Somnium VR1 Lenses - What makes our optics so special? Ft. Antonin from VRG

It is a known fact by now, that VR1 boasts very sharp and one of the brightest images on the market. But how is that possible? How come, we were able to squeeze so much brightness and sharpness out of our screens? What kind of black magic is happening here? If you are asking yourself same questions this video is for you!
Brightness comparison blogpost - / somnium-vr1-february-u...
Steve aka VR Flight Sim Guy channel - @VRFlightSimGuy
Follow me on Twitter: / asychov

[@VRFlightSimGuy]

Great info 👍 The difference really is shocking.

[@MrAminmohamed]

You should do an in lens comparison with the pymax crystal. Thats the only way to prove the advantages of your lenses.

[@dtz1000]

Tyriel should do it because he is less biased.

[@SomniumSpaceVR]

Check out @VRFlightSimGuy videos

[@Pece73]

Amazing! Thank you for the Video!

[@sean.d7171]

I was surprised when I tried a quest 2 having owned a varjo aero at the time that the quest was so clear and comfortable for having less res and fresnel lens still not the areo quality but way better than i thought it would be. I was thinking at the time it was because of having a very good optic profile not needing much software to correct distortion. I shows how lens design is so important to get your most out of the headset I would bet aspheric lenses is very difficult to get right but great to see you guys have moved it to another level. The pimax crystal has an average sweet spot I find the more you crank up the graphics the more you notice that you need the headset perfectly aligned to make the most of it.

[@nekron75]

Thanks, that's useful info. I was considering the pimax crystal light but without the eye-tracking, the software cannot help in aligning the headset correctly.

[@tkdmp5698]

Wow im so hyped!! Im gonna race in my quest2 and cry 🤐

[@SomniumSpaceVR]

Do not forget to reserve your FREE VR1 spot - www.somniumspace.com

[@gaminginstilllife9429]

im going all in the Pimax just because they now have a PCVR only headset for 799.99 cant beat that...

[@SomniumSpaceVR]

GLHF but you will be back ;)

[@SargonDragon]

They can beat that if their headset actually works. The main thing that Pimax products have never had is stability. Pimax habitually releases new products in a broken state and never actually completely finishes them. If Somnium can deliver a headset that rivals the capabilities of Pimax headsets but with sold stability, all its features actually working, and excellent customer support, it will be worth the premium price. I have been a Pimaxian for years because I am a hardcore VR enthusiast, and Pimax has made the most powerful headsets on the market. But at the same time, the "Pimax experience" involves a lot of pain and frustration. I have such a love/hate relationship with this company. I'd love to jump ship to a company that doesn't have the pain and frustration part.

[@Schwing27]

🤣good luck with that. I’ve been down that road before. I was NEVER give Pimax another penny again. By far the worst company I’ve ever dealt with.

[@tahirballikaya213]

will you also have a down-specd "light" version without eye-tracking etc?

[@blenderalien]

Not trying to be negative here, but this video has almost no information in it. 70% render res + sharpening is not the same as 100% render res without sharpening. That you image is very bright due to the lens design was known before I think And no one has really seen the VR displays and can actually comment on how it looks different than "other manufacturers", apart from Flight sim guy, who I don't trust can actually compare these things right, as he once made a video being surprised how sharp the beyond can be when super sampling (apparently he didn't know how much res is actually native due to distortion compensation)

[@VRFlightSimGuy]

Surprised? Nope. You clearly did not understand the video. Since alot of people were not aware that due to the BSBs pancake lenses, you can over sample much easier due to less aggressive barrel distortion correction. However, I've warned people time and time again about the glare issues. Thanks for watching 😅

[@blenderalien]

@@VRFlightSimGuy take it as constructive criticism then. I find it hard to get hard information from your videos, but can only listen to your experiences with any given HMD in comparison to any other. For example listing exact render resolutions on screen (compared to 100% after barrel distortion) would help immensely imo

[@blenderalien]

Also, this video is still only saying "our optics are better", not really going into how. Having more of your display shown, thus having higher PPD doesn't make sense to me, as the VR1 is advertised at 35ppd just like the Crystal which has lower FOV

[@VRFlightSimGuy]

​@@blenderalien I've already shown this, amongst other technical data in my hands on video from Prague. How did you miss it? 🤔

[@blenderalien]

@@VRFlightSimGuy the video from prague I did watch. But as your newest video is supposed to serve as a pre-review of the VR1, I'd expect to have more concrete information on how it compares in detail with the Crystal for example. A "this is the best headset I've ever used" from anyone really couldn't convince me to spend 2000€+ on a product if you know what I mean. Especially if you're the only one to review the HMD before shipping begins, you kind of have a responsibility to lay out all the cards on the table I guess

[@ji3200]

If the price is same as Pimax Crystal Super, i might have alternative choice. 2880p is plenty sharp enough for me

[@nekron75]

Somnium VR1 starts at 1899€, that's without the eye-tracking option, hand tracking option, and mixed reality camera's.

[@MrAminmohamed]

If you want to succeed you must compare with xr4 varjo.

[@JoTokutora]

ok, WHEN DELIVERIES START THEN?

[@SomniumSpaceVR]

Very soon. Please follow our social channels to not miss the start of orders within several weeks

[@kafridon]

I feel it's kinda late now as Pimax has beat you to it after all this long wait and with a much better price.The Somnium VR1 i'm afraid will release dead on arrival no matter how much you hype it with your videos on this channel.I still wish you the best though.

[@artursychov]

Your feeling is very wrong :)

[@saltgrows7567]

I’m almost certain the only thing they beat them in is pricing lol

[@OdyBeRidin]

Time will tell with the VR1. Sure the resolution is the same as the Pimax Light. But if the VR1 lives up to their hype, the VR1 will blow up the Pimax Light. First, Pimax Light and/or Crystal specs 115 H FOV, just slightly less than Index, but as you know Pimax always over specs their FOV's, many reviewers say its not close to 115, the VR1 specs 125 H FOV and possibly up to 140, lets hope the 125 is a conservitave figure. Second, you know you going to have to Eff with Pimax 's software to get it up and running, not to mention every other game will require some kind of tweeking to get it to run just right, dont forget about the warping, been there done that. I was a backer on the Kickstarter for the Pimax 8KX,I also had the Pimax 4K, 5K+, and the 8K. When I sat down to play a "new" game on any Pimax headset, ther was about 30 minutes of farting around with it to get it to work. on the flip side Ive also owned the XTAL 5K and the 8k unit, they were trouble free, always fired up with most every game I threw at them,Somnium is working with the same guys that brought us the XTAL, VRgineers. I think folks that are fed up with Pimax's business model "The customers are the beta testers" will flock to the VR1.

[@Schwing27]

Pimax is NOT a good company. lol. I would much rather pay more for a premium product than ever give a single penny to Pimax again. That was the worst experience I’ve ever dealt with as far as customer service goes as well as quality control.

[@nemisis_wolf]

Well I don't think the OP was talking about the Pimax Crystal light, Pimax are releasing the crystal super which beats the VR1 in every way, resolution FOV and price. The issue will be as stated by other replies is will Pimax finally get thier operating system up to a level where there is little to no faffing around on start up to get it working well with each game/simulator. If they can then the VR1 is beaten before they can get off the ground. But only time will tell. Best of luck to them. The more companies in this field the better for all of us.

[@flajflaj]

The main question is: WHEN!? :O My wallet is burning right now ;].

[@SomniumSpaceVR]

Very soon! Matter of weeks!

[@blenderalien]

@@SomniumSpaceVR the secondary question to me, is how much will the wallet burn? Your starting at price doesn't include eye tracking and there doesn't seem to be any info on whether or not that includes tax.

[@JoTokutora]

@@SomniumSpaceVR erm...OK, so no dates then Lol. The Blue balling is strong here

[@flajflaj]

@@SomniumSpaceVR OK, and the starting price of 1899,- is a NET price or a full price?

[@flajflaj]

@@blenderalien Yes, I'd like to know if that's NET price too. However I know from other videos that eye tracking will not increase the price too much. I think it's not more than 2100 euro. However more will be added to the mixed reality, my guessing is something around 2600-2700e. Still don't know if that's NET or full price. I'm only guessing here.