ST1080 Update: First Shipments arrive in May!

Post by **space123321** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 1:47 pm

Another rave review from thegameveda has just been posted.

http://the-games-veda.blogspot.ca/

I wish he would take a video of the screens to allow us to see it in action!

Post by **brantlew** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 2:25 pm

Still waiting for my shipment, but I'm a little bit confused about how to power the ST1080. I swear I saw some pictures of a laptop powering the control box via USB but I don't see them now. The specs call for 7 Watts which would seem to be over the limit for USB. Does that mean that the control box has to either be plugged in to an AC adapter (via USB) or a battery pack with enough juice to handle 7 watts? Can some laptops power the device alone? I've powered devices over USB before that exceeded USB spec.

Also, anybody got suggestions for a good battery pack?

Post by **space123321** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 2:38 pm

This was copied from their cummity forum (see bleow) - I have also read about a mobilty pack that will have a battery with a 4 hour life span that they will be selling directly...

http://www.siliconmicrodisplay.com/1/po ... l#comments - See Paul Jin's comment

Serp - Please note that the battery you purchase must be at least 5V 1.5A. Many portable USB batteries are 5V 1A or lower, and that won't have enough power.

I haven't seen too many 5V 1.5A batteries, but I have seen a several 5V 2A, which will work nicely.

During development we used a 5V 2A 10,000mAh battery, and that lasted a bit over 4 hours. That battery cost ~$65. It was from a Korean company, and they don't ship to the US.

Here are some we recently found in the US market:
i.Sound Portable Power Max 5V 2.5A 16,000mAh
i.Sound Portable Power Max 5V 2.5A 8,000mAh
PowerGen Duo-power External Battery 5.3V 2A 8,4000mAh
New Trent iCarrier Dual Port 5V 1A/2A 12,000mAh

Post by **brantlew** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 3:16 pm

ok thanks. The i.Sound devices are bulky so I ordered the PowerGen. Still think maybe my laptop could supply that amperage but it's probably better to save my battery for the CPU anyway.

Post by **space123321** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 3:43 pm

When did you pre-order your ST1080 - is looks as if they are shipping the March 14th orders - should see some more reviews early next week!

Post by **brantlew** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 3:48 pm

The last 2 weeks have been painful because I ordered on the 16th and they slowed production on the 13th orders. Production seems very slow right now and hard to see how they are going to get all the orders done by the end of the month. Oh well, I would rather have a functional unit than a timely one - but it's agonizing checking my email 20 times a day and seeing nothing.

Post by **Synexious** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:14 pm

I preordered on the 21st, minutes before the promotional price ended.

Post by **brantlew** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 12:19 pm

Finally received shipment tracking number on June 21. Ordered March 16. I'll post some impressions next week.

Post by **space123321** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 1:53 pm

PERFECT - looking forward to it (as I am sure you are!)

Post by **ViruzZ** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 2:24 am

Guys,
if someone got his HMD after June-15 please post a review.
On June 15 they posted a message that all the bugs were fixed:

We've resolved all the reported quality control issues (corner blurriness, top half blurriness, dust in the display (reported as dead pixels), and excessive "light bleeding") and have implemented assembly procedure changes as well as additional training.
We also implemented additional quality control check points. This does affect the manufacturing throughput, but we feel that it's more important to ship high quality in lower volume than low quality at high volume.
We are also planning to increase manufacturing throughput to additional infrastructural changes as well as additional production personnel.

P.S. Also the blurriness may be fixable, in one of their posts they said it happened because of overtightened optics.
So if someone can loosen it a bit, may solve the blurriness issues

Post by **space123321** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:50 am

A couple more reviews from individuals that have just received their units are now showing up - it appears that round 2 of product is not any better... was really hoping for more form this HMD... we continue to wait before I spend my $...

Post by **brantlew** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:23 am

I remain cautiously optimistic.

Most reviewers I have read fall into two categories: 1) This is their first HMD - in which case their expectations are a bit over-blown or 2) AV enthusiasts which are either comparing it to HMZ (admitted highest quality screens) or home theater/monitor equipment. Put into those contexts it is obvious that it will have faults.

I have a different perspective because I will be comparing it to a previous generation HMD and also putting it into the proper context as a mobile VR/gaming solution (not a movie or desktop experience). My biggest concern are the optics - but I get the impression that it is person-specific. If you are lucky enough to have a properly shaped head and nose then the optics look good for some people - but there have been a variety of experiences with the optics.

I'm hoping it works for me. Otherwise the only viable alternative is a completely disassembled and modified HMZ-T1 - and even that sort of sucks, because it's not something you could use out in public.

Post by **space123321** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:27 am

I agree 100% with you. Coming from owning various older HMD's I total understand that this is going to be steps ahead. I am now wishing that I would have held onto my HMZ priror to decided to sell to replace with the ST1080. Again, I am patiently waiting for a few of the users on here proper review of the unit before I go ahead and order. Fingers and toes are crossed for next week's results lol!

Post by **cybereality** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:24 pm

Yeah, brantlew, totally. A lot of people have not used HMDs before and really have no frame of reference in order to compare. That said, a consumer electronic device should be able to stand-alone without setting certain expectations of the user. And really, that is why HMDs have failed in the past to gain any significant consumer acceptance. So it is important now that companies attempt to fix some of these issues, because we are so close to gaining that acceptance in the marketplace.

I am also considering a purchase of the ST1080, because I am starting to miss my 1200VR a bit. Not that I liked the 1200VR that much, but I really would like a portable HMD again. The HMZ is just too much for a mobile setup. Not really in any rush at the moment, but I will see if SMD can fix these quality control issues and for some more reviews to come out from trusted members on this forum.

Post by **Squall12** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:04 pm

Hi guy,

New Review from AVS forum member who just received his new SMD 1080P yesterday.

Taken from AVS forum review by Bravia3d who own the Sony HMZ-T1 as well and just received it yesterday.
- Link http://www.avsforum.com/t/1395827/st108 ... scount/270

Alright, after fooling around with it for awhile here are my thoughts....

Compared to the Sony HMZ the ST1080 is much lighter and don't hurt my face. This has it's pros and cons, though it is much lighter the ST1080 just won't stay on me, it keeps wanting to slide down, even after I attached the very cheap string they included (which is falling apart already)... If I make some cushions to hold this unit up, it may just work good.

The screen is strange for me, when I cut the ST1080 on I see a big blurry screen, kinda like the photo that was posted on here earlier, blurry edges and a bright middle. Using my PS3 to watch movies it's hard to see any text or objects in the upper and lower right and left sides, such as menu text. It's more blurry than the Sony HMZ, but at least with the Sony you can move it a bit and it becomes clear.
I have tested a bunch of movies.. Transformers, Ice Age, Grand Canyon, Captain America, Wrath of the Titans and a NIN concert. Not watching them fully, but skipping through parts seeing how they look. The bad thing I have noticed is the picture looks like it's being projected by a projector onto a white screen, but the projection is smaller than the screen itself... For instance, imagine shining a projector onto a 100" screen, but making the size only 90" and seeing the white around the edges. This is exactly the feeling I get and it annoys the hell outa me.. I see all that screen and want a FULL picture, but it just won't do it. To make it worse, the edges aren't clear on the left and right. They are blurry and that is annoying as well. The Sony suffers from this also but I think the ST1080 is worse. But at least on the Sony you see the screen and get a FULL picture on it. Looking at the ST1080 and angling it up, I notice the LED's are pointing down and being projected by what looks like mirrors, this could be the cause of blurry edges and the projected look. Your not seeing the LEDs, your seeing a reflection I believe.

Now watching movies I must admit, picture quality wasn't that bad. For me, colors looked pretty good though as mentioned black levels looked more grey (but not that bad). Ice Age looked great, the picture was pretty sharp and nice looking, a bit blurry around the edges but once I got into it I kinda liked it. Transformers looked good also, but because it's widescreen the picture looked smaller and more projected like on to a large screen with s small image. UGH I really hate that....

Sound quality was great for me, I don't get that humming some reported. It gets much louder than the HMZ, which I like because I love my movies blasting into my ears. I was only using my iphone headphones and plan on trying some big Denon headphones later and my Bose headphones as well. But so far I'm loving how loud it gets and the fact I can use my own chose of headphones. The only bad thing I don't like is when pressing the volume buttons a black box shows up showing the amount of volume your using and stays there kinda to long unless you press the mute button which closes it.
If they could update the menu and make it look better that would be a BIG plus. As of now it's just the black box which pop's up giving you few options and looks like an old Commodore 64 program. I suggest they make it more sleek, when adjusting the volume show a speaker at the bottom with how much volume your using and get rid of the black box. However, the menu doe's work and get the job done so can't complain to much about it. Though it lacks changing colors and stuff as mentioned in other post by users.

My ST1080's ear arms or whatever they are called won't open fully.. I seen photos of them on their site fully open, mine won't and I am afraid if I pull they may brake and snap off. So it's a dang tight fit for me and I guess mines defective, I really don't know till I contact them.

Final thoughts..

I am debating at the moment, honestly I am a bit upset knowing that Silicon knows of the issues and is fixing them in current builds. But that leaves people like me and others who had trust and faith in them to make and deliver a quality product and ordered first left out. I had trust in them and get a device that don't live up to their claims (a full clear 1080p picture)
In my opinion they should take back defective units free of charge and replace them, as this is their fault not the cutomers. Customers should not have to pay $125, or any amount of money (even shipping price in my opinion) for getting a product that don't function currectly.
Sadly, I am sure my warranty is up on both units as they shipped from Korea to the USA, and then my family shipped it from the USA to me here in Japan. That kinda pisses me off, as it cost me $240 for shipping when I wrote Silicon twice asking them if they can ship directly to Japan for me with NO reply both times. Yet reading others post on forums they shipped directly to them! Even a guy in Japan was able to get it directly.. UGH!!!!
I am gonna write them and see what can be done, truly debating if I will demand new units that hopefully are fixed or my cash back fully.

Post by **brantlew** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:19 pm

Squall12 wrote:New Review from AVS forum member who just received his new SMD 1080P yesterday.

It's worth mentioning that this guy's unit was from the first batch. He had a snafu in shipping that caused a large delay.

Post by **cybereality** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 12:11 am

Hmm.. that doesn't sound that great. And he has the HMZ to compare so it seems pretty fair.

Post by **ViruzZ** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 2:20 am

cybereality wrote:Hmm.. that doesn't sound that great. And he has the HMZ to compare so it seems pretty fair.

Im not sure its a fair review, his set was from the first batch, we need some people with sets that were made after June 15

Post by **cybereality** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 12:06 pm

Well another thing to remember is that SMD claims they've sent out over 1,000 units, but the people you hear online are probably going to be the ones with the quality issues (they are usually the loudest). Its possible a good amount of people have gotten working units and are happy with it. We shall see.

Post by **Synexious** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 1:27 am

I ordered on March 21, so mine was made after June 15, right? Or has it not yet been produced? I'm glad for the delay, since I'll probably not receive a defective unit. When would you guess I'll receive the HMD? Less or more than a month?

Post by **ViruzZ** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:29 am

Synexious wrote:I ordered on March 21, so mine was made after June 15, right? Or has it not yet been produced? I'm glad for the delay, since I'll probably not receive a defective unit. When would you guess I'll receive the HMD? Less or more than a month?

Did you get a shipping notification? If not then youll get a revision 2 model

Post by **brantlew** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:39 am

Just got my second-batch ST1080 5 minutes ago! I'll be playing with it today, but it will take me a couple of days to get a proper review up. I might post a couple of teasers in the meantime.

tn_ShippedBox.JPG

Post by **space123321** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:29 am

SWEET!!!!! I am so looking forward to an honest review for someone that will have simular use to all of us on here! Hoping second batch is ideal!!!

Post by **fireslayer26** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 11:37 am

It's been a couple hours already! Come on with the goods!!!

Post by **space123321** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 11:44 am

I don't think I have ever pressed the refresh button so many times in my life lol!

Post by **brantlew** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 12:11 pm

Alright, alright... here's just a little bit

I don't sense that there are manufacturing defects with my unit, but the fundamental design issues that other have reported are present.

Light bleed on the sides - yes
Focus problems along the top and especially the top corners - yes
Some internal transient lens reflections - yes
Some type of optical artifact on the bottom corners (reported as looking like screen projector on AVS Forums) - yes
Color aberration during high speed eye shifts - yes

But I was prepared for all of that so it did not really disappoint me much. The blurry corner is the thing I dislike the most. 85% of the screen looks fantastic however. Colors are nice. Text is sharp. I actually find that 1080 is too high of a resolution. I am working right now, so I did some coding in Dev Studio for a bit just to see if it could be used as a desktop. I am sensitive to small text, so I bumped my resolution down to 720 and that was more comfortable. The text was clear at 1080 but I personally don't like it that small.

The 3D effect is muted as others have reported but I only played with it for 5 minutes. I popped in SkyRim for 5 minutes as well and it looks great. This is really what this unit is for - immersive gaming. Unlike my other crap HMD that I have to memorize the menu systems because it is so blurry, I had no problem what-so-ever navigating menu systems. An of course in game - stuff like blurry corners and light bleed are a non-issue.

So my initial impressions are pretty good. I'll be doing a lot more testing tonight - plus the thing that I think will matter the most: head tracking.

Post by **ViruzZ** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 12:19 pm

brantlew wrote:Alright, alright... here's just a little bit

I don't sense that there are manufacturing defects with my unit, but the fundamental design issues that other have reported are present on my unit.

Light bleed on the edges - yes
Focus problems along the top and especially the top corners - yes
Some internal transient lens reflections - yes
Some type of optical artifact on the bottom corners (reported as looking like screen projector on AVS Forums) - yes
Color aberration during high speed eye shifts - yes

But I was prepared for all of that so it did not really disappoint me much. The blurry corner is the thing I dislike the most. 85% of the screen looks fantastic however. Colors are nice. Text is sharp. I actually find that 1080 is too high of a resolution. I am working right now, so I did some coding in Dev Studio for a bit just to see if it could be used as a desktop. I am sensitive to small text, so I bumped my resolution down to 720 and that was more comfortable. The text was clear at 1080 but I personally don't like it that small.

The 3D effect is muted as others have reported but I only played with it for 5 minutes. I popped in SkyRim for 5 minutes as well and it looks great. This is really what this unit is for - immersive gaming. Unlike my other crap HMD that I have to memorize the menu systems because it is so blurry, I had no problem what-so-ever navigating menu systems. An of course in game - stuff like blurry corners and light bleed are a non-issue.

So my initial impressions are pretty good. I'll be doing a lot more testing tonight - plus the thing that I think will matter the most: head tracking.

can you please try this and let uis know how you feel?

Some said on other forums that if you use the Mute button that turns off the back light (aslo sound, buts thats Ok since most gamers use 5.1 headsets)
and you use the set in totally dark room, you will get an almost perfect pictures with black colors appear as they should not gray

can you please let us know what you think about this?

P.S. Since you said its your second set, do you feel its better then the previous one? Like less bugs or better picture? would you recommend your friend to get one?

I want one for o2 things and 2things only, 3D blu Ray movies at 1080P and 3D games from consoles on 720P and PC 3D games at side by side 1080P mode
Also just playing games both PC and console at full HD without 3D....

do you feel like its a good device for me?

Post by **brantlew** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 12:23 pm

I never had a first-batch ST1080 so I can't comment on improvements. I was comparing it to another HMD I own. There is no dust and no delamination that I can tell. Haven't tested the headphones yet.

Post by **ViruzZ** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 12:30 pm

brantlew wrote:I never had a first-batch ST1080 so I can't comment on improvements. I was comparing it to another HMD I own. There is no dust and no delamination that I can tell. Haven't tested the headphones yet.

Have you tried to use it with Mute button on?

people say it gives teh best picture, just that you need to be in a dark room

Post by **pierreye** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:20 pm

Can you let us know why 720p text is bigger than 1080p without scaling? My assumption is the text size should be similar. What you can do is still setting your desktop to 1080p but use Windows 7 text display option to Medium (font will scale 125%). This should help you in Visual Studio as the font will be 25% bigger.

Post by **ViruzZ** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 12:03 am

Another review of the Version 2 model..

Okay mine, by the numbers..

Light Bleed. No. Haven't seen any. Maybe his light blocker was applied wrong?

Fuzziness at top and sides. yes, but Im not ready yet to say that isn't being cause by my glasses.

Internal reflections. None that I noticed.

Bottom corners. Again all I noticed was blurriness.

Color aberrations, again none that I noticed but i haven't had a chance to play a full game yet.

I found the 3D to be quite strong in the Nvidia test program. Might be a difference in our perceptions.

Post by **suckmysound** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 5:06 am

ViruzZ wrote:Another review of the Version 2 model..

Okay mine, by the numbers..

Light Bleed. No. Haven't seen any. Maybe his light blocker was applied wrong?

Fuzziness at top and sides. yes, but Im not ready yet to say that isn't being cause by my glasses.

Internal reflections. None that I noticed.

Bottom corners. Again all I noticed was blurriness.

Color aberrations, again none that I noticed but i haven't had a chance to play a full game yet.

I found the 3D to be quite strong in the Nvidia test program. Might be a difference in our perceptions.

been floowing their blog for quite sometime - still seems the perfect unit is yet to be shipped with issues plaguing this shipment post 18th June.

a few questions

1)why the transparency is added to design when it leads to light bleed and a useless feature for VR and immersion ?

2)why the unit does not have 'Tilt adjustment' as found on Vuzix headsets [VR920 etc] ?

3)why is their QC so bad ?

if they persist like this then they may have to close down the HMD business as the faith will be lost in their product soon !

none the less - a project started with a lot of 'hype' but it's turning out to be a big 'whimper'

Post by **brantlew** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:18 am

Ok, my full review is up.

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=121&t=15100

Post by **brantlew** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:16 pm

ViruzZ wrote:Have you tried to use it with Mute button on?

There are two buttons that darken the screen. The first is on the control box and mutes both the sound and turns off the LEDs. The second button is on the underside of the glasses and just turns off the LEDs - probably to be used with AR. Pressing these buttons almost eliminates the grays, but at the expense of the image. It is like turning daytime into dusk. I don't consider it a usable image at all.

Post by **ViruzZ** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:24 pm

brantlew wrote:
ViruzZ wrote:Have you tried to use it with Mute button on?
There are two buttons that darken the screen. The first is on the control box and mutes both the sound and turns off the LEDs. The second button is on the underside of the glasses and just turns off the LEDs - probably to be used with AR. Pressing these buttons almost eliminates the grays, but at the expense of the image. It is like turning daytime into dusk. I don't consider it a usable image at all.

Thanks for letting me know, after reading your review especially the part about horrible 3D, everyone complains about horrible PQ (its the tech, some things wont be fixed)
I think ill pass, maybe ill get one when they make a new model hopefully fixing everything that had wrong with this one

Post by **CyberVillain** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:28 pm

brantlew wrote:
ViruzZ wrote:Have you tried to use it with Mute button on?
There are two buttons that darken the screen. The first is on the control box and mutes both the sound and turns off the LEDs. The second button is on the underside of the glasses and just turns off the LEDs - probably to be used with AR. Pressing these buttons almost eliminates the grays, but at the expense of the image. It is like turning daytime into dusk. I don't consider it a usable image at all.

Very similar to dynamic constrast on LCD TVs and projectors, they dim the light to get better blacks but this gives washed out coloes instead. This is why i keep away from low contrast displays like LCD and bought a DLP projector.

Whats funny is that LCOS is regarded as one of the best display technologies for projection, so its a bit strange it wont work for back projection like this

Post by **asdfghj** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:20 pm

i also ordered st1800 and wondering 3d feature.
on smd website there is a list says that 1920x1080p @ 60Hz Side-by-Side (half resolution)
this means seen image will be 60 hz in half res of 1920x1080p. or 30 hz with half res..i understood right??.this 60 hz has same as 3d lcd. so i liked it if true thanks

Post by **ViruzZ** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:41 pm

asdfghj wrote:i also ordered st1800 and wondering 3d feature.
on smd website there is a list says that 1920x1080p @ 60Hz Side-by-Side (half resolution)
this means seen image will be 60 hz in half res of 1920x1080p. or 30 hz with half res..i understood right??.this 60 hz has same as 3d lcd. so i liked it if true thanks

Its 60Hz and partially half resolution: 1920x1080 in 2D will be 1920x540 in side by side

Post by **asdfghj** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:54 pm

thanks for quick reply i have another question
does this st 1800 needs any extra glases in front of it to see 3d effect.(think 3d lcd needs passive glasses).or only wear and see 3d videos

Post by **ViruzZ** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:45 pm

asdfghj wrote:thanks for quick reply i have another question
does this st 1800 needs any extra glases in front of it to see 3d effect.(think 3d lcd needs passive glasses).or only wear and see 3d videos

No, its a wearable system, whats called HMD.
Its 2 tiny screens inside the glasses, you get a feeling like you sit in in a movie theater in front of huge screen that floats....
you get these glasses and decoder box with HDMI, you can plug any HDMI source to it, like PC, bluray, PS3, Xbox anything with HDMI will work.

if you watch movies and play games by yourself, you dont need a TV, this or another HMD is perfect for single person.

Personally I recommend you to check Sony HMZ-T1, its same price like this one and its only 1280x720p resolution
BUT the screens inside are OLED and picture is perfect, OLED is best picture quality.
Also the 3D effect is better.

I was going to buy ST1080 but eventually ordered Sony because the quality is MUCH better