Student's Choice

StarVR One Written Critique

Introduction/Description

Announced in 2018, the StarVR One is said to be the best when it comes to virtual reality technology. The headset has 1830 x 1464 screen resolution per eye. It has an AMOLED type display with a refresh rate of 90 Hz. The field of view is advertised at an astounding 210 degrees, which I believe is one of the widest, if not the widest, FOV on a headset in the market right now. The StarVR One uses Tobii eye-tracking, which I will discuss further into detail. It weighs 450 grams, similar to a few other VR headsets. This is impressive considering the amount of hardware and power that this headset holds. It recommends having an Intel core i7-7700 processor with 16 GB of memory. The graphics card recommended is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080Ti, one of the best graphics cards you can get.

When it comes to VR, the StarVR One takes the number one spot of being the best, fastest, most immersive VR headset. By using Tobii integrated eye-tracking, the headset can perform what is called dynamic foveated rendering. This means that the rendering power of the GPU is dynamically allocated based on where the user is looking, making the focused position the sharpest image, in order to make up for the power to render onto a big display. The display, which I mentioned has a FOV of 210 degrees wide, is the best in the industry right now. This removes the “tunnel vision” that we see on other headsets, where the sides in what you see are black, making it seem like you are in that tunnel. The StarVR One eliminates this with a bigger screen and wider FOV, making it more immersive and removing these black sides. The headset has an amazing distortion profile, which are applicable to headsets with higher FOVs. This means that when you are looking up and down, left and right in a fast manner, the view is not distorted. The StarVR One system is also compatible with any other controllers with Lighthouse tracking, which means we can use VIVE controllers, Valve Index, etc. Included with the headset, there is a setup software called StarVR Compass, in which you can optimize your headset through settings on the software. For example, you can limit the FOV from 210 degrees down to 110 degrees, if needed. You can also change the refresh rate and toggle the proximity sensor. These settings would be used if you need to run an application that is only compatible with specific settings, which I will explain more in my pros and cons. The headset also features IPD measurement. This is in consideration of multiple people using a headset. The IPD measurement basically adjusts the headset settings based on interpupillary distance. Each user may have a different IPD, so the StarVR Compass software on the computer has the option for automatic IPD adjustment.

Intended Users

The StarVR One virtual reality headset is mainly intended for enterprises/commercial use. For example, this headset could be used for employee training, driving school, arcades, etc. The headset is not yet available for retail use, which I believe is because of its specific system and software requirements. Since this is a PC-powered headset, you will need a powerful processor and graphics card, which your everyday VR gamer probably won’t have. The StarVR One is also very expensive, costing $3,200 before tax. In order to purchase, you must inquire through StarVR’s website. There are resellers available in Japan and Taiwan, but the average consumer probably wouldn’t want to buy this headset anyways. It is much too pricey for the average person, and there’s not a lot you can run on it unless it is software that is specifically built for this headset.

Pros/Cons

First, I will go into detail about the pros of StarVR One. As I mentioned above, the StarVR One has a field of view of 210 degrees, with the company claiming that they have achieved the perfect human vision. It has an AMOLED display, which has a better color reproduction with true colors. There is a greater contrast ratio between bright and dark, with less energy drain and wider viewing angles. The resolution is 1830 x 1464 per eye, which is more than the competing headsets in the market. There is also integrated eye-tracking, which is used for dynamic foveated rendering, which optimizes processing power to render completely only where the user is looking. The headset has 3-point adjustable headband, which is very easy to use. It has high-quality padding, which can be removed since it is Velcro. This is practical because it is a very expensive headset, so you would want to remove any worn-out padding. The material that the StarVR One is made of is very easy to clean, so it is practical for an environment where different people are using it. The auto IPD adjustment is a great feature since each person has a different IPD measurement, so the headset automatically adjusts it for them. You would think that with all this technology, the headset would be heavy and bulky. However, it is quite the opposite. Comparing the StarVR One to its competition, it is relatively light and the frame is smaller than most with similar specs. The StarVR One is also able to connect to controllers that support Lighthouse tracking, which means that you do not have to buy new controllers if you already have old ones, such as the HTC or VIVE controllers.

With these advantages follow some disadvantages. The main one that comes to mind for me is the software and hardware requirements. This headset requires a relatively powerful processor and an expensive graphics card, which may not be accessible to most. Since the StarVR One is very advanced in comparison to its competitors, not all the software out right now can be run on this headset. It is the only VR headset that has a 210 degree FOV, and softwares need to take that into consideration because they would have to update their applications in order to be compatible with the StarVR One. It also uses the dynamically foveated rendering, which applications would need to be updated to accommodate this feature. This is very impractical because one would purchase their $3,200 headset thinking that they can do whatever they want on it, running the most powerful, intense applications. I believe that this is why it is intended for enterprise use rather for commercial use, since companies can easily pay someone to write an application based on their need for it. Another disadvantage to the StarVR One is that it requires a wired connection to the PC. This limits the ability of the user to move around, although the wires are fairly long. There is also a possibility of the user tripping over the wires, since in my opinion, there are a lot of wires required to make the headset work. This is a clear disadvantage compared to its competitors, where their headsets are wireless to support the user to be able to move around the room. With the StarVR One, you will probably be limited to only sitting down on your chair since it is a PC-powered headset. The StarVR One also does not come with its own controllers. I stated that it is an advantage that the StarVR One can connect to any controllers that support Lighthouse tracking. However, what if this is your first VR system and you don’t have any other controllers from other companies? As far as I know, the StarVR One might be one of very few VR headsets that don’t provide you with controllers.

There is a very specific disadvantage that I want to talk about a little more in depth. This is regarding the Tobii eye-tracking technology. What I am about to say may sound a little bit radical and crazy. With the increasing innovation of technology, there is more of a privacy risk using these technologies. Last week for this class, we had to write about the Microsoft Holoportation research. In my paper, I explained the thought I had about privacy issues and how people would have a huge privacy risk by having this Holoportation system in their life. I feel like this is the same way with VR technology, especially ones with eye-tracking hardware. When was the last time that you read the Terms and Conditions when using something? What about the Privacy Policy? What scares me the most about modern technology is that you are given a full text of legal acknowledgements but most people, if not all of us consumers, usually just click agree and move on. It bothers me that a lot of people don’t know the capabilities that these technologies have. How do we know that StarVR One is not collecting your biometric data by scanning your retinas through this eye-tracking? There is other eye-tracking technology out there other than the StarVR One, which I am also curious about. Are they allowed to collect and store your biometric information? Where do we draw the line as to how much data these companies collect from us consumers? In our phones, we have facial recognition and thumbprint recognition. Are we guaranteed that our face biometrics and thumbprints aren’t being saved by these companies? Have you read the terms and conditions? Obviously, the StarVR One must collect data using where your eyes are looking in order to perform the dynamically foveated rendering, which depends on where you are looking. Does StarVR store this data? Do they sell this data to the government? I feel like there is a huge privacy risk associated with this. Maybe I just sound crazy and a little bit like a conspiracy theorist, but it is a real risk that we need to think about as consumers. How far are we going to let them into our lives? Where do we draw the line?

Overall, I believe that the StarVR One is an amazing advancement in VR technology. It boasts many improved specs in comparison to other VR technologies. StarVR claims to have perfected the FOV and display to replicate the “perfect human vision.” Since it is a very huge advancement in VR technology, it is also going to be very expensive. The headset alone costs $3,200, but you also need other supporting hardware. To use the StarVR One, it requires that you have an Intel i7 processor and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080Ti graphics card. Basically, you need a lot of money in order to get the StarVR One up and running.