z800 review User review of the z800 stereo headset
eMagin Z800 Head Mounted Display - $900 + shipping direct (www.emagin.com)
Review Summary
Pro
+ Cheaper than the competition
+ Good head tracker hardware
+ 3D with no ghosting
Con
- Poor quality screen (compared to desktop CRT or LCD)
- More expensive & lower resolution than a CRT/shutterglasses combination
- Poor software
- Heavy & Uncomfortable for extended use
Introduction
With prices easily exceding $10,000 for professional Head Mounted Display (HMD) devices, the only real contender in the budget HMD display arena has been i-glasses with their SVGA Pro 3D model. With the introduction of the Z800 headset, a HMD that supports stereo viewing with Nvidia graphics cards, along with integrated head tracking, and built-in stereo headphones and microphone at the cheapest price point in the market, eMagin aims to tackle that market head-on.
Package
The Z800 ships with the headset itself, a silver unit with elastic straps to tie around your head, a long fixed cable that connects with the controller box and integrated "earbud" headphones. eMagin also includes a set of vga, usb & audio cables in the box, but all the cables are only a few inches long and really too short to use unless you bury the controller box down the back of your PC. Cables are cheap enough to replace but at this price you'd hope for more.
Installation
The physical installation is straightforward, following the instructions in the included Quick Start Guide. Just connect the cables, set the desktop resolution and refresh rate and the HMD turns on. For 3D viewing though, you'll also need to download and install the latest 3D stereo drivers from Nvidia, along with the z800 Utility from the install CD. The install CD also contains PDF versions of the Quick Start Guide and the full User Manual (though oddly, the user manual didnt seem to actually contain any more info than the quick start guide). The guide walks you through the software installation, but missed out one important step when it didnt mention which "stereo type" 3d setting to use. An email to eMagin's Tech support was quick answered with advice to use the "DDC VGA Glasses(IO Display)" setting.
Display
So time to plug in and take a look at the actual display. Initial impressions were disappointing. With the Brightness setting from the z800 Utility set to lowest, the screen displayed a lot of speckles, and a large number of dead pixels. Looking at the windows desktop with the z800 is like looking through a gauze, though a few clicks of the Brightness setting to turn up the intensity produced a much better (if washed out) image. The first positive thing to say is that the field of view is good - about the same as a 24" monitor in front of you on the desktop. However, contrast and color settings are poor. There was no provided color correction settings (.icc or .icm files), and a claimed contrast ratio of only 200:1 compares poorly to 800+:1 for a good LCD or even higher for a CRT. A reflection down the right side of the screen couldnt be fixed (even with spending quite some time adjusting the eyepiece separation and centering the image with the Utility software) and this time there was no reply from Tech support on the issue. This also seems like a common complaint, judging from eMagin's support forums.
Head Tracking
The z800 ships with built-in 6DOF (degrees of freedom) head tracking, provided by some micro gyroscopes and accellerometers built into the headset. No games yet support the eMagin hardware directly, but eMagin Utility software includes a mouse emulation mode. The quality of tracking is good, with a smooth and fairly accurate feel. However, the fact that the software doesn't register the head-tracker as a game controller, and only 2 of the supposed 6 DOF are supported in the mouse driver limits it's usefulness. eMagin definitely needs to spend some time in this department, with a full DirectInput compatible driver.
Sound
A couple of cheap earbud headphones are included in the package, producing decidedly average quality, with no volume adjustment and sprung wire connectors which keep popping out. Like the complaints about the cables, this is not expensive to sort out though - just add a decent set of separate headphones.
Games
Switching to 3D, the low resolution is noticeable, even with all the quality settings like anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering turned up. Obvious too is the low contrast and colour depth (24 bit only), rendering obvious bands of colour in many cases. All the usual games worked fine in 3d (I tested with Morrowind, Guild Wars, Doom3, Freespace2 Open, Farcry, and Half-Life 2). One thing that did become apparent was that the lack of ghosting means that 3d glitches in some software (such as objects at the wrong distance) are much more noticeable than with shutterglasses for example.
Comfort
Unit is still quite heavy (~8oz / 210gm), about equivalent to 15 CDs, and the headband is uncomfortable and difficult to adjust. It's also tricky to get the headset lined up with the eyes so that everything is in focus without the headset being too tight and uncomfortable. The connector cable that runs from the control box to the headset is thick, but not really noticeable if you use the clip. I feel man enough to admit that the first time I used the headset I had to stop after half and hour with nausea and a headache. Adjusting the colour, contrast and using more frequently helped though and after a week I can play with the headset for a couple of hours at a time. To be honest, the worst problem is with the design of the headband, as it digs into the forehead (or your nose) with all the weight of the unit
Conclusion
Ignoring minor issues like the cables and headphones, which can be cheaply replaced, the main problem is the quality of the optics. It's a low resolution and low contrast screen by modern standards, and it will take you quite some time to adjust the colours to a decent picture. The 3D effect is good though, especially after you've had a few days to get used to it. But for the price, you might keep wondering why you didnt just stick with a CRT and shutterglasses instead.
eMagin Z800 Head Mounted Display - $900 + shipping direct (www.emagin.com)
Review Summary
Pro
+ Cheaper than the competition
+ Good head tracker hardware
+ 3D with no ghosting
Con
- Poor quality screen (compared to desktop CRT or LCD)
- More expensive & lower resolution than a CRT/shutterglasses combination
- Poor software
- Heavy & Uncomfortable for extended use
Introduction
With prices easily exceding $10,000 for professional Head Mounted Display (HMD) devices, the only real contender in the budget HMD display arena has been i-glasses with their SVGA Pro 3D model. With the introduction of the Z800 headset, a HMD that supports stereo viewing with Nvidia graphics cards, along with integrated head tracking, and built-in stereo headphones and microphone at the cheapest price point in the market, eMagin aims to tackle that market head-on.
Package
The Z800 ships with the headset itself, a silver unit with elastic straps to tie around your head, a long fixed cable that connects with the controller box and integrated "earbud" headphones. eMagin also includes a set of vga, usb & audio cables in the box, but all the cables are only a few inches long and really too short to use unless you bury the controller box down the back of your PC. Cables are cheap enough to replace but at this price you'd hope for more.
Installation
The physical installation is straightforward, following the instructions in the included Quick Start Guide. Just connect the cables, set the desktop resolution and refresh rate and the HMD turns on. For 3D viewing though, you'll also need to download and install the latest 3D stereo drivers from Nvidia, along with the z800 Utility from the install CD. The install CD also contains PDF versions of the Quick Start Guide and the full User Manual (though oddly, the user manual didnt seem to actually contain any more info than the quick start guide). The guide walks you through the software installation, but missed out one important step when it didnt mention which "stereo type" 3d setting to use. An email to eMagin's Tech support was quick answered with advice to use the "DDC VGA Glasses(IO Display)" setting.
Display
So time to plug in and take a look at the actual display. Initial impressions were disappointing. With the Brightness setting from the z800 Utility set to lowest, the screen displayed a lot of speckles, and a large number of dead pixels. Looking at the windows desktop with the z800 is like looking through a gauze, though a few clicks of the Brightness setting to turn up the intensity produced a much better (if washed out) image. The first positive thing to say is that the field of view is good - about the same as a 24" monitor in front of you on the desktop. However, contrast and color settings are poor. There was no provided color correction settings (.icc or .icm files), and a claimed contrast ratio of only 200:1 compares poorly to 800+:1 for a good LCD or even higher for a CRT. A reflection down the right side of the screen couldnt be fixed (even with spending quite some time adjusting the eyepiece separation and centering the image with the Utility software) and this time there was no reply from Tech support on the issue. This also seems like a common complaint, judging from eMagin's support forums.
Head Tracking
The z800 ships with built-in 6DOF (degrees of freedom) head tracking, provided by some micro gyroscopes and accellerometers built into the headset. No games yet support the eMagin hardware directly, but eMagin Utility software includes a mouse emulation mode. The quality of tracking is good, with a smooth and fairly accurate feel. However, the fact that the software doesn't register the head-tracker as a game controller, and only 2 of the supposed 6 DOF are supported in the mouse driver limits it's usefulness. eMagin definitely needs to spend some time in this department, with a full DirectInput compatible driver.
Sound
A couple of cheap earbud headphones are included in the package, producing decidedly average quality, with no volume adjustment and sprung wire connectors which keep popping out. Like the complaints about the cables, this is not expensive to sort out though - just add a decent set of separate headphones.
Games
Switching to 3D, the low resolution is noticeable, even with all the quality settings like anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering turned up. Obvious too is the low contrast and colour depth (24 bit only), rendering obvious bands of colour in many cases. All the usual games worked fine in 3d (I tested with Morrowind, Guild Wars, Doom3, Freespace2 Open, Farcry, and Half-Life 2). One thing that did become apparent was that the lack of ghosting means that 3d glitches in some software (such as objects at the wrong distance) are much more noticeable than with shutterglasses for example.
Comfort
Unit is still quite heavy (~8oz / 210gm), about equivalent to 15 CDs, and the headband is uncomfortable and difficult to adjust. It's also tricky to get the headset lined up with the eyes so that everything is in focus without the headset being too tight and uncomfortable. The connector cable that runs from the control box to the headset is thick, but not really noticeable if you use the clip. I feel man enough to admit that the first time I used the headset I had to stop after half and hour with nausea and a headache. Adjusting the colour, contrast and using more frequently helped though and after a week I can play with the headset for a couple of hours at a time. To be honest, the worst problem is with the design of the headband, as it digs into the forehead (or your nose) with all the weight of the unit
Conclusion
Ignoring minor issues like the cables and headphones, which can be cheaply replaced, the main problem is the quality of the optics. It's a low resolution and low contrast screen by modern standards, and it will take you quite some time to adjust the colours to a decent picture. The 3D effect is good though, especially after you've had a few days to get used to it. But for the price, you might keep wondering why you didnt just stick with a CRT and shutterglasses instead.
I really think you need to appreciate this product for what it is. I have been a long time user of HMDs (Since Early 90's) and this is by far the best thing to ever come out for the price. If you don't like the optics on this baby, you would have absolutely hated previous models from I-Glasses, Icuti, etc... I think the OLED technology is amazing, not only because of it's low need for power but also the picture is very bright and clear. This beats regular LCDs hands down. The gaming 3D is very immersive and the FOV is decent compared to what has been out there. The only complaint I have about the Z800 is that it won't play 3d movies. I have an Icuiti 920 that will but the picture sucks. Someday I hope these things will have a better FOV (Can't they just widen them up a bit?) but for now the Z800 is the one to get. Anybody remember the VFX1? :)
I really think you need to appreciate this product for what it is. I have been a long time user of HMDs (Since Early 90's) and this is by far the best thing to ever come out for the price. If you don't like the optics on this baby, you would have absolutely hated previous models from I-Glasses, Icuti, etc... I think the OLED technology is amazing, not only because of it's low need for power but also the picture is very bright and clear. This beats regular LCDs hands down. The gaming 3D is very immersive and the FOV is decent compared to what has been out there. The only complaint I have about the Z800 is that it won't play 3d movies. I have an Icuiti 920 that will but the picture sucks. Someday I hope these things will have a better FOV (Can't they just widen them up a bit?) but for now the Z800 is the one to get. Anybody remember the VFX1? :)
I think like rousseau. The important is the optics..... all other bugs can be replaced, but it can´t be done with the image quality.
Low resolution is a big problem, but it is not the bigest problem. I think the big PROBLEM is the blur images cause because optics. The consequence is not only a blur screen... it causes a quick eyestrain too.
This is a good pice of hardware only because there is not other competitors at this prize range.... it is the only that excuses this product. If you have not used a HMD before... I think it is not a solution... surelly you will expect more than it gives, and you will pay a lot of money.
The pros:
No ghosting. Cheaper than other HMDs ( bit I think that we must not compare with other HMDs... we have to compare with other ways to make stereo3D). An experiment if you are bored. I don´t see more pros.
The cons:
Low contrast (very poor dark scenes), low resolution (800x600), blurring optics (bad quality and quick eyestrain). Earburns unusefull, very very short cables (you need to buy another ones... incredible), very poor software support, not usefull tracking solution if you have TrackIR (TrackIR is a lot better). 900$ (I think this is a toy, and usually I don´t pay 900$ for a toy).
Usually I don´t use this visor. Usually I use shutterglasses.... I think it says all (and my eyes are more relaxed and I suffer not eyestrain). I´m not happy with this buy, but I am not going to return it because shipping cost and taxes.
I think like rousseau. The important is the optics..... all other bugs can be replaced, but it can´t be done with the image quality.
Low resolution is a big problem, but it is not the bigest problem. I think the big PROBLEM is the blur images cause because optics. The consequence is not only a blur screen... it causes a quick eyestrain too.
This is a good pice of hardware only because there is not other competitors at this prize range.... it is the only that excuses this product. If you have not used a HMD before... I think it is not a solution... surelly you will expect more than it gives, and you will pay a lot of money.
The pros:
No ghosting. Cheaper than other HMDs ( bit I think that we must not compare with other HMDs... we have to compare with other ways to make stereo3D). An experiment if you are bored. I don´t see more pros.
The cons:
Low contrast (very poor dark scenes), low resolution (800x600), blurring optics (bad quality and quick eyestrain). Earburns unusefull, very very short cables (you need to buy another ones... incredible), very poor software support, not usefull tracking solution if you have TrackIR (TrackIR is a lot better). 900$ (I think this is a toy, and usually I don´t pay 900$ for a toy).
Usually I don´t use this visor. Usually I use shutterglasses.... I think it says all (and my eyes are more relaxed and I suffer not eyestrain). I´m not happy with this buy, but I am not going to return it because shipping cost and taxes.
Here [url="http://www.5dt.com/products/phmd.html"]http://www.5dt.com/products/phmd.html[/url] You can buy the 5DT with the same exact optic specs for 10k if it makes you feel better. :) I've owned a lot of HMDs over the years and have paid thousands more for far less quality. In my opinion this is the first HMD actually worth a damn and I think the OLED optics are outstanding. The cables were ridiculously short though weren't they. Good thing I had longer ones lying around. :)
PS The tracking worked great for me and have had no issues with any of the new games short of some of them not supporting stereoscopic 3d very well, but that's Nvidia's problem, not eMagin.
[quote name='mopheta' date='Apr 3 2006, 04:10 PM']I think like rousseau. The important is the optics..... all other bugs can be replaced, but it can´t be done with the image quality.
Low resolution is a big problem, but it is not the bigest problem. I think the big PROBLEM is the blur images cause because optics. The consequence is not only a blur screen... it causes a quick eyestrain too.
This is a good pice of hardware only because there is not other competitors at this prize range.... it is the only that excuses this product. If you have not used a HMD before... I think it is not a solution... surelly you will expect more than it gives, and you will pay a lot of money.
The pros:
No ghosting. Cheaper than other HMDs ( bit I think that we must not compare with other HMDs... we have to compare with other ways to make stereo3D). An experiment if you are bored. I don´t see more pros.
The cons:
Low contrast (very poor dark scenes), low resolution (800x600), blurring optics (bad quality and quick eyestrain). Earburns unusefull, very very short cables (you need to buy another ones... incredible), very poor software support, not usefull tracking solution if you have TrackIR (TrackIR is a lot better). 900$ (I think this is a toy, and usually I don´t pay 900$ for a toy).
Usually I don´t use this visor. Usually I use shutterglasses.... I think it says all (and my eyes are more relaxed and I suffer not eyestrain). I´m not happy with this buy, but I am not going to return it because shipping cost and taxes.
[right][post="81304"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]
Here http://www.5dt.com/products/phmd.html You can buy the 5DT with the same exact optic specs for 10k if it makes you feel better. :) I've owned a lot of HMDs over the years and have paid thousands more for far less quality. In my opinion this is the first HMD actually worth a damn and I think the OLED optics are outstanding. The cables were ridiculously short though weren't they. Good thing I had longer ones lying around. :)
PS The tracking worked great for me and have had no issues with any of the new games short of some of them not supporting stereoscopic 3d very well, but that's Nvidia's problem, not eMagin.
[quote name='mopheta' date='Apr 3 2006, 04:10 PM']I think like rousseau. The important is the optics..... all other bugs can be replaced, but it can´t be done with the image quality.
Low resolution is a big problem, but it is not the bigest problem. I think the big PROBLEM is the blur images cause because optics. The consequence is not only a blur screen... it causes a quick eyestrain too.
This is a good pice of hardware only because there is not other competitors at this prize range.... it is the only that excuses this product. If you have not used a HMD before... I think it is not a solution... surelly you will expect more than it gives, and you will pay a lot of money.
The pros:
No ghosting. Cheaper than other HMDs ( bit I think that we must not compare with other HMDs... we have to compare with other ways to make stereo3D). An experiment if you are bored. I don´t see more pros.
The cons:
Low contrast (very poor dark scenes), low resolution (800x600), blurring optics (bad quality and quick eyestrain). Earburns unusefull, very very short cables (you need to buy another ones... incredible), very poor software support, not usefull tracking solution if you have TrackIR (TrackIR is a lot better). 900$ (I think this is a toy, and usually I don´t pay 900$ for a toy).
Usually I don´t use this visor. Usually I use shutterglasses.... I think it says all (and my eyes are more relaxed and I suffer not eyestrain). I´m not happy with this buy, but I am not going to return it because shipping cost and taxes.
[quote]Obvious too is the low contrast and colour depth (24 bit only), rendering obvious bands of colour in many cases.[/quote]
[quote]24bit colour (truecolour) is the highest colour depth you can get on a display.[/quote]
My mistake - although I should clarify that although eMagin claim a 24-bit color depth, the actual end effect is more like looking at a 256 color display. Certainly there is a huge difference between the color range of the HMD and that of my CRT when both are plugged in and looking at the same scene.
Obvious too is the low contrast and colour depth (24 bit only), rendering obvious bands of colour in many cases.
24bit colour (truecolour) is the highest colour depth you can get on a display.
My mistake - although I should clarify that although eMagin claim a 24-bit color depth, the actual end effect is more like looking at a 256 color display. Certainly there is a huge difference between the color range of the HMD and that of my CRT when both are plugged in and looking at the same scene.
I played with this a ton at E3 and gotta say I love the product alot. The optics just kicked ass when I used it. They also lowered the price SIGNIFICANTLY to $550 /haha.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':haha:' />
Needless to say, I can't wait for the UPS truck tomorrow.
I played with this a ton at E3 and gotta say I love the product alot. The optics just kicked ass when I used it. They also lowered the price SIGNIFICANTLY to $550 /haha.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':haha:' />
Needless to say, I can't wait for the UPS truck tomorrow.
lol, 10 years later and resolution is still an issue :P
[quote="rousseau"]
Conclusion
Ignoring minor issues like the cables and headphones, which can be cheaply replaced, the main problem is the quality of the optics. It's a low resolution and low contrast screen by modern standards, and it will take you quite some time to adjust the colours to a decent picture. The 3D effect is good though, especially after you've had a few days to get used to it. But for the price, you might keep wondering why you didnt just stick with a CRT and shutterglasses instead.
Steve[/quote]
At least there are better games offering better presence :)
lol, 10 years later and resolution is still an issue :P
rousseau said:
Conclusion
Ignoring minor issues like the cables and headphones, which can be cheaply replaced, the main problem is the quality of the optics. It's a low resolution and low contrast screen by modern standards, and it will take you quite some time to adjust the colours to a decent picture. The 3D effect is good though, especially after you've had a few days to get used to it. But for the price, you might keep wondering why you didnt just stick with a CRT and shutterglasses instead.
Steve
At least there are better games offering better presence :)
Review Summary
Pro
+ Cheaper than the competition
+ Good head tracker hardware
+ 3D with no ghosting
Con
- Poor quality screen (compared to desktop CRT or LCD)
- More expensive & lower resolution than a CRT/shutterglasses combination
- Poor software
- Heavy & Uncomfortable for extended use
Introduction
With prices easily exceding $10,000 for professional Head Mounted Display (HMD) devices, the only real contender in the budget HMD display arena has been i-glasses with their SVGA Pro 3D model. With the introduction of the Z800 headset, a HMD that supports stereo viewing with Nvidia graphics cards, along with integrated head tracking, and built-in stereo headphones and microphone at the cheapest price point in the market, eMagin aims to tackle that market head-on.
Package
The Z800 ships with the headset itself, a silver unit with elastic straps to tie around your head, a long fixed cable that connects with the controller box and integrated "earbud" headphones. eMagin also includes a set of vga, usb & audio cables in the box, but all the cables are only a few inches long and really too short to use unless you bury the controller box down the back of your PC. Cables are cheap enough to replace but at this price you'd hope for more.
Installation
The physical installation is straightforward, following the instructions in the included Quick Start Guide. Just connect the cables, set the desktop resolution and refresh rate and the HMD turns on. For 3D viewing though, you'll also need to download and install the latest 3D stereo drivers from Nvidia, along with the z800 Utility from the install CD. The install CD also contains PDF versions of the Quick Start Guide and the full User Manual (though oddly, the user manual didnt seem to actually contain any more info than the quick start guide). The guide walks you through the software installation, but missed out one important step when it didnt mention which "stereo type" 3d setting to use. An email to eMagin's Tech support was quick answered with advice to use the "DDC VGA Glasses(IO Display)" setting.
Display
So time to plug in and take a look at the actual display. Initial impressions were disappointing. With the Brightness setting from the z800 Utility set to lowest, the screen displayed a lot of speckles, and a large number of dead pixels. Looking at the windows desktop with the z800 is like looking through a gauze, though a few clicks of the Brightness setting to turn up the intensity produced a much better (if washed out) image. The first positive thing to say is that the field of view is good - about the same as a 24" monitor in front of you on the desktop. However, contrast and color settings are poor. There was no provided color correction settings (.icc or .icm files), and a claimed contrast ratio of only 200:1 compares poorly to 800+:1 for a good LCD or even higher for a CRT. A reflection down the right side of the screen couldnt be fixed (even with spending quite some time adjusting the eyepiece separation and centering the image with the Utility software) and this time there was no reply from Tech support on the issue. This also seems like a common complaint, judging from eMagin's support forums.
Head Tracking
The z800 ships with built-in 6DOF (degrees of freedom) head tracking, provided by some micro gyroscopes and accellerometers built into the headset. No games yet support the eMagin hardware directly, but eMagin Utility software includes a mouse emulation mode. The quality of tracking is good, with a smooth and fairly accurate feel. However, the fact that the software doesn't register the head-tracker as a game controller, and only 2 of the supposed 6 DOF are supported in the mouse driver limits it's usefulness. eMagin definitely needs to spend some time in this department, with a full DirectInput compatible driver.
Sound
A couple of cheap earbud headphones are included in the package, producing decidedly average quality, with no volume adjustment and sprung wire connectors which keep popping out. Like the complaints about the cables, this is not expensive to sort out though - just add a decent set of separate headphones.
Games
Switching to 3D, the low resolution is noticeable, even with all the quality settings like anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering turned up. Obvious too is the low contrast and colour depth (24 bit only), rendering obvious bands of colour in many cases. All the usual games worked fine in 3d (I tested with Morrowind, Guild Wars, Doom3, Freespace2 Open, Farcry, and Half-Life 2). One thing that did become apparent was that the lack of ghosting means that 3d glitches in some software (such as objects at the wrong distance) are much more noticeable than with shutterglasses for example.
Comfort
Unit is still quite heavy (~8oz / 210gm), about equivalent to 15 CDs, and the headband is uncomfortable and difficult to adjust. It's also tricky to get the headset lined up with the eyes so that everything is in focus without the headset being too tight and uncomfortable. The connector cable that runs from the control box to the headset is thick, but not really noticeable if you use the clip. I feel man enough to admit that the first time I used the headset I had to stop after half and hour with nausea and a headache. Adjusting the colour, contrast and using more frequently helped though and after a week I can play with the headset for a couple of hours at a time. To be honest, the worst problem is with the design of the headband, as it digs into the forehead (or your nose) with all the weight of the unit
Conclusion
Ignoring minor issues like the cables and headphones, which can be cheaply replaced, the main problem is the quality of the optics. It's a low resolution and low contrast screen by modern standards, and it will take you quite some time to adjust the colours to a decent picture. The 3D effect is good though, especially after you've had a few days to get used to it. But for the price, you might keep wondering why you didnt just stick with a CRT and shutterglasses instead.
/Steve
Review Summary
Pro
+ Cheaper than the competition
+ Good head tracker hardware
+ 3D with no ghosting
Con
- Poor quality screen (compared to desktop CRT or LCD)
- More expensive & lower resolution than a CRT/shutterglasses combination
- Poor software
- Heavy & Uncomfortable for extended use
Introduction
With prices easily exceding $10,000 for professional Head Mounted Display (HMD) devices, the only real contender in the budget HMD display arena has been i-glasses with their SVGA Pro 3D model. With the introduction of the Z800 headset, a HMD that supports stereo viewing with Nvidia graphics cards, along with integrated head tracking, and built-in stereo headphones and microphone at the cheapest price point in the market, eMagin aims to tackle that market head-on.
Package
The Z800 ships with the headset itself, a silver unit with elastic straps to tie around your head, a long fixed cable that connects with the controller box and integrated "earbud" headphones. eMagin also includes a set of vga, usb & audio cables in the box, but all the cables are only a few inches long and really too short to use unless you bury the controller box down the back of your PC. Cables are cheap enough to replace but at this price you'd hope for more.
Installation
The physical installation is straightforward, following the instructions in the included Quick Start Guide. Just connect the cables, set the desktop resolution and refresh rate and the HMD turns on. For 3D viewing though, you'll also need to download and install the latest 3D stereo drivers from Nvidia, along with the z800 Utility from the install CD. The install CD also contains PDF versions of the Quick Start Guide and the full User Manual (though oddly, the user manual didnt seem to actually contain any more info than the quick start guide). The guide walks you through the software installation, but missed out one important step when it didnt mention which "stereo type" 3d setting to use. An email to eMagin's Tech support was quick answered with advice to use the "DDC VGA Glasses(IO Display)" setting.
Display
So time to plug in and take a look at the actual display. Initial impressions were disappointing. With the Brightness setting from the z800 Utility set to lowest, the screen displayed a lot of speckles, and a large number of dead pixels. Looking at the windows desktop with the z800 is like looking through a gauze, though a few clicks of the Brightness setting to turn up the intensity produced a much better (if washed out) image. The first positive thing to say is that the field of view is good - about the same as a 24" monitor in front of you on the desktop. However, contrast and color settings are poor. There was no provided color correction settings (.icc or .icm files), and a claimed contrast ratio of only 200:1 compares poorly to 800+:1 for a good LCD or even higher for a CRT. A reflection down the right side of the screen couldnt be fixed (even with spending quite some time adjusting the eyepiece separation and centering the image with the Utility software) and this time there was no reply from Tech support on the issue. This also seems like a common complaint, judging from eMagin's support forums.
Head Tracking
The z800 ships with built-in 6DOF (degrees of freedom) head tracking, provided by some micro gyroscopes and accellerometers built into the headset. No games yet support the eMagin hardware directly, but eMagin Utility software includes a mouse emulation mode. The quality of tracking is good, with a smooth and fairly accurate feel. However, the fact that the software doesn't register the head-tracker as a game controller, and only 2 of the supposed 6 DOF are supported in the mouse driver limits it's usefulness. eMagin definitely needs to spend some time in this department, with a full DirectInput compatible driver.
Sound
A couple of cheap earbud headphones are included in the package, producing decidedly average quality, with no volume adjustment and sprung wire connectors which keep popping out. Like the complaints about the cables, this is not expensive to sort out though - just add a decent set of separate headphones.
Games
Switching to 3D, the low resolution is noticeable, even with all the quality settings like anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering turned up. Obvious too is the low contrast and colour depth (24 bit only), rendering obvious bands of colour in many cases. All the usual games worked fine in 3d (I tested with Morrowind, Guild Wars, Doom3, Freespace2 Open, Farcry, and Half-Life 2). One thing that did become apparent was that the lack of ghosting means that 3d glitches in some software (such as objects at the wrong distance) are much more noticeable than with shutterglasses for example.
Comfort
Unit is still quite heavy (~8oz / 210gm), about equivalent to 15 CDs, and the headband is uncomfortable and difficult to adjust. It's also tricky to get the headset lined up with the eyes so that everything is in focus without the headset being too tight and uncomfortable. The connector cable that runs from the control box to the headset is thick, but not really noticeable if you use the clip. I feel man enough to admit that the first time I used the headset I had to stop after half and hour with nausea and a headache. Adjusting the colour, contrast and using more frequently helped though and after a week I can play with the headset for a couple of hours at a time. To be honest, the worst problem is with the design of the headband, as it digs into the forehead (or your nose) with all the weight of the unit
Conclusion
Ignoring minor issues like the cables and headphones, which can be cheaply replaced, the main problem is the quality of the optics. It's a low resolution and low contrast screen by modern standards, and it will take you quite some time to adjust the colours to a decent picture. The 3D effect is good though, especially after you've had a few days to get used to it. But for the price, you might keep wondering why you didnt just stick with a CRT and shutterglasses instead.
/Steve
24bit colour (truecolour) is the highest colour depth you can get on a display.
24bit colour (truecolour) is the highest colour depth you can get on a display.
Low resolution is a big problem, but it is not the bigest problem. I think the big PROBLEM is the blur images cause because optics. The consequence is not only a blur screen... it causes a quick eyestrain too.
This is a good pice of hardware only because there is not other competitors at this prize range.... it is the only that excuses this product. If you have not used a HMD before... I think it is not a solution... surelly you will expect more than it gives, and you will pay a lot of money.
The pros:
No ghosting. Cheaper than other HMDs ( bit I think that we must not compare with other HMDs... we have to compare with other ways to make stereo3D). An experiment if you are bored. I don´t see more pros.
The cons:
Low contrast (very poor dark scenes), low resolution (800x600), blurring optics (bad quality and quick eyestrain). Earburns unusefull, very very short cables (you need to buy another ones... incredible), very poor software support, not usefull tracking solution if you have TrackIR (TrackIR is a lot better). 900$ (I think this is a toy, and usually I don´t pay 900$ for a toy).
Usually I don´t use this visor. Usually I use shutterglasses.... I think it says all (and my eyes are more relaxed and I suffer not eyestrain). I´m not happy with this buy, but I am not going to return it because shipping cost and taxes.
Low resolution is a big problem, but it is not the bigest problem. I think the big PROBLEM is the blur images cause because optics. The consequence is not only a blur screen... it causes a quick eyestrain too.
This is a good pice of hardware only because there is not other competitors at this prize range.... it is the only that excuses this product. If you have not used a HMD before... I think it is not a solution... surelly you will expect more than it gives, and you will pay a lot of money.
The pros:
No ghosting. Cheaper than other HMDs ( bit I think that we must not compare with other HMDs... we have to compare with other ways to make stereo3D). An experiment if you are bored. I don´t see more pros.
The cons:
Low contrast (very poor dark scenes), low resolution (800x600), blurring optics (bad quality and quick eyestrain). Earburns unusefull, very very short cables (you need to buy another ones... incredible), very poor software support, not usefull tracking solution if you have TrackIR (TrackIR is a lot better). 900$ (I think this is a toy, and usually I don´t pay 900$ for a toy).
Usually I don´t use this visor. Usually I use shutterglasses.... I think it says all (and my eyes are more relaxed and I suffer not eyestrain). I´m not happy with this buy, but I am not going to return it because shipping cost and taxes.
PS The tracking worked great for me and have had no issues with any of the new games short of some of them not supporting stereoscopic 3d very well, but that's Nvidia's problem, not eMagin.
[quote name='mopheta' date='Apr 3 2006, 04:10 PM']I think like rousseau. The important is the optics..... all other bugs can be replaced, but it can´t be done with the image quality.
Low resolution is a big problem, but it is not the bigest problem. I think the big PROBLEM is the blur images cause because optics. The consequence is not only a blur screen... it causes a quick eyestrain too.
This is a good pice of hardware only because there is not other competitors at this prize range.... it is the only that excuses this product. If you have not used a HMD before... I think it is not a solution... surelly you will expect more than it gives, and you will pay a lot of money.
The pros:
No ghosting. Cheaper than other HMDs ( bit I think that we must not compare with other HMDs... we have to compare with other ways to make stereo3D). An experiment if you are bored. I don´t see more pros.
The cons:
Low contrast (very poor dark scenes), low resolution (800x600), blurring optics (bad quality and quick eyestrain). Earburns unusefull, very very short cables (you need to buy another ones... incredible), very poor software support, not usefull tracking solution if you have TrackIR (TrackIR is a lot better). 900$ (I think this is a toy, and usually I don´t pay 900$ for a toy).
Usually I don´t use this visor. Usually I use shutterglasses.... I think it says all (and my eyes are more relaxed and I suffer not eyestrain). I´m not happy with this buy, but I am not going to return it because shipping cost and taxes.
[right][post="81304"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]
PS The tracking worked great for me and have had no issues with any of the new games short of some of them not supporting stereoscopic 3d very well, but that's Nvidia's problem, not eMagin.
[quote name='mopheta' date='Apr 3 2006, 04:10 PM']I think like rousseau. The important is the optics..... all other bugs can be replaced, but it can´t be done with the image quality.
Low resolution is a big problem, but it is not the bigest problem. I think the big PROBLEM is the blur images cause because optics. The consequence is not only a blur screen... it causes a quick eyestrain too.
This is a good pice of hardware only because there is not other competitors at this prize range.... it is the only that excuses this product. If you have not used a HMD before... I think it is not a solution... surelly you will expect more than it gives, and you will pay a lot of money.
The pros:
No ghosting. Cheaper than other HMDs ( bit I think that we must not compare with other HMDs... we have to compare with other ways to make stereo3D). An experiment if you are bored. I don´t see more pros.
The cons:
Low contrast (very poor dark scenes), low resolution (800x600), blurring optics (bad quality and quick eyestrain). Earburns unusefull, very very short cables (you need to buy another ones... incredible), very poor software support, not usefull tracking solution if you have TrackIR (TrackIR is a lot better). 900$ (I think this is a toy, and usually I don´t pay 900$ for a toy).
Usually I don´t use this visor. Usually I use shutterglasses.... I think it says all (and my eyes are more relaxed and I suffer not eyestrain). I´m not happy with this buy, but I am not going to return it because shipping cost and taxes.
[quote]24bit colour (truecolour) is the highest colour depth you can get on a display.[/quote]
My mistake - although I should clarify that although eMagin claim a 24-bit color depth, the actual end effect is more like looking at a 256 color display. Certainly there is a huge difference between the color range of the HMD and that of my CRT when both are plugged in and looking at the same scene.
/Steve
My mistake - although I should clarify that although eMagin claim a 24-bit color depth, the actual end effect is more like looking at a 256 color display. Certainly there is a huge difference between the color range of the HMD and that of my CRT when both are plugged in and looking at the same scene.
/Steve
Needless to say, I can't wait for the UPS truck tomorrow.
Needless to say, I can't wait for the UPS truck tomorrow.
Fractal design XL R2
Corsair 850W
Intel i7 4770K haswell
16 Corsair DDR 3
Evga X 1080 SC
Soundblaster X-fi Elite Pro
At least there are better games offering better presence :)