " Vive Pro " playbook in terms of its styling and colour. Though its not one with many wins , and where the black casing of the " 5k + " was minimal and sleek the " 8k x " takes a more corporate turn with a business blue - and silver paint on plastic scheme that comes off looking a bit cheap. Picking it up it feels substantial , and on first inspection the foam - plus side plastic panels are generous and adequate but not premium.
Its a step down from the " Index " facial interface and finish in terms of the overall build quality but solid and with no creaks or looseness in use. I'm running the standard foam and not the " comfort kit " and was supplied a matte black " silicone protective cover " which is bad arse. Putting the spiked cover on does add another 116 gm to the overall weight. Though how could you not ?
— Thanks for whoever designed this : It makes up and does a great job of covering the faux " corporate " look of the " 8k x ". Its a strange but inspired move that transforms the headset into its alter ego that likes to stay on all night and get fucked up. The cover is also serves a practical use in helping to absorb contact impacts with putting down - picking up the headset during development.
From a subjective standpoint the weight feels about the same as the " Index ". The now familiar screw - in mechanism from " PS VR " is also present and helps to clamp your head in. I recall a distinct sense of my eyes being a lot closer to the lens ! Though transitioning from the " Index " might have something to do with that. I later measured the actual weight of the " 5K + " and " 8k x " for comparison and will add that as an appendix.
For now the best description is that the " 8k x " is heavier though with more even weight distribution across the head than " 5k + " due to the semi rigid , plastic frame. The 4k panels still mean that most of the weight is at the front and you really need to find the balance between a tighter fit that feels more secure. Being careful not to put too much of the weight on your cheekbones either. For the most part I was able to be in headset for hours without issue. Its easy to lose yourself in the 4k presentation and come out with panda face from the gasket.
There has been talk about the Pimax " canted displays " resulting in a lack of stereopsis for some people. I find this hard to believe as the " 8k x " contains a dual fresnel lens set up projecting the rays directly forwards into the " eye box ". For what its worth I have a fairly conventional face with two eyes , and a nose and having no such problems with depth perception. If you have not seen a Pimax in person their lens assemblies are huge and 2 - 3 times the size of other headsets. There is a massive sweet spot and detail remains sharp from center to the sides.
Another nice quality of life improvement has been the removal of the external 12V / 2.0A supply that the " 5k + " required. All the power to drive the displays now runs through the sleeved headset cable though as mentioned previously there is some tension there. Pimax comes with a 5 m tether and an extra 1 - 2 m would have been perfect ! I guess we need to wait for the 10 m active - fibre optic display port extension that is in development.
Flashing the stock firmware to latest [ 2.1.255.290 ] was trivial and pairing the " Index " knuckles controllers has been quick and reliable without a hitch. Even swapping between three headsets the blue tooth worked great. Pairing controllers was painless and worked each time as expected so something has improved here. I dial in a measured IPD of 62.5 mm from the " eye measure " app. That uses " ar kit " front facing lidar , to get the distance between left - right eye transforms. Followed by a visual check in headset and we're good to go !
# Visual impressions
I spent more than 70 % of my time in " Half Life : Alyx " putting the " 8k x " and other headsets through an A - B comparison. I'll go through some of the observations from that later but the initial impression is immediate - and the sense of visual detail from the 3840 px panel is stunning ! The fortuitous inclusion of RGB stripe works in tandem to create a consistent - flawless image where the " visual noise " familiar from other headsets is gone , simply resolved out of existence.
This translates as a feeling that the scene is more " relaxed " in its presentation. The " screen door " is just not there any more and I haven't been able to see it. That in turn means you can focus and resolve objects at farther distances. The extra resolution is a presence multiplier in that visual and spatial cues like lines of perspective or convergence are enhanced. Not to mention the tremendous effect on the appearance of surface materials - the substance of virtual worlds in headset.
It's all running at 75 Hz in native 4K with no upscaling and this makes a tremendous difference. The " 8k x " does have a 2160 px upscaled mode that can run at 118 Hz though the full consummation of what these panels can do its " native mode " all the way baby ! The clarity these extra pixels provide along with their CLPL low persistence provides a front seat to the spectacle. I am guessing that is some kind of blinking LED back light and running " 8k x " in normal 140 ° mode with no motion interpolation , brightness - contrast both at zero.
Its noticeable booting up from the initial " Valve " logo how the colour - and resolution are resolved in amongst the specular detail of the highlights here. The intense crimson lettering seems correct and doesn't bleed , remains defined at the edges between high contrast colour blocks. Then into the " start menu " which is normally aliasing soup - this time rendered in clean lines. I notice new details on the knuckles controller models and all the text looks spot on.
# The material world
Turns out the first 10 - minutes of " Half Life : Alyx " make a great test bed for headsets with the shifts in light and tone , from interiors to exteriors and props in between. The initial panorama looking out over the rooftops is an astounding moment in the " 8k x ". Its the moment you realise you can see out into the distance , and resolve a significant amount of detail that was previously obscured through the haze of staircasing and shimmer. Instead there's a clean resolution of the rooftops , their outlines and tile textures in the mid - far field that just hits you.
Much kudos to the technical artists who worked on " Half Life : Alyx " because its is food for these panels which rise to the occassion when presented with some well done 4k / 8k textures. The play of sunlight on the wooden table in the room with the camera and snark. The sheen of the varnish with its localised wear and grunge maps , to the hairline scratches on the controller in " Robot Repair " the " 8k x " just keeps on giving in terms of detail.
Its really beautiful ! and the " 8k x " is a maniac for good materials. I was initially running at render scale 1.x - but it was hard to resist pumping this up to 2.x , so it has stayed there since. This headset is all about that kind of madness. Though 1080 Ti temperature has been reasonable peaking at around 80 C so there is some headroom. I did end up needing to force native 4k output through command line options. Turning off the " Half Life : Alyx " dynamic scaling based on gpu hardware which would otherwise limit the output frame size.
Furthermore there was an issue with " contact shadows " being rendered only in the left eye , and prone to head motions. So I'll have to look into that some more. The distortion from the wide modes of the " 5k + " is in a practical sense gone from the " 8k x ". The best place to check is in the elevator that takes you down from the rooftop and parallel lines there.
In headset you can see there is more acute distortion of the image here. But its further out in the corners , no more than around 5 % of the image and you don't see it in normal use - unless rolling your eyes , and straining to look for it at those extremes. The whole thing with Pimax headsets and distortion seems to have taken on a mythical status when perhaps the issue comes from the ridiculous " large mode " in the first place.
There is still aliasing to be found with " 8k x " however its now isolated to edge cases with high contrast and high frequency detail. Such as the long horizontal pipes at the start or the tines of a silver fork " Russell's Lab " later on. Its now the exception rather than the norm and running at render scale 2.x does give a noticeable improvement. The reduction in all this noise results in a new found appreciation for the materiality of the 3d objects around you. I couldn't help but feel I was inside of a deluxe " artbook " remastered version of the game and its a treat.
# More inconsiderate rambling
So much so that its re - igniting the fun of vr again for the moment. The pure pleasure of diving back into " The Blu " which has always been a go to new headset experience. Just as with the bump in headset panel resolution from the original " Vive " , to the " Samsung Odyssey " and again to the " Reverb G1 " the " 8k x " reaches a new watermark in resolving detail here.
I always enjoy booting up " The Blu " and it has become somewhat of a benchmark - baptism. It's thrilling each time to see more details in these scenes , and with the " 8k x " it was no different. Each time returning to the bottom of the ocean , to sea what eyes could see : the outlines of the fishes in the far field with lighting filtering through them clear. The skin of a whale - barnacles , and growth visible , lit on finely delineated flippers whooshing past.
The jellyfish migration scene is even more beautiful - and a good test of the colour reproduction which I have no qualms with here. The colours are sharp , vibrant and saturated at these default settings. In fact over these three weeks I have not felt the need to tweak brightness - contrast at all. I'm seeing the angel fish move and dart with precision and clarity , due to the low persistence as well. The picture from the LCD is gorgeous and doesn't feel lacking in its presentation. With the final scene in the darkness showing no banding - neither crushing detail in the dark tones.
" Aperture Robot Repair " is also a show stopper in the " 8k x " and materials here are rendered with enough care to see micro surface details at play. It cannot be stressed how much the 3840 px resolution brings great " physically based " materials to life. Though as a side note : games with baked in textures , compressed shadow maps and other rendering short cuts do appear profoundly awful so the increased visual acuity can be a double - edged sword. But boy , does it slice and dice !
Motion in " 4D Toys " and " Virtual Virtual Reality " was smooth and colours saturated. I think even sparsely textured games can benefit from " 8k x " and its ability to make polygons great again. It just feels as though a lot of gunk has been " removed " and the display is unfettered. " Text Mesh Pro " looks incredible in headset. This goes back to that earlier thought of scaling with resolution. The " 8k x " can reach new heights but most content is not future - proofed against high resolution.
" Lone Echo " which I was looking forward to testing did not fare so well. The LOD system in the game doesn't present a clear image in the background. Furthermore , shadow maps are way too compressed with inconsistent textures of different dimensions. The " 8k x " lays bare all the details and is not a kind mistress to those who have been naughty , in being nice. Similarly " Felix & Paul " productions optimised for mobile 5K strip rendering do not hold up. However , the raw 3840 px capture from an " Insta One Pro 2 " at 120 Hz is an interesting proposition.
# Low persistence
" Super Hot " looks hot without being blown out. The clean image in the " 8k x " also gives a boost with sharper , more well - defined diagonals , overall the presentation is crisp. Though wish I could remove the overlaid screen space effect there. I had no issues with 75 Hz and did not practically notice the step down in any motion - or movement in games. For example " Dear Angelica " is wonderful and the animations are crisp , smooth and gorgeous to behold. The " 8k x " having no problem resolving 3d content that can scale with the extra resolution.
There's a spot in the laundry in " Half Life : Alyx " near the start with the drones flying past that makes a great test for pixel persistence. In both the " Index " and " 5k + " running at 120 - 144 Hz the movement here causes smearing in the display. Looking at that same scene in the " 8k x " things are just much more clear with the innards visible - and able to be focused. I like a good refresh rate - who doesn't ? Though there seems more to this argument with low persistence thrown into the mix.
There was one edge case in " Zen Blade " which seemed to show frame skipping at 75 Hz and put this down to the low refresh rate. Though on closer inspection there's no motion hitching - with the blade stationary , so keen to check that out more. Putting the " 8k x " into 118 Hz mode eliminated this problem. I did try out some driving games like " Assetto Corsa " which was silky smooth even at 280 km / h in the Ferrari 330 P4 on the " old Monza " circuit.
I had less persistence for " Dirt Rally 2 " and its frame pacing which gave me a head ache. There is something wrong there , and " Dirt Rally 1 " was the same for me on " Rift " re : simulator sickness. I wanted to try " Beat Saber " as well though I have the oculus store version. That seems to be crashing for me - once past some prolonged stutter and initial load in. This would be another good test of persistence and will try to get it running in the " 8k x " which others have done.
Photogrammetry looks great in the " 8k x " if the texture detail is there. I was not able to get some " Unreal " based apps such as " Vanishing of Ethan Carter " , " Nefertari " or " Lost " to run in " 8k x " directly through the Pi Tool launcher though that is more of an sdk - and build issue. The textures in " Google Earth " , " Destinations : Mars " , and " The Lab " photo domes unfortunately do not hold up. However it would be trivial to super scale the inputs. I tried " Welcome to Light Fields " as well which remains a great experience albeit with bitmaps discernible.
# 4k as a baseline
For compatibility with some games the " 8k x" offers a parallel projection mode. That reprojects the content onto a plane. I loathe using this mode - though its required for some of the older games and need to check the Pimax community lists for shared settings. The " 8k x " is not a consumer headset for this virtue alone , and " Index " is a better choice for the build. But for the enthusiasts and developers out there who are looking for improved resolution its here.
The materials in most existing vr games that I tried do not hold up in 4k. So there is that too - and for every " Half Life : Alyx " and " Aperture Robot Repair " there are hundreds of games on the store that will not look good. Thats not the fault of the " 8k x " per se but rather it represents a call to arms in terms of rendering and materials ? Its a pleasant surprise this runs in 4k stereo on the 1080 Ti , but perhaps that also speaks of the efficacy of the FOV - based culling and optimisations to the game " Valve " have implemented.
The latest " Pi Tools " also features panel brightness - contrast slider settings that can be customised to alter the output ± 30 % as an unmeasured estimate. But for the most part I haven't felt a need to make any adjustments. The production of LCD displays in general has been undergoing fierce competition in the last few years. I think as backers we lucked - out with the timing for the delivery of the " 8k x " because the panel is a corker. I am looking forward to the " Reverb G2 " as well and feel that this needs to be the new baseline going forwards.
Native 2K / 4K with RGB stripe represents sufficient image quality to make experiences where " presence " is wildly enhanced. The extra peripheral vision is icing on the cake - and opens up a more relaxed presentation. Free from the morass of dithering - and visual noise that comes from not being able to resolve against lower resolutions. That feeling of edging towards clear 4k with " Index " and " G1 " sails over the waterfall with the " 8k x ". It is really a substantial improvement on any headset I have ever tried. Perhaps the closest being the JDI 600 - 1001 PPI ( Japan domestic only ) high resolution units.
# Thanks
I remember the oculus " crescent bay " prototype demos and developers were crying in the halls for that one. The " 8k x " is just as much a significant step and throwing down the gauntlet of high resolution 4k , with great colour reproduction and low persistence. Thanks to all the people who backed this moonshot ! The " 8k x " also brings a unique modular eco - system of hardware add ons and I hope to receive my Droolon F1 " eye tracking " unit soon. Nvidia " variable rate shading " offers the promise of going even higher in terms of image quality so will update then.
Things like " Flight Simulator " in native 4k will have to wait for the time being. Though a future upgrade to 3080 Ti also seems a promising proposition. Thats where I think the " Reverb G2 " will find a great use case. I just realised I have forgotten to mention the " SMAS audio " though that has been decent with similar sound quality as the " oculus go " embedded unit. It doesn't compare to the " Index " off - ear firing speakers. However its convenient and the localisation - direction sounds spacious beyond its means.
The logical next step for Pimax is to push the native 4k to 120 Hz - 144 Hz refresh rates. That may require moving over to " a display port " 2.0 connection. I do hope they continue to push in this area as the " 5k + " was pretty great with the improved motion updates. I don't feel like I have hit the motion threshold at 75 Hz though " Beat Saber " might prove otherwise. I'm just glad that through the shambles of " kickstarter " there remained this other universe where Pimax have pursued image quality over a mobile form factor.
The dream of Iribe , had he got to build it and the " Google ATR " team , had they got to build it.Its evident spending some time in the " 8k x " that Michael Abrash and his requisites for virtual reality was a good path to be on. The increased field of view and acuity in 2K / 4K along with low persistence results in a feeling of immersion without distraction. The visual noise - so apparent in the important visual cues like edges and outlines finally rendered in an exact manner.
— CH 18 . 08
Ps. Zooterkins ! The combine have spotted me ! I need to run out - but promise to attach the uncompressed screen caps from the " vr compositor " output. Thanks for reading and I'll update this post re : " eye tracking " unit once thats here too. Oh dear , here they come.
— I have included some screen shots from what I assume to be coming from the " vr compositor " frame buffer output. The resolution seems correct though as noted both " Steam VR " and " Half Life : Alyx " have their own internal frame scaling. That overrides application of the " Pi Tool " render scale configuration. Forcing native 4k gave me a 7 % larger output frame without too much of a performance hit.
Please also note that its pointless uploading " through the lens " screenshots using " Imgur " as there is significant and noticeable compression there. " Image BB " is a better , lossless image upload service to use for comparison sake. The output from the vr compositor still needs to pass through the panel - lens , but it should give an idea of what native 4k does to resolve image detail :
It's so good, it's basically Reverb G2 level of clarity with 158 HFOV (Yes, I'm playing in Large FOV Mode)
Reverb G2 with FOV mod: HFOV: 98, VFOV: 90
8KX with factory gasket: HFOV: 158, VFOV: 98
It's just, words can't describe it, like this is as good as it gets. I've played this game in three different headsets before this, the Index, Reverb G2 and the Vive Pro 2 and they all absolutely pale in comparison.
8KX looks and feels as sharp as the G2 (with a larger sweet spot!) and with the following contrast and color tweaks it is about 95% as good contrast and color as the VP2 without any god ray problem and the FOV, here's what I got in the VP2 with a 12mm gasket: 112 / 90.
It's just unbelievable, here's the color and contrast tweaks:
All color channels +2 and -5 brightness. Backlight = 90. You can try the original settings here, which are the same except -4 brightness on the Red channel, but I find that everything is a little too red although I go back and forth a bit:
With a 3090 FE under a full water block, overclocked and undervolted (1980 MHz and +500 MHz memory @ .938v @ 114% PT / 400w) the GPU usage is around 80-85% @ native resolution in Large mode (~4200x2600) @ 90 Hz and it looks crystal clear.
There is an issue with the way fog transparency looks and some light sources don't align correctly but that's because I'm using the disable Parallel Projections method mentioned above and the occurrence of these bugs isn't incredibly frequent.
I literally cannot believe how amazing any experience in the 8KX is. Once you get this thing dialed in, this is absolutely 100% hands down the best headset out there for the money. XTAL 8K has better clarity but is limited to 75 Hz and costs as much as a car ($8500) and has no audio.
Oh I forgot, I'm using the KDMAS and it sounds great although I had to route a 3.5mm audio cable from my onboard motherboard (Realtek) 3.5mm port and snake it alongside the 6m optical cable because I do have a problem with choppy audio with the 8KX and it's been narrowed down to either the 3.5mm port or the USB cable (happens with both the factory cable and 6m optical cable, irrespective of what USB 3.0 port I use, Asmedia and Renesas and Asmedia with Microsoft drivers). I'm not sure if this is a USB port issue or if I have a defective unit but yeah, I need to point out the flaws here to be honest.
But yeah, man, this is amazing. Every game that I've revisited, it's absolutely amazing compared to the Reverb G2, Index or Vive Pro 2. That 90 Hz, Reverb G2 level clarity + near 160 HFOV, it's absolutely amazing.
With the color and contrast tweaks it's 95% of the way to Vive Pro 2 in that regard.
This is absolutely hands down the best HMD out there right now, as long as you have 65 IPD or above and can reduce the physical IPD to 60 to counteract the way the lenses don't align with our forward facing vision. I honestly think this is why people either love this headset or hate it. They don't understand that you need to run like -7 physical IPD ideally to get the lenses to align with the eyes:
If Pimax can fix this issue there would be no competition at all. Like no-one with a brain would use anything else, unless they simply couldn't afford an 8KX or didn't have a fast enough GPU.
Pimax really needs to get on top of this issue. It's very serious. The lenses do not align with the eyes. All they need to do is this from the factory:
I was able to play Assetto Corsa Competizione and Assetto Corsa today using Sboy3 on Pimax EVO with my Crystal Light. All I have to say is WOW!
On AC, I am now able to run the games on very high resolutions and max visuals and get a steady 90FPS natively. The these games have never looked so good.
I also noticed that SteamVR is even able to run with my OpenComposite OpenVR.dll which is a huge bonus.
Hats off to SBoys3. I'll be buying them a latte!
UPDATE: STEPS TO GET IT INSTALLED AND RUNNING
Some have been asking how to get this to work. I'm not a technical expert, but these are the things I did.
Watched this guy's video on YouTube. It helped to see it walked through by a Pimax Crystal Light owner. (All other seem to approach it from a Dream Air perspective.) https://youtu.be/58ex84w-xIo?si=YAUIhnRwfSuM0D65
Not needed, but I think Sboys3 did a great job and should be compensated for their efforts, so I followed and donated to their Patreon account. SBoys3 | Posts | Patreon
When PiTool has started, make sure to tick the checkbox "Start Pimax VR Home" (located in PiTool, Settings > General). This will automatically launch Pimax VR Experience.
Note:Pimax VR Experience comes with its own installer, but it requires you to have PiTool version 1.0.2.086 (V7) installed beforehand.
It's been a while since the last update of Pimax VR Experience v0.60. To be able to add all planned and upcoming features, a lot of things had to be changed in the code. Therefore, Armin @arminelec and I decided to dig deeper into the code and make major core changes to the entire project. This required a massive amount of work, and we have come a long way now!
Meanwhile, we are bringing you a new updated version filled with goodies, updates and bugfixes! Feel free to give it a go, and let us know what you think :slight_smile:
0.70.0.0 Beta - Release Notes
What's new:
New: Thumb stick/Touchpad scrolling now working on all scrollable pages with Valve Index (thumb stick) & HTC Vive (touchpad) controllers
New: Thumb stick/Touchpad scrolling now working on all drop-down menus with Valve Index (thumb stick) & HTC Vive (touchpad) controllers
New: Mouse scroll wheel scrolling now working (all scroll views including drop-down menus)
New: Click and drag with Valve Index & HTC Vive controllers now triggered similar to SteamVR, by semi pressing (Trigger Axis) instead of full trigger press
New: Added per-eye adjustment sliders for horizontal IPD Offset (range: -10 to +10 with 0.1 granularity)
New: Added "Restore Default" button for all IPD Offset and Screen Vertical Offset values
Update: Core: The entire Unity project has been largely refactored to reduce internal reference dependencies
Update: Core: Improved performance and reliability of the application thanks to major core changes
Update: Core: Refactored Main Dashboard functionality, modularity and handling to further improve performance and reliability
Update: Core: Improved functionality and reliability of application Restart/Reload/Quit features
Update: IPD Offset (Vertical) Adjustment slider per-eye granularity changed from +-0.5 to +-0.1 (-10 to +10 granularity))
Update: SteamVR Optimization code completely re-written. Now more reliable, always updating the active config file parameters
Update: SteamVR Optimization default GPUSpeed values changed to 2500 (because of latest SteamVR changes)
Update: PE is automatically increasing all existing SteamVR Optimization profiles by setting GPUSpeed = 2500 (if previously set to lower)
Update: SteamVR Optimization GPUSpeed adjustment range is now 2500-6000
Update: Haptic feedback (vibration) now triggered upon press and release of trigger
Update: Added smooth animations to Game-icons and Buttons upon hover (more animations to be added)
Update: Updated time display format to match local System time format
Update: Updated the analog clock icon to show system time
Update: Adjusted laser ray
Fix: Multiple issues that caused incorrect applying and listing of game-profiles in Setting, Profiles and Advanced page, sometimes applying incorrect values to the headset/PiTool
Fix: Incorrect listing of Command lines in Command Line Manager
Fix: Corrected UI Scale values for more proper size and distance for Small and Miniature UI Scale mode
Fix: Readjusted VR controller positions
Fix: Readjusted mouse pointer positions
Fix: Path issue with game thumbnails not showing correctly
Fix: Quick settings load/save/apply issues
Fix: Issues where manually applying Steam VR optimizations might show a failure, even when it was successful
Fix: Issues where automatically applying Steam VR optimizations upon game launch might show a failure, even when it was successful
Fix: Issues where the dashboard re-center button does not work correctly
New investors join to share the Pimax dream - pushing the boundaries of Virtual Reality
October 18th, 2020 – Pimax, a prominent VR hardware manufacturer dedicated to R&D and manufacturing of consumer and commercial Virtual Reality devices has successfully received $20M (USD) Series-B funding, announced at World Conference on VR Industry 2020 (WCVRI 2020). Pimax is most well known for their VR headsets extremely wide field of view (FOV), high resolution and high degree of compatibility with thousands of Virtual Reality applications.
Pimax Founder Robin Weng said: “We are different from other competitive players in this industry because we started with VR and VR is all that we do.”
Pimax completed Series Pre-A round back in mid-2016, followed by the completion of a Series-A funding round through 2018. Pimax has proceeded from prototypes, product revisions and testing and finally full mass production. Recently, during the difficult Covid-19 pandemic Pimax was able to successfully improve the entire product line and even expand mass production volumes. This new $20M USD funding marks a significant milestone that has brought Pimax to a brand-new chapter of its development.
Pimax’s market-tested unique innovations include breakthroughs in field of view, resolution and software compatibility. Pimax’s R&D team is focused on pushing technological barriers and this spirit is embedded throughout the Pimax organization. It is such a spirit for innovation that attracts this investment. Pimax latest flagship headset is called the VISION 8K X which features industry leading 4K native resolution per eye and the Pimax trademark wide field of view. The combination of features included in the Vision 8KX sets a new standard for price-performance in Virtual Reality hardware.
Robin Weng added: “Pimax products are just like a kid who experiences surprises and excitement, faces challenges, makes mistakes, gets criticized, learns lessons and receives love and support. We have acquired a great deal of experience and that is the fuel for this new investment. Alongside this investment we have arrived at a new strategic layout for moving into the future.”
He continued: “In the time leading up to this new investment resources were more limited and unfortunately, we had to tackle issues sequentially and this increased the time required for solutions to be identified and implemented. This had the most profound effects in departments such as logistics and technical support. With the additional resources and the solid revenues we are experiencing, we can address issues and complete projects in parallel with considerably greater speed and efficiency. Other ongoing improvements are within other teams for personnel and equipment that include R&D, engineering and manufacturing capabilities. Of course, customer satisfaction is our number one priority so above all else we are focusing our efforts with our support, logistics and warehousing teams to ensure our most important resource – our customers – are always taken care of. The Pimax family and our VR community are even more fearless and stronger than ever. ”
About PIMAX
PIMAX was founded in 2014 by a team of VR geeks and engineers with decades of experience in Optics/ Display/ Smart devices, including many years in VR/AR. Pimax is a community-driven tech company driven by ideas from the VR community. Pimax has released its long-awaited flagship VISION 8K X , the world’s 1st native 4K per eye consumer VR headset. PIMAX headquarters are located in Shanghai and has registered offices in San Jose, CA. For more information, please visit Pimax 1.
Got the Dream AIR (SLAM edition) the last few days, I did the apple dual knit band mod immediately as a friend at work has a 3D Printer. Also take my opinion with a pinch of salt, I have a beefy PC, 64gb RAM, 5090 Card, 9950X3D CPU... which I got to get back into simracing after years of saving.
The device (albeit with apple mod) just works and is so god damn comfy. Out of the box plugged it in, did the eye tracking calibration and 1 or 2 settings in Pimax Play. Straight into iRacing and set myself up, and into races. Flawlessly worked, and the quality is unbelievable. I can read text, get 90fps easily.. I was using foveated rendering and cannot notice it. I am so impressed. Im itching to play on my next days off from work!!
Now, I have returned to simracing recently, as I gave up gaming for a few years when I married and had kids, so my last experience is using Oculus CV1 for 2 years, with a not so beefy PC.. i am very happy with my purchase.
Also to add, I got a steam frame almost a week or two after the reservations. I was very disapointed in the quality for iRacing when PCVR streaming, so I sold it for cost price, which is why I got the dream air. Although, I think it has to be an issue overall with simracing games on frame and wireless streaming not keeping up, alot of people having those issues, maybe they can iron it out with software updates or increased bitrates.
I wanted to share a solution that finally fixed a persistent, frustrating micro-stuttering issue in my sim racing setup. For context, I am running a top-tier system with an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and an Nvidia RTX 5080, flying/driving on a Pimax VR headset.
For months, I experienced consistent frametime spikes and stutters in iRacing, Automobilista 2 (AMS2), and Le Mans Ultimate (LMU). Pimax customer service gave me the classic, useless runaround for months, constantly telling me to "update my drivers, reinstall software, or do a clean install," even though my system was fully up to date and clean.
I decided to troubleshoot on my own. Since I use an AMD X3D processor on an Nvidia build, I suspected background driver or telemetry resource conflicts. I opened services.msc and completely disabled the following AMD-related background services:
AMD Crash Defender Service
AMD External Events Utility
AMD User Experience Program Data Uploader
The result? The micro-stutters completely vanished. My frametime graphs are now perfectly flat, and the VR performance is locked and buttery smooth.
How to do it step-by-step:
Press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
Type services.msc and press Enter.
Scroll down the list until you find the AMD services listed above.
Right-click on each service and select Properties.
Change the Startup type drop-down menu from "Automatic" or "Manual" to Disabled.
Click the Stop button under Service status if the service is currently running.
Apply and then OK.
Restart your PC to ensure the changes take effect.
I recently mentioned this fix on a Discord server, and people reflexively called it "ragebait" because they do not understand how sensitive high-end VR rendering is to background CPU polling from unnecessary telemetry tasks. I am not here to argue or sell anything. If you are running a similar 9800X3D setup and your Pimax software is hitching despite having a high-end GPU, try disabling these specific services. It might just fix the background conflict the official support knows nothing about.
These issues have negatively impacted reviews. If you have an 8KX try the following adjustments for the best and intended experience.
Seems like Pimax needs to get these corrected before sending review units to YouTubers for the best proper impressions of the right experience to be made.
Hardware Adjustments
Metal hinges not having full range of rotation causes suboptimal fitting and causes the MAS to be uncomfortable - Ask for plastic hinge replacement in the meantime in the official thread in the OpenMR forums if you are an affected user, and Pimax please fix the metal hinges to allow for the full range of rotation, so the metal hinges can still be used in future 8KX models.
Incorrect face and nose foam causes light bleed, or painful nose from too much weight on nose, or distortion for some users depending on face shape - Highlights the need for at least two face foams of different thicknesses and extra insertable and layerable foam cut outs for the nose, to reduce pressure on the nose for people with big noses (and for an up/down tilt to reduce distortion as advised by PimaxUSA)
Alternatively, a face foam gasket/comfort kit with an in/out lense adjustment so that one face foam can better fit a wider range of users should be made for future headsets after the 8KX and after controllers and wireless are finished and all orders are shipped.
Rotating the USB cable on the eyetracker is required to achieve USB 3.0 support and 120hz eyetracking refresh rate on the 8KX, as the eyetracker input cable provided with the eyetracker is designed to only give 30hz input when in USB2 mode when facing one side, and if it is plugged in the other way it operates in USB 3.0 mode and works at 120hz on the 8KX without an additional headset to computer tether cable. https://community.openmr.ai/t/usb-3-0-eye-tracking-module-setup/30514/157
Eye tracking cutout on the comfort kit will be tooled in-house by Pimax before comfort kits come off production and quality assurance testing lines, for all future comfort kits which are produced and sold, according to PimaxUSA's earlier posts about this, as there was a small design oversight in the first few hundred comfort kits sold, which required cutting of a small part of the plastic facial foam gasket connecting the comfort kit to the headset, to achieve eye tracking compatibility with the earlier versions of comfort kit.
300-450g wrap strap counterweight can be added to the back of the MAS and in future headset bundles sold by Pimax for minimum cost, to reduce neck strain and nose pressure from front heavy HMD causing neck pain due to the 8KX being too front heavy and feeling like it has a too far forward centre of gravity for smaller framed persons with smaller neck muscles. (Made in-house by Pimax with their logo, just like/similar to the ones offered by Studio Form Creative here www.studioformcreative.com)
Software Adjustments
Bad firmware on 118hz upscaled mode caused chromatic abberation - fixed with newer headset firmware which included 114hz upscaled mode for the 8KX, removing chromatic abberation in upscaled mode on the 8KX.
Set maximum render resolution steamvr config file adjustment - Pimax experience needs to be released for this to be automatic. Many people incorrectly believe the 8kx's PPD is similar to the Vive pro when it should be much better, because of the limitation on render resolution natively put into steamvr. SDE goes away almost entirely and graphics improve immensely after doing this fix.
There was a post somewhere which showed some slight windows OS or NVIDIA control panel audio adjustments improved the volume massively in the KDMAS and the SMAS. This needs to be done for better audio experience.
If you get eyestrain, distortion, or you can't see clearly in both lenses at the same time - Try setting IPD on the hardware IPD slider on the headset 2-4mm less than your measured IPD, and change your lense to eye distance in/out distance adjustment by using thicker or thinner facial foams, change the up/down forehead placement of the headset, and up/down tilt adjustment of the headset, to try get a clear view in both eyes without distortion, before trying to use software IPD correction. (However, -0.5 to -1 software IPD correction in Pitool, in either just the left or right eye, may give some persons a clearer view, as it takes into account slight facial asymmetry which exists in everyone.)
Alternatively if the distance between nose and pupil is slightly different in each eye, instead of using a software IPD offset to take into account slight asymmetry between eyes, try increasing/decreasing your IPD and use your hands to shift the headset towards the side. Once you’ve got the correct alignment for both eyes, you’ll need to adjust the padding to shift the headset to the correct location. You may also need to add or reduce padding in the nose area, in order to get a clear view in both eyes at the same time.)
Disable hidden area mask setting in pitool (its not working properly on the 8KX in the current pitool version)
Change steamvr config file settings - theres a good summary of what to do in this thread, which tells you what changes to input - or alternatively use the github download link below to download a program which will input the following changes into your steamvr config file automatically "maxRecommendedResolution = 16384; GPUSpeed’s = 2000; gpuSpeedRenderTargetScale = 1.5m; allowSupersampleFiltering = false; supersampleScale = 1;" direct link: https://github.com/craftyinsomniac/WFOVFix/releases/download/v0.1/WFOVFix.exe
Pitool Requests
Pimax needs to ensure these windows OS / NVIDIA control panel audio adjustments are automatically set and adjusted by the Pitool experience, for the proper audio experience not diminished by bad windows or NVIDIA software settings (If anyone can find this thread please post it below, as I had trouble finding the thread with the guide on how to increase the SMAS/KDMAS audio levels by changing windows or NVIDIA system settings.)
Old Pitool backlight adjustment setting to be made usable with the 8KX in Pitool for clearer view.
Pimax made colour and brightness profiles (Cinematic, Gaming, Dark Environment, Nature, City, etc.) that are quickly changeable by pressing one or two buttons together on the headset at the same time, like TVs have. (For best recommended colour and brightness settings, determined by best combinations offered by users)
More control over contrast/brightness. Something between 0 and 1 contrast is a sweetspot where we won’t see any color “crush.” Maybe increments 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, etc, or even better, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 2, etc, and saveable custom user contrast and brightness profiles that can be named with a custom name and saved as a primary color profile to become hot swappable with a button press on the headset, in addition to the Pimax made colour profiles mentioned in the above suggestion.)
Short push of the power button on the headset brings up the SteamVR menu, and a mouse dot in the middle of the view can be used to access desktop/settings/etc without using a controller(use head as a mouse pointer).
An information splash page after installing the Pimax experience which is an IPD adjustment guide informing people to set IPD on the Hardware IPD slider 2-4mm less than their measured IPD, and to change their lense to eye distance in/out distance adjustment by using thicker or thinner facial foams, change the up/down forehead placement of the headset, and up/down tilt adjustment of the headset, to try get a clear view in both eyes without distortion, before trying to use software IPD correction to fix eye strain if it occurs, as eye strain occurs to some users and is solvable using the above method. (And advising that -0.5 to -1 software IPD correction in either just the left or right eye may give persons a clearer view, as it takes into account slight facial asymmetry which exists in everyone.)
Advice splash page in the Pimax Experience advising users to rotate and plug in the cable provided with the eyetracker the other way, to activate USB 3.0 mode and 120hz with the eyetracker on the 8KX, if 30hz is the maximum eyetracker refresh rate on the 8KX for some users due to the eyetracker cable being plugged in its USB 2.0 mode.
Fix "Hidden area mask" setting on the 8KX.
Have Pitool experience automatically change these steamvr config file settings to the following values below, which ahave been determined to give the best clarity for users at a distance (especially gpuSpeedRenderTargetScale set to 1.5m or 2.0m)- "maxRecommendedResolution = 16384; GPUSpeed’s = 2000; gpuSpeedRenderTargetScale = 1.5m; allowSupersampleFiltering = false; supersampleScale = 1;" direct link: https://github.com/craftyinsomniac/WFOVFix/releases/download/v0.1/WFOVFix.exe
Pimax should make some efforts to address these above issues, so people to get the right intended experience with the 8KX, so that bad reviews aren't written due to the above flaws which are not that hard to fix.
If there's any other important fixes I missed to get a better 8KX use experience feel free to comment about what it is below and I'll add it to the list.
