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Path: broehl
From: broehl@coulomb.uwaterloo.ca (Bernie Roehl)
To: sci-virtual-worlds@math.uwaterloo.ca
Subject: Four low-cost HMDs
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Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 06:08:15 -0400
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Status: OR

I've gotten a surprising number of mail messages in the last few days
asking "which are the four low-cost HMDs"?
 
I wish I could answer all the mail individually, but my time is pretty
limited these days.

Here's the list of HMDs due to be released this year in the
"under-$1000" price range, in roughly chronological order:

       CyberMaxx        (VictorMaxx Technologies)
       i-glasses!       (Virtual i/o)
       7th Sense        (All-Pro)
       VFX-1            (Forte Technologies)

The CyberMaxx and the i-glasses! (yes, the '!' is really part of the
name) are both shipping now.  The 7th Sense is supposed to ship in late
May or early June, and the VFX-1 shortly after that (from what I've heard).

To answer the other very common question: no, I can't tell you which one
to buy.  All four are very different from each other, so it depends
entirely on what your needs are (in terms of resolution, field of view,
ergonomics, price...).

Obviously, we all want an HMD that has a 120 degree FOV, with 1 arc-minute
resolution, that weighs 8 ounces and sells for $200.  That doesn't exist
yet, and all four HMDs have made various trade-offs along the road
towards that goal.

The best advice I can give you is to "try before you buy".  I'll be
reviewing all four in VR World; I've already covered the CyberMaxx,
and the i-glasses! will be reviewed in the next issue to hit the stands.

Once all four are on store shelves, I hope to do a comparative review
of them; that won't come out until the end of the year, though.

-- 
   Bernie Roehl
   University of Waterloo Dept of Electrical and Computer Engineering
   Mail: broehl@sunee.uwaterloo.ca    Voice:  (519) 888-4567 x 2607 work
   URL: http://sunee.uwaterloo.ca/~broehl