Pimax visits Unbound XR

Pimax (pronounced "pie(π)-max") is a technology company specializing in virtual reality hardware and software products. Currently, Pimax is one of the largest VR hardware manufacturers in the Chinese market. A brief look back at Pimax's history reveals that their first product, the Pimax 4K virtual reality headset, was released in 2016, making it the first commercially available 4K headset for consumers. In 2017, they conducted a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for the Pimax 8K headset, raising approximately $3.7 million. On December 19, 2017, Pimax announced that they had completed a series A funding round of a whopping $13.5 million. In May 2018, Pimax indicated they were developing a 'knuckle style' controller fully compatible with SteamVR 2.0 and Vive accessories and they have since been involved with many more VR-related projects

All in all, Pimax is a highly successful VR company that started small but is gradually trying to take over the VR market. On August 19, 2019, we were pleased to welcome the Pimax team to our office in Nijmegen. They gave us a demonstration of Pimax products and explained what kind of company they are. In this blog, we highlight Pimax's products and share our experience with this successful, originally Californian, VR start-up

The company's first product, launched in 2016. The headset has a display resolution of 1920 x 2160 pixels per eye, amounting to a total resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. This combined makes it the first headset with a 4K resolution

The Pimax 8K is the company's flagship product. The headset features two 4K screens, one for each eye, with a field of view of 200 degrees. However, the Pimax 8K does not use the most common 8K resolution standard - 8K UHD - which contains four times as many pixels as 4K UHD. Since the Pimax 8K contains two 4K UHD screens, it has only half the number of pixels as 8K UHD. Due to bandwidth limitations in the connection cable, the input to the headset is limited to 2560 x 1440 pixels for each of the two screens. This is then scaled up in the device to the actual screen resolution, so you have exceptionally sharp and clear image quality with a powerful video card

The headset uses the SteamVR tracking system - the base stations 2.0. This means that existing Vive base stations and controllers are compatible with the Pimax headset, so existing Vive users don't need to set up an additional tracking system or buy new controllers, they can simply upgrade to the Pimax headset. The Pimax 5K Plus and Pimax 8K are also compatible with the new Valve Knuckles. The headset can be used with SteamVR and Oculus software, allowing it to offer a wide range of VR games and apps. The included software platform 'PiTool' makes all VR games and apps easy to find and start in one library

The Pimax 5K Plus is based on similar hardware as the Pimax 8K, but has a lower resolution of 2560 × 1440 screens per eye instead of 4K. Since this resolution is accepted as input, the headset eliminates the need for scaling. Pimax 5K Plus users noted that the 5K Plus had a sharper image compared to the Pimax 8K, but that the screen-door-effect was significantly less noticeable with the 8K

As mentioned earlier, we were able to welcome the Pimax team to our office in Nijmegen. Upon reception, the vice-president of Pimax, the sales director (Ariana Wang), YouTuber SweViver (Martin Lammi) and commercial advisor of Unbound XR (Diederik Hermsen) were present. We immediately noticed that the Pimax team truly stands behind their product: they are enthusiastic VR enthusiasts who want to build the very best headset possible. The Pimax 8K has therefore been developed with user feedback. After a conversation about who the people behind Pimax and Unbound were, we proceeded to a demonstration of the Pimax products. Pimax had brought two VR headsets: the Pimax 8K and a new version: the Pimax RE (rugged edition). The Pimax RE is the headset that we were able to test. In terms of specifications, the Pimax RE is exactly the same as the Pimax 8K, but there are indeed differences in appearance and design. The first thing that immediately stands out about the Pimax RE is the matte purple color. This looks much more luxurious, and the matte material immediately feels much sturdier. The sturdiness is what distinguishes the Pimax RE: for VR arcades and other commercial environments, it is necessary to have a headset that does not break immediately when you accidentally bump it or drop it on the ground. Together with the high image resolution and extreme field of view of 200 degrees, the Pimax RE is a very welcome addition to the commercial and business VR landscape

After our personal experience, we are certainly impressed with Pimax. Not only do they make incredibly good VR headsets, but they are also a company that listens well to customer feedback and strives for perfection. We can wholeheartedly recommend Pimax's headsets to anyone looking for a high-end VR headset! We also believe that the Pimax RE is a very welcome addition for VR arcades and other business users who want to offer Pimax's unique VR experience to customers