Samsung HMD Odyssey

S

Stryker7314

Gawd
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Apr 22, 2011
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Who's picking one up? I plan to pick one up for flight sims. Flyinside is working on microsoft mr support, and steam support appears to be solid. Also gonna do racing games and DCS World flying.
 
Probably will have SDE, just less than the Vive and Rift.

I may pick one up after SteamVR is fully supported and if the motion tracking is good.
 
Mine is in the mail. I hope it doesn't take them too long to get steamvr working. Definitely sounds like an upgraded experience over the rift cv1 and Vive.
 
Vega said:
Mine is in the mail. I hope it doesn't take them too long to get steamvr working. Definitely sounds like an upgraded experience over the rift cv1 and Vive.
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Just checked and mine too! Can't wait to use it, last vr headset I used was oculus dk1 a few years back.
Xplane 11 native vr support coming out next update. Looking forward to steamvr. DCS has native vr support but will need to add microsoft vr headsets support.
 
What strikes me as odd is that there have been no in-depth tech reviews of the Odyssey in comparison with the Rift/Vive. There were only a handful of "impressions" like non-tech overview articles from a bunch of news sites that attended Microsoft's announcement event that took place back in early October, and most of them all spew the same party line as to marketing specs/literature. If Samsung has the offering with the best specs/performance, you would think that they would have sent out review samples to a bunch of tech sites by now - especially if the performance is good when compared to the others or even the Rift/Vive. And Microsoft limiting the sale of the Odyssey to only the US market seems very odd, especially if they really want to break into the VR market in a big way. Looking forwards to your review of the unit Vega!
 
Got mine in, playing with it now. Really no games to test it with though I'm finding, since SteamVR not supported yet and the Microsoft store hardly has any games.
 
Vega said:
Got mine in, playing with it now. Really no games to test it with though I'm finding, since SteamVR not supported yet and the Microsoft store hardly has any games.
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Sounds like growing pains. I thought there was a SteamVR version you could use - might as well try it out and bite the lip as needed with any bugs.
 
ronan_zj said:
any SDE?
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Oh ya definitely. People even report some SDE on the Pimax 8K's. Although the image does appear to be clearer on the Samsung vs the Rift/Vive. But after work I'm going to do a direct A-B between the Odyssey and the Rift.
 
Vega said:
Oh ya definitely. People even report some SDE on the Pimax 8K's. Although the image does appear to be clearer on the Samsung vs the Rift/Vive. But after work I'm going to do a direct A-B between the Odyssey and the Rift.
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Have you found any games/demos in the MS Store that are also in SteamVR so that you can do a good subjective 1:1 comparison between the two as to FOV, resolution, focus, SDE, and tracking?

I'd really be interested to find out if you feel the Odyssey is worth stepping up to from the Rift as a complete package or if it's more of a lateral move. And if you feel someone new to VR should spring for the extra $100 to get it over the Rift now.
 
There are a few games in the MSStore that I also have in SteamVR, but I'm not going to purchase them again. I downloaded SteamVr beta which will allow my to use my Odyssey if I can get a developers key. Still working on it.

In the meantime I'm just going to mess around in each interface to see how they compare putting on one right after the other and do a quick summary of my findings.
 
how do you compare SDE between Samsung Odyssey and Oculus? I had Oculus , and the SDE is noticeable .
 
So I switched between the Rift and the Odyssey around six times last night trying different stuff, these are my findings:

1. The SDE on the Odyssey is still quite noticeable. It uses a Pentile pixel setup. Even though the Odyssey has higher resolution, the Rift has a superior pixel structure so that both actually have around similar SDE characteristics to me. The Odyssey having a very "dot-like" pattern, versus the Rift having more of diagonal-lines. The Odyssey would have been superior if they did not go with Pentile.

2. Resolution. I have noticed the resolution on the Odyssey did appear higher/crisper, but am a bit disappointed that it is not as dramatic as the numbers would have you think. An example would be upgrading from a 1080p to a 1440p monitor, or a similar percentage as the increase from the Rift to the Odyssey. The upgrade in the monitors resolution I believe is much more noticeable than the upgrade between these two HMD's. It could be another effect of the Pentile pixels.

3. God-Rays. The Rift definitely takes the crown when it comes to terrible god-rays. The Samsung I would put at about 40% of the God-Rays the Rift posses. So improvement there.

4. Brightness/colors. The Samsung is slightly brighter and does have slightly better colors. Not a massive difference.

5. Focal area. With my HMD use, I am very sensitive to how small the central focal area is and how quickly it blurs as your eyes move to the edge. I like to move my eyes in VR and not just my head to look at things. Even making many adjustment attempts with the Samsung IPD adjustment and face placement, this is one area it is very much lacking. I find the lenses have a clear but narrow central vision. Displayed items quickly go out of focus and edge blur to almost the point of unread-ability around the perimeter of the lenses. This doesn't happen nearly as much on the Rift. I wonder if it has to do with a give-take thing when it comes to focus, god-rays, etc.

6. Motion. Both are OLED, so no real differences here. The Samsung may have just slightly more blur-trailing, but with less god-ray effect on the fringes of items than the Rift.

7. Size/weight. The Samsung is more like the Vive when it comes to size/weight. I prefer the more compact Rift.

8. HMD comfort. At first, the Samsung feels more comfortable. It has larger vinyl type pads that distribute the pressure more evenly over the face. The downside is that large pads covered in vinyl means more warm/hot spots. The Samsung being initially more comfortable than the Rift, but then the Rift becoming more comfortable for longer sessions.

9. Sound. Although I didn't play any high quality music or anything, I really didn't notice much of a difference when it came to the speakers. Both speakers seem to come down about the same distance to meet your ears. Both units have built in microphones.

10. Controllers. Both sets seem to work just fine for me. Really had no issues with the tracking, quality of the buttons etc. The MS MR controllers can be a bit bright with all those LEDs!

11. HMD motion control. This was one area I was curious to see how all internal versus external sensors would work. To my surprised, pretty good! I didn't notice any significant movement anomalies, tracking issues, lag etc. This just proves that the future of VR is having all sensors internal to the HMD and controllers. One issue I did note was that since the Odyssey uses cameras for its tracking, it would lose my room play space if the lighting in the room wasn't at a decent level. So those that like to play VR in a dark/dim room may have problems with this type of tracking.

12. Computer interface. One HDMI cord goes into your GPU, one USB 3.0 into your USB port. Done. MS MR interface pops up and you area ready to rock. MS MR Does take the cake with ease of setup. Nice simple solution. My god they need some games on the MS Store though! MS MR needs that SteamVR compatibility in a BIG way.

13. Extras: being able to adjust the volume with some buttons under the HMD on the Odyssey is nice.

Bottom line, the Samsung Odyssey is a good product. But a product not exactly revolutionary. It is almost a side-grade to what the Rift and Vive offers. Do you want to trade much less god-rays for less clarity around the edge of the lenses? Do you want slightly better resolution clarity while not really doing anything about the SDE? Do you really not want to deal with external sensors and want to go with a more simple and elegant solution? Etc...

I'll continue to use my Rift and hold onto the Odyssey to see if SteamVR compatibility arrives before the return period is up.
 
Thanks for the in-depth assessment Vega! A bit disappointing to hear that the overall visuals aren’t that dramatically improved. I was expecting a bit more on that front with the Odyssey. Will be that much less with some of the other Mixed Reality HMD’s that don’t have as high a resolution or the built in audio. How is the FOV? Sounds like the out of focus issue around the viewing periphery would also be a negative even with a slightly increased FOV... I.E. You would have to turn your head instead of swivel your eyes to take details in. That’s one thing I really like about the Rift over the Vive - better focus across the FOV, not just looking straight ahead.

And I agree, they need to get SteamVR support working pronto. There are going to be a ton of returns this Xmas if they don’t have it working by then... and that’s only 6 odd weeks away!
 
My Odyssey is sitting here unopened...I was waiting for Vegas assesment before I even bothered opening it.

After what he said, I don't want it....attempting to send it back. MS Customer Support is absolute hell....they tell me there is ZERO return policy on this headset.....OMG.....get some popcorn everybody this is about to get GOOD!

UPDATE:

Asked to get transferred to a US rep and got switched to automated hell.

Called back, got a slightly more legible sounding CSR....seems to have processed the return request....awaiting return shipping label.

They told me that they will accept the return because I did not open or wear it!!! What in the ACTUAL FUCK is that!
 
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l88bastard said:
My Odyssey is sitting here unopened...I was waiting for Vegas assesment before I even bothered opening it.

After what he said, I don't want it....attempting to send it back. MS Customer Support is absolute hell....they tell me there is ZERO return policy on this headset.....OMG.....get some popcorn everybody this is about to get GOOD!
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WUT?! Unopened, you should be able to return it. If not, man that is harsh!
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
WUT?! Unopened, you should be able to return it. If not, man that is harsh!
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They now told me that they will accept the return because I did not open or wear it!!!

What a joke of a product, next to no software, not presently compatible with steam and no ETA on when it will work with steam vr...and then to catch this kind of hell when you (the customer) want a refund....seriously this has to be the worst MS product launch. It makes the Obone1 launch in 2013 look grand!

In contrast I got my XboneX yesterday and it is AMAZEBALLS on my LG OLED :)
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
Thanks for the in-depth assessment Vega! A bit disappointing to hear that the overall visuals aren’t that dramatically improved. I was expecting a bit more on that front with the Odyssey. Will be that much less with some of the other Mixed Reality HMD’s that don’t have as high a resolution or the built in audio. How is the FOV? Sounds like the out of focus issue around the viewing periphery would also be a negative even with a slightly increased FOV... I.E. You would have to turn your head instead of swivel your eyes to take details in. That’s one thing I really like about the Rift over the Vive - better focus across the FOV, not just looking straight ahead.

And I agree, they need to get SteamVR support working pronto. There are going to be a ton of returns this Xmas if they don’t have it working by then... and that’s only 6 odd weeks away!
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Super, the FOV is the same as the Rift/Vive. I'm thinking whatever they did with the Fresnel lenses to get rid of a lot of the god-ray effect negatively affected the peripheral clarity. I guess you have to pick your poison. I'm glad I stuck with the Pimax 8K X order!

l88bastard said:
They now told me that they will accept the return because I did not open or wear it!!!

What a joke of a product, next to no software, not presently compatible with steam and no ETA on when it will work with steam vr...and then to catch this kind of hell when you (the customer) want a refund....seriously this has to be the worst MS product launch. It makes the Obone1 launch in 2013 look grand!

In contrast I got my XboneX yesterday and it is AMAZEBALLS on my LG OLED :)
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Really, if you opened it they won't return it? Hmm I will have to check their return policy fine print that doesn't sound right. What if you opened it and found it defective? Suppose to go through Samsung? Geez.
 
Mines in and it's amazing! The tracking is spot on and the visuals are much better than last time I put an Oculus on.
 
l88bastard said:
My Odyssey is sitting here unopened...I was waiting for Vegas assesment before I even bothered opening it.

After what he said, I don't want it....attempting to send it back. MS Customer Support is absolute hell....they tell me there is ZERO return policy on this headset.....OMG.....get some popcorn everybody this is about to get GOOD!

UPDATE:

Asked to get transferred to a US rep and got switched to automated hell.

Called back, got a slightly more legible sounding CSR....seems to have processed the return request....awaiting return shipping label.

They told me that they will accept the return because I did not open or wear it!!! What in the ACTUAL FUCK is that!
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Whut? Returning without your own opinion! LMAO!
 
I don't own a CV1 but I have used it and I would say the improvement is significant and I expect cockpit displays and hud clarity to benefit from the 1.7x pixel increase. Defnitiely looks nextgen compared to oculus low res, the reason I held off on purchasing it in the first place.

Besides better visuals, it is very comfortable and I forget its even on.

The sound quality is great (coming from someone with Hifiman phones, Lyr 2 and multi-bit dacs).

The tracking is flawless and spot on, the Halo demo was a good at displaying the accuracy, it feels one to one with your movements and wielding the dual smg's felt like they were actually in your hands, blown away by this. Walking and movement was perfect.

Installation is easy as can be, plug in the hdmi and usb 3.0 cable, done.

The controllers use bluetooth 4.0, so the pc will need that to link to them.

Once support releases, it will be the highest fidelity headset on the market.
 
Stryker7314 said:
Whut? Returning without your own opinion! LMAO!
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I'd say Vega's review was pretty solid. He spent some time putting together what I read as an honest assessment and a hands on A/B comparison with a lot of good detail and impressions coming from a fellow [H]'er. If I had an Odyssey incoming and already owned a Rift/Vive and now knew that returning it might be a big hassle if I opened it, I'd be motivated to return it as well. It basically sounds like a mixed bag and has a few significant drawbacks right now. I'm inclined to trust Vega's opinion. Your first "review" just had a generalized superlative and a subjective declarative in it, but that was pretty much it. Comparing it to something you now longer have gets a bit murky. It's very easy to fawn over something new in front of you, but without being able to perform a real hands-on A/B comparison and just going from the memory of "I once wore one", I'd be inclined to trust Vega's opinion/comparison over yours.

It also sounds like you've never experienced the Touch controllers with the Rift.

Not saying the Odyssey doesn't have some potential (it really just needs SteamVR support... like yesterday), but to me at least it does not sound like something worth pursuing as an "upgrade" if you already have a Rift/Vive VR setup. Looking forward to some in-depth reviews/comparisons from others as well, but I expect they'll pretty much mirror Vega's. Other than perhaps a slightly better "cockpit" experience for some as to being able to read text, it's really sounding like a pass for me and I'll wait for Gen 2 to arrive before seriously entertaining the possibility of a VR hardware upgrade.
 
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Exactly what Supercharged said.

The lack of Steam VR support and lack of room tracking, only to gain a subjective slightly superior image quality does not seem worth $540 to me. VIVE and Rift are already saturating the market and neither is really making any money.....the odessey "mee too product" ain't gonna cut it and will be dropped.

I predict you will see it on sale for $299 in about 2 months.


Oh and I still have not received my shipping return email from MS.....the CSR told me it had to be sent for "Approval" before I receive a return label.....what a fucking joke!
 
Sure, only those that tried them both actually know the improvement.

VR is very much a personal preference deal, and for my uses it's significantly better.

The 1.7x res will makes a difference in distant objects when racing and flying for sure and that advantage is worth the 100 buck delta.
 
Just not a lot to race and fly with on the Odyssey right now... and if those distant objects are in your periphery, it sounds like they'll be a blurred mess. SteamVR support better arrive soon and be at least as good as the others or it will quickly become stillborn.
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
Just not a lot to race and fly with on the Odyssey right now... and if those distant objects are in your periphery, it sounds like they'll be a blurred mess. SteamVR support better arrive soon and be at least as good as the others or it will quickly become stillborn.
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What do you base this on, sure isn't your experience. Don't see anything blurry in my periphery as I actually look through them now.
 
Xinmosni said:
This, smh wtf
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And yet.....his opinion is invalid as well....because its NOT STEAM VR compatible yet.....which means he has not actually played any "real" games with the odessey either.... Also, lets not forget that he is not comparing them side by side like vega did.

He is saying how much better racing and flying games are vs the rift and Vive....yet he has not played any of those games yet....because he CAN'T ROFL
 
l88bastard said:
And yet.....his opinion is invalid as well....because its NOT STEAM VR compatible yet.....which means he has not actually played any games with the odessey either.... lets not forget that he is not comparing them side by side like vega did.
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Actually I have played games already, keep making stuff up and spreading rumors with no first hand experience.
 
Stryker7314 said:
For someone with no experience with the Odyssey, sure have a lot of nothing to say or contribute.
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I value Vegas review and the odyssey does not seem like the picture quality "LEAP" I hoped it would be.

I'm already vested in a Vive, so would rather have my $540 back and wait for something better. Also, I don't have much confidence in the odyssey product as a viable brand vs the Rift and Vive, so I think its re-sale value will suck ass.

Ohh and 5 hours later, still no return authorization email from MS....SIGHHHH why..WHY must the return of an unopened product be this difficult with a MASSIVE company like M$??? Fucken-A they are going to force me to have to call again tomorrow :-(
 
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Stryker7314 said:
What do you base this on, sure isn't your experience. Don't see anything blurry in my periphery as I actually look through them now.
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Never said that it was my experience. I was referring to Vega's detailed review. Item #5. Reading comprehension -1.

I'll wait for others to objectively weigh-in. Color me a bit biased as to your opinion right now, especially as it sounds like you do not have any real in-depth experience with the Rift + Touch nor do you have that system handy to actually compare it with. I'm happy that you are pleased with your purchase and that you find it amazing. VR is amazing. Please go back to enjoying that Halo demo and hopefully it will hold you for another week or so until the beta/preview of SteamVR support surfaces for Windows Mixed Reality HMD's. From the link you provided, lines like "but not all games will immediately make the cut" don't sound very promising. You may be waiting a while.
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
Never said that it was my experience. I was referring to Vega's detailed review. Item #5. Reading comprehension -1.

I'll wait for others to objectively weigh-in. Color me a bit biased as to your opinion right now, especially as it sounds like you do not have any real in-depth experience with the Rift + Touch nor do you have that system handy to actually compare it with. I'm happy that you are pleased with your purchase and that you find it amazing. VR is amazing. Please go back to enjoying that Halo demo and hopefully it will hold you for another week or so until the beta/preview of SteamVR support surfaces for Windows Mixed Reality HMD's. From the link you provided, lines like "but not all games will immediately make the cut" don't sound very promising. You may be waiting a while.
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Another one with no experience and a whole lot of nothing to say.
 
Stryker7314 said:
Another one with no experience and a whole lot of nothing to say.
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Its OK Brah.....Microsoft & Samsung are massive companies, I am sure you will have another position there if the Odyssey division fails to launch.... be cheery as I recently supported your overlords with my XboneX purchase!


Vega said:
Oh sweet. Definitely holding onto the Odyssey to check out real games vs the Rift.
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Judging by how long the return process seems to be....I will most likely still have the Odyssey in my possession to test Steam VR Beta software next week too!
 
Stryker7314 said:
Another one with no experience and a whole lot of nothing to say.
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I'm an early adopter of VR. A day 1 purchaser of both the Vive and the Rift. I have been using VR on a fairly regular basis since April 2016. You just got your first VR system what, today right? I'd say your VR "experience" is a little on the lighter end of the spectrum. And your sophomoric ad hominem attacks could really use some work. You're coming across like a spoiled 14 year old.
 
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