Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Let's start out by explaining what the VR920 is NOT. This product does NOT offer a all-encompassing, total-immersion experience that some may imagine from such a product.
The technology just isn't there yet... or rather, nobody has as of yet packaged the technology into an affordable consumer product. Hopefully as technology advances in the area of micro-displays, OLEDs, etc., products like this will improve. That being said, this is probably the best VR type head-mounted-displays available in the under $500 price range.
The field of view (FOV) does not totally wrap around you. It is not like you are IN a world as you might imagine or expect in a product like this. It is more like you are in a darkened room with a VGA projector. The image quality reminds me of an old 640x480 VGA projector.
It does, however, do a great job of providing a lightweight, private, wearable display that can be used in games, watching movies, or even doing some work in a word-processor, writing e-mails & IMs, etc.
Vuzix did release a firmware upgrade for this product in January 2008. A handful of the upgrade attempts by customers resulted in inoperable units. For those that the upgrade worked, the result was improved head-tracking and image clarity. As of the writing of this review, Vuzix was allegedly going to fix the units that were damaged by failed firmware updates. As of the writing of this review, Vuzix appears to be committed to the support of this product and their customers, which is comforting to me as a customer.
The design of the goggles is one-size fits all. The "ear" arms independently tilt, which is much touted in the documentation. I wish were able to tilt a little more and that there was a way to lock the tilt in a certain position. I occasionally find myself adjusting the unit for tilt. There is no focus control or control for eye distance which I found odd, but I really haven't found myself needing it.They also fit while wearing glasses or headphones.
While there are a lot of little nit-picky flaws in this product, I feel the good features far out-weighs the bad. I'll start with the bad.
The BAD:
The color is somewhat washed-out compared to a desktop monitor, there is some severe ghosting at times with pixels that have displayed an image for some time, and there is some distortion at the edges of the screen. The placement of the goggles on your face is critical to the clarity of the image. After a while you do tend to not notice these things.
The earphones are downright painful to wear, and the sound is poor/tin-can sounding with poor bass. Luckily the earphones are removable and you can wear headphone over the VR920 - I use a pair of 5.1 headphones while wearing my VR920.
Muting the microphone leaves a permanent mute icon at the top of the screen which is TOTALLY annoying to me. I don't want any possibility of anyone picking up my microphone since I don't use any voice communications on my computer. If I mute my VR920 I'm stuck with this ugly red mute icon at the top right of my screen.
The head-tracking is somewhat buggy and very dependent on your surroundings. I have a large mirror on the wall near my computer which seems to cause some strange behavior in the tracking. For example, roll to left is sometimes perceived as a 135 degree yaw to the right. If you have no walls or large metal objects within 1m of your head, you should be fine.
For typing/reading text it is only really useful in 800x600 or 640x480. While you can read most text in a 1024x768 display, it is a strain on your eyes. Some text in games at 1024x768 is impossible to read.
My VR920 sat too low on my face causing the top to blur somewhat. I had to turn the nose piece upside down. The nose piece now leaves a red mark on the bridge of my nose, but it sits much better on my face and I'm not constantly adjusting it on my face.
Natively this product is 640x480 resolution... 1024x768 and 800x600 are scaled down.
It takes some time to get used to. The first few hours I wore it I had severe vertigo after taking them off -- I find that it takes me few minutes to re-adjust to the real world.
Setup of the software/drivers for Stereo 3D is VERY confusing, and as of Jan 2008 the only drivers available from Nvidia are 6-month old Beta drivers for Win XP.... do not attempt unless you are somewhat computer savvy. If you have a non-Nvidia video card then Stereo 3D will probably not be an option for you.
Head tracking and 3D is not supported in Vista... but apparently Nvidia has promised new 3D drivers for Vista in Q1 2008.
The GOOD:
There is a bit of an adjustment period, but you do get comfortable wearing them. The image, while somewhat grainy, tends to look better the longer you use them.
The VR920 really excels displaying movies and action games, although games that display text can be impossible to read in 1024x768 resolution. The Stereographic 3D effects in games is absolutely amazing. Using the head tracking and 3D in MS Flight Simulator X is an intense experience. If you are into flight simulators, this could be a must-have device.
They are very lightweight and once adjusted correctly, they are comfortable.
I find it very easy to get comfortable while wearing these since I am not staring at a static, level, display. You can kick back in a recliner or couch and turn your head any way and still see your screen.
The space below the goggles is sufficient that you can still see your keyboard while typing which is helpful. There is a "total immersion" shield available for it, but I would rather see what is going on around me.
The privacy is also a great benefit. Although you do get some strange looks are curious questions, they are great to use while traveling with a laptop. They are also great to keep prying little eyes away from a Call of Duty game.
My Conclusion:
Head mounted displays and VR goggles are still a bit of an immature technology, at least in the <$500 price range. This is not the VR goggles of the movies or science fiction, but it is a step in that direction. I think that this is one of the most interesting new computer gadgets that I have seen for a long time. The technology is still too far behind current desktop displays for most gamers, especially those into the RPG genre that need to read a lot of text. This thing isn't going to beat out a 22" UXGA LCD screen for most people, but it does offer a new dimension to computing and gaming that hopefully becomes more mainstream.
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Product Description:
Step inside with the Vuzix iWear VR920, the world's first Internet communications and gaming solution that incorporates immersive big-screen 3D, head tracking, microphone and audio. You can move, look around, listen, and communicate with others almost like being in the real world.The iWear VR920 opens amazing new doors to the World Wide Web.
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