Jon Peddie’s Techwatch newsletter has covered a VR story that we missed at CES – but, as the product was only shown behind closed doors, we don’t feel too bad about it.
Image: TechwatchOptoma is best-known for its projectors, but has now confirmed to us that it is also building a VR headset. You might expect such a model to use pico projectors, like Epson’s Moverio; however, Optoma has instead built the device with a 5.46″ 1920 x 1080 AMOLED display (960 x 1080 per eye), with a 120Hz refresh rate.
Known as Project Valkyrie, work on the device did not begin until the second half of 2015. It has a 90° field of view, and Optoma believes that it can extend this in later versions. A custom 60GHz wireless receiver (integrated) is used to communicate with a PC, with the transmitter connected to the PC via HDMI. Latency is ‘near 0’ and range is about 4.7m, although work is being done to extend that to 9m.
In addition to the wireless capability, Optoma distinguishes Project Valkyrie with the optics. A three-lens optical module is installed, with a maximum distortion of 6.9%, and 0.1% lateral colour. The modulation transfer function (MTF), at a field of view of 18°, is 54.5% at eight lines per mm, and there is an adjustable lens with a range of 10-20mm.
A 16,000mAh battery is worn on the belt, and connected to the headset via a USB cable and connector. In January, average lifespan was 3-4 hours. Audio options are being considered, although Peddie reports that Optoma is favouring a ‘bring your own headphones’ approach.
