JAV VR: News, comments about releases, recommendations, hardware

[Itsabiggapepperoni]

It's not necessarily pirated version. The low bit-rate 8k files are still sold on JAV sites, and for a premium price. It's sometimes hard to see the difference from the lower resolution. The few high bit-rate scenes from Afesta are more of an exception than the rule. They are likely trying to save money on bandwidth but end up selling an inferior product. There is a risk that your hardware could not handle high bitrate, but quality is almost always going to be noticeably better.

 

[Walle12]

Man, I recently watched a few videos that would have been really great if it weren't for another guy just getting in the way.

Occasionally they launch one. There are people who like orgies. I ignore them.

This has been brought up earlier in the thread, but found noteworthy to mention again; noticed that the 8K files on A Festa are significantly larger than the ones on torrent sites.

Random example:
Free 3DSVR-1394 8K = 9.2GB
Paid 3DSVR-1394 8K = 34.50GB

A 73% file size reduction! If I understand correctly, the bitrate is very low on the pirated version as a trade-off.
Hard drives are cheap, so I have no issue upgrading the few "8K" low bit-rate videos in my collection with the paid, larger versions.

If you've had the chance to compare the two, have you found there to be a significant difference in viewing experience?

Yes, A Festa is selling 8K with full bitrate, Fanza is selling the same title with crap bitrate.

I bought 3DSVR-1378 at A Festa and the 8K version is 93 GB. The "free" (Fanza) version, 15 GB. Night and day. Like to jump from DVD to Blu-ray. By far this version has the best image quality of JAV VR. Fanza is selling crap 8K titles with pathetic bitrate. We are eating 8K movies that look like 4K because of Fanza / DMM.

Too bad I don`t like the rest of the SOD VR 8K titles that have come out at A Festa, full of clothes and very poorly shot. And the ones scheduled for next week don't look any better.

But yes, the 8K titles for Fanza are crap. Yesterday they released MDVR-276, and the 8K version is... ¡8 GB!!! ¡Two hours of 8K video in 8 GB!!!! 8 GB are only the credits on a 8K western VR. It is infuriating.

 

[enduraVR]

I bought 3DSVR-1378 at A Festa and the 8K version is 93 GB. The "free" version, 15 GB. Night and day. Like to jump from DVD to Blu-ray. By far this version has the best image quality of JAV VR. Fanza is selling crap 8K titles with pathetic bitrate. We are eating 8K movies that look like 4K because of Fanza / DMM.

93GB! Amazing. At that size and resolution, do you desire even greater visual fidelity, or would you be content with that being the gold standard henceforth?

But yes, the 8K titles for Fanza are crap. Yesterday the released MDVR-276, and the 8K version is... ¡8 GB!!! ¡Two hours of 8K video in 8 GB!!!! It is infuriating

Ah, I understand the issue now. I was then going to ask why don't you purchase the full-bitrate version, but... 8K releases on Fanza and torrent sites are one and the same. Very disappointing - if you do not like SODVR's offerings or the somewhat predictable but huge catalogue of KMP, kind of out of luck on that front.

 

[Walle12]

The essence of virtual reality is realism. The word itself says it. For you to believe that you are in there, it has to look realistic.

Whether a VR movie has more or less bitrate is the difference between noticing that you are watching video, and believing that the girl is real because you see her in total clarity.

Some 8K Fanza titles look good. SIVR-320 at 8K has a bitrate of 30 Mbps, which is not optimal but acceptable. But, others, incomprehensibly, like MDVR-276, have 9 Mbps, which is pathetic. The 3DSVR-1378 version of A Festa has a bitrate of 100 Mbps, which is even higher than American VRs, which usually have 90 Mbps, although I have seen some with 150 Mbps.

The bitrate has a different effect in VR than in flat. In VR at lower bitrate it starts to look blurry from 30 centimeters away. At one meter it starts to blur, and at more distance, worse.

The difference of 3DSVR-1378 8K of A Festa with an 8K title of Fanza, when you apply supersampling and MSAA, is to bring tears to your eyes. With Fanza you are still watching a 3D video, with A Festa the girl looks like she is in front of you, that you are not wearing glasses.

But what's the problem? Quest and smartphones can barely apply supersampling or MSAA, and those devices have 64, 128 GB of storage, and a 93 GB movie doesn't fit. It is true that the logical thing to do is to stream to the Quest from a NAS or the store webpage, but many people still store the videos on the glasses or phone.

So because of standalone and phones, to eat 8K videos of Fanza that are crap, with pathetic image quality.

As far as I'm concerned, low quality VR makes no sense, because it goes against the medium. If you don't get maximum realism, it's not VR. So I will always buy the highest quality versions possible, whether they use 90, 100 or 150 GB. As you say hard drives are cheap.

What Fanza does with the 8K versions is a disgrace.

if you do not like SODVR's offerings or the somewhat predictable but huge catalogue of KMP, kind of out of luck on that front.

It is even worse, because KMP does not sell the 8K versions at A Festa, only the 4K versions....

 

[enduraVR]

It is even worse, because KMP does not sell the 8K versions at A Festa, only the 4K versions....

...

What a shoddy system and an unfortunate set of circumstances for us VR fans. Inhibited by modern hardware and consumer choices. Urgh! Phone "vr" is the bane of the authentic VR experience. Phones are commonplace, so understandable why they are opted for over a pricier dedicated HMD. Still... VR is a niche, and most within that niche use inferior equipment. Guess we won't see any drastic evolutions until that changes.

As far as I'm concerned, low quality VR makes no sense, because it goes against the medium.

Would you consider most older 4K titles to be below satisfactory, or can they still be enjoyed to some degree? Have a sizeable wish-list of older videos from between 2018-2021. Not expecting super realism from them due to lower visual fidelity, but hope to still enjoy them for what they are.

But what's the problem? Quest and smartphones can barely apply supersampling or MSAA, and those devices have 64, 128 GB of storage, and a 93 GB movie doesn't fit. It is true that the logical thing to do is to stream to the Quest from a NAS or the store webpage, but many people still store the videos on the glasses or phone.

A Quest/standalone with ~1TB of storage and a fast 3.2 USB port is the modern dream for me. Partly why I'm apprehensive about jumping into VR with the current offerings. Have to weigh up the pros and cons.

 

[SamKook]

Guess we won't see any drastic evolutions until that changes.

Assuming it ever does, VHS vs betamax a very long time ago had a similar issue and the worse of the two, VHS, stayed the main thing until the end.

 

[enduraVR]

Assuming it ever does, VHS vs betamax a very long time ago had a similar issue and the worse of the two, VHS, stayed the main thing until the end.

That was an interesting read. Longer recording times/cheaper to produce VHS beat out the otherwise superior alternative (or rather the market share king at the time), Betamax. The option that is cheapest, most accessible, and convenient wins in the end... understandable, but unfortunate nevertheless

 

[Walle12]

Would you consider most older 4K titles to be below satisfactory, or can they still be enjoyed to some degree? Have a sizeable wish-list of older videos from between 2018-2021. Not expecting super realism from them due to lower visual fidelity, but hope to still enjoy them for what they are.

Don't worry. 4K VRs released from 2020 onwards look fine. You're going to enjoy them.

What happens is that when a better format comes out, when you compare is when you notice the difference. DVDs looked good until Blu-rays came out....

In these comments about the 8K versions, when I say things like "lame" or "blurry", I mean it in comparative terms with other 8K titles. MDVR-276 in 8K looks like a pretty good 4K, but with a bitrate of 9 Mbps, if you compare it to Afesta's 3DSVR-1378 8K, which has a bitrate of 100 Mbps, well then it does look pathetic, because you notice it blurrier and with less definition. But to watch it, in general terms, it looks good, and you are to going to enjoy it.

Quest, phones are affordable devices, it is normal that they are the majority, and they are important for people to access VR. The problem is when mobile technologies are the ones that impose the rules. They should be a complement, a support, not the one who defines the technology that is taken as standard, because it is not the best thing out there.

I have a HP Reverb G2 connected to the PC and in some things they are more annoying to use than the Quest, for example the cable. But if I have not switched to Quest 3 is because in PC VR I notice that if I apply 2X supersampling and 2X MSAA filter to a 4K or 8K movie, the increase in definition is brutal. And I can't do this in Quest 3. Quest it is equivalent to PC VR without or little supersampling and MSAA, and I lost definition.


Even if you connect the Quest 3 to PC, as Quest does not have HDMI it is not a direct image, it is a compressed video that is transmitted as data through the USB port. And since it is compressed, you lose definition. Even more if you apply what I mention about supersampling, the graphics card is working at 16K and when you send it to Quest, it compresses it to 4K with little bitrate to send it by streaming to the Quest. The loss of image quality is brutal.

But Quest is what rules, and even Microsoft is going to remove HP Reverb G2 drivers from Windows 11 at the end of the year. So we are doomed that the standard will be hardware that offers much lower quality than what can be achieved. But they don't even let you choose anymore. Either Quest 3 with limited video, or nothing.


But don't worry about it. If you buy a Quest, connecting it to the PC to watch video does not make much sense, because as I say the PC transmits to Quest with compressed video both by cable and without it, because Meta did not want to add an HDMI connector. So you are not going to gain anything regarding standalone mode.

What people do is directly connect the hard drive to Quest through some streaming app, and watch it directly with the Quest version of HereSphere. This way it looks good and the movies are very enjoyable.. Not like you can get with PC VR from what I've checked, but is almost the only way to do it, because they hardly sell HDMI glasses anymore, or they are outdated, or they are very expensive.

 

[Itsabiggapepperoni]

To be fair, bitrate isn't everything. Raw video files can be hundreds of GB, but you won't see a difference from a well compressed video. And all of it is no use if the camera can't achieve higher quality. 90GB per video is a lot when 1TB drives are still standard in most devices. Not everyone is a data hoarder. Fortunately with time, drives are getting cheaper, compression more efficient, and internet speed faster

 

[Itsabiggapepperoni]

Would you consider most older 4K titles to be below satisfactory, or can they still be enjoyed to some degree?

A Quest/standalone with ~1TB of storage and a fast 3.2 USB port is the modern dream for me. Partly why I'm apprehensive about jumping into VR

I wouldn't worry about headset's storage too much. All of my VR watching is done through streaming, connected to my home server or streaming sites.

You could compare some 2018 videos with recent releases and see no difference in quality. The biggest jump was last year with 8k, but 4k is still perfectly fine.
In older scenes, I would only avoid videos in 30fps and very low bitrates. And specifically Aqua and Casanova studios, they have the worst camera quality

 

[Walle12]

To be fair, bitrate isn't everything. Raw video files can be hundreds of GB, but you won't see a difference from a well compressed video.

As I mentioned, bitrate does not produce the same visual effect in 2D video as it does in VR.

In 2D it is true that you can reduce the bitrate a lot with a good codec and you don't notice any difference. In VR, where everything is amplified by the lenses to cover your entire angle of view, the limitations of a low bitrate are also amplified.

I have compared the same VRs with different bitrate several times, and with my hardware and my eyes, with less bitrate the image starts to blur as the depth increases. At least that is my experience. I do notice more definition in a VR at 20 Mbps than the same at 10 Mbps. And it's not subtle, it's something I notice at a glance.

Today I have bought 3DS-1409 8K, which is with a 30% discount at A Festa. Here the 8K version is 46 GB. The Fanza version is 10.7 GB. I'll go back to compare this night head to head, to see what I notice.

 

[enduraVR]

I have a HP Reverb G2 connected to the PC and in some things they are more annoying to use than the Quest, for example the cable. But if I have not switched to Quest 3 is because in PC VR I notice that if I apply 2X supersampling and 2X MSAA filter to a 4K or 8K movie, the increase in definition is brutal. And I can't do this in Quest 3. Quest it is equivalent to PC VR without or little supersampling and MSAA, and I lost definition.

Being enthusiasts, of course we pay very close attention to the details. Someone content with phone VR would be blown away by a modern HMD and may not care to further tweak the visual fidelity - until they have acclimated to the hardware. I still cannot visualise what VR will feel like, so have few expectations. To seemingly be in the video sounds bonkers. I'll contribute more to the technical discussion once affiliated with the standalone device.

I wouldn't worry about headset's storage too much. All of my VR watching is done through streaming, connected to my home server or streaming sites.

Do you have fast internet? Noted that a number of YouTubers/VR fans upgraded to a Wi-Fi 6e router upon the Quest 3's release - less network congestion, faster speeds (though some saw little improvement in latency between Wifi 6 and 6e).

Usually prefer to have the physical (digital) files on the device to use offline, regardless of whether I have constant internet access. Just feels right. But if all else fails, I'll concede.

Analysis paralysis is real, haha. Focusing too much on the minutiae, whereas others are enjoying their phone VR without a care in the world.

You could compare some 2018 videos with recent releases and see no difference in quality. The biggest jump was last year with 8k, but 4k is still perfectly fine.
In older scenes, I would only avoid videos in 30fps and very low bitrates. And specifically Aqua and Casanova studios, they have the worst camera quality

Ah, I see. No videos from those particular studios, so good on that front. I'll make sure to check out the technical details of the videos I have/want.

 

[Walle12]

I still cannot visualise what VR will feel like, so have few expectations. To seemingly be in the video sounds bonkers. I'll contribute more to the technical discussion once affiliated with the standalone device.

Don't worry, you'll be amazed. As itsabiggapepperoni was saying, he got stunned using a cell phone, and it happened to me with my first VR movie, which I later found out was not the best looking one. Your experience is going to be better because the hardware and movies are better now.

Do you have very fast internet? Noted that a number of YouTubers/VR fans upgraded to a Wi-Fi 6e router upon the Quest 3's release - less network congestion, faster speeds (though some contest that, seeing little improvement in latency).

With Quest you need a fast connection when you play PC VR games, because as I said the PC compresses the image in real time to send it to the Quest ((you see compressed video in real time, not direct image)), and for you not to notice latency between what you do in the game and what you see on screen, the video compression (and the connection) has to be fast.

But to watch movies is different, here the latency is not so important and with a WiFi router and a normal connection is enough.

 

[Walle12]

Mirrors are rarely used in VR movies, but should be used more in shots like doggy. They bring new interesting angles to view the action:



EnduraVR, those giant asses don't look like that in the glasses.... In flat they look deformed, but in the glasses when the 3D effect is applied, they look perfect...

 

[enduraVR]

On the topic of mirrors, how do you feel about scenes like this? The one you showed does look nice; KMP and CRYSTAL VR use mirrors on occasion, the latter more so.



Works with a scene like this were an instant disqualifier for me, as (at least when viewing in 2D) I assume that it'll be weird to see another man's body in that position (unless VR tricks me into believing it is mine, that is).

 

[Walle12]

In the shot you show, it depends on each person. It bothers me a bit to see the guy there, because at real-size you see him big. Over time the guys' legs or arms, which are inevitable to be seen from time to time, become invisible, or your brain learns to ignore them. You don't pay attention to them and you don't see them. Or your own brain imagines it's your body.

It's similar to what happens to people who work in a workshop, there may be a hellish noise but they don't hear it, their brain ignores it. With VR it's the same, you learn to ignore them. But you need some time to get it. Not everyone gets it, some people always complain when the hands show too much. There are actors who can't restrain themselves when it comes to touching the girl...

 

[enduraVR]

Looking forward to purchasing fetish videos of this sort from KMP. VR almost feels too good to be true, as if there's a hidden catch. Having been entrenched in the flat realm for a decade, coming up to the surface is disorienting. Is this really okay? The feeling will pass with time.

In the world of flat porn, fast and hard action was the name of the game; viewed simply as a means to an end. Such stringent criteria doesn't translate well to the 3D medium. More lenient in the performing style of actresses now. Passionate stars of the likes of Ranran and Alice Otsu can now be appreciated alongside softer performers like Ozaki Erika and Mei Washio. Being the centre of attention positively changes things. No longer levying for attention against a male performer. Just you and her... does it even feel like porn at that point? The term connotes dirtiness. This seems... therapeutic in nature.

 

[Walle12]

VR almost feels too good to be true

More than once I have thought that after watching a VR movie I really liked....

Being the centre of attention positively changes things.

It changes everything...

Just you and her... does it even feel like porn at that point? The term connotes dirtiness. This seems... therapeutic in nature

It's funny you mention it, because some time ago SexLikeReal was debating in its forum about whether to declare its VR platform as a therapeutic service... Legally they could ask for it because some studies consider some type of pornography as therapeutic...

But in the end they didn't do it because that required them to remove the "strongest" porn from their website.

 

[chewbaka]

Hear, hear!

The male actors won't go away that easily, haha. Glad that titles like that and URVRSP-235 are released infrequently. They allow for the viewer to live out their orgy/porn star dreams, but the presence of other guys kills any eroticism.

I've mentioned this many times already - 3DSVR-1022 is the best harem in VR IMHO. Lots of girls, all of them quite pretty, and you don't cycle rapidly through them unlike many harem titles. Lots of focused 1-on-1 time with each girl while the others basically egging you on, talking dirty in your ear, or diddling themselves off to the side. Only slightly spoiled by Momose Asuka taking her imouto role a little too seriously and hence you get constant reminders that you are commiting incest when she's part of the action but that's only if you understand Japanese.

Not anti-fake breasts, but Aiga's there do look unfortunate. For some actresses (like the re-debuted Itsukaichi Mei) it looks natural. But for most actresses it's blaringly obvious. Incorrect implant size, too low body fat - can't just slap on bolt ons and expect them to look good (unless that is the desired aesthetic - looking at you Eimi Fukada).

I prefer natural breasts myself but I'm OK with Mori Hinako's. Its done quite well, it fixes a minor flaw she had on uneven breast sizes so I guess it might have helped with her self-esteem or something. Its not as overblown as to look overly fake like Fukada Eimi's and the nipples usually remains centered instead of drifting. Unless you knew her original breast size, its impossible to tell they are fake when she's merely showing cleavage, and they can pass as natural even when she's naked and upright. Its only when she's in motion or lying down that you can tell they are fake.

HNVR-016 came out in early 2020. Do you find the (presumably) lower resolution/visual fidelity to be immersion-breaking, or do videos from that time (2019-2021) still have utility in 2024? Have a number of videos on my wish-list from SODVR and KMP from that era.

I didn't think HNVR-016 was poor in image quality compared to newer videos. At least not enough to break immersion. But than again, my own eyesight is pretty bad to begin with. No images have ever been sharp for me in my life without high-powered prescription glasses and I had to buy lens inserts for my Quest 3 to use them (cheap ones from AliExpress, they work just fine though). I'm surprised at needing them though. I never needed inserts nor glasses while I was trying out VR previously in rental places. Yet the Quest 3 was blur to me on initial usage until I wore my glasses beneath it. That was when I decided to get some inserts instead - slightly lower power than my actual prescriptions. If you need high prescriptions yourself, you'll understand why.

Anyway, the side effect of that is that resolution and fidelity aren't as noticeable to me as other folks with better eyesight. Everything I see is at condensed a bit slightly in size already cos of my lenses. So don't take my word for it if i don't complain about image quality. I'm not the best judge of that.

I thought frame rate might be more noticeable but NHVR-139 which is an older titles at 30FPS that I picked up from Afesta is surpisingly quite sharp in picture clarity and I don't really notice the lower frame rate either.

 

[Walle12]

Not for me but .... @Itsabiggapepperoni is going to like this movie... The return of the stunning Arisu Mai...

KAVR-355