Customer Reviews

OCZ OCZMSNIA NIA - Neural Impulse Actuator

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The NIA is a lot of fun, but to start, it really is a shame that there are no 64bit Drivers, making it relatively useless to me, I have 32bit vista installed as well, and I played with it there, but all of my games are installed on 64. The headband is extremely sensitive, which is a good thing, but there are some grounding issues, making calibration quite difficult. Using the NIA in games is certainly a different experience than normal, and not too difficult to learn either - it just takes a while. For what this product does, for its price, its fantastic, but it could be a smidgen better. I would recommend it for a new gaming experience.

This product is next level of gaming technology but still in it first stage. This is not a plug and play then go, this is new platform of gaming. Just like the jump from N64 or Game Cube to the Wii, The NIA takes lots of training in order to get the hag of it. It will take a few years before this becomes mainstream but I have no doubt that this is the next step in gaming technology.

The down side to this product is its sensitivity. Depending on your PC you could have a great first impresion or you can have my experience. My laptop was runing on XP and only 1 GB and the processor is 1.86GHz, NIA didn't really work. On my PC (Vista 3GHZ 3GB) NIA works wonderfully.

Also the instrustions don't have a satisfactory trouble shooting section.

I have purchased OCZ NIA as a gift for my extended family member who wants to use it in a hobby project. Before sending my gift I had to test it myself, if it works. It "sort of works" and that made it really hard to for me to decide whether to go on with the gift or return it to the Amazon store. Definitely, using this hand free computer interface requires some training and laborious configuration of received signals to simulation of mouse, keystrokes or joystick that may need to be specific for each application. The device senses facial tussle signals and brain waves and translates it into human interface device (HID) inputs for a computer.

When I tested it on me the only part that worked almost reliably was detection whether I look to the left and right. Looking up/down, making faces or moving jaws did not produce satisfactory results. Also, I had a problem with so called "ground loops". Basically in order for the device to work I needed to touch at the same time, or connect myself to it using additional anti static bracelet and a wire. I made it work only after I read on some NIA user discussion groups about the same problem faced by other people. Such bracelet should have been included with the device.

In the end, it is intriguing device, and it delivers promised functionality at least partially.

I have had my NIA for a week. First of all, if a REBATE is indicated, forget about it, you won't get it and you won't get any help here at Amazon or from OCZ.

Second, the product works on motor (muscle) signals, so you can program the device to take over a few basic functions, but forget about doing anything with your Alpha or Beta waves -- in my opinion, the "brain fingers" display (one of the configuration screens) is just for show.

The product does work, and you can get better with practice, but that practice is mostly controlling your face muscles. Even so, the device is pretty cool -- just about $90 overpriced. This would be much more fun if it cost $40 or $50. And the documentation is really lacking (maybe for a reason.)

There is a loyal following of the device, so don't be surprised if some flaming comment follows mine.

I'm glad that I've read so many reviews about the NIA before I bought since it's as tough to learn as expected.
I bought it because I'm a gamer with carpal tunnel in both wrists. I mainly use it for walking, since that's the most painful to do ingame and it's really useful for that.

Cool new technology that's not quite there yet. Seems to work ok for things like the included Pong game, but using it for a full blown game is another story.
It will take hours and hours of practice to make it barely usable.
Also, I submitted a rebate form, complying with all rules, and OCZ sent me a denial. No apparent recourse and they have my UPC so I can't try again.
It's fun to play with, but given the down sides, I'd wait for the technology to mature and other vendors to offer similar products.

I have trouble with my hands, so I am glad that this has come along. It is really, really difficult to adjust. I have been able to get the muscle part working so I can go forward and backward in shooting and role playing games without having to continuously hold keys down. This has helped me a lot. When the device is working well, it is more fun to play. The glance function works, but it is hard to get it to work consistently. The device has to be set up for each game individually. I have had almost no luck with the brainwaves. I wonder if it would mess with your mind anyway. A wrist strap or a usb cable plugged into your computer and attached to yourself solves the "grounding problem". Do read the forums on the OCZ website before you decide if this is for you. It requires a lot of patience and desire. They say it can take several months to fully utilize this device - I've had mine for one month. I hope that there will be improvements to this device in the future.

I got the NIA and tried it for a week or so and I was unimpressed with the control capabilities. Sure it improved click speed and possible reflex time, but the glance mechanism (the muscle sensor that reads eye-movement and translates that into game controls) was completely inoperable, spazzing out constantly (literally, 'constantly'... it never sat still or sensed the correct direction). You still have to use the mouse. After several weeks I would have gotten more used to the product's touchy controls (most of which is done by varying the amount of tension in your jaw... this controls forward and backward movement, jumping, and shooting) but the cons definitely win over the pros so I decided not to give it that long.

Doesn't work, the product software uses STICK FIGURES to help practice with a piece of hardware that only works by technicality.

After about two weeks of messing with this I only really got my character to move unsteadily forward, and was able to turn the character to the left slowly and unsteadily with random firing and jumping.

My wife got it to move her character pretty good, and got it to shoot and jump, but not at the same time in about 3-5 days.

Not impossible, but neither of us really felt it sped us up any. Fun to try, and we aren't letting our's go. Fun toy, but can be very frustrating.