Customer Reviews

eMagin Z800 3DVisor

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

I recently purchased the Z800 and I am quite impressed. Knowing nothing of the product but the hardware specifications I had to see it to believe it.

I wasn't completely happy with the contrast ratio on paper, but when the visor is on you would be hard pressed to tell a difference between it and a traditional CRT. The brightness settings can allow you to even make it "too" bright.

Sometimes the visor would turn itself off - it seems this is a feature to prevent burn-in. Hopefully they will release a firmware upgrade to fix that, but a little nod of the head and it turns back on. If you use a non-static screen saver, burn-in should never be an issue IMHO.

HEAD TRACKING

Head tracking is a huge factor in this products ability to immerse its users. It even makes spectating in multiplayer games a lot of fun. It adds big-time realism even though I find myself relying on the mouse to recenter my view and aim with games like Half Life 2.

I've noticed the head-tracking is indeed sensitive to magnetism. The degaussing effect from turning on nearby CRT style monitors, or large headphones seems to temporarily hamper the sensitivity of the tracking, but thankfully no effects lasted overnight. The head tracking can even be turned off, which is quite helpful for some games.

I would suggest using the built-in earphones, or avoid headphones altogether so that friends don't sneak up on you and scare you to death.

STEREO 3D

nVidia's Stereo 3D stereoscopic drivers work exactly as promised with most games. However, I found newer versions (71.89 vs 66.81) by Guru3D that weren't on nVidia's website, and they worked well. Currently SLI configurations do not support Stereo 3D (UPDATE: The 84 series of forceware drivers has begun support for SLI), and also ATI is not releasing stereoscopic drivers (I don't keep track of Catalyst, so by the time you read this review, they might).

The stereoscopic effects can be fine tuned for each game, which thankfully isn't always neccessary.

DISPLAY RESOLUTION

The limitation of SVGA 800x600 resolution worried me too, but it seems true what I read before I made my purchase: stereo 3D tends to make you forget about pixelation. It doesn't seem to be as noticible, perhaps because any slight overlap between the two displays are resolved immediately by your brain. With FSAA 2x on I don't think I could tell you what resolution the game was running, just that it looked good - and I'm a very descriminating gamer.

COMMENTS ON USAGE

The flicker prevention works just as advertized. A 60hz refresh rate cut in half for each display sounds like a terribly low rate, but aside from noticing the occasional fast motion horizontal scanline, there appears to be no visible refresh of any kind. It would be nice if this was raised to accomodate higer FPS. Also, I cannot say for sure, but I believe the visor's frame buffer eliminates the need for VSync to be turned on, because it performs a hardware equivalent of the same function.

Reading text near the edges of the screen on the desktop can become blury if the visor is not properly adjusted. But aside from that I've never felt dizzy, disoriented, or fatigued using this unit, even when using it several hours at a time. It's impressivly small and fits over my glasses easily and comfortably. It doesn't have to rest on my nose unless I want it to, when wearing contacts. It's not clear if being turned off includes the unit's powersave mode, or if it needs to be completely unplugged.

SUMMARY

With a wireless keyboard and a reclining chair, this is the ultimate display. Nothing else comes close to it *I take that back, 100% field of vision and better contrast would be even better*. I have a 21 inch monitor and when I sit about 2 feet away the size of the displays line up almost exactly. That's the best way I can describe the sense of how big the picture looks. It's not completely immersive in that regard, but still enough that it doesn't feel lacking.

I'm still looking for software that will allow me to use virtual resolution for making the desktop pannable or scrolling with head movement, but I'm not holding my breath. I've seen this type of functionality in some laptops.

The Z800 makes gaming crazy-fun, and the desktop more private. This unit has changed the way I play games forever. I can't wait until future generation units start to approach a 100% field of vision. Overall, I highly recommend this unit as one of the highest in quality, one of the best in price, and very easily the best price to quality ratio of any HMD on the market.

I didn't want to plunk down $900 for this in order to just to privacy, but since it has head tracking, earbuds and a microphone, I thought "what the hey".

The good:

Very crisp image. I can read text (and am using the visor to type this review).

I expected 105" at 12' to be impressive and it is. Since most of us don't have a 105" monitor that they can stand 12' away from, here is some perspective.... it is like having a 30" 4:3 monitor on your desk and sitting at an arms reach away. In other words, if I were using a 30" apple monitor and raised my visor, the picture would seem to be about the same size to my eye.

Even though it takes up most of my field of vision, I can still look under the visor to find the right key or to grab a soda. It is kind of like sitting in the balcony at an IMAX theater. I look up and see the movie screen and look down to see my popcorn and drink.

Sound quality is pretty good.

I wear glasses and was afraid that I wouldn't be able to see well. To my surprise, I CAN see pretty well (except peripherally, and that only matters in desktop mode when the screen doesn't pan).

It is pretty lightweight and surprisingly comfortable.

The bad:

Most HMD (Head Mounted Displays) make me a little motion sick until I get used to them and this is no exception. If you get motion sick, you may want to avoid this.

Head tracker doesn't have different sensitivity values for each axis (although you can adjust speed for each). I find that it is much to sensitive for the Y axis for my taste, but is pretty good for the X axis. So far, I haven't used the Z.

3d ONLY works with NVIDIA cards. My desktop has an NVIDIA and it works fine, but the laptop doesn't. I would like to see them add support for other types of cards in the future.

Overall, pretty good... excellent even for under $1k

PS, if anyone from the company is reading this... it would be nice if you could support a virtual resolution of > 800x600 so that I could pan around my desktop. Noone else does this either, but since you have such a good product, I would say to you that you could really cement in the fact that you have the best product by doing this.

Finally, an HMD worth buying under a thousand dollars! Playing a first person shooter in stereo 3d is the best experience. In game, close at hand objects gain real depth and make you feel like you really could reach out and touch them. Looking down the gun in Call of Duty or seeing a barrel role towards you in Half Life brings the experience to the next level. Some games do require some tweaking of the settings, both in game and in the nvidia control panel, but it is nothing too complicated.

The Head tracking takes more time to get used to, but can be really enjoyable and add yet another layer of realism to the game. Although, head-tracking can't be used fully without some sort of wireless controller. Otherwise you are stuck using the keyboard which really limits your movement and you will find yourself using the mouse and head-tracker in combination to control your direction. Overall, the stereo 3d, head-tracker and well designed interface make the z800 worth buying. I will never look at my computer the same way again.

But I would suggest replacing the silver default faceplate with one of the faceplate kits, which have a much nicer feel to the finish.

The Z800 3DVisor is an amazing first OLED HMD product made for the consumer market. For those who are looking for a portable HMD with great price and performance this is a product to buy. Out of the box you can watch movies like being in a middle of the threater and immerse yourself in PC games like never before. With a Nvidia video card and an installation with 3D stereo software you can take your PC gaming to the next level of realism with incredible 3D stereovision games. This product has just won CES 2006 Innovative Award and deservedly so.

Setup

The setup instruction is rather easy to follow. If you set your computer screen resolution at 800x600 then the z800 would be instantly on after the hardware and software installation. After adjusting your eye pieces and headstrap to make sure you can see things clearly and comfortably you can begin watching movies and play 2D games right away. The time that you spend on adjusting the HMD for your personal needs is a must for total enjoyment of this product so don't get too excited and forget to make sure you are 100% comfortable with the headset on first. The instruction is very cleared and detailed so take some time to look at the manual on the CD as well before you do anything. Also read a z800 review article on ExtremeTech and watch their video for more tips.

Price & Performance

Marc Bernatchez at VResources(check out "Resolution analysis for HMD helmets" article) did an extensive analysis of all HMDs available and the z800 $899 came out second on the "Global performance and value factor". Now selling at $799 the z800 is pratically the best performance value HMD available out there.

Movies & 2D Gaming

Maximum PC said "This device makes a terrific 2D display for both entertainment and productivity apps." ExtremeTech
said "But you can watch movies in normal (non-stereo) mode, and for longer periods of time than playing games. The effect is much like watching a screen floating in space a few feet away. The effect can actually be pretty cool, leaning back in a chair in a dark room with your VR headset watching Battlestar Galactica." I myself have watched a whole Kung-Fu Hustler movie at night and I feel like owning a private theater at home or anywhere I can connect the z800 to a laptop. Even in 3D graphic gaming without turning on 3D stereo the z800 seems to give a whole a new level of depth and details to computer games because of the effect of having each eye covers with a screen stimulating the brain into seeing stereovision. Games such as F.E.A.R, Half-Life, Days of Defeat, DOOM, etc.. are great with the z800 even without turning on 3D stereo.

3D Gaming

3D stereo gaming is incredibly awesome with the z800. For example the differences in playing World of Warcraft, Myst 5, Far Cry, Needs for Speed, Nascar SimRacing, Modern Air Combat, etc.. in 3D with the z800 versus 2D with the monitor is like night and day. When you play 3D games with z800 you are virtually being inside the game and immerse yourself in the rich and vibrant world that you never before experience. Forums such as Stereovision and Stereo3d provides lots of information on 3D games and setup.

Awards

CES 2006 panel of highly independent expert of judges have given the Z800 two awards for Innovation and Engineering Design. The awards speak for themselves about the value of the z800 in the consumer market. With the z800 anyone can experience threater like movie anywhere they can hook it up to a laptop with a USB connector and a VGA Adaptor. Gaming is also fun and more immersive whether you are in the dorm, on the plane or in the car. The Z800 is simply a product that I think will change the way people view entertainment in the future.

Add-ons

RTV VEG to allow the z800 to play console video games from XBOX,XBOX360, PS2, and gamecube and watch TVs.

TrackIR(at NaturalPoint) for 6DOF gaming.

HV2 Virtual Reality Motion Sensing(VRMS) Gampad selling at Fry's for immersive game pad. Check out Sengital for more info on VRMS.

This is simply the best 3D visor available at any price less than $20K. The other reviews do a great job describing the technology. I bought one for my son and ended up using it quite a bit myself to watch movies. This is an amazing product!

Reading the reviews so far confirms my own view. This visor is not for everybody.

To digress a moment, the Jan 1 review that relates the experience the buyer had with the company right after the product was introduced last year rings somewhat true, but only for that post-intro period. My contacts with the company are more recent and it seems to me that the company has come a long way in terms of improving customer service. As for the high cost of cords and such, I tend to agree. Simple solution: Get them somewhere else. Elsewhere in that review, the buyer shows a lack of mastery of the product, e.g. his inability to get it to perform as advertized. You absolutely can use the visor as a 2nd monitor and you can open multiple windows on it.

But his claim that his interest in gaming with the visor waned after a few days underscores the point I really want to make, namely that this visor is not for everyone. If you are an avid gamer or a sims fan and you are wiling to invest in your gaming experience, this visor is by far the best there is under $10k. And having to buy the latest Nvidia card at $400+ to experience 3D should be no great expense for an avid gamer. Clearly, the visor requires an investment beyond the visor itself. The largest will be the Nvidia card. This means your total investment to enjoy this visor to the fullest will be around $1,500. That is still a far lower than paying upward of $10k or higher to get what I consider a lesser experience. But if you are simply looking for a 2nd monitor, this visor may not be an economical way to go. The same may be true if you are only an occasional gamer and don't plan to buy the Nvidia card to get the full effect of the visor. Oh, and by the way, when I mention gamers, I don't mean console gamers, because while this visor can be hooked up to a console, it won't deliver 3D or headtracking in those formats. This visor is meant for PC gaming. Bottom line: do your research, total up what it is really gonna cost you to use this visor to its max, and don't knock it just because it isn't for you.

I bought this headset about a year ago when they dropped the price to about $500. It was a whim, and I'm a geek.

Unfortunately the driver is only compatible with an older nvidia driver, which means degrading your drivers (not sure about ATI drivers). After a lot of reconfiguring I got it to work on my comp. Every time I put the headset on I had to readjust the settings and headset to that the 3d effect worked right. Showing the headset to a friend didn't work so well because they had to set the headset up all over and training them to do so was too frustrating and complicated.

Ultimately, the headset did work and the stereoscopic effect was pretty neat, but the disadvantage of running a game or program in 600X800 graphics mode far outweighed the advantage. Not to mention that to get the stereoscopic effect to work in most games you either lost the HUD or menu or it became too blurry to read. So it quickly became an expensive novelty item in my closet.

As a last warning, check out the eMagin website if you still think this is a good purchase. The Community link, which used to have a forum for customers is down. They got rid of the forum as there weren't many customers and most of the talk was negative. Also note the dates of the software for download on the Support page. Don't expect any software updates.

I'm just amazed with these. Its like headphones for your eyes.

This experience is absolutely amazing, and I've never had a toy that reinvented everything that I do on my PC.

At first I was weary to spend the cash on this. But I figured that I own a $600 pair of headphones, so how can something for my eyes be less expensive.

Well worth the money. I am nothing but excited about these. Bare in mind, I don't work for emagin or amazon. So I'm not afraid to make a bad review.

I bought this several years ago and found that I needed an nVidia card. Okay so I went to a computer store and bought one installed it and so-forth. It worked. Yea!!! Then a few weeks later I upgraded the drivers. It didn't work after that. It turns out that nVidia stopped supporting their stereoscopic drivers and the only way to continue to use this product is to continue to use the old ones. Well, I have a new computer with an ATI card and I was told that I could put a chip in for about $29 into the visor and it will work with it... just not in 3D.

So, it is dependent on other hardware and software that is outdated. My recommendation is to keep looking around.

Decent hardware, but making it work is a pain. The software is amateurish and clumsy at best. Support recommended a third party driver for additional $$. That helped a little, but it is hampered by overly complex, paranoid copy protection. It's a shame really because IF you manage to get it going, it works quite well. Overall though, quite sorry I bought it. Purchased from Virtual Realities (via Amazon) who said I could NOT return it. I'll either sell it on eBay or see if it blends.