Megane X Headset - Micro OLED, Pancake Lenses. Uses Steam VR tracking

[dburne]

They trying to compete with Pimax now or what? LOL.

If that is type of headset you are in market for probably Big Screen device will be right up your alley so to speak.

Edited May 5, 2023 by dburne

[chiliwili69]

new design of the Meganex thing:

 

https://www.roadtovr.com/panasonics-shiftall-meganex-superlight-release/

 

No inside-out traking here, so directly competing with BigScreenBeyond, but one year later... (if one day they really relsease something)

[chiliwili69]

Well, it looks like they are still alive:

 

4K resolution micro OLED panels (3552 x 3840 pixels per eye)
Tracking via SteamVR base stations (not included)
Pancake lenses designed by Panasonic Group
Diopter adjustment with a range of 0D to -7D
Weight: 185 grams (without headband)
Connection ports: DisplayPort 1.4 + USB 2.0 and USB Type-C

and 1900$

 

https://en.shiftall.net/products/meganex8k

 

 

Edited October 10, 2024 by chiliwili69

[[CPT]Crunch]

Another redesign and three years later, should be called the Megane Z by now.

[chiliwili69]

In this article they mention that the resolving power of this headset is ideal for flight simulators, also they say (just from memonry) that Fov and sweetspot is a bit better than in BigScreen.

https://www.roadtovr.com/shiftall-meganex-superlight-8k-hands-on-preview/

[chiliwili69]

I have also asked the support people of Shiftall (Jesus!, I have to double check if wroted correctly) what is the rendered resolution when SteamVR is set to 100% and they told me 2084x2084 per eye. This is a very good news then.

Making the usual numbers I make for other devices to see what is the real GPU power required we can compare Crystal, BSB, VR1 and Meganex8K

 

The fact is that for the default resolution (StreamVR SS=100%) you need to render more pixels for Crystal (44Mpixel), for BSB (38Mpixel) and for VR1 (37Mpixel),

 

but for the Meganex "only" 33MPixel, despite the physical panel has almost twice the pixels

 

 

 

I also asked them about other frequencies lower than 90Hz. They said that only 90Hz is supported for now, but  they said " we are working on a software update that will allow us to switch to a slower refresh rate"

 

 I think this headset, we delivered will combine very well with the NVIDIA 5090, also in prices!

Edited November 8, 2024 by chiliwili69

[chiliwili69]

In this chart you can really compare the total physical pixels (X axis) with the rendered pixels at default 100% SteamVR (Y axis).

 

I really don´t know why devices like Q3 or Meganex8K, both with panckake lenses, need much lower ratios (Rendered/physical) that other devices which also have pancake lenses (Pico4 or BSB)

[Aapje]

1 hour ago, chiliwili69 said:

 

I really don´t know why devices like Q3 or Meganex8K, both with panckake lenses, need much lower ratios (Rendered/physical) that other devices which also have pancake lenses (Pico4 or BSB)

 

Perhaps the Q3 has better quality lenses, with fewer distortions?

 

 

[kissTheSky]

I got to test one at Panasonic booth at AU ( annual autodesk convention) this past October and I was not impressed with what they had there if I’m honest. IPD adjustment was not working, and visuals did not seem that great. 

Edited November 9, 2024 by kissTheSky

[chiliwili69]

7 hours ago, kissTheSky said:

I was not impressed with what they had there if I’m honest. IPD adjustment was not working, and visuals did not seem that great. 

Sad to hear that.

I am trusting on the people in this forum rather than all those hypecreator youtubers.

Could you ellaborate more your test?  FOV? Edge-to-edge clarity? Why visuals were not great? (in some demos they use poor laptops to run it).

What VR devices have you used?

 

This device is interesting because the light weight, the panel resolution and the DP connection. I would prefer another way for the fixing, it looks quite weak and with slashing adjustment. For example, the mask of the BSB with the new audio headstrap is for me a better solution which fix better the device to your head. The problem of the BSB is the bad edge-to-edge clarity and reduced FOV.

[kissTheSky]

@chiliwili69, these were the members of development team from Japan and we had a bit of communication problem with my broken Japanese, and their broken English at first, but they had one of the beefiest 17” laptops that is available commercially, but still a laptop.

 

The unit was still a prototype with all the signs that show it’s been hodpedged with less than ideal production gaps etc. it was lightweight and felt comfortable on my head. The IPD was soooooo huge that as soon as I opened my eyes in the headset I was extremely uncomfortable. My IPD is 61.5, so it’s neither too small nor too large. They just couldn’t adjust the IPD neither from the device itself, nor from the developmental software they’re running. I don’t know if that means physical adjustment was not there on this prototype or if it won’t be there at all.
 

Can’t speak to the fov. The only way I could ‘see anything’ was if I had closed one of my eyes. Visuals were so uncomfortable that I didn’t even keep the device long enough to consciously evaluate edge to edge clarity and visual clarity. 
 

edit: I’m going to another industry event this week as well, and I have a feeling they may again be there. I’ll make a point of spending more time at their booth this time to check.

Edited November 10, 2024 by kissTheSky

[chiliwili69]

3 hours ago, kissTheSky said:

I don’t know if that means physical adjustment was not there on this prototype or if it won’t be there at all.

 

Thanks for your extra feedback.

IPD is set by entering your IPD measurement into the software on your computer, causing the headset’s motorized lenses to move into the desired position.

 

It looks their software had issues then and they could not make it to work. 

As it is exposed in the RoadTo VR report, this device is one of the few which allows 4 physical variables to set apart from strap position:

 

IPD: 58mm-72mm motorized and set via software. I wonder if it has to be symmetrical or not.

Diopter adjustment: with a diopter range of 0D to -7D, manually adjusted by each eye.

Eye-relief: Adjusted manually. This one is very important, as I used it in the Index (it doesn´t exist in the Quest3)

Angle of the headset(and lenses): Adjusted manually. This is also very rare to be seen in a headset.

 

Let´s see if you can have more luck in that industry event. BTW, which one? 

 

And what headsets you use regularly either for work or play games?

[chiliwili69]

This is another review:

 

https://skarredghost.com/2024/10/30/meganex-superlight-8k-hands-on/

 

It looks they still need tune it.

[kissTheSky]

G2 at home, Quest 2 at work and Varjo at work for a month or so. Trimble Dimensions conference

[kissTheSky]

Panasonic was not at the Trimble convention. 

[[CPT]Crunch]

Shiftall was sold off as a separate division many moons ago, they have zero connection anymore to Panasonic.  Probably why the HMD has been redesigned at least two more times and three years later.

[kissTheSky]

Be that as it may, the very last incarnation of the megane was at the Panasonic booth with three Japanese gentlemen at Autodesk’s annual conference at San Diego last month.

[SR-F_Winger]

For me the meganex is my next headset (got it on preorder).
First i was thinking going the Pimax super route. But after being disapointed in their products 2 times already i decided to go with the meganex.
After hearing the positive voices from Sebastian Ang (MRTV) i am quite happy that i seemingly made the right choice.
The bandwith of my 5090 is already waiting to be tested by the meganex.

[SR-F_Winger]

OK, so i Had a pretty bunpy Ride with m meganex. Fürst Delivery Had a hot Pixel on the right Display AS Well AS some issues with the right Lens.

I simply could t get the picture Sharp, No Matter what i did 

Yesterday i got m new meganex from RMA and i Mist say ITS a while different Headset. The Image is now great. Very Sharp, very good sweetspot, perfect colors and very good comfort.

I can now very much recommend this Headset.

[ER*CUX]

Hello, I also use the Megane X, but unfortunately I only get very poor FPS values of 20 to a maximum of 30 FPS. The picture is great, but unfortunately it's not playable. With DCS or MSFS, everything runs smoothly at around 50 FPS. RTX 4090, I 7 12th, 64 RAM. Does anyone have similar problems? Does anyone have a suggested solution?

[chiliwili69]

On 5/3/2025 at 3:17 PM, SR-F_Winger said:

I can now very much recommend this Headset.

Very glad to hear you are happy with the Meganex8K. This is in fact the first feedback from IL-2 users.

I understand you are using a 5090 as your previous post.

 

Are you using SteamVR? are you running at default resolution (100% is 4084x4084)?

22 hours ago, ER*CUX said:

but unfortunately I only get very poor FPS values of 20 to a maximum of 30 FPS. The picture is great, but unfortunately it's not playable. With DCS or MSFS, everything runs smoothly at around 50 FPS. RTX 4090, I 7 12th, 64 RAM. Does anyone have similar problems? Does anyone have a suggested solution?

Very strange that. your 4090 should deliver more than that. What setting are you using in SteamVR and in IL-2.

Was your previous headset wirking fine?

Have you tried to run SteamVR Frame Timing tool? or fpsVR? or MSI Afterburner?

 

Here I was compiling a number of reasons if getting inferior performance:

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/34107-items-to-review-if-you-have-low-performance-in-il-2-benchmark/

 

[ER*CUX]

Hey Chiliwili 69

Thanks for your tips. The HP G2 and Pico 4 deliver playable fps (90 and 45 fps, respectively) at high graphics settings. I was able to lower the performance in the Meganex software—it worked—but the graphics didn't look so good—I might as well just use the Pico. We're now using a Steam hack from the community that takes the Meganex to a whole new level. Great picture—but unfortunately not with IL2. I'll try your tips. I hope the Meganex software will be updated soon; maybe that will help. 

[ER*CUX]

If you start the Meganex via the Meganex software, you can adjust the settings from 4k to 2.6k. Then you can fly well at around 50 fps with a not-so-sharp image. The colors and black levels are still great.

[SR-F_Winger]

On 5/4/2025 at 8:41 PM, chiliwili69 said:

Very glad to hear you are happy with the Meganex8K. This is in fact the first feedback from IL-2 users.

I understand you are using a 5090 as your previous post.

 

Are you using SteamVR? are you running at default resolution (100% is 4084x4084)?

Very strange that. your 4090 should deliver more than that. What setting are you using in SteamVR and in IL-2.

Was your previous headset wirking fine?

Have you tried to run SteamVR Frame Timing tool? or fpsVR? or MSI Afterburner?

 

Here I was compiling a number of reasons if getting inferior performance:

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/34107-items-to-review-if-you-have-low-performance-in-il-2-benchmark/

 

yes, am using a 5090.

[SR-F_Winger]

I am back to IL2 since some abbsence. With the new SBoys driver the performance and image quality in IL2 is flawless. I get permanent rock solid 90PFS wiht steam rendering at 150% resolution.
I think i might even be able to bump it up to 200% since everything has been so extremely smooth running yesterday.

[chiliwili69]

7 hours ago, SR-F_Winger said:

I get permanent rock solid 90PFS wiht steam rendering at 150% resolution.
I think i might even be able to bump it up to 200% since everything has been so extremely smooth running yesterday.

Indeed!, another IL-2 folk was able to render 56 million pixels at 90Hz with the Crystal Super, so with your 5090 card and the Meganex8K you could move the SteamVR SS slide bar to 168% to also render 56 million pixels. That 5090 card is amazing and very valuable for true 4K-per-eye (not compressed) VR devices