We have just published a video update about the Portal, Crystal Light, Crystal Super, MR cover, wide FOV lenses, 60G Airlink, Pimax Play and 12K.
Here we want to highlight in more detail some areas.
Regarding the non-local dimming Crystal Light
The Crystal Light, for us, is actually two SKUs. One without local dimming, and one with.
The local dimming version has been in production for several months, starting with the first batch going out in May. Even though the shipping is slightly slower than expected, the progress is stable and improving. In the video we highlight some causes, while you can see your estimated shipping time here.
Then the non-local dimming version. We are still developing this solution. For the customers who pre-ordered this version, we can't let you wait longer. So once you have paid the remaining amount, we'll ship you the headset with local dimming and let you use the local dimming for two weeks for free, from the moment you activate the Pimax Play software, which is tied to your serial number. After that, we close the local dimming feature, otherwise this isn't fair to other users. However, if you like it, you can still upgrade through a paid update.
Regarding the wide FOV lenses
The wide FOV lenses for the original Crystal, push the optical limits in terms of extracting FOV from the panels of the Pimax Crystal. Our first batches of these lenses have met mixed responses. Some users, sensitive to a lower stereo overlap, similar to the Varjo Aero, did not enjoy these lenses. Others have experienced other things, choosing to revert back to the default 35 PPD lenses on the Crystal. At the same time, due to the limited production capacity for optical glass lenses for VR headsets, we have momentarily prioritized lens production for the Crystal Light. This is not an easy decision we had to make.
We know it is taking very long, plus the reactions are mixed. This is why we are giving users the option to, instead of receiving the wide field of view lenses, the choice to receive a $50 discount coupon for a future Pimax purchase. The other option is to continue to wait, for users that really want these lenses. The estimated shipping time for the wide FOV lenses is now later this year.
Regarding the 12K
From the start of the project, the goal for the 12K was extremely ambitious, but we had solutions for each of the key technical challenges. Unfortunately, some of those solutions did not meet our quality requirements. Not only that, some bottlenecks also exist on graphic cards.
When designing a VR headset with specs this extreme, every step in the process needs to be explored and realized. The technical design is one thing, but then a working prototype needs to be made, as well as protocols for the factory. It also needs to work with common PCs that exist today. Each link here needs to be solved one by one.
Here is an example.
- Nvidia's most powerful graphics card, Nvidia 4090, can drive display devices up to 8K at 60Hz with a single video interface. So that's enough for the Pimax 8K and Crystal or Crystal Light, but already, these headsets run close to the limits of the DP1.4 interface.
- The bandwidth of Display 1.4 is 32.4Gbps, but the effective bandwidth — or throughput — is actually 25.9Gbps. When the Crystal Light or Crystal runs a refresh rate of 120 Hz and uses Display Stream Compression, the actual used bandwidth is very very close to this value. Then the last bit of bandwidth, we need for more things than just the image. Think about the SLAM tracking algorithm, handtracking, MR image processing, image stitching, eye-tracking, and audio.
- We can push the screen compression a bit more, it's visually lossless, but even with that, for the 12K we cannot achieve the required bandwidth. We tried a dual DP1.4 solution, with a dual bridge chip. But we're not satisfied with this solution and its outcome on the visual quality.
- So we need to wait for a GPU with a DP 2.1 interface, which Nvidia right now does not have. AMD does have one, but there is currently no suitable bridge chip to support it.
There are some other key challenges that we choose not to share now. Think about lenses and housing. We need to solve these challenges one by one, and some of them are not in our hands. The 12K is in development and will be built on all the headsets that have come before it. Such as the Crystal Super. That is coming first.
Other updates about Portal, the MR cover, the 60G Airlink and Pimax Play, find in the video.
