@twack3r Thanks for your first impressions of the XR-4!
Does the XR-4 has the same anti fog cooling of the lenses like the Aero/VR-3? That was the main reason for me why I had to skip the current Varjo HMDs, as the constant airflow started to hurt my eyes so bad after just 30 minutes that I had to take the HMD always off my face for the rest of the day. If the XR-4 has this too, then unfortunately the XR-4 also is not an option for me 
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It has the reverse, in that it doesnāt blow air into the eyebox but excavates it instead.
Big improvement imo.
@twack3r thanks! That are good news for me, as I can tolerate some low airflow on my eyes like the Q3 has. I can wear my Q3 without much pain in my eyes for 2-3 hours and thatās enough length of a timeframe for me for a VR session.
I will consider to try out the XR-4 in the coming weeks but where and how I have to do some research on that. Currently only Companyās can order a XR-4? I am just a normal private person with any involvement in a Business Company.
Awesome, thanks for your feedback @twack3r ! Can you upload the fov numbers with @risa2000ās tool to his database HMD Geometry Database | Collected geometry data from some commercially available VR headsets. please?
Also can you check your personal FoV with ROV please?
Definitely on the fence here, going to wait and see if CES has any interesting revelations. If not, probably will go ahead and buy this thing.
Then again, damn itās a difficult decision. Buying a $4000 XR headset with the MR part not even working right, hoping that one day theyāll be able to fix it ā¦ And then we have the Apple coming up soon, we know there are 5 upcoming headsets (this year probably) based on the new QCOM reference design, with the Samsung/Google coloboration as a very interesting one, and I still havenāt completely given up on the VR1ā¦ So itās a difficult decision for sure.
Anyway, letās see what CES brings
I do not think that this year something like the XR-4 Spec wise will emerge, not with that PPD.
And the CES 2024 I think will not have many more surprises for us, as most manufacturers already presented what they will show on CES + many has already unveiled they newest products regarding VR. So I personally would buy the XR-4 right now and then you will be future proof for at least the next two years.
But CES is only 2 days away.
We know from Qualcomm HTC has a headset coming and they are at CES. Every year they have a new HMD although they normally hint at a HMD by now.
I should have wrote more specific about that I meant after CES of course regarding a possible purchase of the XR-4, thanks for the hint!
For me personally it seems that HTC abandoned PC VR HMDs since the VP2 and now are concentrating more on the Standalone part of VR. I highly doubt they will present a PCVR HMD with better or equal specs like the XR4 for a cheaper or equal price.
Maybe a micro-Oled 2,5K x 2,5K HMD, but for that we already have the BSB.
Varjo was always ahead resolution and PPD wise compared to any other brand, the First (pro-)consumer HMD with 35 PPD+ was the Varjo Aero in 2021. After the Aero emerged the thing with 35 PPD HMDs really first caught attention by other manufacturers, at least this seems to be the case for me personally.
I think PCVR is crying out for a 1k HMD with 140FOV. That will be a killer HMD more so than a 5k XR-4.
Even if the lenses are hybrid plastic Fresnels, the best experiences Iāve had in VR were in the 5k+ and I cant wait to get that feeling back. But Iām not falling for an overpriced HMD where half the specs will never get used.
Iām still enjoying the Pico4, with its great value, passthrough, size, wifi, store, etc.
Until a new bread of HMDs come along and the FoV jumps back to what it was flippin 5 years ago Iāll wait. lol
Pimax really missed out on becoming a major VR player imo. If they only had a guy in charge that said lets do a 8KX slim with 140FOV, sell it for 1k with replacable lenses. Weād all have one by now because Pimax could have upgraded the lenses year on year and weād never feel the need to sell it on.
Those are the numbers from risa2000ās tool, I had shared them previously from another user on discord. I get the same values, obviously.
Where can I get ROV?
Yesterday I noticed a crescent moon-shaped darker shadow on both lenses, towards the top third of the lens. Other users are noticing the same; it might be a lens refraction artifact, it might be the edge of the binocular overlap. My VR-3 definitely didnāt show this but also had considerably less FOV.
Varjo are aware and it might be solvable with future profiles.
I find it distracting and as with all HMDs I have used so far, the longer you use them the more issues become apparent.
I am still very happy with it but the current concensus, particularly for non_LH XR4s, over on Discord is that this was a rushed release.
As it stands, I wouldnāt endorse the XR-4 in its current state at this high price point.
Update: the shadow appears to be a result of not wearing the HMD correctly and at the correct IPD. I havenāt yet verified this but discord users are describing that perfect alignment causes the artifact to disappear. Will update on this because other than this artifact, the HMD is a perfect combination of clarity and FOV for me. And playing Pavlov, which supports QuadView and therefore the full 55ppd had me completely speechles when I tried it last night.
Do we have an official list anywhere for titles known to fully support QuadView?
I believe itās just DCS and Pavlov, I could be wrong though.
could anything that works with StarVR in theory also work then? AFAIK the StarVR used quadview as well, though some titles required engine integration to work correctly.
Yes just those two application at present
I would absolutely love to experience this. How do you feel the game holds up at that PPD? Some titles, even on the crystal, are almost jarring at high PPD due to lower quality assets and textures etc. Pavlov is pretty good in this regard but just wondering if you find it weird or uncanny etc with assets not really intended for such high PPD.
Hopefully more games start to support QuadView and thanks for your posts about the XR-4, it has been super interesting (even if it does make me immensely jealous haha).
It doesnāt hold up like a current AAA UE5 title would on a 4K monitor. But Alyx already shows weakness on an Aero/VR-3/Chrystal because the used textures simply didnāt intend for this level of ppd.
Thereās also the aspect to consider that even at ppd parity, the XR-4 is significantly clearer than my VR-3, which is my direct comparison. I can only attribute this to the panel quality and lens improvement.
But Pavlov does look stunningly clear at 55ppd and users that fly DCS are pretty blown away. Alas Iām not a flight sim enthusiast and can only comment that iRacing greatly benefits from the increased FOV.
I am yet to try a current gen UE title via UEVR and OpenXR, this should be pretty spectacular given the flatscreen asset quality.
Who are these muppets?
āCombine inside-out tracking with LH-tracking for double accuracyā
What?!
Yeah that was pretty painful haha.
