I don't think the number of polygons has really been a deciding factor of the realism for quite some time. The more important things like bump/normal/diffuse/specular maps and the ability of the graphics processor to stream these efficiently is what's important.
I also don't understand why that question is related to the HMD... since it is just a display, the number of polygons is determined by the computer that you attach it to. I guess the question really is 'is the failing the HMD, or the computer?'

You're missing the point. "Polygon count" is a simple stand-in for something hard to quantify like "photo-realistic rendering". It doesn't relate to HMD's directly but to VR technology in general. A lot of technologies have to come together to create an immersive experience. I'm just trying to say that some of them are further along so you get less for your money with them versus other technologies. That knowledge can help you make better choices.

My real message however is this: "Between the HMZ-T1 and the ST1080, the difference in FOV matters more than the difference in resolution. You get more VR for your money with the Sony."

I get the point. There are other factors that concern me even more with the ST1080 though, like:
1. Looking at the images, it looks like the unit is fixed lenses, which means you can't change the IPD. Since every one has different distances between their eyes, this is a MAJOR failing if not included, since half (at least) won't be able to use it comfortably. Also, this means you need to wear glasses with it... what a pain.
2. The contrast ratio of 100:1 is terrible. That's basically the same as all the other LCD HMD from 5 years ago and it's not good enough for a $800 unit.
3. If using for VR, it will need a light shield for sure.

As for the decision between
- improving the photo-realistic rendering: I think this isn't really the issue these days. Better would be nice, but not what's holding us back
- doubling the resolution: For VR, I think that it will be important, but not essential.
- doubling the FOV: Probably the most important area that needs to be improved for immersion. Mind you, I haven't a 45degree FOR HMD to test this with, only cheap ol' 35deg.

Yes, FOV is the biggest issue right now with consumer VR. Even the Sony, at 51 degrees, still isn't what you would expect from VR. Resolution is not the biggest issue. If you are talking about low res stuff VGA, etc. then that may be too low. But even 720P looks good for the FOV. Now if you are talking about stretching that to 90 degrees+, then maybe its not enough. But if we are dealing with 1080P, then its probably fine. Sure, you might see a pixel or two if you look closely, but it is not holding back a VR experience. The current level of graphics, polygon count, shader operations, etc are not holding anyone back. The low FOV of most headsets *IS* holding VR back. So FOV is certainly the biggest issue, I would say.

st1080 with 45 FOv without IPD and focus adjustments is making me suspect if this is going to be a great HMD.....unless this thing uses miraculous optics....i wonder if the optics will be good enough...

i will wait for reviews from CES '12 ...

My use is head tracked immersive gaming. I was al lset to buy an HMZt1 but the reports I am hearing about front-heaviness and difficulty moving the head have me cocnerned.

The St1080 look liek its much more appropriate for that use. And I actually *prefer* the 10% see through. I don't touch type, but i have a brightly lit keyboard. I will be playing in the dark so that seems perfect. Look straight ahead, ist immersive, look down, I see my KB

I actually see the lack of big headphones builtl in as an advantage as well. Simulated surround has gotnen better but is still nowhere near as good as the real thing. Im putting a real 5.1 speaker set in my play-pod.

anyone going to attend CES'12 ?

@ Cyberqat: 5.1 sound won't follow your head tracking, which is where headphones are better for immersion.

@ ancjob: lets face it, the ST1080 is pretty much vaporware atm. Until they release some actual specs it seems a waste of time speculating what it will have and whether it will be better or worse than the Sony.

The Sony sounds pretty good from what I hear, however, i'm wanting to hear how people get on eliminating the 'sweet spot' issue many are mentioning, where they lose focus on moving their head.

I am. I will be at their booth for sure.

plz palmer do post your review regd :

1)image quality - is it really fabulous as claimed ?

2)virtual screen size,'sweet spot' if any , focusing issues, light-blocking mods if possible with this
since this has fov slightly more than that of z800 - optics quality...if this has 'effortless focus' ?

3)viewing angles , screen if a lot reflective etc

4)audio quality

5)quality of 3D from blu-rays etc , formats supported

6)overall verdict

in short u will be 'Astral projection' of me there at the booth

This is sounding less and less like vapourware. Interested to hear what CES attendees have to say about it!

While I don't really REQUIRE 1080 (high FOV for me!), its always nice to have a higher resolution, especially for VR applications when you are magnifying pixels...

What specs changed? I went to the website and it doesn't look like anything changed, with the exception of the price announcement.

I think they are the same specs released previously (that I think I missed somehow). So probably the only new thing after all is the confirmed price and the info re the 'dev kit'...

Remember that even TDVision sent out working prototypes to some members here. They will need more than a post on Facebook to convince me its real.

That said, I do hope these guys follow through. Competition is always good.

Exactly CR - that why I was leaning towards this being vapourware. However, at least they are making more noise about it, which is quite encouraging.

One thing for sure, it looks like the HMZ is a popular idea (more so than I expected, actually) and hopefully this will focus some attention on the area of consumer HMD's.

come on guys - lemme live in a dreamworld with st1080 and hope !

it's the ONLY one with 1920x1080 resolution with hdmi and 3D on hdmi 1.4 - if this comes out gaming 'd be fun any resolution [unlike z800 limited to 800x600] and high fov 45 [better than z800]

i am waiting for the pre-orders start date ....

If they get off their arse and actually release something, they might actually do really well, just because the HMZ is so hard to get at its RRP.

Sony has to drastically change the design to be a success....
even if the sony is out in Jan'12 still i will not buy as it's flawed in design
let them launch it with a glasses style design then i will think for the present i will pass....st1080 seems a great product..

I'm not yet convinced that the ST1080 is a flawless design. It depends on what you want to do with it, but it's still not ideal.
There's also things that I don't see mentioned on the sight, which I feel are must haves:
- IPD adjustment
- Focus Adjustment
- Light shrouds
- Head tracking.

If you're just watching a movie, I think that a standard TV will probably be better then this. If gaming, it seems to be missing features.

At least having another alternative is good as it will push other companies to come out with better products to compete. If only lumus would release their display (and for a reasonable price), so we can see if that technology is worth it.

Very true Android. Lets face it, ST1080 could be terrible ergonomically, visually, etc. We just dont know yet.

For me, light shrouds, focus adjustments, and head tracking are not really necessary. I can do without all these things (some might not be able to do without focus adjustments). I'm happy to put my own head tracker on it if it keeps the prices down...

Ok, I guess that my list really isn't what's necessary. I do think that they are pretty useless if there is no IPD adjustment though. No two peoples eyes are the same distance apart, and you really can't fix this if your eyes don't match the distance the manufacturers have used as an average. For the focus, you can add lenses before the display, but I don't see why this should be needed with a $800 device.

I agree, IPD adjustment is pretty much essential!

Eh, I am not so sure. Some optics are designed with such a wide exit pupil (Like the Olympus Eye-Trek line) that no IPD is needed for 90% of the population. Who knows, maybe these optics are adequate?

This will mean that you can focus on the entire screen, however you will still have to adjust the convergence in software to provide a comfortable experience. By doing it in software, you will lose some of the overlap of the displays.

i do not think so that it's true 'AR' HMD it's just transparent HMD that's it...a 'see-through' , no cameras to mix image using computer software and set convergence

it's like epson HMD with higher FOV and 'not' based on android interface

one 'd not confuse it with the likes of below

http://www.vrealities.com/mirage.html

that's true AR HMD - mirage...costs a fortune...

For me the ergonomic adjustments, namely IPD and diopter, are really a must have for HMD design. I feel like Sony dropped the ball on this, even though the HMZ-T1 did work well for my eyes (I know other people complained). Certainly I would love to use an HMD without wearing my glasses, and I can do this on the Vuzix Wrap 310 (but not the 1200VR, what happened?). So the biggest feature for me would be to find a headset that I can adjust so that the image is in perfectly clear view (including the edges of the screen) and that I won't have to wear glasses. If this company can do that, then I will want to get this product.

3 more days to close this year .....they say pre-oder 'd start in dec '11 so when they are gonna do that!......any updates ?

the mail i received today
---------------------------------
Happy New Year.

We've been working around the clock to prepare for the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show and for product shipment.

We are looking forward to having visitors try out the ST1080 at our CES booth. We had a lot of great suggestions from people who submitted their ideas on the RSVP page for what we should show at CES, so it will be a great time at the booth. We will be showing the ST1080 in its various connectivity configuration including game consoles (Xbox, PS3), PC/laptops, smartphones (iPhone 4S), tablet (iPad 2), and Blu-ray players (2D and 3D content).

Our plan was to start taking pre-orders for the ST1080 in December. However, due to on-going supplier delays around the holidays, we were not able to get demo units into the hands of technology reviewers in December. This means that there are no third-party reviews to help you make your purchase decision. With the 2012 CES in about a week, we've decided to postpone taking orders until after the CES when there will be plenty of reviews. This gives you more information upon which to make your purchase decision and it will provide us with much-needed time to strengthen our inventory position.

We feel that postponing the start of pre-orders is preferrable to taking your pre-orders and delaying the shipment. When we are ready to take your orders, we want you to be confident that your product will arrive within a reasonable amount of time.

So, with our focus on the CES, we are boxing up our booth equipment and preparing for the start of what we hope is an amazing journey for us and, more importantly, an amazing visual journey for you.

Sincerely,
--------------------------------------------------------------------

so they will start taking pre-orders after CES'12
ok - i can wait - no problem as long as i have hope and certain that this is NOT vaporware...

Reading through this thread, it captures a great deal of info about the ST1080, but there's more that's located on the ST1080 site and in the interview that Neil posted to YouTube a few hours ago. I wanted to collect the info here, and post some of my pending questions.

What we know not covered previously on this thread (hopefully none are a repeat):
* We know that the unit has IPD adjustment (YouTube)
* Both the HMD and Controller include "Mute" button that mutes the sound and powers down the display unit (YouTube)
* The Controller can be powered using a USB micro cable (YouTube)
* The Controller can adjust flicker and brightness through an OSD menu (YouTube)
* The Controller may be able to be upgraded at a later time independent of the HMD to support the optional 1080P 3D 60Hz mode (SMD Site)
* This unit is HDMI v1.3a compliant (YouTube @ 2:56)
* A future version of this unit will allow adjustable transparency from 0 - 50% (YouTube and SMD Site)
* There is no "stock" method for blocking out the 10% transparency on this first unit, although a 3rd party visor or equivalent would suffice (SMD Site)
* A future version of this unit will be HDMIv1.4a compliant (YouTube)
* An available retention strap will allow the unit to be supported without resting on the bridge of the nose (YouTube)

Pending questions
* The spec sheet specifies the device at 7 Watts and claims to be powered by USB. USB 1.1/2.0 ports offer a maximum of 500mW per port @ 5V. So in order to the device at 7 Watts, 3 USB ports would be required. Given the discrepancy, how can this unit be powered off a standard USB port?
* The spec sheet references HDMI A + D ports, 3.5mm audio input, and HMD output. In the YouTube video there was no mention of the D port or the audio port, but there was mention of the aforementioned USB microport. Can we assume that the controller using actually includes all of these ports?
* There does not appear to be a HDMI pass through mode supported (akin to the HMZ-T1) if we want to integrate this into an existing home theatre environment will we need a 3rd party HDMI splitter?
* The device appears to support 720P 3D@50/60Hz modes for gameplay. Does the control unit handle scaling to full screen at this and other non-native resolutions?
* Mention is made of 1080P 3D @ 30Hz compatibility. Does this unit support 1080P 3D @ 24Hz?
* The 100:1 system contrast ratio takes into account the brightness of the LEDs used to light the LCoS array devices. If we are in a darkened environment and reduce the brightness of the unit will the perceived system contrast ratio increase?

I think the guy meant HDMI 1.4a NOT 1.3a (if thats even a thing). Surely this is supporting 3D.

HDMI 1.3 supports 3d(mainly just pc)
1.4 is consoles/recievers/blu ray players.


THIS DEVICE IS HDMI 1.3. Check 3dvisionblog.com. They are "also working on a hdmi 1.4 device for the future"

That just doesn't make sense. They were demoing the unit with a PS3, and specifically mentioned watching Blu-Rays. That means HDMI 1.4a.

Right, that threw me for a loop too. The PS3 was actually the very first HDMIv1.3 product on the market, but through firmware updates it's able to output 3D video via HDMI even though it's not actually HDMIv1.4 silicon.

My guess on this is that having an HDMIv1.4 compliant part means that support for all HDMIv1.4 video modes is mandatory whereas have a HDMIv1.3a compliant part would allow you to support additional video modes besides those required in HDMIv1.3a. Then again, I could be off on that one.

It would be a joke if this thing wasn't 3D.

edit, wrong display

Found a video... on MTBS3D:
http://www.mtbs3d.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12837&Itemid=75

SMD has their CES wrap up page live (they changed their homepage graphic too)

http://www.siliconmicrodisplay.com/ces-2012-wrap-up.html

These guys are sounding better and better. If this is released at the price point they are talking about, I'll probably buy one instead of the HMZ-T1! It sounds as though they have put some thought into it. Especially like the way they were talking about a big exit pupil...

In Neil's interview the rep divulged that the 1080p displays come from rear projection TV's they build and they realised the use in a HMD.

Allright, if it only support 720p 3d when gaming then i'll go definitively with the Sony first, thanks for the information. But i won't miss the 4k HMD when it's out, that's for sure