Eye strain: Reverb G2 vs Pimax vs Index vs ?

[PicklePicklePickle]

Hello,

 

My first experience with VR was on a Samsung Galaxy Edge with the Gear case. While I found the experience impressive at the time, I could not tolerate it for more than a few minutes due to eye-strain resulting in headaches. Now this setup is not IPD adjustable so i assumed that might be the reason.

 

Now years later, I got the Reverb G2. Of all the great things(comfort, resolution, clarity, no lighthouses,etc) the most impressive was how it was 100% eye strain free for me. I can wear it for hours with no fatigue whatsoever and when i take it off my eyes don't feel like they are 'crossed' for a while. While I have set it to my correct IPD (64.1mm), i find that it is not eye-straining for me even if I set it to something slightly different. Another great test is to look at an object in the headset that is a certain distance away, then take the headset off looking at a real object the same distance away. With the Reverb, it doesn't even feel like I changed anything, my eyes are focus at the same spot.

 

I then tried a Pimax 8KX. Out of the box even with the IPD slider set correctly, it was as bad or worse than the Galaxy, could not use it for more than a few minutes. I later found out that the screens don't move with the slider and you have to also calibrate it using the IPD Offset setting which moves the image. While that improved things, it is still not as good as the Reverb G2, which feels as if I was not wearing anything at all.

 

I then tried an Index. While much better than the Pimax in many respects like the huge sweetspot and a correct IPD (lenses and image moves) slider, at my(or any) setting it is still not completely eye strain free like the Reverb for me. I even went as far as measuring the lenses on the Reverb and confirming they are set at the exact same distance on the Index, still get more eye strain on the index. I also thought about the smaller FOV on the reverb so I set the Index to the samllest FOV and it still doesn't feel the same.

 

I have gone back and forth with these 3, side-by-side many times and always the result is the same.

 

What are your experiences? Does anyone have any idea why two headsets like the G2 and Index can be set to the exact same IPD and similar FOV, and yet one causes eye strain while the other doesn't? I have a feeling that the Reverb G2 working so well for me is just a biological coincidence.

 

 

[Taz1004]

43 minutes ago, PicklePicklePickle said:

Hello,

 

My first experience with VR was on a Samsung Galaxy Edge with the Gear case. While I found the experience impressive at the time, I could not tolerate it for more than a few minutes due to eye-strain resulting in headaches. Now this setup is not IPD adjustable so i assumed that might be the reason.

 

Now years later, I got the Reverb G2. Of all the great things(comfort, resolution, clarity, no lighthouses,etc) the most impressive was how it was 100% eye strain free for me. I can wear it for hours with no fatigue whatsoever and when i take it off my eyes don't feel like they are 'crossed' for a while. While I have set it to my correct IPD (64.1mm), i find that it is not eye-straining for me even if I set it to something slightly different. Another great test is to look at an object in the headset that is a certain distance away, then take the headset off looking at a real object the same distance away. With the Reverb, it doesn't even feel like I changed anything, my eyes are focus at the same spot.

 

I then tried a Pimax 8KX. Out of the box even with the IPD slider set correctly, it was as bad or worse than the Galaxy, could not use it for more than a few minutes. I later found out that the screens don't move with the slider and you have to also calibrate it using the IPD Offset setting which moves the image. While that improved things, it is still not as good as the Reverb G2, which feels as if I was not wearing anything at all.

 

I then tried an Index. While much better than the Pimax in many respects like the huge sweetspot and a correct IPD (lenses and image moves) slider, at my(or any) setting it is still not completely eye strain free like the Reverb for me. I even went as far as measuring the lenses on the Reverb and confirming they are set at the exact same distance on the Index, still get more eye strain on the index. I also thought about the smaller FOV on the reverb so I set the Index to the samllest FOV and it still doesn't feel the same.

 

I have gone back and forth with these 3, side-by-side many times and always the result is the same.

 

What are your experiences? Does anyone have any idea why two headsets like the G2 and Index can be set to the exact same IPD and similar FOV, and yet one causes eye strain while the other doesn't? I have a feeling that the Reverb G2 working so well for me is just a biological coincidence.

 

 

 

Incorrect IPD wont make you cross eyed or wall eyed.  You will always look straight and with incorrect IPD, you may look into wrong part of the lens/screen.

 

Eye strain can be related to many other things than just IPD.  Comfort, refresh rate, frame rate, smoothness, color, screen type, lens type...  And a lot of times depends on the person.

Edited February 5, 2021 by Taz1004

[PicklePicklePickle]

22 minutes ago, Taz1004 said:

 

Incorrect IPD wont make you cross eyed or wall eyed.  You will always look straight and with incorrect IPD, you may look into wrong part of the lens/screen.

 

Eye strain can be related to many other things than just IPD.  Comfort, refresh rate, frame rate, smoothness, color, screen type, lens type...  And a lot of times depends on the person.

 

 

Thanks for the reply, this is very interesting because I thought it was the other way. For example, when I take the Pimax and move the IPD adjustments way off, i get that 'cross/wall eyed' effect, and it's so bad that even after I take the headset off it persists for a bit. If I get the IPD adjustment close to my IPD, then I don't get as much of that feeling although admittedly it only goes completely away on the reverb. Anyway, that's why I related the two, might be wrong.

 

If it is true that the IPD does not cause this, then it is even more mysterious to me. The Index and reverb for example have similar comfort, brightness, pressure on head and both are running at 90Hz. Maybe the increased screen door effect on the Index and the smoothness of the Reverb image are the difference?

 

Another thought I had was the physical distance to the screen. I've read that the 'vergence accommodation' failure that occurs on flat '3D' displays is worse the closer the screen is (i.e. the headache is less for a theater screen for example). The Reverb looks pretty 'deep' as if the screen is farther away from the eye.