So Pimax posted this new update on Kickstarter

Originally posted by Pimax 8K VR:

Hi Futurists,

Only those who spend hours a day in the virtual world and have tried out all types of headsets are eligible to claim what the best VR experience is.

We are glad to have a community full of such enthusiasts - many of you have witnessed the evolution of the home computer and consumer VR, even the early wave of VR headsets back in the 90's.

Like in all emerging industries, enthusiasts play a crucial role in pushing the boundaries of VR. In fact, the inspiration of Pimax 8K stems from the interactions amongst enthusiasts in the Pimax community. For the last two years, many of you have been contributing thoughts and feedback based on your experience with 4K, (and other headsets), which in turn has allowed us to build and shape 8K.

We are about to start a round of closed beta testing for the Pimax 8K M1 prototype. The goal is to have some of you to test the prototypes from both professional and enthusiast's perspective and let the Pimax team know how the experience matches up to your expectations. All feedback, suggestions for minor tweaks, and of course your time, is greatly appreciated!

A tester should meet the criteria as below:

- Pimax 8K Kickstarter backer

- Trusted community leader, professional reviewer, or both

There will be around ten testing units in total, to account for availability of headsets and manageability of the program. We have eight testers on board so far. The testers are recommended by Pimax community members in the forum: forum.pimaxvr.com. They have already started to contribute thoughts to us in terms of how to improve the testing process, and how to make the community satisfied with the final product.

Here are the steps for the closed beta:

1. We will email the chosen testers to confirm their participation;

2. We will start shipping to the testers as soon as M1 testing units are ready;

3. Testers inform Pimax team when they have received the units. Shortly after, we will announce the testers in the forum;

4. Testers answer a standardized questionnaire from Pimax team - the questionnaire will let you know what stage to complete it at during testing and when to have it finished by;

5. Testers join the closed discussion and communicate with Pimax team - Login details for the closed forum will be shared alongside the questionnaire;

6. Testers agree on a release date that allows all testers to have time to organize the reviews - this can take place in the forum;

7. After the testing period is over and we head into the release day, testers can now answer questions engage in the open forum with the rest of the Pimax community about M1 and their experiences.

We are now at the stage of trial assembly and testing in-house, testing is a very crucial step that we are taking seriously! After testers receive the units, the team will have an in-depth discussion with them to evaluate the experience as a whole.

For Pimax 8K updates, nominations, and discussions - forum.pimaxvr.com

For you to chat and know each other better, we have created a closed facebook group 8K VR Club - {LINK REMOVED}http://bit.ly/8kvrclub

For any inquiries or questions regarding your order, please contact our support team - https://www.pimaxvr.com/en/support/

Stay tuned for the Pimax 8K pre-order campaign - http://eepurl.com/cCSair

Best Regards,

The Pimax Team

Any suggestions for the two additional testers?

Post published by Xunshu on the Pimax forums:

"Hi Futurists,

Following a very busy start to 2018 at CES, we've been taking on board all the feedback from both press, and you, the Pimax community.
As a result, we thought it best to update you on where we are in the build and iteration process, and to give you a bigger picture of the timeline and progress thus far, and what it means for you.

First off, we figured a timeline would help provide you with some context:



- The 1st prototype was built - more of a display unit, and to give our audience an idea of what the HMD would look like


- Our first Roadshow prototype was developed, giving users the first chance to try Pimax 8K for themselves - from this we set

goals for V3:
Enable IPD
Change HDMI to DP
Improve build quality



What we improved for V3:
Hardware IPD enabled
Changed HDMI to DP1.4
Changed USB to Adapter
Build quality:
- Improved sealing for dustproof
- Improved tablet compressing to prevent screen damage

Goals for V4:
Enable software IPD
Extendable interfaces
Quality
- Damage resistance
- Dustproof
Comfort
- Reduce weight
- Improve ergonomics


What we improved for V4:
IPD
- Optimized the IPD adjustment design and mold
- Changed the cloth around the lenses for better elasticity and dustproof
The extendable interfaces enabled
Quality
- Reliability / Crash Test
- Dustproof
Comfort
- Better heat dissipation and strength with light-weighted alloy
- Optimized structure material to reduce weight
- Optimized ergonomics e.g. Increase distance of exit pupil to prevent eyelash from touching the lenses

Goals for V5:
Improve brightness
Optimize visual quality with new lenses
Prepare for mass production


What we improved for V5:
Added LEDs to improve brightness
Lenses changed
Mass production
- Production testing software and tools ready
- New material to cover sensor
- Mockup lens - lens tooling v1.0
- Headset tooling

Goals for M1:
Fine-tuning
Debugging
Change the medium number of IPD
Optimize ergonomics

It's also worth noting, that for each iteration, the circuit boards were tested and optimized too!
So this brings you up to date with where we've been over the last year, and you can see, at each stage we've been painstakingly tweaking features and making improvements, to ensure that the end result of what we deliver to you is what you'd expect.

So, what's next? Well, after spring festival (when our suppliers usually take vacations for half a month), we will have the M1 version done - this is our close-to-mass production unit, so we're getting very close to delivery!
Starting from mid-March, we plan to showcase M1 in roadshows and bring the new build to you, our backers, to put your hands on the first mass production version. While this is happening, we also have a small, closed group from the community testing M1. From there, we've been working hard with our manufacturing and development teams to give you a realistic timeline for the completion of the final version, so we can give you a date for shipment of the finished product.

Currently, taking into account the fixes for the final version, we are now looking at a delivery window of Q2. So we're certainly getting there! We will continue to offer you more frequent updates as we pass those milestones and tweak towards our final version. We are so grateful for the feedback you've given us, and for the patience, you've shown in allowing us the time to really hone Pimax 8K to be the best it can be.

We do understand that our initial estimate for delivery was perhaps generous, and for this we sincerely apologize. It's been very encouraging to hear from press and community that have tested the latest version, and that they feel we're almost there, but we of course know we've got a lot of work to put in over the coming weeks. We don't want to let you down on final build quality, so we're back at the grindstone, and as M1 becomes available, we'll have an even clearer idea of our trajectory, which we will of course share with you ASAP.

Thanks again, and look forward to updating you very soon!
bests,

The Pimax Team"

Official announcement here

Hey backer !

It seems to be the right time to check your e-mail box right now if you haven't recently !

Pimax team just sent the survey to you to arrange the sending of your units.

Also, for thoses whom had issues with payment on Kickstarter, here is your last chance to proceed and keep your place in the backer's log ![www.pimaxvr.com]

Originally posted by Pimax (matthew.xu):

We are so excited and everyone is full of energy.
We want to thank every backers, we've done a great project together... /

/... we are working on survey list, and we will send it to you in the next two days.

Time to check your e-mails often !

Also, for those whom have ordered Full package (Headset + Base Stations and Controllers), you will likely be able to choose "shipped together" or separately depending on how much eagerly you're waiting for it ! ;)