The review is up:
http://www.mtbs3d.com/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=77

Nice write up. Thanks cyber. One clarification. How do the lenses and the fit stack up against the 920 VR Bundle? Would you say the 1200VR is a step backwards in those respects?

Actually I believe the Wrap 920VR uses the old optical system, which has a larger exit pupil and better diopter range. But you also lose the IPD adjustment, so you still may have issues.

Thanks for all your hard work cybereality. Thats a well thought out and very polished looking review ...Thank You very much.

The headtracker and price of the VR1200 makes it hard to over look, just because the Sony is coming out soon..
For years I just wanted to play some games like HL2 with an HMD and simple mouse like headtracking.
It seems if you don't want to pay the extra cost of the Sony, plus the cost of buying and rigging a headtracker for it, the VR1200 still might be a fit for me and others also.
I need to make up my mind on which to buy soon..LOL

@3dvison: Well personally I have really wanted a full freedom VR setup for the longest, and right now the 1200VR is about the only thing thats going to make that happen. When the Sony comes out, the landscape will probably change, but Vuzix has a full package here (headtracker, USB power, etc.). So it is just the quickest and easiest way to that goal.

One side-note though that I forgot to mention in the review: I can seem to get HL2 (or any Source games: L4D, etc.) to work correctly with the headtracking. Its strange, because I did use these with the VR920 and they worked good. So something changed with the driver (or with support for the new tracker). I've emailed Vuzix and posted on their forums, but haven't heard anything yet. Kinda sucks, because HL2 is one of my all time favorite games. Most of the other titles seem to work though: Crysis, UT2004, etc. Also, I am trying to write a program that will enable headtracking in any game (basically mouse emulation). It doesn't look like it will be too hard, will let you guys know how that progresses.

Am stillstruggling to get any flightsim to work with Windows... only success so far is getting 2004 (FS9) working on windows7.

Every other combination of OS and FS9 FSX results in some version of DriectX conflict.

Hey cybereality,
Any idea what wireless mouse or tracker such as the Hydra that could be used at the same time as the Vuzix headtracker without crossing each others signals ?
I would just like both to be controlling simple 2dof movement as if they were both trying to control the same mouse at once.

@3dvison: The 1200VR can be used with the Hydra, they don't seem to physically interfere. I haven't tried any games with it at the same time though (ie both doing mouse emulation). However I did use it on UT2004 where the Hydra controlled the mouse and the 1200VR controlled the head movement. Seemed pretty cool actually, but the cords killed most of the fun. I saw a lot of potential though, that is why I bought a Wiimote Motion+ and am going to test with that.

Also noticed something interesting. Using the VGA extension cable, the unit is recognized as an "Analog Display" or "Generic NON Plug-and-Play" monitor in Windows. However I tried hooking it up over HDMI with a ton of adapters (HDMI cord with an HDMI-DVI then DVI-VGA then to the 1200VR). It didn't work, all I got was a blue screen (not of death tho). However, Windows and Nvidia recognized it as a "Wrap 1200". So I think maybe there is a way to get a digital connection, hopefully with better quality. I am going to buy some more adapters and test.

I have found that HDMI protocol can be very fussy about which devices will connect successfully. My old 2D Acer projector had a DVI input, but no HDMI. Using a DVI adaptor I was able to connect my satellite box to it, but only if I connected it directly. If I tried to run it through my Onkyo amp first, it didn't work.

Nice review of the VR1200, by the way! I haven't had a chance to read it until now - the graphics card on my computer died a couple of days ago.

It's interesting that the 3D image quality is so much better if you bypass Vuzix's own drivers. You'd think they would put some effort into this, since the 3D is their chief selling point. I have been finding that the quality of the image from the Sky 3D channel is excellent when connected to the Component video ports. With the Wrap 920, the only connection option was Composite video, and the 3D picture was very fuzzy.

Yeah, probably something to do with that (some copy protection nonsense). Will try with DVI when I get the adapter (should come next week).


I know. What I think it is doing is down-scaling the 1280x720 SBS image to 854x480 THEN cutting that in half and up-scaling 427x480 to 854x480. Only way I can see the quality being that low.

Just want to say that I am liking the 1200VR probably like 100% more after getting head-tracking working on ANY game using an app I wrote: viewtopic.php?f=120&t=13801

Now I can play with head-tracking on my favorite games AND use the IZ3D driver (or DDD) to get a better quality image. Its a win-win situation.

Dear "cybereality",
your review about Vuzix 1200VR is quite interesting and I'm going to buy one of this HMD, mostly for simracing (RFactor) and flight simulators. I already have edimensional shutter glasses with IZRD drivers in interleaving mode and they are OK with my 22" CRT monitor, but I'm looking for some improvements. In particular 6DOF head tracking and total removal of any cross talking of interleaved images are the main outcome that I would expect from Wrap Vuzix 1200VR .
I have some questions: what is the length of the Vuzix 1200VR provided VGA cable (I have a desktop PC)? I would buy the Wrap light-shield (what is the right code for the order?) but I would need to be able also to look down at my keyboard and the hotkeys necessary in gaming, for example driving with my Logitech G25 wheel (is still possible or do I have to modify/cut the light-shield?).
Thank you

The VGA cord may be around 4 or 5 feet, enough for a laptop but too short of a desktop. I got a 10 foot extension cable, and that works. Make sure to also get a USB extension cable. The light-shield blocks out everything, so it is very hard to see what you are doing (actually impossible). For shooter games, this is OK, but if you need to press any fancy keys its confusing. I guess you could try cutting it, but I think that would defeat the purpose.

Thank you for the prompt reply!
I have another (and maybe the last) question.
What does it mean exactly that Vuzix 1200VR has a head tracking with 6DOF?
If I read about other systems (based on infrared sensors for example) like this
http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/03- ... acing.html
6DOF corresponde to 3 rotational axis (yaw, pitch, roll) plus 3 shift directions (x,y,z), which means for example that moving my head forward or backward(without pitch) I should obtain a little zoom in- zoom out (on cockpit instruments for example in flying simulator). In similar way I should be able to shift a bit my head position left or right without head rotation. Is this all possible with Vuzix head tracking or only yaw, pitch, roll are present?
Thank you again

P.S. in case Vuzix movement sensor has only 3 rotational DOF, do you think that trackIR should be a better alternative, or x y z axis are not useful?

The Vuzix software (VRManager) supports up to 3DOF (yaw, pitch, roll), but most games only do 2DOF (yaw, pitch). My mouse emulator is 2DOF also, since the mouse is only 2D. However the hardware itself is 6DOF. This includes absolute orientation (yaw, pitch, roll) and relative acceleration (x, y, z). In theory you could use the values to interpolate an absolute position, but no games support this as of yet. And the API for this is sort of in beta, though a resourceful programmer could probably make sense of the raw data.

Overall I think the Vuzix tracker works well, and I don't think you will need anything like the TrackIR to pair with this. If you were using a stationary setup (ie mouse, keyboard) then you could probably make sure of the TrackIR, and that may add immersion for selected titles. However that would be of no use for a stand-up 360 degrees VR setup (like some members here, including me, are trying to build).

So I just tried the 1200VR on my new laptop. I have good news and bad news.

Good news: The quality (at least in 2D) actually looks better than I've ever seen it. I think this is because the laptop has a straight VGA out, while m my PC only has DVI (so I need converters). But really, watching videos and even playing some games (L4D) looked remarkably better. Still not HD quality, but respectable. The Windows desktop did not look much better, but certainly in 2D games/videos there was a difference.

Bad news: The IZ3D driver does NOT seem to want to work on my laptop. The games I wanted the most to work, L4D and HL2, would not start at all. I would click play, the screen would go black, and then immediately return to the desktop (no error message, no nothing). I'm hoping maybe its a video driver issue, I will update those next. But this is a huge disappointment, because the main games I wanted to play with this setup are L4D and HL2. Thankfully COD4 did work in 3D, so it at least gives me some hope. Strangely the 3D mode did not look really any better than it did on my PC. Gonna hopefully sort this all out soon, but I still have Vuzix and DDD drivers to fall back on if I just can't get iz3D to run.

The Ugly: Found a strange bug with the headset. If I switch from SBS 3D mode to Anaglyph mode, it stays in SBS but also does anaglyph (double 3D!!!!). If I continue switching in any direction after this the 1200VR freezes with this strange white flashing screen and the only way to fix it is to restart the computer. Kinda sucks.

last time i tried vuzix was with av920 i'd not get even the 3d to work flicker-free.....and you have 'DOUBLE' 3D - i envy you cyber....what did you do to make vuzix so happy with you that they provided you new bonus 3D format [sbs with anaglyph - really new] ?

btw - cyber - what 's the make and model and config. of your laptop ?

I have a Lenovo Y570: i5 2.3GHz, 4GB, Nvidia 555M

Interesting.
I've been using mine with the VGA port on my netbook, and I have no complaints about the image quality - it's much better than the image produced by the 920 when connected to the same VGA adaptor.

I've noticed the same bug when switching to anaglyph mode, but it seems to be fine if you go from 2D into anaglyph. It's only when switching directly from one 3D format to another that I've had problems. There is this note in the manual:

I've had no problem using anaglyph with the VGA connection (not that I've had much reason to) but perhaps this bug is what they're warning about.

Have you tried 3D videos using Stereoscopic Player? That's the way I have been using it and the 3D quality is very good (and it doesn't require any additional drivers).

i really wanted this but for reasons below i'd rather skip

1) when connected to laptop via VGA - it's "non plug'n'play monitor' confirmed by cyber
2)display only 852x480 at least it 'd be 800x600 [same as headplay]
3)expensive compared with sony HMD [HMZ-T1, larger FOV and resolution]
4)fov only 35....

had it been "generic plug'n'play monitor'' thru VGA connection [OS p,vista etc,GPU nvidia] i'd have given it a try....too bad vuzix designed this for what - when it's not even automatically detected by video card for optimal resolution assignment set...[same as z800] can't use it as a secondary monitor...

Actually, on my laptop it is recognized as the "Vuzix Wrap 1200" in Windows. This is because my laptop has a straight VGA out. On my desktop I am using a DVI->VGA converter, and using that it is not recognized. So on the laptop I can use it as a dual monitor (clone or extended) or even set it as the primary monitor it I want. This is no problem, at least under Windows 7 64-bit I can confirm.

Hmmm...two questions

1)cyber - that's good to hear i thought that reaction of DVI and VGA is the same - that's typical.so VGA treats it "Vuzix Wrap 1200" so it's "generic plug'n'play" then - so it loads 852x480 when booted to windows - right or does it load 1280x768 HD automatically [as direct connection to VGA] ?

2)when you connect it to laptop and restart the laptop are you able to see the bios load message also through vuzix glasses i.e resolution - changing from 640x480 to 852x480 / 1280x768 as windows loads...?

@ancjob: Its too late tonight, but I will be sure to test that tomorrow.

please do - i need something portable and usb powered to give headplay the 'rest'

It doesn't do anything "automatically" you have to set it up. The *only* resolutions that are supported in Windows are 800x600, 1024x768 and 1280x720. THATS IT. I have been able to play games additionally with 640x480 and 854x480 but NOT in Windows. I also had some issues where the resolution would not be remembered when restarting, so I would have to set it up again. Not sure why that happens.


Nope. I do not see the BIOS screen with the glasses. They only enable once the Windows login screen comes up.

Did you try setting a custom resoloution in the video cards control panel in windows? I found this worked to get 3D working on my 3D projector at native resoloution (which for some reason was not supported out of the box) so it might work for this as well.

how does one do that .....?

i do not know how that happens - but in asrock ion 3d blu-ray win 7 HP and nvidia gt218 GPU- i can see the bios screen then windows loading native 800x600 for headplay......seems like 'made for each other'

still looking for something more portable usb powered...i hate z800 expensive fragile lacking sharpness....no news of cinemizer OLED yet...pretty safe to assume sony wrecked their plans...well in advance...too bad.....

viewtopic.php?f=122&t=7336&p=65234&hilit=pjd6531w#p65234

Read my last post on that thread, that is for Nvidia Graphics cards but I'm sure ATi is similar. You will need to change your values to suit your display resoloution/ refresh timing etc

I was able to create a custom resolution of 854x480. I know the 1200VR can technically support it (it worked when I hit test). However Nvidia or Windows would not list this as an option to set the desktop resolution (probably for the same reason they don't allow 640x480).

can this work - by creating a custom resolution driver file .inf using EDID packages.. then disabling nvidia drivers... and telling windows to load the ".INF file" for driver when the vuzix monitor is detected....

have you tried like that ?

i tried for both z800 and headplay @800x600 it worked however i lost video enhancement options like changing brightness / contrast /hue / saturation etc....in windows media player - i think they are the properties of nvidia chip in asrock ion 3d......so i reverted back to nvidia drivers and now ok using headplay [z800 is crap anyway] as 'generic plug'n'play' with full video enhancement options

I'm not sure what that would accomplish. I think the issue is that Windows does not allow low resolutions under 800x600, regardless of what the display claims it supports.

There must be some factor other than Windows, because I just tested on my computer with Windows 7 Ultimate, and it lets me run in 640x480 no problem. Good thing, too, because a few of my older HMDs only support that res!

i'd have tried wrap 1200vr if the screens 'd been min 800x600 with fov 35.....i guess they 'd soon come up with 800x600 screens in the light of new developments[read sony hmd]...

i still crave a usb powered light weight visor with specs as above and it's NOT z800.....something with image quality same as headplay without the headplay flaws...

there was some hope with cinemizer but no news or update yet....

can it ever happen....i wonder...

ancjob, hopefully the ST1080 is the answer!

pal - i wish you are right....
first the [silliconvalleydisplay] come from nowhere to tell they got 1080p visor to be launched in dec'11.....but no indication of price etc....

second : the display are LCos same as that of headplay but of higher resolution...so they have to reflective.. as well which i hate so safe bet is OLEDs.....only

i guess my only hope will be cinemizer OLED being light weight , usb powered and fov35 with OLED

but scared also if they happen to be using the OLEDs from eMagin as those OLEDs are BAD....have longevity issues! and Sony is too big for portability...

am fed up with headplay as the visor is a too difficult to feel comfortable for watching 90 min movie...but the only one which is generic plug'n'play...so far..

let's see if this st1080 is real or a hype only...

Yes, hopefully they won't go the way of the TDVisor and never be released.

Here is a new review of the Vuzix Wrap 1200VR:
http://pc.gamespy.com/articles/121/1215069p1.html

The guy was a little harsh, but its pretty true.

@Cyber
so all things considered, what would you reccomend between the Wrap1200VR and the Wrap920VR for a portable setup (price vs features)

It does sound like the 920 has a better optic layout from what I have heard the only thing the 1200 has better is the slightly better res and input options?


ALSO I read that review he may be right about most things but his criticisim of seeing a double iron sight when looking down the sight and having to close one eye is BS IMO because you can only look down a sight with one eye in real life........ thats why Iron sights normally look wierd in 3D if done correctly, just close one eye its not hard, so he wants VR but not realisim?

@mAchiNE: Well, its a tough call. The 1200 certainly does have better features on paper. But I feel like they took a step back in some areas, namely the optics. I don't actually have a 920VR, I have the Wrap 310 (which I believe uses the same type of optics). On that I can have a crystal clear image, even without my glasses. With the 1200VR I have trouble getting it clear no matter what. Even wearing glasses or contacts and adjusting everything, it still is not perfect. But the IPD does help with the problem of the screens getting dark on the side. The 1200 also has the widescreen format, which is nicer for modern games. But its hard to say that the 1200VR is twice as good as the 920VR when you compare the prices.

To be honest though, I am even considering selling my unit. I mean, its OK, but I think I'd rather have a 3D projector or maybe just put the money toward the Sony. Anyway, if you are interested just PM me and maybe I can give you a good deal.