Samsung Odyssey Impressions and Review with Prepar3d

[crazymedic62 1]

Hi all,

I thought I would post my experiences with the Samsung Odyssey and FlyInside. I know that when I was researching, there wasn't much in the way of information about the Odyssey and its performance in the flight sim world. So here is my general impression and stats.

First off, the Odyssey has been flawless for me. However, the setup was a little confusing at first. After you set up the Windows Mixed Reality headset on the system there are a few more steps you have to do to get flying. You have to have Steam VR and the Windows Mixed Reality plugin for Steam VR for any of this to work. This will enable FlyInside to get rolling. I primarily fly in Prepar3d v4.2 but this also worked well in v4.1. I tried the native VR in Prepar3d, however it just isn't quite as functional, stable, or as nice as FlyInside. All the features that FlyInside gives you in the sim just can't be beat. (Side note: I am a Chaseplane user, and to get the VR to work and load properly I had to uninstall Chaseplane to default back to the standard cockpit views the headset needs to load up properly.)

My impression of the Samsung Odyssey is solid. It is well built. Comfortable to wear. Has great visuals. Good sound. And is very stable in flight simulator. Now to bring it into perspective. Is it better than Rift or Vive? Yes. Is there a better deal for the money? No. I paid $399 for the complete package. I have the same resolution as the upcoming Vive Pro (which incidentally was just announced at $799.00 for pre-order which is double the cost!) and you can get it now.It has better clarity and visuals, although not perfect. You still have to lean in to read some text and guages or use the zoom function. The screen door effect is minimal. There is God rays, but again only against dark backgrounds with bright text or lighting effects, for me not a big deal. The inside out tracking is fantastic for flight sim and I have had no issues. I get a smooth experience when flying and great immersion. I have used it for about 2 weeks now and am very satisfied with my purchase. The controls are good and function well and they do work in the sim. However, I prefer to use the mouse as its just easier in my personal opinion due to the fact that I bang the controllers on stuff when I flight sim. As far as performance, I am also very pleased. It really works well and is pretty much plug and play without a lot of hassle, especially with FlyInside. Performance will vary I am certain based on your hardware, so here is a list of mine for comparison:

Intel i7-8700 6-core processor
Gigabyte AORUS Ultra Gaming Z370 Motherboard
G.Skill 16GB 3200 DDR4 RAM
EVGA GTX 1070 FTW
Samsung 860EVO SSD

As far as addon functionality I have flown using the following planes, scenery, and utilities:
PMDG 737 NGX
PMDG 747 QOTS II
Aersoft CRJ 700/900
Captain Sim 757 III
Leonardo Maddog X MD80
REX Skyforce 3D
ORBX Global, Vector, Open LC NA, PNW 
Pro ATC X

Again, I have had no issues with any of these addons in VR with FlyInside. Performance varies for me from about 25-30FPS on the ground to upwards of 50-70FPS in the sky. Again varies with what addons you use, but the overall impresssion is satisfying to me. 
In closing, I don't think you can go wrong here, it is a solid headset, with far better specs than the older generation for almost the same price. I recommend it strongly. Hope this helps give some insight!

[whitav8 98]

I appreciate the review! Many of us are unsure just what the next step is - especially since Oculus is not saying much about CV2. Obviously, I would like for Pimax 8K X to be a great answer for the next gen but we won't know for maybe six or more months. I really enjoy VR - even though I have the 0.5th generation DK2 - and like all of us, would like to take a new step with more FOV and higher clarity even if we have to go to a new PC. It is important that folks like yourself let us know just how well any new VR HMD functions in our particular environment. The one thing I am not sure of with the Samsung is the use of Steam VR - when I try that with several other flight sims (Aerofly FS2 in VR, I find that SteamVR has considerably more stutters than the direct Oculus drivers. Maybe with the Windows Mixed Reality setup, this isn't true.

 What might really be nice is to have a standardized test of some sort - like how far away from a given runway with a given weather and lighting setup that you can clearly see the numbers on the runway. Of course, we would also have to nail down what SuperSampling ratio you are using and what Antialiasing values/modes you are using and the other test would be like how close is your eyepoint to read the FMC or the Altitude in an EFIS equipped airliner - like the A320/737 or whatever. Right now, one of us can say something is "clear enough" but I might disagree.

[crazymedic62 1]

You are absolutely right. I thought about getting detailed as can about my stats and stuff, but the problem with VR is it is going to be a different perspective for everyone. What looks great for one person, might not be for another. Too many variables to give a precise statement that everyone can bank on. That is why I kept it kinda generalized. My supersampling is at 2.0 and MSAA is 4X and that seems to be a sweet spot between performance and presentation for me. 

[DJSean 4]

On 20/03/2018 at 8:17 PM, crazymedic62 said:

Hi all,

I thought I would post my experiences with the Samsung Odyssey and FlyInside. I know that when I was researching, there wasn't much in the way of information about the Odyssey and its performance in the flight sim world. So here is my general impression and stats.

First off, the Odyssey has been flawless for me. However, the setup was a little confusing at first. After you set up the Windows Mixed Reality headset on the system there are a few more steps you have to do to get flying. You have to have Steam VR and the Windows Mixed Reality plugin for Steam VR for any of this to work. This will enable FlyInside to get rolling. I primarily fly in Prepar3d v4.2 but this also worked well in v4.1. I tried the native VR in Prepar3d, however it just isn't quite as functional, stable, or as nice as FlyInside. All the features that FlyInside gives you in the sim just can't be beat. (Side note: I am a Chaseplane user, and to get the VR to work and load properly I had to uninstall Chaseplane to default back to the standard cockpit views the headset needs to load up properly.)

My impression of the Samsung Odyssey is solid. It is well built. Comfortable to wear. Has great visuals. Good sound. And is very stable in flight simulator. Now to bring it into perspective. Is it better than Rift or Vive? Yes. Is there a better deal for the money? No. I paid $399 for the complete package. I have the same resolution as the upcoming Vive Pro (which incidentally was just announced at $799.00 for pre-order which is double the cost!) and you can get it now.It has better clarity and visuals, although not perfect. You still have to lean in to read some text and guages or use the zoom function. The screen door effect is minimal. There is God rays, but again only against dark backgrounds with bright text or lighting effects, for me not a big deal. The inside out tracking is fantastic for flight sim and I have had no issues. I get a smooth experience when flying and great immersion. I have used it for about 2 weeks now and am very satisfied with my purchase. The controls are good and function well and they do work in the sim. However, I prefer to use the mouse as its just easier in my personal opinion due to the fact that I bang the controllers on stuff when I flight sim. As far as performance, I am also very pleased. It really works well and is pretty much plug and play without a lot of hassle, especially with FlyInside. Performance will vary I am certain based on your hardware, so here is a list of mine for comparison:

Again, I have had no issues with any of these addons in VR with FlyInside. Performance varies for me from about 25-30FPS on the ground to upwards of 50-70FPS in the sky. Again varies with what addons you use, but the overall impresssion is satisfying to me. 
In closing, I don't think you can go wrong here, it is a solid headset, with far better specs than the older generation for almost the same price. I recommend it strongly. Hope this helps give some insight!

Echo's my thoughts around the Samsung - it's a quality unit and I have no tracking issues at all either.

Funnily enough I also had the same problem getting it going first off and had to get the Windows Mixed Reality plugin for Steam VR - not very clear I had to do that!

 

Cheers

DJ