Personal 3D Viewer Head Mounted Display

[Adrian Britton]

http://www.sony.co.uk/hub/hmd-video-glasses

What do you recon to these?
Could these be an end to triple screen monitors for sim racing, they are going to be released in the uk by november at a reasonable £500.

The Head Mounted Display from Sony is a personal entertainment system like never before. It puts you right into the heart of movies and gaming – the HMD will immerse you in a High Definition, 3D, virtual 5.1 surround sound world of sensation.

[h=3]A new gaming experience[/h]Put yourself in the centre of the action, whether it’s a fast-paced driving game or the latest first-person action game. To get the best out of the latest 2D and 3D games, the Head Mounted Display has a wide viewing area, delivering a more immersive gaming experience and virtual surround sound so you can hear all the action and opponents coming up behind you. Each OLED screen can be adjusted to suit your viewing preference, so you get a clearer image and a more comfortable gaming experience for longer periods of time.

 

[Jim Cole]

Head Mounted Displays have been around for quite some time, but improvement to the systems has been extremely limited. This product page doesn't list the important specs of what you are getting so it is hard to say if you are getting a good deal or not. First off it doesn't list what the actual or virtual display size is. It also doesn't include information on overlap, angle of view and things like that.

HMD's that have enough angle of view and overlap to replace triple monitors are still costing in the range of about 35,000 and up. There are HMD's that have head tracker hardware which would allow for tracking your head movement to adjust what you see, but there is no information on if this does or not. Without a wide field of view or head tracking it would be like sitting in front of your big screen TV.

 

[Adrian Britton]

Yeah I know what you mean about the lack of info from sony.
I should of placed a link to the Gadget show website that I found it on! (to be honest, I dont know why I didnt as it does have slightly more info about it! crazy or what!!!)
This is there article on it.....

http://fwd.channel5.com/gadget-show...headset-promises-a-750-inch-screen-experience

Sony HMZ-T1 3D headset promises a "750-inch" movie screen experience

We’ve seen wearable displays on several occasions in the form of a bulky pair of glasses, but Sony’s HMZ-T1 – launched at IFA this week – offers something completely different. Not least, two screens that simulate a staggering 750-inch display!
As good as the specs look, you definitely won’t be able to get away with wearing the Sony HMZ-T1 headset when out and about. Unlike glasses-based rivals, Sony has tried to do something completely different, and the result is a lot bulkier.
Rather than having the twin displays mounted directly in front of your eyes, the Japanese company has fitted them slightly further away. With a resolution of 1280×720 pixels, the result is akin to watching a 750-inch movie screen from 20 metres away. The HMZ-T1 even gets 3D, bringing movies and content to life.
It’s not all about size, either, with OLED technology used to deliver particularly deep and accurate colours. When coupled with an integrated headset and virtual 5.1 surroundsound, it should make for one of the most atmospheric platforms yet for watching movies or playing the latest games.
UK pricing and availability is yet to be announced, but the HMZ-T1 is set to go on sale in Japan in November, costing just under £500.

 

[Daniel Monteiro]

sweet! looking forward to the development of these badboys in the future!

 

[Jim Cole]

That little article does give a little bit more info, but it still lacks enough detail for determining the quality of the image and if there will be any issues with separation, overlap etc which your eyes are going to want to have in order to process the image correctly. Also, I have yet to see any information what so ever on how well someone with less than perfect vision will be able to use these.

 

[Adrian Britton]

Oh Jim! your such an optimist!

I have found a little bit more info for your, I have to say I am impressed by these, When they are released in Leeds Sony shop, the missus and I are off to see if we can get to view them, as I may buy some next year.
The only downside I can see, is that you would not be able to see your wheel, (so looking down to press things could be a bit hard) lol

Tokyo, Japan - August 31, 2011 - Sony Corporation (“Sony”) today announced the launch of Head Mounted Display “Personal 3D Viewer” ‘HMZ-T1’, a device that offers a spectacular new style for viewing both 2D and 3D content. Simply slip the device onto your head to experience the movie theater-like virtual screen (equivalent to a 750-inch screen[SUP]*2[/SUP]) expand before your eyes.[SUP]*3

It is equipped with the newly-developed 0.7-inch (diagonal 18.0mm) high definition OLED panel (1280 x 720), which have been realized through Sony’s unique expertise in both OLED display and semiconductor silicon drive technologies. The ‘HMZ-T1’ achieves HD picture quality that makes full use of the OLED display’s high contrast, color reproducibility, and fast response. In addition, the device adopts the ‘Dual Panel 3D Method’ which consists of separate panels for the left and right eye in order to display independent HD picture quality to each eye, which realize 3D vision. The viewer can enjoy natural and bright 3D picture quality that is crosstalk-free. Furthermore, we have achieved a wide horizontal viewing angle of 45 degrees by incorporating an optical lens that thoroughly suppresses unwanted elements such as aberration and distortion. Viewers can now enjoy watching video on a movie theater-like big-screen (750-inch virtual screen, virtual viewing distance approx. 20m)[SUP]*2[/SUP]. Sony has also adopted its original virtual surround signal processing technology. Combined with the high-resolution 3D picture quality, viewers will be able to fully enjoy powerful acoustics equivalent to a maximum of 5.1ch through the left and right headphones alone.
Sony group has offered a wide range of 3D products and 3D content production systems, from industrial 3D filming and editing equipment and movie theater systems through to its “BRAVIA” LCD TVs, home projectors, Blu-ray™ Disc devices, Personal Computer VAIO and “PlayStation 3” while its “Handycam” and “Cyber-shot” cameras even enable people to film 3D video themselves. And now, this new 3D viewing style provided by ‘HMZ-T1’ will enable users to enjoy the movie theater-like experience whilst relaxing on their living room sofa, thus further expanding Sony’s 3D world.

Main Features


(1)The high definition OLED panel delivers HD picture quality.(2)The ‘Dual Panel 3D Method’ delivers natural and bright 3D picture quality that is crosstalk-free. (3)Optical lens which realize wide 45-degree horizontal viewing angle (750-inch virtual screen, virtual viewing distance approx. 20m)[SUP]*2[/SUP] which is equivalent to a movie theater screen, while the shielding construction creates a deep feeling of immersion.(4)‘5.1ch Virtual Surround Technology (Virtualphones Technology)’ for realistic and expressive sound.*1As a 3D-compatible Head Mounted Display for consumer product (announced on August 31, 2011).*2Virtual screen size experience may vary between individuals.*3This device must be connected to the supplied processor unit via supplied cable, and the processor unit must be connected to a playback device such as a Blu-ray disc™ device via the HDMI cable.


Main Features (Details)


(1) High definition OLED panel delivers high picture quality

It realized 0.7-inch, high definition OLED panel (1280 x 720), through Sony’s unique expertise in both OLED display and semiconductor silicon drive technology. The display’s high contrast, color reproducibility, and fast response give added depth, allowing the viewer to enjoy smooth and high picture quality. For more information about high definition OLED panel

• High contrast： The self-illuminating OLED panels achieve a powerfully high contrast that transcends the limits of measuring equipment. The display’s ability to render true ultra-deep black tones results in beautiful and stunningly crisp contrasted images, even for bright light such as fireworks or twinkling city lights against the night sky.
• Color reproducibility： Sony developed a new signal processing circuit in order to maximize the features of OLED, particularly the bright, highly-pure colors and smooth gradation expression. Sony’s own proprietary ‘Super Bit Mapping Video (SBMV) technology’ has been incorporated to convert the 8-bit video of terrestrial digital broadcasts and Blu-ray discs™ for reproduction as a gradation expression equivalent to 14-bits. Even the faintest color differences are faithfully reproduced.
• Fast response： The OLED panel illuminates as soon as electrical current is passed through it, giving it superior fast response (response time: less than 0.01ms) for video. This enables the panel to display smooth, natural video, even for fast-moving activities such as sports and games, without any blurry afterimages.

Interchangeable lens camera “α77” and “α65”, as well as “NEX-7” are equipped with 0.5-inch (diagonal 12.7mm) and XGA electronic viewfinder (EVF). (Announced on August 24, 2011)

(2) The ‘Dual Panel 3D Method’ delivers natural and bright 3D picture quality that is crosstalk-free

Displaying 3D images using a single screen generally requires either the Frame Sequential (FS) method, in which the screens for left and right are switched rapidly, or the Line by Line (LBL) method, in which the video for left and right is displayed alternately on the scan line. The FS method tends to generate crosstalk phenomenon, which occurs when the left and right video frames do not switch completely, resulting in mixed images. Under the LBL method, the number of pixels is halved.
‘HMZ-T1’ adopts the ‘Dual Panel 3D method,’ which utilizes separate panels for the left and right eyes, each with its own dedicated 3D video. Therefore, it does not generate crosstalk. Furthermore, as the HD quality video is displayed separately on each of the panels, viewers can now enjoy high resolution 3D video that is natural, bright and extremely pure, to an extent that had not been possible until now.

(3) Optical lens which realize wide 45-degree horizontal viewing angle equivalent to a movie theater screen, while the shielding construction creates a deep feeling of immersion.

From Sony’s optical lens technology developed through the projector, the adopted optical lens realize the wide 45-degree horizontal viewing angle, which enables the viewer to enjoy a movie theater-like atmosphere with wide vision experience of 750-inch virtual screen (virtual viewing distance 20m)[SUP]*2[/SUP]. In addition, it realizes low aberration and distortion which reproduce the primary movie theater picture quality. The viewer can easily read small subtitles whilst experiencing the intensity of 3D as the video images expand before their eyes.
The design of this device is such that it covers the maximum possible field of vision (approx. 200 degrees), surpassing the video viewing range of 45 degrees. Any information unrelated to viewing is isolated, resulting in a feeling of deep immersion. The supplied light shield (shade plate) can intercept the light from below, which further enhances the feeling of immersion for the viewer.

(4) Equipped with ‘5.1ch Virtual Surround Technology (Virtualphones Technology)’ to enjoy realistic and expressive sound

‘HMZ-T1’ incorporates Sony’s unique expertise in surround signal processing technology ‘5.1ch Virtual Surround Technology (Virtualphones Technology)’, which is developed especially for headphones. “Virtualphones Technology (VPT)” creates a sound field that naturally reproduces the sound to make it seem as though the sound source is emanating from speakers placed all around the viewer (including front and back). The viewer can enjoy sound equivalent to a maximum 5.1ch multi-channel audio, thus further enhancing the spatial effects of 3D, whilst simultaneously experiencing a very realistic feeling of actually being there.

• Equipped with 4 surround modes
  It is equipped with 4 surround modes which one can select depending on the content. Aside from ‘Standard’ mode, the user can also select from ‘Cinema’ for authentic movie theater-like acoustics, ‘Game’ for reproducing a clear sense of direction, which can be vital for game-playing, and ‘Music’ for those times when the viewer simply wants to enjoy the original sound, such as might be heard in a recording studio.

Other Features


1. Convenient operation

The device’s control key (located behind the front) is used to control the volume and basic operations (such as playback, pause, fast forward, rewind, previous chapter, next chapter) of any connected devices with HDMI CEC control function. Settings for the picture quality and audio quality can also be performed via menu screen.

2. Convenient functions

It is equipped with a wearable sensor, which automatically turn off the panel if the viewer is not wearing the product. It is a convenient function and environment friendly. If the viewer is not wearing the product for a fixed period of time, it will automatically switch to standby mode.

3. Processor Unit for connection to other devices





The processor unit is equipped with one socket for HDMI output and another for through output. The built-in HDMI output switcher enables both the Head Mounted Display and a television to be connected to the processor unit at any given time, thereby allowing the user to switch between devices for their desired output destination.
Furthermore, the processor unit and the HMD can be connected together with a single cable, which integrates the audio and video signals with the power source.




Health Consideration

• Age restrictions
  Considering the protection of the growth and development, we ask children (age 15 and younger) to refrain from using this product.
• Cautionary matters when using the device
  In any rough or unstable environment with a propensity for travel sickness to occur (such as in a vehicle), we ask our customers to refrain from using the device.

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http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201108/11-097E/index.html

 

[Jim Cole]

All things considered, I hope they are awesome, but as you pointed out I am such an optimist From the looks of the design though, with the screens being so far away from your eyes, you should be able to look down and see your wheel with no issues. Just don't move your head, heheh.

Oh and I know there are head tracking devices out there that you would be able to use along with this headset to allow you to move your head to change your view so you can see around. The 2 combined will be pretty impressive, though I don't even come close to having enough dosh to afford one