Samsung Odyssey WMR HMD Initial Impressions

As a quick background, I should say that I have been using an Oculus Rift for about 1 year and a half and flying exclusively in VR in DCS. While I was very happy with the experience, I was really intrigued with the launch of Windows Mixed Reality Devices, especially the Samsung Odyssey, currently one of the HMDs with highest resolution available (same res. as the incoming Vive Pro).

The usual price for the Odyssey is US$ 499,00, but the headset is currently available for US$ 399,00. I would have bought the Odyssey much earlier actually, but I was waiting for it to be released in Europe. Considering that it is still no available in my country, I had to import the device and paid a total of 500 Euro for it.

So, I have spent some hours testing it on DCS (among other flight sims) and here are my short initial impressions:

The Good

• Relatively easy to set up. The fact that it does not need external sensors is a huge plus!
  
• The screen is better than the Rift. It is not a dramatic change, but things are considerably clearer in the cockpit, especially with super-sampling.
  
• The integration with SteamVR seems to be MUCH better than the Rift!
  
• Field of View is bigger than the Rift;
  
• The OLED screen, besides the resolution, seems to be better overall.
  
• I have noticed not performance impact whatsoever.
  

The Bad

• The controllers are not as good as the Oculus Touch. They are pretty bulky in comparison, but usable I guess. This is not a problem in DCS;
  
• The headset itself is not as comfortable as the Rift, at least for me as others find it more comfortable.
  
• The WMR software is not as good as the Rift (already experience some small quirks that will demand further investigation). There is no way to import windows into the VR view yet, hopefully that is coming. There is at least the option to see your Desktop and then go back to the sim.
  

So, I just had two days to test the device and for sure will have more to share in the days/weeks to come. I am, nevertheless, pretty happy with my purchase and I believe that my Rift will be listed on eBay very soon! The screen resolution bump is great and I already noticed that it will be invaluable for flying in DCS! The scenery and, especially the instruments AND the text in briefings/chat are MUCH easier to see.

Considering that this headset has the same resolution as the VIVE PRO, does not use external sensors and costs perhaps 50% of what the VIVE PRO will cost, this seems to be the best option currently available for VR flyers!

Let me know if you guys have any questions!

Thanks for the write-up!

Is there a difference in the quality of head tracking? Also, by no performance impact do you mean it stayed the same or improved even if slightly?

Thanks for the write-up!

 

Is there a difference in the quality of head tracking? Also, by no performance impact do you mean it stayed the same or improved even if slightly?

On SteamVR only simulators (like XP11), the performance is better. Considering that DCS uses the native Oculus SDK, I did not notice any improvements or decrease in performance, which is a plus, considering that I am rendering much more pixels.

The head-tracking is fine! I did not experienced any significant problems. Perhaps one or two hiccups every now and then, bot nothing major! I also had this problems with the Rift.

I have the Rift, Vive, and Odyssey - inspired by this post I gave the Odyssey a go, and agree with the original poster - I likely won't be going back to the Rift for DCS:

• everything is clearer (though AA issues are more obvious even at PD 1.4)
  
• it deals less well with lower framerates - a little more juddery.
  
• headset is sweatier, though creates less VR-face since it's not pressed against my skin like the Rift
  
• head tracking seems roughly equivalent
  
• the headphones aren't as good
  

In the M2000-C Caucasus Ground Attack instant action mission, I destroyed every target with ammo to spare on my first go - gun runs were significantly easier

“Import Windows” what does that mean?

Question of comfort. I know as I have a pretty big head. I ended up making a new face foam piece. The benefits were that I can wear the headset for hours straight, I no longer have to wear my glasses under the headset, the FOV increased, and the sweetspot grew substantially.

Thx for the writeups guys.

Out of curiosity for you guys with the Odyssey, is it working with DCS out of the box, or are you needing to adjust the scale with the new IPD adjustment in DCS 2.5?

The cockpit seemed small to me. I made most of the A-10c cockpit panels for my pit build so I have a good idea of scale within the pit.

I adjusted the Odyssey’s physical IPD till it was clear and comfortable and the value returned in the Windows settings is 71. My optometrist confirmed that my IPD is 71. When I set the in game IPD to 71 the in game scale is true to life.

Worked for me out of the box, though my IPD is pretty close to default.

FWIW, after putting five more hours in today, it's clear the positional tracking is not as good - it is fine, it's just not as robust as the Rift and I find myself resetting my head position more. I might put some stuff up on my walls to give it more visual edges to anchor on and see how it goes.

Great write up! I bought my Rift Thursday and after a good several hours of flying with it I'm ready to take it back. I got to where I dreaded putting it on. I have to pull it down so far to focus, it kills my nose. If I could move it away from my face it would be good. Luckily, Best Buy will take it back no questions and the MS store is a half a mile away lol.

I bought the Odysey today but had to reset the PC because the mixed reality app would not start. Gave me an error code of H0002000-0. After some searching, many people with this issue got it to work by updating Windows. No joy for me so resetting Windows now which was the other fix. I'd planned to do this anyway as I'd been having weird issues from all my tweaking. I'll update once it's installed.

Are all of you using Steam? I use DCS World locally on my computer and the Odysey does not work like the Rift. Basically I'm sitting in the VR living room with a window hanging in front of me running DCS. With the Rift, it fires up and I'm in a hangar standing next to a Mig 29 that looks like I can touch it lol. I've looked for settings to change this but no joy other than the VR tab which is checked for using VR as a display. ?? Unless someone else knows how to fix this it's going back. I'm using 2.5 beta as well.

Any help, is appreciated.

Wicked,

Just follow this:

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5608-UPAH-6427

When I first set it up I installed the Rift Software and revive. I would start up DCS and then the Rift and Steam software would start automatically. I have since un-installed the Rift software. So now what I do is start the WMR software. click on the desktop that I have hanging on a wall. Start SRS, Teamspeak, and DCS that are on the taskbar. This will open SteamVR automatically.

Make sure you start WMR first or you don’t get the opportunity to do the look around to orient the headset. If you don’t then you will only have head rotation in the cockpit.

Thanks for the reply but I don't use Steam. I use the desktop version of DCS World. I'm thinking the Windows Mixed reality HMD's are only good for Steam.

Thanks for the reply but I don't use Steam. I use the desktop version of DCS World. I'm thinking the Windows Mixed reality HMD's are only good for Steam.

You need to use steamvr for any other HMD than Rift (OSVR hdk2, pimax, and I think Vive). Only the Rift has native support in DCS.

Yep. Took the Samsung back today and got another Rift. I'll work on making it more comfortable.

I also have the standalone DCS but have to use the SteamVR app to run DCS. So you are either using the Steam or oculus software. The question is, taking all things into consideration, which one is a better overall fit for you? Now you’ll never know...

I also have the standalone DCS but have to use the SteamVR app to run DCS. So you are either using the Steam or oculus software. The question is, taking all things into consideration, which one is a better overall fit for you? Now you’ll never know...

Yeah, but I will be flying! Anyway, I'm good with the Rift. The weird thing is, the Rift I picked up today can't handle the settings of the one I took back Saturday but it's more comfortable. Go figure.

Hi

i also have the odyssey and cv1, i notice with the odyssey, the terrain, looking out from the cockpit is blurry , theres like a ghosting effect, doesnt seem to be smooth like the rift. i tested by leaving all the in game settings the same and just switching from rift to odyssey. i was wondering if you had the same effect with the odyssey?

another little anoyance, is the game never starts with all cpu cores enabled, i have to open task manager and set affinity to all cores to get a smooth gameplay. was wondering if you had this anoyance?

im running the 1080 ti, i7 7820x, 32gb ram, windows 10

thanks

Hi

i also have the odyssey and cv1, i notice with the odyssey, the terrain, looking out from the cockpit is blurry , theres like a ghosting effect, doesnt seem to be smooth like the rift. i tested by leaving all the in game settings the same and just switching from rift to odyssey. i was wondering if you had the same effect with the odyssey?

 

another little anoyance, is the game never starts with all cpu cores enabled, i have to open task manager and set affinity to all cores to get a smooth gameplay. was wondering if you had this anoyance?

 

im running the 1080 ti, i7 7820x, 32gb ram, windows 10

 

thanks

To compare you should do it with same setingsbut with supersampeling set to 1.0 it is only way to realy compare.

Yeah, but I will be flying! Anyway, I'm good with the Rift. The weird thing is, the Rift I picked up today can't handle the settings of the one I took back Saturday but it's more comfortable. Go figure.

More likely because we have updated to 2.5 in the meantime no? Old settings no longer apply to be honest mate!

Hey fellas just got a samsung odyssey too. Its better than i thought, question though what settings do you use with steam vr aka the reprojection stuff. Im a CV1 user so steam vr is new to me.

Thanks

when you can use the hand controllers in DCS, i will get a an odessey

Ya I do miss that from the rift but holy craps these screen blow the rift away

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