Tuesday, October 3rd 2017
Samsung's Odyssey Headset is New Leader in Windows Mixed Reality
Last week, images of Samsung's upcoming Windows Mixed Reality headset known as Odyssey were leaked to the Internet. Earlier this week, Microsoft confirmed these leaks by listing the headset for preorder on their own store with product images, as well as a list of specifications that indicate the Oddysey offers superior hardware and features compared to its competition. The new headset boasts OLED displays with a resolution of 1440x1600 per eye, higher than other Windows Mixed Reality headsets as well as both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. In addition to the extra pixels to combat the screen-door effect commonly noticed in VR headsets, the OLED technology is expected to provide improved low persistence, resulting in a sharper image and less blurring with movement compared to LCD-based headsets. In addition, Odyssey is the first Windows Mixed Reality headset to feature built-in audio in the form of integrated headphones. These improvements, combined with hardware interpupillary distance adjustment and a wider field of view (up to 110°) on par with the Vive and Rift, help it stand out from its direct competitors.
Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality platform is set to be released alongside the Windows 10 Fall Creator's Update on October 17th, and provides a software platform for immersive virtual reality and augmented reality headsets from various manufacturers including Samsung, Dell, Acer, HP, and Lenovo, as well as Microsoft's own HoloLens project. These headsets will come at various price points ranging from $399 to $599 USD. Microsoft's listing puts the Samsung Odyssey's price at $500 USD including motion controllers, which interestingly puts the headset in competition with the Oculus Rift, despite Samsung's partnership with Oculus on the mobile-powered Gear VR. Microsoft has since taken down the listing, but the page is archived.
Sources:
RoadtoVR, Microsoft
Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality platform is set to be released alongside the Windows 10 Fall Creator's Update on October 17th, and provides a software platform for immersive virtual reality and augmented reality headsets from various manufacturers including Samsung, Dell, Acer, HP, and Lenovo, as well as Microsoft's own HoloLens project. These headsets will come at various price points ranging from $399 to $599 USD. Microsoft's listing puts the Samsung Odyssey's price at $500 USD including motion controllers, which interestingly puts the headset in competition with the Oculus Rift, despite Samsung's partnership with Oculus on the mobile-powered Gear VR. Microsoft has since taken down the listing, but the page is archived.
6 Comments on Samsung's Odyssey Headset is New Leader in Windows Mixed Reality
It looks interesting but a bump to 1440 and 1600 isn't IMO enough. 2160 would be ideal. Also occlusion is presumably an issue with Microsoft's inside out tracking and their controllers. So as soon as the controllers are out of line of sight their are tracking issues. Both Vive and Rift seem to have better tracking for their controllers and good tracking is impotent,.....I wouldn't trade that for ease of setup.
Matching the FOV of the Rift and Vive at 110 is great but even that is too narrow overall and needs to wider.