VR tech at 350-400$ US

[Zoom2136]

The iWearMonitor software is another component that monitors what games you are running and enables the head tracking driver as needed. The iWearMonitor currently only supports a handful of titles, although the ones supported are popular: World of Warcraft, Second Life, Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, Unreal Tournament 2004, Quake 4, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Lock On and IL2 Sturmovik.


Yep you can get a VR920 (includes head tracking) for 400$ or a AV920 (without headtracking) for 350$....

Read on here http://www.tomsgames.com/us/2008/02/12/vuzix_review/

[Zoom2136]

I think the best combination would ba an AV920 with a TrackIR4.....

Just my 2c

[VT-51_Razor]

What is the screen resolution Zoom??

[bomath]

What is the screen resolution Zoom??
Each of the VR920's two screens-one for each eye-is a tiny 640x480 LCD panel. This was definitely my greatest reservation about the VR920. "How can anyone get an adequate gaming experience from a 640x480 display?" I wondered, before trying it. Yet, the first time I put on the VR920, the resolution astonished me in that it was much, much better than I envisioned 640x480 would be.And no, TrackIR won't be necessary with this; it already has pitch/roll/yaw motion detection.

[Rama]

And no, TrackIR won't be necessary with this; it already has pitch/roll/yaw motion detection.

It makes it 3-dof... not 6-dof. So not sufficient for the future flight-sims.

[VT-51_Razor]

Regardless of whether or not it is 6DoF, if the resolution were up to 1024x768, then this would be a great deal!! And as for the TrackIR, I would prefer to go with the cheaper price and use my TIR rather than spend the additional money for their tracking device. If the game you were in supported 6DoF, then the TrackIR would take care of that. After all, the screen in the helmet is going to show just what is being shown on the regular computer monitor, right?

Can you imagine wearing this device and just turning your head to look around without having to keep your eyes on the monitor?!!!

[heloguy]

I tried out one of these VR920's with my Track IR 3. It was definitely cool, but the feeling of sitting very far away from the screen, coupled with an extremely low resolution outweighed the fact that I didn't have to keep my eyes on the screen.

I played with it for about 30 minutes before I had to go back to my 22" monitor. The low res didn't allow me to see the aircraft very well, and after a bit I started to get a headache.

It's a cool idea, but would be better if it provided more of a surround visual sensation with a much higher resolution.

[Zoom2136]

And no, TrackIR won't be necessary with this; it already has pitch/roll/yaw motion detection.

Yes but no zoom fonction....

[Zoom2136]

Regardless of whether or not it is 6DoF, if the resolution were up to 1024x768, then this would be a great deal!! And as for the TrackIR, I would prefer to go with the cheaper price and use my TIR rather than spend the additional money for their tracking device. If the game you were in supported 6DoF, then the TrackIR would take care of that. After all, the screen in the helmet is going to show just what is being shown on the regular computer monitor, right?

Can you imagine wearing this device and just turning your head to look around without having to keep your eyes on the monitor?!!!

It says that the resolution can scale up to 1024 x 768... but remember this is not a larger screen... and the reviewer all say that they were impress by the image quality. The only negative thing is its 16bit colors... which should be increase to 24 with a firmware update...

[Zoom2136]

I tried out one of these VR920's with my Track IR 3. It was definitely cool, but the feeling of sitting very far away from the screen, coupled with an extremely low resolution outweighed the fact that I didn't have to keep my eyes on the screen.

I played with it for about 30 minutes before I had to go back to my 22" monitor. The low res didn't allow me to see the aircraft very well, and after a bit I started to get a headache.

It's a cool idea, but would be better if it provided more of a surround visual sensation with a much higher resolution.


Well could very well be... but its a step in the right direction. If this thing can take off mayby their is hope for higher res VR tech at about the same $$$$. All in all... 350-400$ for such a gadget is not a lot of $$$. Because it replaces (the VR920) the monitor, TrackIR, headset and mic.. this thing could prove less expensive to someone on a budget.... even if its not 6dof

[K_Freddie]

The head rotation movement relies on the earth magnetic field. PersonallyI think this is a mistake as it doesn't work in my location - Cape Town. This earth magnetic field summary tells why.. Make sure you stay in an area of higher magnetic field otherwise you have to make a plan..
http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/pb2/pb23/Mag/Img/Fig_1.jpg

There are other sensors that can be used, so maybe they might just do it that way.
:)

[heloguy]

I thought I'd add too, I've been a Track IR user for 4 years now, and the head tracking on the VR920 didn't hold a candle. Very slow, and erratic responses.

[VT-51_Razor]

"Well could very well be... but its a step in the right direction. If this thing can take off mayby their is hope for higher res VR tech at about the same $$$$. All in all... 350-400$ for such a gadget is not a lot of $$$. Because it replaces (the VR920) the monitor, TrackIR, headset and mic.. this thing could prove less expensive to someone on a budget.... even if its not 6dof"

Wouldn't it zoom in and out with a TrackIR 3 or 4 with 6DoF enabled??? (assuming, of course, that the game supported it)

I wouldn't go quite that far Zoom. After all, the guy on a budget will most likely want to use his computer for something other than flying around in IL-2. I doubt very much that typing would be very easy with a VR helmet on - at least for someone like me that has a hard time hunting and pecking in broad daylight!! LOL

I'm still holding out for a better resolution and depth of color. Once it is in the range of present day monitors, then I'll definitely get serious about it. IMHO, a good VR system will be the most immersive peripheral designed for the sim community since TrackIR and the HOTAS Joystick.

[Zoom2136]

Well some guys already have 17-19" monitor and want bigger for gaming... so when I say it could be a good upgrade path that was what I was thinking about.

And yes you can use a VR920 with a TIR unit... you just have to use it as a monitor and not install the head tracking software that comes with it. I spoke about this with a sales rep of them last friday. Turns out that only the VR920 works with a PC... So if one want the VR expenrience its 400$...

All in all this thing should be great, I know I'm giving it a go...

[VT-51_Razor]

Let us know how it turns out Zoom. I've always been interested in the concept, but just not ready to plunk down the cash for something that looks like crap. Hope it works out well for you.