Pimax announced back in Fall that it was not only bringing more styles of its “8K” model headsets to market this year with the entrance of the $1,300 “8K” X and the $1,000 “8K” Plus, but that backers would finally get the headsets they’ve been waiting for, with shipments of “8K” Plus slated for shipment in late October. The company however today announced in a Kickstarter update that its original 2019 shipping window for all its headsets and accessories has been pushed back into late 2019 and early 2020.

Update (December 3rd, 2019): Pimax today announced the following delays and estimated shipping dates:

  • “8K” Plus – estimated to start shipping no later than the end of Dec. 2019 due to “last-minute changes to help ensure a quality launch.” Originally slated for October release.
  • “8K” X – estimated to start shipping late Mar. 2020, early Apr. 2020 due to being “still in development,” with the engineering team set to finish “assembly [of] some samples for testing this week.” Originally slated for Dec. release.
  • Pimax Comfort Kit – estimated to start shipping no later than the end of Dec 2019; shipping alongside “8K” Plus
  • Index Controllers & SteamVR Base Stations– estimated to start shipping early Jan. 2020 due to having just received Valve Index Controllers & base stations in an OEM bulk shipment. The company says they has to design consumer packaging for items by SKU, test controllers & base stations, and assemble components for shipping to different regions (Power supplies & instructions)
  • Modular Audio Strap (Standard) – estimated to start shipping late Jan. 2020, with first 20 pieces for a backers trial. Mass production is slated to arrive in late Jan.
  • Modular Audio Strap (Deluxe) – estimated to start shipping Mar 2020 due to the design “still being in development to ensure quality & comfort.”
  • Silicone Protective Sleeve – estimated to start shipping early Jan 2020

The original article announcing the “8K” Plus and “8K” X follows below:

Original Article (September 26th, 2019): Pimax’s base “8K” headset, priced at $900 without controllers or the requisite SteamVR basestations, already offers up dual 3,840×2,160 resolution CLPL panels, however design limitations only allow the headset to upscale from 2,560×1,440 resolution per display.

The “8K” X big claim to fame is it offers up native 3,840×2,160 rendering for each display at 75 Hz refresh, and at 90 Hz refresh when the integrated upscaler is enabled. Pimax says its using new panel tech for both “8K” X and “8K” Plus, which should provide higher contrast and deeper colors using an RBG stripe matrix LCD.

Pimax 8K, Photo by Road to VR

“8K” X, which was originally promised to arrive in May 2018 to Kickstarter backers, is said to start shipping to backers starting December 18th, 2019.

There’s still no word on when enthusiasts will be able to plonk down the cash for their own headset, although considering Pimax will be attending to backers first, the wait may bleed over into early 2020.

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The “8K” Plus headset, which is slated to launch on October 30th, has the same panels as the “8K” X, however delivers content upscaled from 2,560×1,440 to the display’s native 3,840×2,160 resolution, just like the original “8K”.

The company says though that they’ve included a new algorithm for the upscaler, and that “8K” Plus comes with optional 65/72/90 Hz refresh rate.

Both headsets are said to include between 10-15% better panel utilization over its predecessor and the same 170-degree horizontal field of view. Both however will arrive with a new modular audio strap and a wider facial interface called a ‘comfort kit’.

Image courtesy Pimax

Neither headset comes with controllers or SteamVR basestations, which must be purchased separately through Pimax, Valve, or HTC.

Ruggedization is coming to all models too, which consumers can op-in for by contacting the company. This includes a special rubberized coating and metallic buttons to the headset, which is said to increase durability and water resistance.

There aren’t any pre-order links yet, although we’ll update this piece when the time comes. In any case, you’ll be sure to find more info soon on Pimax’s website.

– – — – –

If you’re wondering why we’ve put 8K in quotations, its because each panel is only 4K in resolution. This means you only see the max benefit of a single display’s resolution since both are combined to form a single stereoscopic picture.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • 3872Orcs

    Haha! That’s the exact same strap as Vive Pro!

    Vive Pro strap always felt very good on my head though. But Pimax5k+ was terrible on my eyes, impossible for me to comfortable use it. I do hope they’ve improved things since then. In any case I’m plenty happy with my Valve Index for now.

    • Schadows

      The “Vision” models (8KX & 8K+) already have the Vision Comfort kit, which can be purchased separately for older models (5K+ & 8K).
      Too bad backers can’t benefit from it freely.

  • Cdaked

    In scotland the distorsion is the same.

    (sorry, just jocking)

  • Schadows

    The live was kind of disappointed for backers & existing owners.
    The Comfort kit is not offered.
    The promised stretch goal: the eye tracking module, will eventually not be offered (just a discount).

  • JesuSaveSouls

    It resembles what would be considered futuristic if we were first seeing vr in the 90s.It they too can drop the sensors and go mixed reality also dropping the price would be cool.Hope next quest or rift has much wider fov.We are really almost in what would be considered foreseen post apocalypse futuristic or dystopian.2020 and the likes of blade runner,escape from ny,back to the future 2 and demolition man is where our imagination meet those actual timelines.It doesn’t yield flying cars or commercial space travel.No real big hologram billboards.But we do get almost all that in vr and ar.Vr is here but ar still being developed.The 90s gave us personal pcs with the millinum making high speed internet and cellphones available.Still the launch and landing of vr just around five years ago makes it the one futuristic contraption available.Weird too seeing it got developed and released in the early 90s in high dollar arcades.But only failed and went into hiding and underground.

  • JesuSaveSouls

    I heard it has warping bad to the edges.I will wait until bigger names like valve,vive and oculus do proper wider fovs.

    • Rogue Transfer

      According to a RoadToVR update two years ago, that’s “mostly gone”: https://www.roadtovr.com/ces-2018-pimax-8k-hands-on-long-way-kinks-to-iron/

      And more recent software updates to the lens profile have purportedly improved it even more, providing you have the headset on properly.

      The latest Facebook Half Dome 3 prototype has a tradeoff on horizontal FOV to around 108°, so it’s looking like wide FOV from their next headset is off the books.

      It’ll be 2 to 3 years before we see a new Valve or HTC headset, so you have a long wait and they might not even increase FOV.

      • bmichaelb

        The Oculus ‘Half Dome Updates: FRL Explores More Comfortable, Compact VR Prototypes for Work’ blog, says Half Dome 2 has a 20% bigger FoV than the Quest, which has the same FoV as the Rift CV1, which they say is 110 degrees. So, if going by their own calculations, that would be ~132 degrees, not ~108 degrees. All the article says is Half Dome 2 is narrower than Half Dome 1’s 140 degrees…it doesn’t say by how much. It also doesn’t say if Half Dome 3 is the same FoV as Half Dome 2, or narrower again.

    • Ratm

      Big names are Samsung and Sony.
      I dont get why people even consider lcd headsets, its like looking in tv screens with those.
      Even a 16k would be trash if it didn’t manage to trick your brain well enough.

    • Leon Jimenez

      Warping was fixed in May for most. It was a fishbowl like effect. Now it might be just different headshapes.

  • namekuseijin

    Such BS 8k claims. It’s not even 4K. Plus, looks as comfortable as having a brick tied to your head

    • sjefdeklerk

      It has two 4k panels and the 8k-X will drive that natively. How is that ‘not even 4k’ ? It’s actually two times 4k. Not 8k though.

      • Mike Porter

        Because the actual pixel information is 2560×1440 instead of 4K (3840×2160) and is upscaled to 4K. Only 8KX model is able to accept dual 4K signal but that isn’t available yet.

        • aasdfa

          you are correct! theyre only half of 8k just like the “4k” edition was only half of 4k. this company rides on tricking people

  • Lord

    I really dont care about the price, but i do care about the confort and my pc actually being able to handle this with rtx 2080ti.
    I want my money worth on something that is top notch, and dont want to pay for something that will disapoint me like the rift s did.

  • slikk66

    Have a 5k+ with DAS, very happy with it for iRacing. Learning towards trying out an 8k+ or 8kx with eye tracking.. I bet it will be epic.

  • Mulsanne917

    Don’t know if any of you realize (or not) that the actual 3D range of vision is somewhere around 90 degrees (45 to each side of center), so there is no point in rendering 3D off to the sides…2D from 45 out to the limit of the eye’s “backend” limit is all that’s ever needed.
    If Pimax aren’t already optimizing framerate knowing this, then they may be wasting rendering power where it’s not needed. It might also explain why (or just if) the side rendering might seem distorted. Seems to me 3D on the sides would only make things more blurry, and not less.
    If the width of the 3D render area is adjustable to fit different individuals (the same way the IPD is adjustable), it might improve the so called “distortion” quite a bit.

    • Mulsanne917

      Followup to why this is true: The leftside limit of the 3D rendering area is limited by the RIGHT side of the nose, and vice versa. Both eyes have to see any object or area in order to see them in 3D, and beyond that only one eye is able to see “pixels.” To prove this to yourself, cover one eye with the hand and look with the other toward your nose. You’ll see that the range of the uncovered eye is bound (on the inside) by your nose. In my case the only clear vision to the inside is even a bit less–the inside (nose side) edge of the frame of my glasses.
      So…look straight ahead, then try to pin down the inside edge of one eye (the degree of visible pixels, typically about 45 degrees, give or take), then do the same with the other eye…and 45+45=90. When you turn your head to one side, this brings both eyes around, but the useable 3D range is still about 90.

    • Zantetsu

      This is a very good point. I am not sure why dumb people can’t understand what you wrote and have downvoted you. Your right eye can’t see “around” your nose to see the far left part of the Pimax display, and vice-versa. I am sure that you do have to take into account different nose bridge heights though. Western noses occlude more than eastern noses do, so you might need to do something more like 110 degrees.

      • Mike Porter

        Not only that, but for perspective correction you don’t even need as accurate of an eye tracking as for foveated rendering for the perspective correction to look good enough. I’d estimate ~2 degree accuracy is fine.

      • John G

        Agreed about the eye tracking!

        I was hoping there’d be a CyberMonday or Black Friday sale for the Vive Pro Eye. Nope!

        == John ==

    • Moe Curley

      People with big schnoz’s have even less. Look left with your right eye, see how much your nose blocks, then right with you left eye. That’s the max 3D range because your nose moves with your eyes. I’m sure Oculus and Valve alread take this into account. Probably just build for the smallest noses to be safe. . My Italian buddy probably has about 15 degree’s with his bag a** nose ;)

    • Leon Jimenez

      This is kinda embarrassing to point out … but each screen is already 2D. 3D is even you combine two 2D images with the correct offset.

    • Ardra Diva

      This is why foveated rendering is so important. it’s a lot closer to how human vision actually works, and permits you to do a lot more without the overhead of having to render the entire space in highest resolution.

  • Ethan

    Nice article “Road”toVR. If you’re wondering why I put “Road” in quotation marks despite the fact that it is not your actual name, it’s because most people are too dumb to realize there is no literal “road” on your website, as it is a website and not a physical location.

    • John G

      Oh – that’s why, I was so confused. I kept standing on my screen, hoping for that road, but walking got nowhere. I kept running into my wall and it confused me, plus I got footprints all over my screen.

    • Moe Curley

      Nice comment “Ethan” I don’t believe that you are actually an “infant” despite the fact that you use a photo of an infant in your posts. But I bet most people are smart enough to realize that you are not really an infant. Only an idiot would waste their time wondering about whether or not you were an infant.

      • Ardra Diva

        The baby pic is a meme.

  • NooYawker

    If anyone is still waiting for this just cancel it and get a Valve Index.

    • Leon Jimenez

      If you are going to take a step down I would recommend the Oculus Quest with link cable.

  • Evol Love

    While the delay is unfortunate, hopefully it equates to less faulty units sent out. The Pimax wide FOV is quite nice and the lenses are really pretty decent despite what some haters claim. The sweet spot is very large and it doesn’t suffer from major glare issues such as Index does. I’m excited for the upgrade whenever it’s ready.

  • Adrian Meredith

    I didn’t find distortion to be much of an issue on the 5k+ the big problem was the unusable discomfort and the fact that the ipd doesn’t go as low as they claimed. I think the new ones with the new strap etc will be really good though. The screens are excellent and from what I’ve seen the new ones are a significant step up (colours especially)

    • Leon Jimenez

      It now goes to 50 ipd and up to 80. 60-70 manually and then +/- 10 via software.

  • MW

    Pimax is just unable to launch this product. It was obvious from the beginning. How anyone could not get that? This is gigantic task even for companies like Samsung or Facebook – to produce entire VR system (hardware and software), better than any other (fov and resolution) for affordable price (and support, marketing, repairs, replacements) by no name China company? It was a joke from the beginning.

    • Evol Love

      While I agree that peoples expectations of Pimax’s ability to go from 0-100 real quick is a joke. However the products do exist and they are pretty awesome. The only wide FOV consumer product now and probably the only for some years. Also it’s looking like this new set of headsets will also prove better than the commercial wide FOV headsets on the market for far less $$.

      • MW

        I disagree. Idea exist. Real product (by real I mean working, available, and supported) don’t. What they have today is headset only, not available, and full of small problems. And it will not change.

        • Evol Love

          No doubt it’s not perfect but neither are any of the other headsets available. They all have some advantages over each other.

  • Fabian

    I’m annoyed by all these versions and addons. They should sell the best and trash the rest. I don’t want audio straps or comfort kits, such an expensive device should have perfect comfort and audio by default.

    • Leon Jimenez

      They included with the flagship 8kX. The add ons are for people who already have headsets.

    • The Bard

      Well said! Sell 1 or 2 models which are great. That’s it! They have new US born CEO and they still don’t understand the simple fact.

  • Moe Curley

    Just when they were starting to get some good press. How many times can they shoot themselves in the foot.

  • Moe Curley

    You’re right I noticed that distortion seems to start to increase at about 8 until at some point in the night nothing is visible at all. I’ve repeated the experiment too many times to remember. Always same result.

    • Immersive Computing

      It’s strange how that works? I’ve tried cleaning my lenses but everything gets blurry very quickly ;)

      • Moe Curley

        Will try experiment again tonight. If I do not return send scrambled eggs and coffee… lot’s of coffee.

  • The Bard

    Curved OLED VR is what I am waiting for.

  • The Bard

    Advice to Pimax CEO. For God’s sake. Cancel all that old crap models and justy sell one model with OLED. Stop making one big confusion. One model with OLED panel, good strap, good drivers and software. Nothing else. It is just that simple. You are turning customers away with delays. It is all unserious. Also, get your hands on flexible OLED panel, with which you can make one big 210 FOV screen, not two heavy cellphone screens attached to your head. What you do at Pimax is all amateur. Delays, lack of response to customers for years. People want order, sense, quality in all aspects.
    https://www.patentlymobile.com/2019/01/samsung-invents-next-gen-gear-vr-headset-that-provides-a-curved-display-for-a-more-natural-field-of-view-and-more.html

  • Delays. AGAIN. This is becoming a joke.

    I understand that Pimax is trying to innovate and it is a startup, but all its deadlines get always postponed

  • Ardra Diva

    seems like a curved display is better than the “hammerhead shark” look if you are trying for 180 degree view.

  • Guilherme Starling

    Hello, do you know how long it takes to deliver the pimax 5k plus to USA?