Questions about Edge to people who own a Prime

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willyrquick

Hi All,

I am really looking forward to the day I get the Edge but I have a few questions and as I guess the team are fully submersed in production I thought I would reach out the Prime community.

Ok, here goes:

1) I use Plex at the moment to broadcast a lot of my media around the house. Does any one have any experience on wether Plex worked well with 3D movies, can WiFi even handle the band width to do the Edge / Prime justice ?

2) Did any one use the Device as a monitor to maybe work off ? I can't work out through imagining wether I would enjoy working on an Imax screen ? I assume there is only one size screen so if I want to use the pixels It's either that or nothing ?

3) Seems a lot of users are upgrading from Prime to Edge, is the main reason the new OLED panel and light weight form factor or are there other aspects which could be better that I am not considering ?

4) Software , I see they have included a touch pad and I have ordered with the wireless keyboard how do you think this will help or hinder the product? I can't imagine typing without seeing my fingers all though as a programmer I am fairly proficent at touch based typing and am sure I can get to grips with it? Any experience of useful accessories that I should consider for the Edge?

5) There is currently a novel airmouse controller with 6 DOF which I think will support Android on kickstarter. I think this would more or less act a bit like the controller for the Quest. When using the Android UI would you benefit from anything like this ? Does google actually have a 3d version of it's OS for it's daydream glasses which CINERA can utilize or is it really going to be like looking at a giant phone screen in IMAX size ? I come from IOS so no real experience with Android ?

Any help or other advice would be greatly recieved, many thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Luke_T

willyrquick Here goes...

I don't have first-hand knowledge of Plex. I do understand that it supports 3D formats, but that this is device dependent, so you'll have to check the capabilities of the software installed on your particular device to see whether 3D is specifically supported on that device.
I've used the Cinera Prime as a monitor, but only in relatively short sessions. It wasn't really suitable for longer sessions due to the weight and ergonomics. The Edge model will undoubtedly be more suitable for this, but without actually testing it, I can't say for certain that it would be comfortable to use in this way for extended periods.
The form factor and OLED screens are two of the key draws. I suppose the Dolby Digital surround headphones are also an attraction for some as well. The support for 60hz is another decent upgrade over the Prime. There are a number of quirks (that are well documented on this forum and on the comments section of the Prime Kickstarter campaign) that relate to vignetting of the sides of the screen, and frame skipping, which should be resolved in the Edge via hardware upgrades and physical design changes.

An upgrade to 4K OLED HDR screens would have been a dream come true if the hardware components actually existed (next time Cinera!), but just resolving all the issues with the original model and improving the visuals and reducing the size/weight will make the experience a great deal more comfortable and enjoyable.

I own the Goovis G2 headset, and the ergonomics and overall comfort of wearing it are far better than with Cinera Prime, but you lose out on the frame-packing 3D support (something they added in a later Pro model) and the superb image quality of the screens on Cinera. The Edge promises to add this comfort, while maintaining or improving on everything else.

In principle, working blindly with a headset on your head and trying to type or use any peripherals can be difficult, though if you can touch-type, and when your hands establish muscle memory for where the controls are, I can imagine the experience being reasonable smooth.

I bought a 3rd-party clone of the touch pad Cinera have selected and it is a decent enough device. The keyboard is a pain to use if you can't look at it, so a full-size keyboard you can touchtype with is probably a better option for typing with the headset on (and a mouse is probably just as easy to use as the touchpad if you are sat at a desk). The swipe pad is a decent size and useful for navigating around with. The buttons don't seem optimised for blind touch use, but I expect you could learn to find the media controls and mouse buttons with enough practice.

The Prime model had an air mouse controller option. I personally find these annoying to use, as they become difficult to use when they lose their calibration. In terms of using it with Cinera, it'll be more like a big screen than a VR environment, so this novel airmouse controller you speak of may be overkill if it is optimised for VR use. I think Cinera can support limited VR video experiences, and it has its own internal accelerometer to sense head movement for that.

Hope these answers help. I realise that I'm not able to give a lot of straightforward responses.

willyrquick

Luke_T
Thanks so much, I was kind of expecting people to reply to one or two of the areas to cover all of them is fantastic and as there is not much activity on this forum I think probably the best I will get. You mention you have used it as a monitor and stated the weight was an issue. What was the visual experience like ? Could you read the text easily ...
Fingers crossed that the vignetting is fixed it seems to be a common problem accross lot's of devices and the question was never answered on the comments section.
I have bought the control pad and am having second thoughts but it wasn't really that expensive so hey ho. Maybe the ability to airplay the screen out to the TV might make it more useful to get things up and running on a TV and then switch to the Headset could be handy. At least for setting up the device / entering the passwords ..
Ok one final question, how does the software side of things work ? I see people complainging about using old versions of Android but why did Cinera not just update the OS does it feel bespoke in design or really just like looking at an Android OS ? Hopefully this is another area Cinera have worked on.

Overall amazing feedback thanks

Luke_T

willyrquick You'll find the text clear and crisp. Where the Goovis G2 displayed a slight pixelation on sharp lines and text, the Cinera Prime displays static photos/graphics, video and text beautifully. The 3D stills/video is the best experience I've had, including cinemas, 3D TVs, PSVR, etc. The main limitations with the Prime related to motion, which was probably down to hardware specifications - which should all be resolved on the new Edge.

I think the backers of the original headset will have collective nervous breakdowns if the vignetting isn't resolved. Those of us who beta-tested the original headset flagged this up before the headsets even shipped, but it was too late to make physical design changes by then. We've been going on and on about the vignetting for several years now, so I can't imagine that the Cinera team could possible overlook that issue again!

The control pad is a handy gadget, whether or not you use it with Cinera. As you say, it isn't expensive, so I'm sure you'll be happy with it. I love that it can be recharged using a standard micro-USB plug, rather than the older mini-USB plugs that you rarely see nowadays.

I believe the problem with running Cinera as an Android device is that the hardware and drivers are designed to support whatever the current version of Android is at the time of development. As soon as the Android version changes, it becomes a losing battle to keep supporting the newer versions. This is true of all Android devices and represents an inherent problem in these devices that results in accelerated obsolescence of the device functionality.

Cinera is at its core a display device. Monitors rarely become obsolete due to operating system and software updates. They are limited by their resolution, colour and contrast ranges, refresh rate and connection sockets. Cinera Prime (and Edge Pro) can be plugged into external devices via the HDMI In, so in that sense it can remain future proof as a basic display device. The Cinera team wanted the Cinera headsets to be a self-contained media solution (which is fantastic in the shorter term for people who hate wires and only want to carry one gadget with them), and this is where I am slightly at odds with their design choice...

...the Cinera headsets cost a certain amount of money to make, so by adding the Android functionality (and the Dolby Digital earphones) the headset is going to either have to cost a lot more, or it will have to make compromises on the hardware. My personal view is that other competitor headsets out there, including the LUCI Immers made a smart decision by functioning ONLY as a display device, which you can connect to other devices via a USB-C connection (which can be adapted into an HDMI connection). This means that you can keep upgrading your phone handset and media gadgets (like the outstanding NVIDIA Shield), and headphones, etc, and the headset will continue to support all the latest software and formats via these external devices.

When you integrate all of these elements into the same device, it becomes impossible to stay abreast with all the new software and hardware developments. The design of the Cinera Edge forces you to use their integrated headphones instead of being able to swap them out for your own newer and more premium headphones - to me this is a design compromise they have made in order to use the headphones as a load-bearing support for the headset, so the weight isn't all on your nose or forehead (which becomes uncomfortable over time). If you don't buy the Edge Pro variant, you can't even connect to external devices using the HDMI connector.

The Goovis G2 is an example of a headset that sensibly follows a modular design, with the headset and the controller/media player provided as separate devices that can be upgraded independently.

All in all, despite my frustration with the above issues, the Cinera Prime was already overall a better option than these alternative headsets in terms of image quality and support for the native 3D blu-ray frame-packing format (I don't want to have to convert all my 3D blu-ray movies into Side-by-Side video files in order to watch them when Cinera can plug straight into my 3D blu-ray player and play the film straight off the disk).

The Edge will make the headset lighter and more comfortable and portable like these competitors, while retaining or improving on the strengths of the Prime model.

willyrquick

Luke_T IO guess this Goovis Lite at 226 is maybe the product you always wanted ! I like the design and I like the product. I deffinitelty like the idea of sticking in a micro SD in and have VLC launch and play videos so I can give this headset to my kids in the car. Hopefully the additional cost is deffinitely worth that. Also the idea of streaming Plex wires free again is somthing which I see as invaluable. If only they can think of a way to smart patch the Cinera so that updating the OS is either independant or easily modded by them. I also quite like the idea of using this as secondary display for the switch and my laptop. USB-C to HDMI leads are really cheap. For me this is a great product. I can see people becomming frustrated by the lack of Netflix and Streaming support if they can't try and keep up with the basic version requirements. Hopefully we will not see these issues moving forward because a lot of this has to do with copyright and I think that has now been ironed out. Fingers crossed we ge this device soon and we can put a lot of the Lens and Quality concerns to rest. This lack of updates especially after they appologised and promised an update within a month is very frustrating.

Luke_T

willyrquick The Goovis Pro and Goovis Lite use the same display as the Goovis G2. I can tell you the Cinera Prime display is much better, so I can only imagine that the Edge display blows them all out of the water (while simultaneously resolving the weight and size issues of the Prime)!

Ultimately, image quality is the biggest concern for me as these headsets actually magnify any flaws, and as a professional graphics guy, my OCD flares up at the slightest imperfection.

I believe Cinera have indicated that a new update is coming shortly...

willyrquick

Luke_T Good to know, I think my definition of shortly and their definition of shortly differ

ZpaulZ

Luke as always you're comments are on point. I think the Cinera Edge headphones are probably going to be a premium set. It's very ambitious for Cinera to add x4 speakers in each ear to achieve their surround sound goals. This has been tried by a few companies with success ranging from complete genius to complete utter failure. Let's hope Cinera gets it right because if they do it's going to be a great addition to the device. I am also looking forward to trying out the custom port for the woojer Edge Products. The fact that they actually listened to the customer base and made this modification in my eyes is very impressive, not to mention they did, in the end, add all stretch goals which made me very happy. That was just a wonderful gesture by Cinera to reward us the customer. As December is fast approaching we should be hearing something soon about product development then shipping I still have my fingers crossed that they will ship on time but I highly doubt it. I hope Cinera can prove me wrong and they ship on time I guess we will know soon enough