[JimBob1971]

Originally Posted by jommy999

Jimbob check your email box ( you got a mail regarding to dispatch ) lol

Haha! I wish I had.No such luck. I'm loathe to pester them as I'm sure they must have dozens of mails every day regarding this item!

EDIT: I just spoke to them and it looks like stock will only arrive in early 2012. They will honour the price though. It seems I have a big decision to make.

[tomm783]

I just spoke with Harrods about my preorder and they said that the first batch came in today and was given to the first 15 pre-orders! I am order 24 so I will get mine in the next batch which will arrive "no later than 3rd December"

Fingers crossed I get it then!

Cant really complain as I got 10% off the rrp

[JonStatt]

Originally Posted by tomm783

I just spoke with Harrods about my preorder and they said that the first batch came in today and was given to the first 15 pre-orders! I am order 24 so I will get mine in the next batch which will arrive "no later than 3rd December"

Fingers crossed I get it then!

Cant really complain as I got 10% off the rrp

Haha...you managed the 10%...Well done I was furious I missed out on that. I was wondering when someone would post that they got it at that price. I do find it very odd though that Harrods thought all 40 priority stock were for them. Yet Sony seem to have short-changed Harrods it seems and given some stock to website orders like mine. While I won't give mine up of course, I do feel for people like you who were given the wrong expectations.

[martbournemouth]

got my dispatch txt just as I was finishing work today. Delivered between 7.30am-12pm, all being well. Been reading up impressions on the US AVforum, generally sounds better than i'd hoped for. Really looking forward to giving it a go tomorrow with Batman PS3, Unchartered 3 and some 3d movies. Interested to hear other's opinions as they get them tomorrow!

[JimBob1971]

The Sony UK site has gone from 'pre-order' to 'this item is not currently available' with not even a sniff of 'buy now' in-between.

[JonStatt]

Mine has just arrived...talk about an early courier delivery, at 7:40am! At least it stops me having to wait in for it.

[jommy999]

Originally Posted by JonStatt

Mine has just arrived...talk about an early courier delivery, at 7:40am! At least it stops me having to wait in for it.

i hate you , lol

[jommy999]

Originally Posted by JonStatt

Mine has just arrived...talk about an early courier delivery, at 7:40am! At least it stops me having to wait in for it.

give us some quick review

ps i am thinking to go to harrods for a quick demo there today. anywhere else they got a demo of the set ? Sony Centre Tottenham court road ?

[JonStatt]

Originally Posted by jommy999

give us some quick review

ps i am thinking to go to harrods for a quick demo there today. anywhere else they got a demo of the set ? Sony Centre Tottenham court road ?

Well I only have a very brief time to try it out because then I had to get on with work. I could certainly validate that it was working and no stuck pixels or anything like that. In the little time I had, I was really struggling to get it comfortable. I could get the whole image in focus but although the weight was not on my nose, the final position was such that it was pressing against my nose. I could not see how to get the image clear without the unit pressing against my nose which is a bit of a concern. It was usable but just not as comfortable as I would like.

The blacks are definitely very black. The image appears big to me and I would describe it as the sort of sensation you would get watching a 150" screen from 12 feet away. It doesn't quite give the feeling of being in a large cinema. The 3D does appear a little less dynamic than I would have hoped but I need to try many more titles before coming to any real conclusions about that.

[JimBob1971]

Is sounds like Jon's initial experience is akin to a lot of folk - It is difficult to position and they are *slightly* underwhelmed by the 3D. However, there is a definite trick to positioning it correctly and the 3D on PC games is apparently great and other sources vary. A lot of initially disappointed people say they love it after a few days.

I look forward to hearing Jon's thoughts after he has played with it a bit longer. I think he is very rude not to have taken a sickie for our benefit!

Jon, make sure you try it with all the pads, and even without a pad. If it is still uncomfortable I'm sure you could find a mod that would make it so with a bit of creativity. If that doesn't work there is always the rhinoplasty option!

EDIT: Another review here

[h tequila b]

I choose to cancel my order with stone audio after i spoke with sony and they said independant retailers wont have any of the first batch which is coming in, in january. I have since ordered with sony so am sitting and waiting.

[JimBob1971]

Originally Posted by h tequila b

I choose to cancel my order with stone audio after i spoke with sony and they said independant retailers wont have any of the first batch which is coming in, in january. I have since ordered with sony so am sitting and waiting.

Does that mean Harrods won't have them too? Incidentally I guess you ordered from Sony yesterday as the Sony UK site no longer has them for sale today.

[JonStatt]

Originally Posted by JimBob1971

Does that mean Harrods won't have them too? Incidentally I guess you ordered from Sony yesterday as the Sony UK site no longer has them for sale today.

I thought Harrods IS an official Sony Centre (i.e. not an independent). I could be wrong because when I look-up the Sony Centres on the Sony website, Harrods doesn't come up.

[h tequila b]

I placed the order with sony a couple of days ago just befor the took the pre order off the site

[JimBob1971]

Originally Posted by h tequila b

I choose to cancel my order with stone audio after i spoke with sony and they said independant retailers wont have any of the first batch which is coming in, in january. I have since ordered with sony so am sitting and waiting.

Wait... just re-read your post. I thought you meant independents weren't receiving until January, but you meant Sony too?

Well that sucks if true. I've heard about 40 differing stories so far, including a Sony rep today who said they were not given any dates while Harrods still seem to think they are getting stock at the end of November/early December which may or may not provide enough for even their first set of UK pre-orders.

[h tequila b]

Sony told me that there will not be an in the uk untill january and then 300 will be shipped and it is very doubtfull that any of those will be sold by any one other than sony.

[sam1289]

quick question, can the screen go bigger than 150" or is that the limit?

[h tequila b]

I dont think the percieved size is the selling point it is the immersion that sells it, I have a 3d tv and love to view movies and games in 3d but when my soon is running about it ruins the effect

[JimBob1971]

So, where is Jon's big review? <Drums fingers>

[JonStatt]

Originally Posted by JimBob1971

So, where is Jon's big review? <Drums fingers>

I'm afraid a bit more patience is needed Yesterday I got back late with a banging headache and so it wasn't the right time to fiddle with the headset. Today I will have more time.

I am also conscious of repeating on both AVS and AV forums. I don't think anyone will mind me doing so, but I will collate my thoughts and crosspost with a summary shortly.

On the upside, the quality of the OLEDs is outstanding. On the downside it does press my nose which can get a tad uncomfortable. It is not down to fitting on my head as I am convinced I have figured that out.

[djmondy]

To be honest a grippy and uncomfortable nose piece seems common on Sony products. I have the same issue with my Sony 3d glasses and they are really light in comparison to this thing. I very much doubt much could be done about it unfortunately.

Just wanted to ask about the sharpness of the picture. If you get a chance please give comparison between this and your HDTV for games etc. If you have cod, battlefield or uncharted or something like that please post what you think.

Thanks

[JonStatt]

This is a review of the HMZ-T1 based on about 4 hours of use with a variety of materials.

The quick-start booklet that comes with the HMZ-T1 mentions 4 steps to get going
1) Connect
2) Wear
3) Set-up
4) Enjoy

So I will follow the same flow and discuss each point in some detail.

Before we start, in the box there is
1) The glasses with a permanently attached 11 foot cable. The connector is proprietary and therefore I don't believe it would be easy to extend
2) An HDMI control unit with country specific power cord. This has an HDMI in, out (acts as a through), figure of 8 power connector (the power supply is integrated), and the connector the glasses. There are 2 LEDs on the front. One indicates power/standby (green/red) and another indicates pass-through is active (orange)
3) An HDMI cable. You will need this extra cable, to "insert" the control box into your chain with your current TV.
4) Accessories. These include 3 forehead pads (medium already fitted), a forehead pad cover (a nicer material especially if you are prone to having a sweaty forehead), cable tidy clip (to help the cable feed nicely from the glasses), a headmount strap tightener (more on this later), a pair of rubber light-blockers (that fit to the lower part of the glasses to help eliminate intruding light from the room
5) A colour start-up guide and a black and white reference guide. There is also a sheet of paper to help those with a PS3

The glasses are a mix of glossy white and matt black plastics. Although the plastics feel solid enough, you will probably feel nervous holding one as its clearly a fragile technology that should not be dropped! With the headbands, speakers and lenses, it is difficult to first determine how/where to hold it! There are buttons on the glasses for left, right, up, down, Menu/OK, Volume up, volume down, and power (which you need to hold down for a couple of seconds to activate)

CONNECT
-------------
The first step is to get the source media linked up to the control box. Most people will already have a PS3 or blu-ray player connected directly to a TV or an AVR. Fortunately you do not need to go out and buy HDMI switchers or another PS3. The control box has an HDMI "pass-through" capability. This feature can be switched off to reduce power consumption. If you have a PS3 connected to a TV, simply unplug the HDMI connector from the back of the TV and insert to the IN on the HMZ-T1 control box. Then using the provided HDMI cable, use the OUT to connect to the TV. The control box is intelligent. If the glasses are on, the signal is cut from the TV and fed to the glasses. As soon as the glasses are switched off, the signal returns back to the TV.

For those with very technical set-ups, you will be pleased to know that the pass-through is bi-directional supporting features like ARC (Audio return channel) and HDMI control. If your TV is also a 3D device, the source is able to still detect this capability in your TV and correctly continue to feed it 3D signals as well.

Finally connect the long glasses cable and power lead and you are ready for the next step.


WEAR
--------
This is the bit that sounds easy but turns out to be the most frustrating aspect of the HMZ-T1. Due to the design of the glasses, setting them fit your head is VERY personalised. This means if friends or other family members want to use it, you will probably be tempted to say no, as you will mess up your own set-up, and spend ages finding the correct set-up for someone else. This also means this is not a "glory piece" in your home to show-off to visitors.

There are primarily 5 adjustment points
1) Head-strap upper band
2) Head-strap lower band
3) Head-strap extension adjustments on both sides
4) Forehead pads and adjustment position
5) Ear-piece alignment

I found the starter guide to be VERY poor in explaining how to get the headset well aligned despite it being printed in colour. The first step is to fully extend the head-strap using two little push buttons on either side of the headset and pulling the bands fully out. The headset is not supported at the top of the head, but instead at the back of the head with the forehead rest at the front. Novices will most likely start with the head bands positioned too high up on the head. The first thing to get right is to get the lower of the head bands as low as the indent at the back of your skull. The upper headband then sits at 45 degrees, at the back corner of your head. Both head bands are adjustable and you may want a family member to help you unclip, adjust and re-clip. I found that I ended up with the lower head band almost fully tightened, and the upper head band mostly opened. If you find the lower head band is not going tight enough, there is an extra clip that forces the band to tighten further.

At this point, the unit will still not still well. that is because we now need to tightened the headband against the unit at the two sides. This is done by simply forcing the headband into the glasses which results in a click/lock/click/lock behaviour. If you over-tighten, simply press the little buttons on the side of the glasses to release the headband. It is advisable to loosen the headband using these buttons every time you put the glasses off and on. There are three forehead pads. The default is the medium pad. The idea is that the weight is distributed between the forehead pad and the headband straps. Your nose should NOT be supporting the weight.

Depending on the depth of your skull, you will need to experiment with the forehead pads. Generally the smallest pad will give the best image (more on this later), but may not work for everyone's head. For my own head, I need to use the medium pad. When the pad and straps are correctly set-up, the glasses will sit dead horizontal on your head. A problem I found is that when the glasses are horizontal, although the weight is not on my nose, my nose is compressed by the unit. An apology for stereo-typing, but it seems the glasses have been designed in Japan for more typical Asian features with noses that are less tall than westerners. This makes the glasses a tad uncomfortable, but when you get absorbed into viewing, you can put it out of your mind. Using a deeper forehead pad helps with this, but has consequences on image quality (more on this below).

Finally, the ear-pieces can be adjusted in and out and up and down so that they sit nicely over your ears.


SETUP
--------

Finally, after a lot of fiddly set-up, we can power on the glasses for the first time. The first time the glasses are switched on, it will ask you for your language choice. It will also ask you if you want to activate the HDMI pass-through. It will not ask these questions again. However the next screens I describe will appear every single time. A test screen then appears with the word "Welcome" in large letters. This image may be out of focus for 2 reasons.

1) You need to adjust the inter-ocular distance. There are little sliders under each eye piece that shift the eye pieces further out or closer together. You have to move both sliders together (i.e. slide both outwards together, or inwards together). This should help bring things into focus. For me, I had to slide them as far apart as possible. I don't have unusually wide-spaced eyes, so I can imagine some people might have a problem with the maximum adjustment
2) The glasses are not positioned low enough down your head. This is where you need to go back to the "Wear" stage and fine tune the position of the glasses so that the whole image comes into focus.

If you are using the deeper forehead pads it may not be possible to get the whole screen perfectly in focus. You may find the sides are a little out of focus even though the centre is sharp. If you find one side is in focus and one is not, then moving the headset slightly left or right should help. You may have to accept a compromise. Additionally the deeper forehead pads will push the glasses further away from your face which may allow more light leakage from the room, particularly at the top. The light blockers only fit to the bottom of the glasses.

After the welcome screen, pressing the Menu/OK button on the bottom of the headset will move to the next screens which describe a diagnostic test to ensure the glasses are safe to use. The left eye will contain an image with a white line running from left to right. The right eye will contain and image consisting of 3 letter I's like this "I I I". Your brain will then merge the two images. You should see the line intersecting the letter Is. If they do not intersect the glasses are not safe to use as it can cause eye-strain/headaches and nausea. The line may not be perfectly straight, or directly through the middle, but as long as it intersects all three Is then it is okay to use. Mine was perfectly through the middle.

The final screen that appears is a safety warning about prolonged use of the glasses.

Now at last(!) we are ready to actually watch some material on the HMZ-T1

[JonStatt]

ENJOY
--------

The primary reason for writing such a detailed report on setting up was to help those that may not have received theirs yet and will want the best hints/tips to get started. For those thinking about purchasing still, or have a pre-order they can cancel, this section is devoted to giving my personal opinions on the video and audio quality of the HMZ-T1.

So we have seen the HMZ-T1 advertised as a 750" screen from 20 metres away, or a 150" screen from 12 feet away. In fact you could calculate a whole range of numbers in-between that have the same field of view (45 degrees). However, my personal evaluation suggests that it is NOT the same. When you are in a big IMAX cinema, you are aware of the distance between you and the screen due to other seats, people, speakers or other objects in the room. When I wear the glasses I do not have any objects in my vision to relate to, and the impression I get is of a very large screen but more like 12 feet away. I have found depending on the material being watched, it sometimes does feel even larger than 150" as if I am being nearly consumed by the image. Whatever the case, it does not feel like a tiny 0.7 inch panel 2cm away from my eyeballs. I think many will be impressed with the vastness of the image experienced. However an absolute MUST is to watch without outside light influences. The illusion of size is broken by this and may explain some unhappy viewers who have seen these units at brightly lit shows and stores.

The HMZ-T1 uses OLED panels and it definitely shows! Blacks are almost perfectly black. This means if you watch 21:9 movies, you will not be distracted by the black bands top and bottom. In fact, strangely, the screen seems even larger due to the aspect ratio. Colours are vibrant and the detail is most definitely there. Although the panels are 720p, I do not find myself wishing for greater resolution. If you study hard on certain colours you may "just" be able to make out the pixel grid. But it requires concentration and would not be noticed while watching material. There are picture adjustments and presets (e.g. cinema), but it is hard to validate the accuracy of these as it will not be possible to colour calibrate the display with any equipment. Overall, with minimal adjustment, I was able to get a picture that looked very cinematic with what felt like accurate colour.

Playing first person games in 2D such as Call of Duty MW3 looks anything but 2D! Incredibly as the image occupies so much of your vision, your brain is partially fooled into believing you are right there in the game. I then tried Wipeout HD on the PS3 in 2D. I was amazed at how 3D things looked as I hurtled along the race track at high speed. Wipeout should be played with the 1st person viewpoint for maximum effect. I then switched to 3D and there was significant further enhancement. It is important to understand these games add depth and not pop-out. But this extra 3D layer drew me further into this virtual world. In fact, and rather embarrassingly, I found myself uncontrollably tilting my head as I went around corners. Anyone who suffers motion sickness may struggle playing these games for a long duration. I was not aware of any intrusive lag during games.

I then tried a few 3D movie titles. I could certainly see the added depth. Where I struggled a bit more was appreciating those titles which have "pop-out" effects. A few other owners of these glasses have commented that they see less pop-out than in a cinema, or home projector, or even their TV. Surely the opposite should be true, as these glasses can display 3D with zero crosstalk and high brightness and contrast. I believe there is an inherent limitation here and I will try to articulate my current thinking. When we watch in the cinema, the objects coming out of the screen effectively occupy our real-world space. This space is filled with people, chairs, tables, curtains or speakers. In these use cases, you have a frame of reference to associate with. However, when using the glasses, you are in a void. So when an object is designed to pop-out towards you, you have less to associate that with. I found that very large objects such as the famous Cod fish in "IMAX Under the Sea" do pop-out very convincingly. With smaller objects, by the time your brain can process it and compare it to the screen edges to see there is a difference and go "Wow, pop-out" it is too late. However I did find that if I periodically looked at the screen edge and back to the pop-out object, that the effect snapped into place. So this is more of a perception issue and probably varies from person to person. I still think the HMZ-T1 does a very good job with 3D, but may not provide the thrill factor some were hoping for. This is not due to a poor 3D implementation, but simply inherent in the design of any glasses like this. This is still not the IMAX cinema replacement some might wish for.

The sound was better than I expected. It simulates surround quite convincingly and the frequency range and clarity is impressive. Watching a movie or playing a game were equally good with an immersive full-range sound with a certain level of surround experience. It won't achieve gut wrenching bass as the speakers sit loosely over the ears. Unfortunately there isn't an easy way of connecting your own earphones.


CONCLUSION
------------------

This was originally introduced as a proof of concept product. That is exactly what it is. It delivers impressive images and sound. However it is not the most comfortable thing to wear for long periods and could do with further refinement for different head shapes. It can only be used tethered and so is not really portable. To adjust it to fit someone’s head is complex enough that you will not want to share it with friends and family. However, for the selfish individual who wants to go into their own world, and watch a virtual massive screen for gaming or a movie will not find any other products even remotely close to it. I have a pair of the latest Vuzix glasses here, and while they are portable and comfortable, the image difference is like chalk and cheese. Some may prefer to wait for another iteration of this product, if Sony continue to invest along these lines. For those hoping to have the ultimate 3D experience, this isn't it. You will still need to go to an IMAX cinema, or create the largest home cinema with projector that you can afford and find space for. 3D is solid on the HMZ-T1 and many will be very satisfied with its performance, particularly with zero crosstalk, high brightness and stunning contrast. However, due to the way the brain perceives it, for 3D "pop-out" junkies, your brain will not always be able to realise/process this to the same extent as in a real room. Although I do not believe the image feels like watching a 750” IMAX screen, the 45 degree FOV often manages to put you inside the action, even in 2D.

[graeme04]

I also received my HMZ-T1 on Wednesday, and I very much agree with everything Jon said, it matches my experience so far, down to the same problems. I have yet to find a way to fit the headset and have a perfect picture (and it does have awesome picture quality) while not having my nose compressed by the headset which is a real shame.

[JimBob1971]

Thanks for the review Jon - It must have taken ages to type. It tallies with what I've seen on the prototypes too. However, I'm searching for depth in images so absolutely loved it.

Regarding lack of scale in which to put 3D 'pop' into perspective (excuse the pun) - Perhaps Sony will introduce 3 rows of cinema seats in front of the viewer in the next iteration, complete with snogging teenagers and people talking on their mobile phones

[jommy999]

Thank you for the great review Jon.... now i have to take pros and cons for my decision but it will take a while till unit available again anyway hehehe .

[trivialsid]

Could anyone who has the HMZ please inform me if it works plugged into the sky box, I ask because I have yet to see this mentioned with sky box, which after all has the best input for 3d and films.

[budgie1645]

my understanding is it works with any HDMI device , so it should work with Sky.

[graeme04]

Originally Posted by trivialsid

Could anyone who has the HMZ please inform me if it works plugged into the sky box, I ask because I have yet to see this mentioned with sky box, which after all has the best input for 3d and films.

Yes it works fine - Sky 3D is a side by side picture, simply connect up the Sky box and then on the HMZ you would go to menu, then 3D > Side by Side - it won't auto switch like 3D content from Blu-ray or PS3 would.

[jommy999]

Jon... anymore update ? how is it and what do you think now since you got the set for few days so far .