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  • Pimax Crystal order

mebejoe Man, it’s hard to say honestly. The flickering seems to have subsided. I don’t know if it was a software thing or what. The controllers are horrible. They go to sleep constantly while watching videos, sometimes within a few seconds of activity. They also drift a lot from your hand, although it seems like the last few software upgrades have made this somewhat better. I’m hoping they continue to get better with software updates.

The picture quality is really great, but I did an a/b test with my Quest Pro, and it is only a slight difference. Resolution wise, it definitely feels like it will be able to handle future increases in video quality. Here is the kicker though. Heresphere won’t play all of the videos. Some give me a message saying that I need the H265 codec installed. I have it installed. DEOVR works just fine. I don’t know if that is an issue with my computer or if the Heresphere just isn’t working with the headset for some reason.

So, I’m on the fence about recommending it. If I had to make the choice again, I probably wouldn’t get it. I do expect it to get better with software upgrades though. And for what it is worth, my gpu is only a 3070 TI. But, if you want the best picture right now, it’s the Crystal, I believe. Just know it has its flaws. I’ll still give it plenty of use though.

Btw, I did have a Reverb G2 for a short time before returning it. I will say that the sweet spot on that is tiny compared to the Crystal. The Crystal’s sweet spot is basically 90% of the FOV (much like the Quest Pro). This makes a significant difference to me.

      mebejoe Oh yeah, FedEx charged me an extra $170 dollars for a customs tax, or something like that. Just FYI.

        blaze466 Btw, I did have a Reverb G2 for a short time before returning it. I will say that the sweet spot on that is tiny compared to the Crystal. The Crystal’s sweet spot is basically 90% of the FOV (much like the Quest Pro).

        Thank you.

        So, maybe I should wait for the Quest 3? But then I can't use Steam, right? I'll need to sign into the Metaverse or whatever they call it, no?

            mebejoe I personally would wait for Quest 3. You can still stream through steam with the Quests. They can link to your PC. You no longer need a Facebook account but would have to register with the meta app. Similar to registering with Pimax or Varjo.

                blaze466 So, I’ve started getting these flickers on the screen. It happens in videos, menus, even in the steam environment. I’m hoping it doesn’t last, or get worse. Has this happened to you?

                I had an issue on day 1 and it turned out to be that the displayport cable was not fully inserted. The headset side of the plug on mine is pretty tight and is not the easiest to push the plug all the way in. I guess this is a good thing once it is fully in, since it will not easily be pulled out during use. I hope the best for you and that it isn't an actual hardware problem.

                blaze466 The controllers are horrible. They go to sleep constantly while watching videos, sometimes within a few seconds of activity. They also drift a lot from your hand,

                This one I haven't experienced yet (the drift or the sleep). I haven't looked, but is there a sleep timer in the PiMax software? Also do you have enough light in the room fort the cameras to work well?

                blaze466 Here is the kicker though. Heresphere won’t play all of the videos. Some give me a message saying that I need the H265 codec installed. I have it installed. DEOVR works just fine. I don’t know if that is an issue with my computer or if the Heresphere just isn’t working with the headset for some reason.

                My Heresphere did not play H265 either, I had to buy the codec pack from the Microsoft store for $0.99 (which is completely ridiculous that it is not included with a damn $100 OS). But now it plays everything with no problems. My complaint about it is that when you are trying to adjust a slider, Heresphere is trying to "help" you by auto-snapping the aim dot to the slider that it thinks you are trying to choose. It is annoying as fuck because it is usually not picking the correct one.

                Man, I really hope you get those issues sorted. I don't mean in any way to sound like I'm downplaying them just because I haven't had the same hardware issues, the things you listed sound like the most basic QC issues that PiMax should have had squashed long before release. Honestly though, these are the reasons why I did not jump on the 4K or 8K headsets, I just felt like they were in perpetual 'beta' testing and not a fully fleshed out consumer product. I took a chance on the Crystal based on a few of the reviewers all agreeing on the amazing resolution with no distortion, the ability to eventually use it standalone with no tether, and the swappable lenses (again, someday). I know some also had bad things to say about it, but I felt like a lot of those complaints were based on using the headset for its "intended" uses and not so much for our hobby.

                mebejoe So, maybe I should wait for the Quest 3? But then I can't use Steam, right? I'll need to sign into the Metaverse or whatever they call it, no?
                blaze466 I personally would wait for Quest 3. You can still stream through steam with the Quests.

                I agree on waiting unless you are ok with the trade offs. If the cost is giving you any pause, I would also say wait. I don't regret the purchase, but at the same time I do not see this being an endgame headset. I'll be selling it once something of equal picture quality and better usability is available. I have high hopes for the Q3.

                            VRgina Also do you have enough light in the room fort the cameras to work well?

                            I've had this problem with several headsets. Not enough light and the playback doesn't stay centered, but I thought Blaze was talking about the controllers. Could that be the problem as well?

                              VRgina I agree on waiting unless you are ok with the trade offs. If the cost is giving you any pause, I would also say wait. I don't regret the purchase, but at the same time I do not see this being an endgame headset.

                              Thank you for this very helpful feedback. And thanks again to @blaze466

                              The cost gives me pause only because I want to make sure it's a good value. I've found that with higher-end products, "value" is a diminishing return. For example, I love hand made Goodyear welted leather dress shoes. I can buy an excellent pair for $300 when there's a sale. Or I can buy a much higher quality for $1,500 (I did this once). But is the $1,500 shoe FIVE TIMES BETTER than the $300 shoe? It won't last five times longer. They don't look five times better. They don't impress people five times more.

                              So, is it a good value? I'm not sure. In one way it is a GREAT VALUE because I LOVE those $1,500 shoes and I would trade 10 pairs (I have about 50 pairs) of my $300 shoes for another pair like these (I'm wearing them right now).

                              I guess what I'm saying is that if I spend almost $2,000 for a VR headset, I want to LOVE it. It sounds like I'm not gonna love the Pimax. At least not yet.

                              Thank you again.

                                VRgina Thanks for the thorough response. I was really curious if these were unique issues or not. I don’t have a lot of experience with PC headsets, so maybe that has something to do with it. I’ve bought several headsets and then returned them.

                                I do have the have the $.99 H265 , but Heresphere just doesn’t seem to recognize it. My hard drive is split into two partitions. So, maybe it is installed on the other partition and Heresphere can’t find it? I have no idea. I don’t even know where the codec gets installed. I tried finding it, but couldn’t. When I go to the Microsoft store, it says it is installed. I just assume it’s in some hidden system files somewhere. Someday I’ll take the time to thoroughly research it. I’ve just been using Deovr in the mean time.

                                I do use it over my Quest when I have a little more time to spend. I do feel the picture is better. I’m still hopeful it continues to improve too.

                                Regarding the controllers, I’m almost wondering if my GPU is causing the issues. It will go dead as I’m using the controller, so didn’t seem to be a timer issue.

                                Anyway, glad you don’t have the same problems. It gives me hope.