Same here, I'm afraid.
My laptop is VGA only, but I might have been tempted to get it just to use with my PC and home cinema - but Sky 3D broadcasts side-by-side, so that takes care of that.
Phooey

Are there any games that only work in SBS? And why don't SMD support SBS?

Hello Gentlemen !

After i did a little research in the internet i found this forum discussion ( Review of the ST1080 )
And after reading all 7 pages i decided to register here to be able to post some questions especially to PalmerTech, who was able to have a look at the ST1080 first hand on the CES.

I am following the Facebook site and website of Silicon Micro Displays since day one and hope that their HMD will be the right one for my purposes.
I also read all the articles and reviews about the Sony HMZ-T1 and watch the Facebook site of Carl Zeiss Company ( Cinemizer OLED ).
Hopefully i will be able to have a close look on the Cinemizer OLED on CEBIT 2012 in Hannover / Germany in a few days ( 6th - 8th March ) .
But i think that the Cinemizer will have a lower resolution than the Full HD ST1080 and may be even lower than the HMZ-T1 which has only 1280x720p.

This year i am willing to spend money for a real good HMD and a 360 degree headtracker ( which hopefully will have no jitter effects as my actual Intertrax2 Headtracker from Intersense Company has )
I want to use that setup for a combat flight simulation ( DCS: A-10C Warthog )

So my questions to PalmerTech would be :

Will the ST1080 be the right choise for Flight-Simulations ?
What do you think, will i be able to read cockpit gauges and also be able to spot enemy aircraft and ground targets regarding the resolution and pixel lines ?

Can you please give me ( and others ) some personal thoughts about that ?


The few reviews of the HMZ-T1 frustrated me because most of them had a negative touch ( bad comfort because of the weight when using it longer than 1 hour, small pupil exit, blurry edges, fake 5.1 headphones, etc. )

The Vuzix 1200 VR also had not such good reviews and now all my hope is in the Cinemizer OLED and ST1080.
Thank you very much for an answer !

This guy on YouTube is using the Cinemizer OLED in a racing Simulation with the Headtracker from TrackIR :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjPhnFvD ... ion_370181
He wrote that the Cinemizer OLED has 1280x720p per eye ( is that resolution confirmed from Carl-Zeiss Company already ? )

best regards,
GSG9LIGHTNING

PS : Sorry, english is not my native language, i hope i didnt do any mistakes.

Hahaha nice catch Palmer, prob not to hard because they might change thier names but they still type like idiots, so his typing still looks to be like a Ancjob.

Ah I dodn't check but how come that site requires a password, say type password below, did I miss something?

If you look on the SMD website it says the following 3D formats are supported:

http://www.siliconmicrodisplay.com/st1080-features.html

It does not mention SBS. Maybe it has support, I just have not seen it mentioned. In terms of HDMI 1.4a compliance, they are probably not 100% compliant, and thus cannot advertise as such. But similar to what Sony did with PS3, they are probably using HDMI 1.3 and just added on those 2 specific 3D frame-packing formats but nothing else. That would explain why they haven't been more forthcoming about advertising 1.4a support.

I think it will be perfect for flight sims. The stuff I saw did not have much text, but what I did see looked very sharp and crisp. There is no problem with pixel lines, the image is very smooth and high quality.

I'm thinking that the 24 fps @ 1080 mode should be worthwhile for flight sims also.

@PalmerTech
Thank you very much !
I really hoped that you will tell me something like that.

So happy now

Did i understand right that you are in contact with the engineers of Silicon Micro Display ?
If yes i have another question that you might ask them for me.

Are the earphones of the ST1080 on the published pictures ( on their Website ) the ones that come with the final product ?
I think that they are too uncomfortable with its big diameter and hard surface, don´t you guys think so too ?
I had one pair of these on a MP3 Player i bought years ago and i must say i hated those earphones.
They never stayed in position when i moved my head and they felt hard inside the ear.
I threw them into the garbage can and bought in-ear-phones with silicone caps...that was a real difference in comfort !

There are much better types of in-ear-phones now on the market with very soft silicone caps which are removable for cleaning or just change the size of the cap diameter which goes into the ear.
Can you ask the engineers of SMD if they might rethink about the earphones please ?
In my opinion the wearing comfort (ergonomics) must be as good as the used technology to succed with a new product.

Thank you !

PS :
@ WiredEarp
24 fps at 1080p for 3D experiance should be sufficient for flight simulations, you are right ( Cockpit and gauges in 3D )
But it might be kind of laggy during gun runs on the ground targets ... i have to test that when i get my ST1080.

Or somebody else might publish a detailed review here

Those earphones aren't very nice, but at least it looks as if they can be removed (unlike the ones attached to the Sony).

I always prefer to use my own headphones if possible; the ones that come bundled with HMDs are usually very poor.

Agreed, personally I always have headphones for gaming anyway, so would always just use them if I have the option. Personally, I much prefer the 'around the ear' type with big cans and wide cushions that sit outside your ear and against the side of your head. They also cut out a lot of external noise. I like this type as any type that is pushed up against my ear gives me a hot ear after an hour or so.
I've never really used in ear phones, is that what you are talking about with these silicon ones? Can you post a link?

@ GSG9LIGHTNING: I know what you mean, every frame counts in those circumstances. However, depending on how the game is coded, you may still get greater than 24 FPS of input resolution/game loop, which would make a difference in feel etc, especially for VR applications (otherwise, 24fps will be causing a delay in showing head movements on an HMD, which loses immersion and can make people sick). I think it all depends on the game. I wonder if I can switch my monitor into 24fps somehow and test a few games out now to see how they perform? Black Shark should be ok, since most of the combat in that consists of hovering from afar and designating targets etc, so probably slower than A10's combat.

I think Palmer stated that the hearphones on the Sony was easy to remove, I really hope so, because I have had the my headset for years, and I love the quality of the microphone and headphones....

The Sony HMD headphone can be remove but need to open up the casing. I'm going to do a mod to remove the headphone as I just got the Astro MixAmp 5.8 wireless. It come with a transmitter and receiver with Dolby Headphone technology. Using Grado SR80 headphone and the sound quality definitely much better than Sony HMZ-T1 build in headphone. The sound is fuller with better treble and bass too.

Yes i meant in ear phones like these for example :
http://www.cnet.com.au/best-in-ear-head ... htm#image0

I think that the use of the in ear phones depends on the use of the ST1080.
While gaming i also prefer my big Headset with a microphone too ( Better Bass effects and talking over Teamspeak3 ).
But if you want to use the HMD for a movie while you are traveling in a Plane or Train, or just in the living room ( beside your girlfriend/wife who is watching another movie on the TV at the same time ) you will be pleased about the new generation of in ear phones !
They are very comfortable, sound really good ( depending on the price and model ) and absorb external sound in the surrounding too !

Hi everyone, I've been following this thread because I'm so excited for this product to come out. I'm from Canada so hopefully they'll release it here around the same time as the US. If not I guess I could make a short 20 minute drive across the border haha.

I wanted to ask a question for the experts on this thread. From what I've read there is a question of whether the ST1080 supports SBS 3D. I only know about SBS 3D recently because my dad bought himself a new 3DTV and I found out that there is a lot of 3D content on the internet that is shown in an SBS format. My question is, do you guys think that implementing SBS support is a software-type thing or do you think that it's hardware-based? The reason why I ask is if it is software-based I can always hope for SMD to release a software/firmware update. If it is hardware-based, I guess this means if ST1080 ships without the SBS support, it'll never be able to support it until a new product comes out.

I hope that question was comprehensible. I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say! Cheers.

3D Vision Player or 3D stereoscopic player can convert SBS/TnS to Framepack format but only for PC. For hardware based, Lumagen Radiance can convert any input of 3D format to any output format you desire.

Is it just me that are suspicious to new guys on the forum?

Thanks pierreye for that. I'm not too worried about the potential purchase now.

What's the point of being suspicious of new guys CyberVillain? Do you not welcome a new member?

There was a dude here that was banned that came back using different alter egos.. thats all

Don't worry. As long... as you... don't... see ellipsis every... 2 words.... I think.. we are... safe....

LOL - I am still speachless

CRAZY CRAZY last couple of weeks lol!!!

Gotcha. Well I'm not one of his alter egos.

If I pre-order the ST1080 and get it shipped to the states, do you guys think I'll be able to cancel the order before the May shipment date if SMD decided to allow Canadian purchases a little bit after March 1st?

We still experiencing aftershock .... effect.

Anyone care to speculate if the pre-order will include a battery pack?

The features page lists ‘5 hour external mobile battery pack’ under the Power section, but nothing battery related is listed in the Product Config section.

I currently have a New Trend USB power pack (5v @ 1amp), but that is not going to give me 7 Watts. Anyone have any suggestions on a good, portable battery? I’ll prob want to pick one up for backup even if the pre-order has something included.

Getting excited to place the pre-order – disappointed that 2012 is a leap year

Energizer XP1800. Great pack, cheap price, tons of amps. Plus, several members here (Including myself) use it for VR setups, so you have a bit of a support group.

I can vouch for Energizer XP18000. Manage to get 3 hours plus of gaming with HMZ-T1 (15w) and ASUS WAVI (25w). For 7w consumption, it will go for a long way. You can go for smaller capacity for ST1080 such as XP8000.

About that battery, how many things can get plugged into it at once?
Do you put this in a backpack with the laptop?

Ku

It has 3 different jacks, but you can make a splitter cable to allow more. Pretty safe to do (Especially if you add regulators for each device), this thing is meant to have enough power to cold boot laptops.

Poll: So who's going to pre-order this sucker?

I'm about 75% on the "yes" side right now.

I definatly order the ST1080 after the exhibition CEBIT next week.
PalmerTech, i rely on your personal short Review
I hope they ship it to germany in the first half of this year and make me happy

I am pretty sure, that the Cinemizer OLED is out of the race now ( it´s resolution is a no go ).

Im going for the HMZ, they look like the better PC-gaming choice right now.. If they change the specs and support Nvidia 3dvision at 60hz i will probably cancel my Sony HMZ preorder...

Palmer, pierreye – thanks for the feedback on the battery pack, looks like a very flexible option.

It does sound like there are a few reasons this pre-order is a gamble:

Startup company with no existing products
No ability to try before purchasing
Limited first hand user reports
Somewhat questionable specifications (HDMI version, supported 3D input formats, battery)
Unknown warranty (or even if the company will exist in a year)
Relatively high cost

However - I’m almost certain that I’m going to get on the pre-order. I’ve been waiting for a portable, HD resolution HMD with an HDMI input for YEARS – and don’t think I’m going to wait any longer. A 720p OLED Zeiss with an actual release date might have made me hold off, but I don’t think there is anything else really on the horizon.

And I’m feeling pretty good about this from Palmer’s positive yet balanced review.

I hope they take AmEx. I’m guessing that they will not have a huge first production run, so as a worst case there should be a decent interest on the used market.

I'm very curious due to the HD resolution of the ST1080 but otherwise the Sony is all around a better HMD. HDMI 1.4a support, better FOV, OLED screens.
The only downside to the Sony is fit, but if you adjust the straps correctly some of that can be mitigated.

Also, no one here has talked about the color break up you're going to get with the ST1080. With fast motion and scanning of your eyes you'll see the color separation due to sequential color.
Probably not a major issue but you'll notice it. I've used and tested displays with 180fps sequential color and you can definitely see the color separation. Maybe at 240fps it will be slightly better.
Your peripheral vision can see upwards of 100Hz. 80fps per color may not be fast enough.

thanks for the heads-up on the sequential color - I really didnt realize that until now. one of the big benefits of lcos front projectors is the three chip design, but guess their really is not room (or budget) for three chips in the hmd.

so would a 240 hz sequential color rate be equivalent to a 4x color wheel speed on a dlp projecjor? I'm not that sensitive to dlp rainbows, but this is definitely something to think about.

A crucial question is how quickly this company plans to iterate to the next version. I would hate to be an early adopter only to find out that in 9 months I could purchase a much improved version of this device (HDMI 1.4, SBS mode, fully opaque, integrated head tracker, etc.) Palmer, did you get any impressions when you talked to those guys that they were on a fast-track to newer versions?

Also I'm a bit curious about Sony's next move. The Sony FOV would be great to have, but only a complete physical redesign of the product would lure me to it instead. I'm going to gamble a guess that their next version is only going to slightly improve on the original product, so the Sony is not appealing to me personally.

and finally...
Palmer - you've been teasing us that there may be PRx kits available for purchase at some point in the future. Want to give a rough estimate as to if and when this might happen? That could alter my buying behavior as well. I'm a patient guy. I could wait a year if I knew I was waiting for something really good.

No-one who has tried the ST1080 has mentioned anything about the color separation, which makes me think its probably a non issue.

From what I can see, its only the high FOV that the Sony does better... What are the advantages of HDMI 1.4a? I've seen a few references say that the brightness of the ST1080 is better than the Sony...

What's color separation? And why does the HMZ not have a problem with it? Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be a problem with the ST1080 either, since no one's mentioned it.

Mellot is right to mention color breakup. For reference, LCOS based HMDs like this are basically using a monochrome panel and a 3 color light source (red, green, and blue). It flashes those lights in sync with the LCOS panel, and you perceive color as a result. In contrast, OLED and LCD based HMDs use a continuous light source with individual subpixels for each color.

I did notice it in the ST1080, but only because I was looking for it. It was only visible in the most extreme circumstances (Very rapidly swinging my head, or swinging my eyes across the entirety of their rotational capability), less pronounced than most DLP projectors I have seen, and definitely better than the other LCOS based HMDs I have (Cy-Visor and Eyetop Centra). Maybe I should have mentioned it in my initial review, but it is quite a topic to delve into, and might scare away people who think the problem is worse than it is.

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I don't think they are on a fast track. They seem to be doing a great job of moving forward, like with their 4k prototype, but it would not make any sense for them to compress their release cycle so tightly, not when they already have the highest resolution on the market! As far as HMD kits, ask in one of the PR threads and I will give a detailed answer, don't want to derail this thread.

Did they say anything about pricing and a release date for the 4K HMD? I hope they release it within three years.

They have no plans to release it, currently. They did mention that the yield of usable 4k panels is low, which is going to make it expensive at the moment. If I were them, I would not even think about releasing it until a competitor releases something 1080p or higher.

It's amazing that they're even developing 8K.