some questions after a Vive demo

[stephen2002]

I recently went to a Microsoft Store to get their demo of the Vive, 10 minutes isn't exactly much time to get a good feel for it, but alas I don't know anybody with a Vive so I could get a longer demo. I have some questions about the tech. I was really excited for VR, especially after reading about how the SDE and resolution has gotten to the point where it isn't really a problem, but the experience makes me think the tech it isn't ready yet.

First off, oh god the pixels, they were HUGE. Trying to look at anything smallish (fish in TheBlu, drones that weren't right up in your face in SPT, even the controllers held at arms length) was just maybe a dozen of those huge pixels, with giant gaps from the dark sub-pixels. Thanks PenTile, doing such a good job at making a high-res screen look low-res. I hated you on my phone when the screen is only 4" and held at arms length, now that same awkward sub-pixel arrangement is filling my vision. I understand there is nothing to be done here except wait another generation or four for the resolution to increase.

I understand that the Vive uses a "low-persistence" display, but I haven't been able to find what rate it strobes at. Is it 90Hz? To me everything had a sort of flickery ethereal quality to it instead of looking solid. It reminded me a lot of looking at a CRT.

Are there any HDM adjustments that affect the scale of things? Everything looked too small to me, from the controllers to the whale. When the person giving the demo held the controllers up to me I was initially confused as I thought they were standing too far away for me to reach the controllers, so I didn't do anything until they told me to grab them.

The FOV and focus looked good, tracking was flawless. Being able to move around to dodge things was fun. The image tricked my brain enough that when I stuck my hand into some geometry I got a weird sensation in my hand.

 

[DouglasteR]

. I understand there is nothing to be done here except wait another generation or four for the resolution to increase.

Yes, you have to remember that not only the screen is right at the front of your eyes but the lens magnify them. Also, the pentile subpixel arrangement brings lots of goodies too, not only problems.

The main problem is the dark space between pixels matrixs and the pixel density.

We need at least 4k per eye. That would be like looking to a 1080p monitor. But we really need MUCH MORE, like 16k per eye.

Is it 90Hz?

90hz

Are there any HDM adjustments that affect the scale of things?

Yes, Inter pupilary distance (IPD) and eye relief (the distance between your eyes and the actual lens) can be modified as every person have them differently.

 

[Morphes]

First off, oh god the pixels, they were HUGE. Trying to look at anything smallish (fish in TheBlu, drones that weren't right up in your face in SPT, even the controllers held at arms length) was just maybe a dozen of those huge pixels, with giant gaps from the dark sub-pixels. Thanks PenTile, doing such a good job at making a high-res screen look low-res. I hated you on my phone when the screen is only 4" and held at arms length, now that same awkward sub-pixel arrangement is filling my vision. I understand there is nothing to be done here except wait another generation or four for the resolution to increase.

Sorry you feel that way man! I haven't noticed it being an issue at all, for me, I only notice it when I am looking for it or there isnt anything going on in the game or during a loading screen.

For me the issue is the lenses needing work, also the strap with integrated audio needs a solution too, because FUCK its a hassle.

 

[stephen2002]

Yes, you have to remember that not only the screen is right at the front of your eyes but the lens magnify them. Also, the pentile subpixel arrangement brings lots of goodies too, not only problems.

The resolution seemed worse than standing a few feet away from a 90" screen lit up by a 720p projector. I was expecting it to be low-res but I wasn't expecting it to be that low.

Goodies? What is the advantage of PenTile? The only ones I've seen quoted are lower cost and lower power for a given resolution, great for a cheap phone, bad for a headset. The trouble is if you want to display something that is red or blue you only get every other pixel to do so, cutting the resolution in half, since the only subpixel that is present for all pixels is green. Seems like throwing away so much information is a terrible idea for a HMD.

 

[Dr. Righteous]

Being the optimist; keep in mind this is the first generation of this iteration of VR. All past iterations were vastly inferior. Is it perfect? No, hardly. What is needed? Well, they said it; 4K per eye to start.
The answer is going to be very dense OLED panels for this; we are still waiting on this tech. Also; prices are on the high side right now. There are more companies in entering the fray with their on VR
and many see the limitations of the current front runners and will try to do it better. So really taking a long view of this tech is a wise move.