StarVR is a VR headset in development by Starbreeze Studios which aims to excel in two places: field of view and resolution; presently offering a whopping 210 degree field of view and 5120x1440 resolution. The latest version of the still in-development headset adds low-persistence to keep the image sharp even during head movement, better emphasizing the impressive pixel density which makes for a nearly invisible screen door effect. Starbreeze's goal with StarVR is to create a premium VR headset to sell into businesses wanting to deliver a premium VR experience to customers. The company already has some of its headsets operating inside the first IMAX VR Centre, a virtual reality arcade initiative headed by IMAX. That said, the headset is still under active development, and the company is still calling the latest version a development kit. [caption id="attachment_62015" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Photo by Road to VR[/caption] The StarVR headset initially launched at E3 2015, and while the field of view was certainly impressive, there was clearly a lot of work done to make the complex optics less visible and create an image that didn't feel distorted. Since then, the company has made major strides in visuals and form-factor, which has turned the headset into something very promising. At VRLA 2017 last week, I got to check out the very latest version of the StarVR headset and once again experience what I previously called "field of view envy;" after using this thing, you just don't want to go back to the binocular-like feeling of ~100 degree headsets. [caption id="attachment_62025" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Photo courtesy Starbreeze[/caption] This time, things looked even better, thanks to continued form-factor refinements, a low-persistence display, and special content that can truly take advantage of all those pixels. Low-persistence for Sharper Virtual Views [caption id="attachment_62017" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Photo by Road to VR[/caption] Let's start with low-persistence. This is a display technique which greatly reduces blur which is otherwise caused by pixels on the screen staying lit for the entire time from one frame to the next (called full-persistence). With low-persistence, the pixels on the display are lit for only a fraction of the frame and then made dark until the next frame is ready to display. Now you can imagine that this might cause a strobing effect as the display lights up and then goes dark between every frame, but actually if you can do this fast enough, it's impossible to see. In fact, every major headset available on the market today already uses low-persistence. It's an essential technique for keeping the image in the headset sharp as users pan their head around the virtual world. [irp] Now that StarVR has implemented the technique, the fidelity of the image from a motion-blur standpoint comes in line with other headsets out there like the Vive and Rift. Granted, the current display is only running at 62Hz which is slightly faster than Gear VR, but slower than the 90Hz of the high-end desktop headsets, which means certain people sensitive to flicker might notice it. A major bump to the display's refresh is in the works, but more on that another time. Lighter Than it Looks [caption id="attachment_62016" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Photo by Road to VR[/caption] In addition to low-persistence, the form factor continues to see refinement. Gone is the bulky head-mount that was seen in the early iterations of the headset; despite the large dual displays, the headset is light enough for a simple flexible strap. [caption id="attachment_62023" align="alignright" width="325"] Photo by Road to VR[/caption] I only had the headset on for around 10 minutes continuously so it's tough to say what the long-term comfort factor is like at this stage, but in my time with it I didn't feel unreasonably encumbered by the weight. That said, Rift, PSVR, and Vive have all shown that there's benefits to be had from a smartly designed rigid strap system, so hopefully we'll see that revisited on StarVR in the future. Continue Reading on Page 2 >> Great Graphics Heighten Immersion [caption id="attachment_62019" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Photo by Road to VR[/caption] And then there's the content. Without incredibly high fidelity content, high pixel counts in VR headsets go underutilized. We see this often on mobile VR headsets, like Gear VR, where many applications render to a sub-optimal frame buffer in order to keep the application running at the right level of performance. The result is a virtual view which actually looks worse than what we see in a high-end headset like the Rift, even though Gear VR has a higher resolution. But some applications take full advantage of Gear VR's pixels and the results can be really impressive (check out Oculus 360 Photos for one example). [caption id="attachment_62022" align="alignright" width="325"] Photo by Road to VR[/caption] Starbreeze made a smart acquisition of Nozon last year, a company which is developing a method for rendering film-quality visuals for VR which, unlike 360 video content, allows for 6DOF positional tracking and proper stereoscopy. Essentially they're able to render the same level of detail in both geometry and lighting that you'd expect out of a pre-rendered CGI film, while retaining many of the benefits of a VR scene rendered in real-time. Nozon took the CGI assets as-is from the independent short film Construct and rendered a short scene directly from the film for the StarVR headset. The result is a VR experience with visual fidelity that goes above and beyond anything else you've ever seen rendered in real-time in VR, and makes full use of StarVR's ultra-wide field of view and massive pixel count. When I got to see this for myself I was in awe. [gallery td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="62012,62011,62010,62013"] Between a screen door effect and pixels which are nearly invisible, the ultra-wide field of view, and content which can effectively take advantage of those elements, I felt like my head was thrust into a completely different place, far more fully than the binocular-like feeling of other high-end headsets. It was one of those moments I only rarely have in my work covering the VR industry where I think to myself 'This is the experience we want all VR to feel like in the future'. - - — - - Now, that's not to say that StarVR is perfect. I have the fortune of being able to look past a number of otherwise glaring issues which I know are not major technical hurdles and will come to the headset in time. [caption id="attachment_62020" align="alignright" width="325"] Photo by Road to VR[/caption] For instance, the PhasesSpace-based tracking as shown at VRLA was pretty awful. Starbreeze said this was due to an issue related to RF saturation at the event and a problem with configuring the tracking system correctly. I know for a fact that the folks developing this headset know what good tracking looks like, and that PhaseSpace is capable of very good tracking; this truly was just an issue of setup. I also know that even if it wasn't, by this point other tracking tech like SteamVR Tracking (AKA Lighthouse) is relatively easy to come by, and further, because StarVR is positioned as a B2B product, high-end tracking systems like OptiTrack are also easy enough to slap on. Starbreeze in fact plans to support various tracking systems modularly so that businesses can use whichever is best for their needs. There was also some notable stutter and tearing seen in the Nozon demo, which I was told was due to the content having a mismatched framerate compared to the refresh rate of the display. Again, I have seen Nozon's work over the course of development, and I know what it can look right when all the technical tidbits are toggled correctly. [irp] What I see—when I filter out what I know to be easy fixes of a VR headset that's still in development—is a very promising device that's capable of delivering a uniquely immersive VR experience, one that gives us a glimpse of what VR can and should look like in the future.