This year Microsoft has made Windows compatible with Mixed Reality and some Microsoft partners have released VR glasses for the MR platform. While Lenovo, Dell, Acer, Medion and Co. have followed Microsoft’s construction plans very closely, Samsung Odyssey is going its own way. It was worth the courage. If you are looking for a general test of Windows Mixed Reality glasses, please have a look here. This article is about what makes Samsung glasses special without enumerating all the similarities.
Samsung Odyssey: Picture Impression
Also as VR nerds of many years, the picture impression of Samsung glasses immediately elicited a WOW! The font is much easier to read, the edges are smoother than those of the competition and the sweet spot is pleasantly large, as with the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive. This is not surprising, because Samsung relies on OLED panels for the Odyssey, which can display good brightness and strong colours.
The resolution is 1400 x 1600 pixels per eye at 90Hz and a field of view of 110 degrees. In comparison, the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are only 1200 x 1080 pixels per eye with a similar field of view. Samsung is also the only manufacturer to use a mechanical wheel to adjust the distance between the lenses (60mm to 72mm). Compared to the previous Windows Mixed Reality Headsets this leads to a significantly better picture impression if your eye relief does not correspond to the usual standard.
With the Odyssey, Samsung is introducing VR glasses to the market that feel like a more natural development of the current generation without appearing experimental or immature at other points. You can describe it as if you were replacing the display on the Rift.
Comfort and additional elements
The Samsung Odyssey headsets are comfortable. The thick padding makes the glasses sit softly on the head, but it feels a little clumsier than the other Windows MR glasses. After all, Samsung glasses also weigh a proud 644 grams, which can already be described as a heavyweight for the current generation. But the manufacturer of the glasses has also provided features that are missing from the other manufacturers.
So you can find two controls directly under the glasses, with which you can change the volume at any time. Then there is the above-mentioned wheel for adjusting the distance between the lenses and integrated headphones, which can also be removed. The headphones are very high and not necessarily the first choice for audiophiles, but for the average player, the sound of the headphones should be sufficient for a quick game in between.
An important difference from the other Windows Mixed Reality headsets: The glasses from Samsung cannot be folded upwards. Whether this is an important feature depends on how you use it.
With feeling: The controllers
Samsung is not reinventing the Windows Mixed Reality controllers, but the Korean manufacturer has packed the controllers in a higher quality housing and made the design a little more hand-friendly. While the controllers don’t snuggle up as well as the Oculus Touch Controllers, they’re not as uninspired as the controllers for the other Windows Mixed Reality glasses.
Availability in Europe
The Odyssey is currently not available in Europe, and Samsung has not yet shown any plans to expand its sales territories. Thus, the best Windows-Mixed-Reality-Glasses in Germany is only available via detours.
strengths
- Big sweet spot
- Clear and sharp picture
- Inside-out tracking
Weakness
- mass
- Feeling while wearing
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