Meant to be Seen

Hi,
I bought a vuzix wrap 920 and noticed something about it that made it completely unusable. The left screen was noticeably darker than the right screen. I adjusted all the settings and could not get them ti match up. I returned them and ordered a pair from another site and they had the exact same issue. I couldn't find any posts from anyone else regarding this issue. Is this a common issue, and is there a way to fix it? I'm surprised vuzix didn't include a way to adjust the settings of the screens independently considering something like this could happen.

Thanks,
Joe

What you might be seeing is what I call the "negative effect" which you can see on cheap LCD panels if you look at them from an off-angle (like low to the floor). With the Wrap glasses (at least the Wrap 310s) this would happen on the edge of one screen. Depending on how they fit your head, it may be on part of the screen or the whole thing. Try moving the glasses left or right (don't rotate, just move straight to the side). If you see the screen lighten up, then this is your problem. If not, I don't know. Maybe you are really unlucky and got two busted units. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the response. I think it is the negative effect. I notice it changes when I move the lenses around, but I can't get both sides to match perfectly in contrast because of it. Is there a fix for this? If not, would you recommend the hmz-t1 as a step up in optics quality? I've looked around at reviews and comparisons, but none really go into enough detail, and the ones that speak of issues with the hmz-t1 seem a bit nit-picky. I also considered waiting for the st1080, but it seems to have a smaller fov than the sony, and res isn't important to me as long as it is 800x600 or better native (the 640x480 of the 920 seems quite a bit low when playing text-heavy games).

Thanks,
Joe

Sounds like you have a wide IPD (Inter-pupillary-distance). The Wrap 920 (And early Vuzix HMDs) do not have any IPD adjustment, and that really hurts it because of the small exit pupil (The area in which the image is clear to you eye).

I have not torn down a Wrap 920, but with my VR920, I was able to cut the plastic frame holding the two lens assembles in place, and extend it about 5mm. This fixed the problem completely, perhaps you can do the same on the Wrap 920?

My advice would be to wait for the ST1080 to come out. The FOV is lower than the Sony, but it is easier to keep the whole image in focus, and the FOV is still way bigger than any Vuzix products.

Thanks, I may just wait for the st1080 in that case. I've waited since the early 90s, I can wait a few more weeks Btw Palmer, I saw a few threads of a homemade hmd with a huge fov that you created and talk of a kit you may start selling. Is that still in the works, and if so do you know about how long before you'll be selling them? I may actually prefer that over a commercial hmd.

Thanks,
Joe

Here is a link to the thread talking about my kit plans: http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=120&t=14777
I am hoping to ship by July, looking to keep the price point below $500. There are definitely some disadvantages to my design compared to the HMZ-T1 or the ST1080, though, particularly concerning driver support.

What sort of disadvantages would it have? As far as driver support goes, I'm mainly looking for an hmd that supports either sbs or row interlaced formats, and I'd mostly be using it with a pc. I wish the hmz-t1 or st1080 had option for vga. I'm a big vintage dos era gamer (and I absolutely hate dosbox over pure dos), do I tried out the vuzix on a small portable 486 and it worked perfectly, outside of the display issues (negative effect and small exit pupil so can see all edges of screen clearly when nosepiece is in place). I looked at the cinemizer oled, but it seems very weak for the price.

Thanks,
Joe

Sorry I'm a bit late coming to this discussion, but I thought I should mention that the Vuzix Wrap 1200 (the widescreen model) completely solves the contrast problem.

For me, that was the single biggest improvement over the 920, and it makes the image much more satisfying. Although the resolution is a lot lower than either the ST1080 or the Sony HMZ, it is the only current HMD to have a VGA connection. It's not a perfect HMD by any means, but it does a very good job with 3D content on a laptop or netbook over VGA. They also added a component connection for HD video content, and even at the lower resolution, the improvement in quality over the composite connection is quite dramatic.