Best Head Mounted Display ( HMD )

[birdmannavy]

Hello, I have no idea if this topic will be moved.... Anyway, I like the price of the Vuzix Wrap 1200VR as compared to Sony's HMZ-T3W and others but shopping for these products is a pain. Sony doesn't even offer the 3 year old HMZ-1 at a reduced price. There is also a big hoopla about appearance while wearing these things. I honestly don't care if I were to look like I was wearing a motorcycle helmet on my head, I want good field of view and a good price. But I'll settle for the Vuzix if I have to. I'm most interested in that IMAX experience, so, even though I love to game, head tracking is definitely NOT a must.

[brantlew]

Neither of those headsets would give you an IMAX experience - particularly not the Vuzix. The Sony is wide enough to give you a theater experience - basically center row of a normal sized theater screen and has nice screen characteristics. However, watching a movie on a large screen without the ability to move your head is stranger than you might realize. All panning must be accomplished with your eyes alone which is a bit unnatural and can be uncomfortable. Once you've tried head-tracking - even watching a static screen you will understand what a huge benefit it is. Additionally with a large FOV and head-tracking you really can get an IMAX experience because the movie screen can be sized larger than the visible screen area.

If your intentions are primarily to watch movies on a large screen you might consider the Gear VR that is being released shortly. It has a better screen than the Sony plus great head-tracking, but you will be tied to the capabilities and capacity of the Note 4. Alternatively you might consider the Rift DK2 which is currently available or the Rift Consumer Version that will be released sometime later. Again, you get the comfort of head-tracking but with the flexibility of hard-wired PC connection. The biggest disadvantage of those products is that they cannot be attached directly to a DVD player.

[birdmannavy]

Thank you. I trust that the Wrap won't give a IMax experience, but to me it is the more affordable thing. However, if I could get closer to the IMax experience without spending more it would be good. When technology is made small, as with the Wrap, it tends to be more expensive. I don't see why more consumer options aren't available in the >500 dollar price range that sacrifice style for functionality. Sony et al don't seem too concerned about this, however....

[brantlew]

Well, if you already have a decent computer the Rift at $350 is actually cheaper than the Vuzix. A computer to run it would add another $1200 - $1500 but that will almost certainly be the premium experience among all options. Honestly the Vuzix is really disappointing. The only value in it is the smaller form-factor - which you don't care about.

[cybereality]

The Vuzix was a disappointment, even when it was new and the Sony or Oculus were not around.

If you're on the market for an HMD, the Rift is really the only worthwhile option at the moment.

Though if you don't care about head-tracking or VR and just want to watch movies or game, then you might be better off with a nice monitor or projector.