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Could This be Samsung's New Windows MR Headset?

kevinw729
Honored Visionary


Could This be Samsung's New Windows MR Headset?
https://vrawards.aixr.org/ "The Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Frontier: Expanding Interactive Boundaries in Leisure Facilities" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Out-Home-Immersive-Entertainment-Frontier/dp/1472426959
57 REPLIES 57

bigmike20vt
Visionary
it looks tidy, and imo is the 1st hmd to give the rift a run for its money in terms of good quality aesthetic design. (that alone would not make me buy or not buy, but actually looking like its not some half finished dev kit is a good thing imo.
Fiat Coupe, gone. 350Z gone. Dirty nappies, no sleep & practical transport incoming. Thank goodness for VR 🙂

kevinw729
Honored Visionary

Steve30x said:

It would be nice if Oculus made that kind of headband for the rift. I've usd my brothers PS VR and that type of headband helps make the headset feel very very comfortable


The Sony (HMZ/PSVR) headband design has been seen across the sector as a solid approach to HMD comfort. Sony are rumored to have allowed a number of the WinMR manufacturers the option to use it under a agreement, and the new LG system (PC) is using a similar approach.

I have used both the normal straps and the band - and the band works well when the light gasket is properly fitted, (the issue of looking up and down and it still being seated properly is down to design and adjustment). Also, seeing this Samsung design using the same headphone arrangement as CV1 is fascinating. Kind of changes the discussion of what a CV2 would have looked like?  

I am kind of getting pre-Facebook vibes again:


https://vrawards.aixr.org/ "The Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Frontier: Expanding Interactive Boundaries in Leisure Facilities" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Out-Home-Immersive-Entertainment-Frontier/dp/1472426959

Shadowmask72
Honored Visionary
So have these images been confirmed as genuine?


System Specs: MSI NVIDIA RTX 4090 , i5 13700K CPU, 32GB DDR 4 RAM, Win 11 64 Bit OS.

Sharpfish
Heroic Explorer
I agree it's definitely the first HMD since the rift to look like it competes on overall quality, possibly even surpasses it (those AKG logos look tasty and will help sell it). Genuine or not it looks on point to me so I'd say 'yes' and can't see why not. 

Having had PSVR (and vive) and rift, ergonomically my ideal is somewhere between PSVR and RIFT (and as far away from VIVE as we can get thanks!). That said, I don't believe the PSVR style system is the be-all and end-all of ergonomics, it solves a couple of issues in VR, namely fast fitting for various people (no strap adjusting which can get tedious) and removal of face weight (which when you feel it is very liberating - your eyes can 'breathe' your face muscles move naturally, your mouth can smile properly without any skin drag, it feels really really good and on that score allows more immersion, naturally, and less tiring of the eyes and face. For me the rift isn't all that bad on these points already, but obviously the removal of it completely is 'ideal', the vive by comparison was really horrible on the face, you had to clamp it down so hard to stop it moving that it was almost suffocating and very unlikable. I'd honestly say rift feels ergonomically closer to PSVR than to VIVE even though it uses a face clamp style like vive. DK2 felt better on my face than vive did!

It's not all roses though imo, the thicker plastic headband that takes all the weight in this style of fitment has a couple of issues (maybe the sammy and other MS MR's won't be as bad here as PSVR) but firstly, the overall head 'clamp' thing can get uncomfy after a while, especially on the sides, because it's totally rigid, even if relatively 'giving' plastic. It feels great at first then starts to ache. The overall weight too is a downside (PSVR was the heaviest of the big 3 but didn't feel as heavy as vive thanks to good balance) but it still had too much weight, again something you feel after prolonged use rather than at first where the lack of face weight feels great. I'd say it's always better to have the weight on the head than the face and here PSVR and this Samsung will have the rift beat.

Though what I've come to like about rift ergonomically is something I doubt Samsung can do and PSVR didn't do, these are those things:

  • The ability to use a SINGLE hand to put/pull the rift over your head like a baseball cap, makes getting into VR feel very natural, easy and less chore like. PSVR was way better than vive but even so it was still like 'fitting something' onto your head each time, lower on, tighten back clamp, pull visor in, etc. On rift once you have the straps set once and if only for your use, you can just pull it on time and time again with ZERO adjsutment, just a wiggle to seat it right and you are off. This can't be replicated with PSVR style imo and is a downside.
  • The overall head weight/feel (not face) on rift is very discreet, to the point I rarely notice it on my head at all, it never aches, it never gets tiring (even after 3+ hours) while PSVR would after an hour if that. This leads to the next point...
  • Due to rift's very minimal head strap (thickness wise) it means you can comfily lean back/lie flat/rest the back of your head on your comfy chair and it feels natural. With PSVR you had a massive half inch+ bar behind your head so it never feels comfy when you lean your head on something, it also reminds you you are wearing something.
  • This samsung has built in phones GREAT! I'll never buy another HMD without rift style built in phones, I love them (for ergonomics and ease of use which honestly trumps overall sound quality for consistent/pleasureable VR use), psvr has aftermarket clip ons now, but due to the thick plastic construction of the headband around the ears combined with that extra plastic it can start to feel janky around the earholes, not super comfy and soft like the rift. I hope samsun have addressed that due to them being built in and have slimmed down the weight and thickness of the bonce clamp all over.
So for me it's 50/50 on ergonomics for PSVR and RIFT. When I had the vive and went to the PSVR it was like night and day and I couldn't say enough good things about PSVR's comfort, but then using the Rift day in day (far more than I ever used PSVR or VIVE) I can say I'd tolerate the slight annoyance of the rift's face touching design over the ache of the headclamp right now. Maybe because the rift's weight and overall design is just enough to offset the 'non ideal' face clamping method it just pips the PSVR to the post on ergonomics for me. The ideal would be a rift headstrap with a PSVR/Samsung style front (inc FLIP UP like samsung which would be brilliant when you are in/out of VR developing stuff), I can't see how anyone can do that though because if they want 'floating in front of face' display unit they have to go mental on the head bracket part.

One thing is if you do share your HMD a lot, the PSVR/Headbracket design would probably work out better for you because there's nothing more offputting about sharing VR than knowing you'll lose your perfect strap settings or have to fiddle around trying to find someone else's perfect settings (and never really knowing if your GF for example has truly the best settings as she may not realise how good it can be and you can't do it for her). 

To the guy above who asked about looking down? IIRC there were no issues with that on PSVR though I think actually it may have felt a bit dodgy like it could slip off, but only if you were looking 90 degrees down. I think rift wins here again as it feels more secure. Looking up is similar. Vive on the other hand is awful in every way, the display box shifts and blurs when looking down and the front heavy weight (at least on the early units and without DAS) was a bit of a killer for any fast action.

Rift style wins on:

head comfort
single handed usability
throw on/pull of ease of use (one handed)
headphone/ear comfort
soft/comfy feel that is less like putting your head in a machine and more like wearing a cap

PSVR style wins on:

Multi user ease of use/swapping
Face weight (no drag no itching)
Ease of seeing outside of VR (slide forward or flip up on samsung)
Inertial movement left/right at speed (though rift is hardly bad here and doesn't shift around unlike the awful Vive)

EX DK2/VIVE/PSVR/CV1/Q2/PSVR2 | Currently Quest Pro (PCVR) | VR developer
RTX 3080 FE / 12900k / Windows 11 Pro

Sharpfish
Heroic Explorer
Interesting... I wonder if LG are going to man up anytime soon and speak more about their steam VR one? I still have a lot of doubts about this first wave of MS MR HMDs even with that minor res increase it's the whole controller tracking and LCD use thing, plus it's early days for MS on the software side (ASW etc) and I detest the MS store.

Who knows, it's Samsung, they know displays maybe they'll surprise us and have a much better quality than the other MS ones and use a custom OLED screen. I want super black blacks in VR not faded grey with motion blur.

That said, a company like Samsung gives me faith in their product (customer service and logistics) so this could be a possible buy and try for me but it's not exactly a leap over the rift. Probably still better waiting for gen 2. At least the MS ones don't rely solely on a track pad, but they aren't as good as the touch controllers still. Probably better to let others be guinea pigs on this and wait for price drops next year or gen 2.
EX DK2/VIVE/PSVR/CV1/Q2/PSVR2 | Currently Quest Pro (PCVR) | VR developer
RTX 3080 FE / 12900k / Windows 11 Pro

Agreed, if you already have a Vive or Rift, to buy a new headset which isn't better and won't have the apps and games doesn't make sense.  I've had more than one HMD in the past but i've settled on the Rift, i've invested heavily in games, HOTAS, 1080 ti etc, while they may be reasonably cheap there's just no need.

I think it will be difficult for the these new HMDs to break through - they need to advertise heavily - the mainstream media won't do as much as it did with the Rift and Vive.
Big PC, all the headsets, now using Quest 3

kevinw729
Honored Visionary
It's a fascinating business situation one year on - you have either:

-PC VR
-WinMR VR
-Mobile VR/AR
-Daydream VR
-Console VR

For the PC VR community they feel they are at the top of the tree on quality, and with the best content and experience so far - but the business community is feeling that this sector is not enough to support and are looking at the mobileVR (as well as Daydream and WinMR) as a better longterm bet.

All this and the ConsoleVR scene (basically Sony) has ground to a halt, with MS ignoring entering the water, and Sony executives publicly stating they are not happy with the opportunity and looking at Christmas penetration to decide on next step... if any!

All this and now the news that Google will place a considerable sum into HTC's VR division to look away from PC VR and concentrate on mobileVR opportunities using the new smartphone operation (and Daydream)!

All this, and major developments/investment in out-of-home VR entertainment (Dreamscape/AMC). And in culmination some major new announcement about business focus and direction from Oculus/FacebookVR in the coming months... wonder what is going to happen?  B)
https://vrawards.aixr.org/ "The Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Frontier: Expanding Interactive Boundaries in Leisure Facilities" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Out-Home-Immersive-Entertainment-Frontier/dp/1472426959

MoeCapp
Protege
If I have any reason to buy a Windows MR headset, which I haven't yet caught wind of any compelling software reason to, nor am I expecting anything really, it will be this one because of the built in audio. None of the other Windows MR models have built in headphones, and an HMD without it is a huge hassle.

kevinw729
Honored Visionary
As stated I have reservations - and already we are seeing "limits" placed on the flexibility of these head-mounts compared to the straight PC alternatives - but I too agree if forced down a WinMR route these look the better options.
https://vrawards.aixr.org/ "The Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Frontier: Expanding Interactive Boundaries in Leisure Facilities" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Out-Home-Immersive-Entertainment-Frontier/dp/1472426959

RorschachPhoeni
Trustee

Atmos73 said:

More info on the Odyssey

$500 price point (with motion controllers included) and a November 6th release date. 

SPECS:

  • Resolution: 2880 x 1600

  • Display: OLED

  • Refresh rate: Up to 90Hz

  • Field of view: Up to 110˚

  • Headphones and dual array mics



From all "coming soon" HMDs Odyssey is the one with the best specs. And please... don't mention Pimax - this thing is barely a prototype.
Excuse my bad english. I speak to you through the google translator. 😛