8K VR for under $1,000 could become reality with Pixmax

Virtual reality is an area that is ever growing. Two areas that virtual reality has been lagging in is resolution and field of view. If we take a look at the standard HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, you have 1080×1200 for each eye, giving a total of 2.6 million pixels. The field of view on Vive and Rift is also limited to 110-degrees, in comparison to the natural 220-degrees of a normal human eye.

Pixmax has two new virtual reality headsets currently on Kickstarter (which has raised almost $1,600,000 of its $200,000 goal at the time of writing). The Pixmax 5K boasts 2560×1440 for each eye with a 200-degree field of view, and the Pixmax 8K has 3840×2160 for each eye. Though this isn’t “true” 4K, Pixmax is more talking about the horizontal resolution which stacks up to 7860 pixels. With a total pixel count of 16,600,000, this has over 8 times the amount of pixels that the normal Vive and Rift have. This resolution bump could be what virtual reality really needs to go to the next level and really make it feel like you’re a part of the content you’re viewing, whether that be a new movie or a brand new AAA game.

Pixmax also has a built-in video processing module that upscales non-8K to the native resolution of the Pixmax 8K, giving you the best possible resolution when viewing content on your headset.

The biggest thing, for me, with Pixmax is that it is compatible with current virtual reality platforms. If you already own Steam VR or HTC Vive lighthouses and controllers, you can get the Pixmax 5K from just $349. If you already have those bases and controllers, you can get the 8K from just $499. This is a great entry point for those who already own virtual reality platforms.

If you don’t already own a current-generation virtual reality headset, you can either get the 5K headset with two lighthouses and two controllers for $699 or spend $100 more and get the 8K headset with two controllers and two base stations.

The headset has two tracking modes: outside-in tracking (normal virtual reality headset tracking) or inside-out tracking (self-tracking with attachable modules.) The team behind Pixmax is also working on building a wireless base station to help cut the clutter when it comes to playing virtual reality, which is currently a huge headache if you talk to any VR player. This add-on comes if the company can reach $2,000,000 in funding, which they are already on the brink of.

This project has another 21 days in the crowdfunding stage and is set to ship around February 2018. If the up-to $799 price tag is too expensive for you, there is always the latest announcement from Oculus, though it obviously isn’t an 8K virtual reality headset.

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