back to article Hands on, er, heads on: We take a gander at Sony's gaming goggles

Is it pride or some futuristic obsession? Just what is it that keeps Sony revamping its HMZ series head-mounted display? It’s certainly not to compete with Google Glass, as this experience blots out everything else – you have no idea who’s going to sneak up and take an Olloclip pic and make you look weird when you’ve got it on …

COMMENTS

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  1. Pypes

    HDMI, HD, HMD with wireless connectivity and 7.1 virtual surround for 1300 squid? Sign me right up.

    Maybe I'm a sad bastard, but between large plasma TV's and home cinema systems I've already spent that for the privileged of playing In 2D when it suits the family. Id gladly pay it again to be an antisocial bastard and immerse myself in some 3D fantasy vistas at my whim.

  2. Troy Peterson

    I know I'm in the minority and have more cash than sense... but I'm thinking of getting one. I already have an HMZ-T1 and I love it. I also have an Occulus rift. They are very different products. I love watching movies on my T1, and playing the occasional 2d /3d game. It's not as immersive as the OR, but it's a lot higher quality image and it works for all for games whereas the OR is just good for first person shooters. I also use it for MS Flight Simulator which I still cannot get to work on my OR. The T1 works to play PS3 games or watch a movie when my other half is using the main telly. The only problem with my T1 is it's weight and lack of comfort... The reviewer here seems to think this one is uncomfortable, but I hear the T2 is much, much improved over the T1 in that area so this should be even better I would hope. Plus, the forehead support on my T1 has broken...

    Cheers,

    Troy.

    1. Sir Runcible Spoon

      If you're going to compare the OR with the T1 then you could at least mention your OR is dev-kit and doesn't match what they will be releasing for retail.

  3. mmeier

    Sounds like a useable device for certain situations. Like "rainy day at the hollidays" or "Long weekend with the parents". Bringing a few DVDs and a player is simple since my tablet pc has standard USB and all but the 42'' TFT simply does not fit in the notebook bag.

    For "fun" and more as a joke currently it could be used coupled with a wireless mike and used to control the pc in the next room to read (and write, MS Speech recognition works nicely) mails

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "750-inch cinema screen from 20m away"

    Or a 7.5-inch cinema screen from 8 inches away.

    Or a 21" desktop monitor.

    Ooh... not quite as impressive, then, is it...

    1. Pypes

      If my understanding is correct the "X width at distance Y" is because there are culminating lenses in front of the screens, so your eyes can "focus to infinity" (i.e. physically behave as if they are looking at something far away) whilst looking at a screen that is in reality only an inch away. This removes most of the migraine potential you get with systems like the 3Ds where your eyes are required to converge and focus at 2 seperate depths.

  5. TheProf
    Meh

    It's a calling

    Bob Dormon, please keep the obsequiousness out of your future reviews. It's not your job to just blithely regurgitate the Sony press release. I, for one, would like to know what you really felt about this device. Is it a ground-breaking, metaphor-mixing leap forward or just another technological blind-alley?

    Also, do you leave the light on when you sleep at night?

    1. Lord Elpuss Silver badge
      WTF?

      Re: It's a calling

      He didn't just regurgitate, he added the phrase "It takes all sorts, I suppose". THREE TIMES.

      "...allows you to glance down at the keyboard. It takes all sorts, I suppose."

      "...a decent view of fast cars getting up to various thrills as spills. Well, it takes all sorts, I suppose."

      "...enough to win gamers and friendless movie buffs over to the HMZ-T3W concept, but it takes all sorts, I suppose."

      1. Esskay
        Coat

        Re: It's a calling

        Some people may have found the journalist's repitition amusing; the El Reg readership being somewhat varied.

        It takes all sorts, I suppose.

  6. Gene Cash Silver badge

    "forehead pad puts a lot of weight on your bonce"

    The NASA goggles they use for virtual EVA training have huge counterweights on the strap in the back of the head. I've always wondered why they don't kill two birds with one stone and use batteries back there. You'd have power for a week!

  7. OrsonX
    Go

    Oculus Rift

    Since seeing Maggie Philbin wearing a VR headset in Tomorrow's World I have been waiting.....

    The PS4/Xbone have barley got my attention this time round, but then I saw the OR on Click and realised that Tomorrow's World's tomorrow had finally arrived!

    In fact, what REALLY got my attention wasn't the OR headset but the inverted dustbin-lid for "walking" in whilst wearing the OR. I think the dustbin-lid will be the game-changer (no joking).*

    I would love to play BF4 using the OR-dustbin-lid set-up, I might actually manage to stay alive for more than 20 seconds (especially if the teens have to use the same set-up).

    *NASA are already using it for walking around Mars! Cool!!

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