Gen 1.5-2 HMD Roundup for DCS

I'm not sure I would call Reverb a gen 2 because other than having a glorified hi-res screen

so after a 2 yr wait we got 1.5 VR update.

do you think it is another 2 years to get to finally get to 2.0?

Well the term gen 1.5 or gen 2 is fairly subjective since there is really no standardization, so I think it depends on individuals to consider them as such. Now what I think is truly holding VR back is the lack of hardware powerful enough to drive it well.

I don’t think manufactures will have much trouble cranking out 6-8K VR headsets with crazy high FOV since we have the technology to do that now. But, until the CPU and GPU sides can catch up, and who knows when, we won’t really have a true next gen VR for consumers.

The tech also has to catch on, because if the mass don’t adopt it then it may eventually die out like 3D TV—which is too bad because I love watching 3D Blu-ray movies at home.

I would more consider Gen 2 to having some new technology.

Like foveated rendering, eye tracking,etc.

Probably why Oculus chose to name their new device Rift S, rather than Rift 2.

I notice few people who got Rift S but ordered Reverb as well.

It is obvious how RS got minimal sweet spot for clarity. It is the minimal but obvious difference. On the other side Reverb definitely, have superior clarity but significantly more pixels to render.

Will be good to compare the two headsets to see how much details in the game you can show or sacrifice to reach equal FPS? What role SS/PD have on such displays like with Reverb, do we need it or we can even go in negative with .8 or .7 for example and reach satisfying end results?

Will be interesting to see how it is look on Reverb display when we render exactly same number of pixels as we do on Rift S and than compare it. Then do exactly opposite and pump up SS and PD with Reverb details to reach Reverbs numbers of pixels on the Rift S.

A better comparison is reverb vs index IMO.

Run reverb at its native res 90hz, with medium graphics, what FPS do you get, how does the cockpit look, how do targets in the distance look?

Run index at its native res with medium graphics at 120hz. Repeat same tests as above. Can you still read the cockpit, spot the same targets at the same distances?

The decide how the two experiences compare.

I think its important to load up a mission thats representative of what you usually fly and select graphicial settings you use in current generation headsets successfully.

A better comparison is reverb vs index IMO.

 

Run reverb at its native res 90hz, with medium graphics, what FPS do you get, how does the cockpit look, how do targets in the distance look?

 

Run index at its native res with medium graphics at 120hz. Repeat same tests as above. Can you still read the cockpit, spot the same targets at the same distances?

 

The decide how the two experiences compare.

 

I think its important to load up a mission thats representative of what you usually fly and select graphicial settings you use in current generation headsets successfully.

Yea could be but there is no Index available yet. Step by step be patient.

That is the only reason why I'm talking only about Reverb and Rift S. For index we need answers on some basic question about some possible issues.

My guess is gen 2 will be defined by ultra high res flexible displays, they already exist, just need to be tuned for cheaper mass production. Than you can put larger screens giving higher def into the current sized HMD's.

I'm not sure I would call Reverb a gen 2 because other than having a glorified hi-res screen, there's no improvement in other areas and everything else remains gen 1. Still the same tracking mechanism with dual camera system, and the controllers remain meh compared to competitions. Unless Microsoft decides to step up their game, we're not going to see much advancement in those areas--and you know they probably want to sell those hololens devices more.

Gen2 is whoever gets to 30+ ppd at playable frames first in my book. The HP is almost there and a lot closer than anyone else at the moment. I care significantly less about tracking, which is good enough for sims, or hand controllers which are worthless for sims too. FOV would be nice, but display clarity and readabilty are #1.

The tech to do high res displays at high fov is there, the gfx and cpu power to push em isnt, but it will come. Till then its all about tradeoffs.

Yea could be but there is no Index available yet. Step by step be patient.

That is the only reason why I'm talking only about Reverb and Rift S. For index we need answers on some basic question about some possible issues.

As a P5K+ owner, I'm very curious what the jump will be. And more importantly, if the clarity is enough to sacrifice the smaller FoV.

I'll post the review after I receive it. Looks like ShopBLT *is* getting a lot more units but the shipping date is between June 10th, and 21st. I'll be able to post the review on the 15th if my unit comes in by then. Fingers crossed!

So pimax will announce a 4K by 4K headset this year. 8k x I think. I don’t think it will be cheap or perform given that is a lot of pixels to drive. They are teying to push it over display port 1.4. I think It will be a dud but I give them some props for trying to push the market further.

I should be receiving an hp Reverb and an index around the same time. Will try to offer a comparison.

Gen 1.5-2 HMD Roundup for DCS

So pimax will announce a 4K by 4K headset this year. 8k x I think. I don’t think it will be cheap or perform given that is a lot of pixels to drive. They are teying to push it over display port 1.4. I think It will be a dud but I give them some props for trying to push the market further

how do they get it to perform on their computers in their development shop?

are they all running 2080’s?

using hdmi instead of display port?

I should have posted this before hehe

What annoyed me soooooo much about Pimax is that one of their updates triggered a Fuery malware. Was it a false positive? Seems that way as newer installs (new OS) with updated MS Defender signature didn't trigger again. But I opened two tickets, two Pimax forums, asked for clarification via Twitter and NOTHING. Just a simple "it's a false positive and we're working with MS to get it updated" would have been nice.

Don't let the little things bother you soooooo much. There are lots of false positives that come up with different anti-malware software programs. Pimax don't put so much energy into attending to customer communication, it's true it's their way, maybe it's a Chinese characteristic. Frankly I care less about that than the quality of their product which is world beating. Company could be better with it's customer facing but I am happy that they are concentrating on driving their technology.

Honestly, I am aiming for the Valve Index because of the high refresh, low persistence and higher res, not to mention the great audio. I plan on replacing my 'S in the fall with the Index, assuming it's as good as I anticipate.

However, I want to say that the Rift S I have now although not perfect, gets the job done and makes for an exciting, visceral flying experience. Emphasis on the word "visceral".

As I noted in an earlier post today however the lower refresh rate and the higher pixel persistence creates a ghosting effect when the angular velocity is high - as in the enemy is whizzing by you. I am hoping the high refresh and claimed low pixel persistence in the Index will reduce that. It's not a deal breaker with the rift S. As I said I am having a blast with mine. But I am looking for an improvement which will add to the immersion.

Also a lot has been made about the audio in the 'S and everything being said is true. If you primarily fly sims, race cars or do military FPS's a pair of headphones will take care of all the issues. The volume is then plenty loud and the fidelity good. If you are standing and twirling and battling zombies having yet more stuff on your head will be a real pain.

Honestly, I am aiming for the Valve Index because of the high refresh, low persistence and higher res, not to mention the great audio. I plan on replacing my 'S in the fall with the Index, assuming it's as good as I anticipate.

 

However, I want to say that the Rift S I have now although not perfect, gets the job done and makes for an exciting, visceral flying experience. Emphasis on the word "visceral".

 

As I noted in an earlier post today however the lower refresh rate and the higher pixel persistence creates a ghosting effect when the angular velocity is high - as in the enemy is whizzing by you. I am hoping the high refresh and claimed low pixel persistence in the Index will reduce that. It's not a deal breaker with the rift S. As I said I am having a blast with mine. But I am looking for an improvement which will add to the immersion.

 

Also a lot has been made about the audio in the 'S and everything being said is true. If you primarily fly sims, race cars or do military FPS's a pair of headphones will take care of all the issues. The volume is then plenty loud and the fidelity good. If you are standing and twirling and battling zombies having yet more stuff on your head will be a real pain.

The high refresh rate is mostly marketing IMO. DCS at this point can't push 90fps/hz much less 120 or 144.

Maybe for the time being in DCS (maybe re-projection will feel better at 120hz?) but, I'd wager a lot of people dropping $1000 on a headset will be playing other games and plenty are able to hit 90-140 FPS.

The smoothness of 144 FPS @ 144hz vs 60 fps/hz is not marketing, firing up DCS on even a 1080p computer monitor that can do both will tell you that in a second.

High refresh rates are certainly irrelevant for DCS , where even top-tier systems have difficulty holding 90 fps . But the low-persistence displays used to make those refresh rates possible may be of benefit ?