Murr Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 (edited) One of the most interesting products featured at Sony's CES 2011 press conference this evening was their new 3D Head Mounted Display – virtual reality-style headgear that provides users with a complete 3D experience on the go, complete with simulated 5.1 surround. I was fortunate enough to check out the 3D Head Mounted Display after the show, and while I detest the tentative title, it is a pretty compelling concept. It sports a two 1280 x 720 OLED displays, one for each eye, and integrated simulated surround sound headphones. Most importantly, it looks awesome. The headset looks like it could have been created and worn by Daft Punk, with a futuristic rounded casing that wraps around your ears and eyes with cool blue LED accents. As cool as it looked, it was clear that the design hadn't been fully fleshed out yet, and Sony really just wanted to show off what they could do. The headset had no means of mounting to my head, for starters, and I was forced to hold it up to my face like a pair of binoculars. Assuming Sony ever plans to bring the concept to market, it'll be interesting to see how they get it to rest comfortably on a user's face without distracting from the cool minimalist style. Once held up to my eyes, though, it was admittedly kind of cool, though not without its faults. Sony showed off footage of Gran Turismo 3D, and while the 3D effect was subtle, it was the clearest and most detailed 3D video I have seen. The trick, however, was lining it up properly on my face in absence of a head strap. Like other virtual reality-style personal viewers, the headset needed to be lined up and worn in a very particular manner to get the best picture. The quality of the sound was hard to detect due to the noise of the exhibit and limited nature of the viewable content – a looping demo reel – though it was sufficient for all intents and purposes. As conceptually interesting as it was, I have a hard time believing that there would be any real marketable interest in the 3D Head Mounted Display, and I suspect we won't be seeing it lining store shelves anytime soon. Historically, VR-style headsets never really caught on, on a wide scale, and let's face it, Sony is having a hard enough time convincing people to wear 3D glasses to watch movies or play games. Source - IGN.com It looks alot like the Nintendo-on mock thing that was made on the eve of the E3 when the Wii was shown, and also isn't this just VirtualBoy v2 minus the gaming? Edited January 7, 2011 by Murr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cube Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I actually think thats really cool. It would be pretty intense so you'd only really want to use it for short periods, max time of a film I'd have thought but that would work well. If I could hook this up to my PS3 and then play 3D games lying on my bed I'd almost certainly get myself one. I hope they manage to get a proper version finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daft Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Yeah, I'd consider it if the price was right. Not needing a full on TV is actually quite cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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