Hands On: Sony’s HMZ-T1 Personal 3D Headset

Just Push Start had a chance recently to try out Sony’s new HMZ-T1 Personal 3D viewer. To the common person, it’s like having a personal 3D TV that you can wear on your own head.

Sony announced a few months ago that the HMZ-T1 will cost around $USD783. It’s due for release in Japan on November 11th although a North American and European release for the expensive device is yet to be announced.

Although the price for the device may seem steep, it’s really not when you actually see the device for yourself. Since you are wearing the device like it’s a pair of 3D glasses, the image in front of view is really large. I got to play a few minutes with MotorStorm Apocalypse and I have to say, the screen size is very large.

I only have a 32 inch 3DTV at home but viewing the screen via the HMZ-T1 I noticed the size of the game to be even larger than that. The image may not be as large as viewing an IMAX cinema screen but according to the press release given, the experience is similar to “viewing a 20 meter cinema screen in the middle of a movie theatre”.

Another feature the fancy device can do is that it has a HDMI splitter so you can input other devices other than a PlayStation 3 console. If you don’t feel like playing games on the device all the time, you can opt to watch a movie on Blu-ray instead. Although I didn’t have the chance to check out what this looks like as the only medium Sony demoed to us was only MotorStorm: Apocalypse.

Technology enthusiasts will be happy to know that the OLED display can output both 2D and 3D images in crystal clarity. Not only this, but the device’s headphones offers true surround sound quality. It may not be as good as having a real 5.1 surround sound system but the sound of the engines roaring in MotorStorm: Apocalypse was impressive I have to say.

The major thing I really disliked about the HMZ-T1 Personal 3D Viewer is the fact it took me a long time to adjust it to fit my head. The other attendees at the event had no problem strapping the device on but my head is small like a child’s that I had to adjust it to minimum size. Even at minimum size I still felt it wasn’t strapped on to my head properly…

From the press release Sony gave me, I now know the reason for this. The target market for the device is certainly not for children. In describing the design for the device Sony said: “the HMZ-T1 features a slick, comfortable design. The entire headset is adjustable, including the integrated headphones to fit virtually any ADULT head”.

I’m an adult mind you, but I don’t look like one I have to say. My stature is like a 12 year old boy which is the main reason I found wearing the HMZ-T1 to be so uncomfortable. I talked with others who tried it on and they did not suffer the same problem I did of wearing the device.

Another thing I have to say about the HMZ-T1 is that it’s best if you play it lying down. There was no room for us to lie down so we had to play it while sitting up straight. This wasn’t a very good idea as the weight of the device shifts forward making you head tilt to the floor all the time!

With that being said, I will have to say that the HMZ-T1 Personal 3D Viewer is not a piece of equipment that is suitable for anyone. Children are unlikely to have big enough heads to wear it while small adults like myself will have a hard time keeping it on our heads.

Nevertheless, there’s nothing like the Sony HMZ-T1 Personal 3D Viewer anywhere else in the world. The display is wonderful and the illusion of having a cinema-like quality experience right in front of you eyes is something special. Just make sure you have a big enough head to enjoy it…