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QJ.NET review: Headplay, your own Personal Cinema System

Posted Sep 25, 2007 at 06:08AM by Isaac C. Listed in: Accessories, News, Reviews, Games, PSP Slim & Lite Tags: memory stick, plug-and-play, Sony, headset, Mac OS X, Image Viewer
Ó

Headplay - Image 1


Headplay is probably every couch potato's dream. Imagine a TV. Now imagine being able to take it anywhere and everywhere you go (except perhaps in the shower), and being able to watch movies or play games on it anytime you want. That's the concept for the new "Personal Cinema System" device, Headplay.

Headplay is a head-mounted device; a TV you wear on your head. You can connect it to your gaming consoles, your DVD Player, your iPod, your PC, and maybe your Betamax player if it hasn't choked on dust yet. If it has a video out function, Headplay can most probably display it. You can also plug in a memory stick and Headplay can run the media files - movies, videos, and images - with its own built-in player.


Headplay - Image 1


THE HARDWARE

The whole unit is comprised of two main bodies: the Liberator and the Visor. The Liberator is a small black box where every wire is connected to. The Visor is made up of two parts: the hat itself and the optical piece which looks like it was stolen from Scott Summers. There's also the Navigator - it's the remote control - that connects the Visor to the Liberator.

The Liberator

The makers had simplicity in mind when they designed it, making sure all we had to worry about was to sit back and enjoy. It operates on a plug-and-play system and there's only one button on the Liberator; the power button. Talk about simple: if a socket fits, then that's most likely where it should be.

Headplay: the Liberator - Image 1


The only real times you'll be prevented from moving around while you have the gear on is if it's plugged into a wall to charge the batteries or if it's plugged into another bulkier device like a console or a PC. However, you can still walk around about a meter in radius from the Liberator. Or you could just move the fridge beside the couch and be done with it. If you can do the same for the toilet... well, godspeed.

If you're connected to something portable though - like a USB memory stick, or a portable DVD player - it's not hard to imagine bringing it along on a road trip... It's probably best not to drive with it on though. The batteries can last about six hours when it's fully charged so that's enough for about three or four movies. Not bad if you're taking a particularly long plane trip and you don't like the in-flight movie.

The Navigator

Headplay: the Navigator - Image 1You know how some remotes look simple because they only have a few buttons, but when you use them they're actually super complicated? That's not the case with the remote. Navigation is simple with only seven buttons that's perfectly button-mashable should all be lost. The worst you can do is change the brightness.

The menu itself is instinctive - much like iPod menus - and can easily adjust video and audio settings with a few clicks. It isn't intrusive either: the menu windows are translucent so you don't miss anything if you're watching something.

The Visor

Headplay: the Hat - Image 1The Visor unit looks and feels like a hat - but is not a hat, so don't wear it outside lest you walk into a pole - and is comfortable enough to wear for hours. It's lightweight and won't slip off easily. It's held in place by some heavy duty velcro that's easily adjustable so go and headbang all you want.

The visor can adjust to anything from the size of your head to the grade of your eye. It has a separate lens for each eye, and both can be adjusted for focus and alignment. The optical piece on the hat can also be adjusted to go up or down so you don't have to constantly move the hat piece.

One disadvantage of giving a large room for adjustability is that it needs a lot of adjustments, and therefore more room for error. If the alignment or the focus isn't adjusted well, you might notice some blind spots here and there.

As adjustable as it is though, the lenses have their limits. While the focus can be configured for those with weaker eyes, it can only go so far. This is easily remedied by wearing contact lenses or glasses.


PERSONAL CINEMA SYSTEM

Once the adjustments are done it's pretty much all sitting back. Once you're behind the lenses of Headplay, it's pretty easy to just relax and go dead to the world around you. It's nothing but you and the screen, with the stereo sounds blocking off everything else. It's like your own movie screen inside your living room.

The video output is pretty sweet: first instinct says the display would be too small to appreciate but it's actually just right. The display is about the same size as a large TV set would look when viewed from a safe distance - unless you watch TV with your nose to the screen - or the big screen when viewed at eye level from a row in the middle of the theater.

At first try there was some motion sickness involved but that's just the brain adjusting to having a TV following you instead of the other way around. Once you get used to this fact, it's all hunky dory. In fact, the best position seems to be lying down or laying back. Preferably on a very comfortable bean bag.

You can hook up a lot of devices onto Headplay, and it can switch between them quite easily even while all of them are turned on. Plug in a console, a PC, and a USB memory card and with a few clicks you can switch between playing Madden while waiting for a group in World of Warcraft, or watch some videos on your USB card while waiting for your downloads to finish.


HEADPLAY FOR STORAGE DEVICES

Headplay's ability to run media files in USB memory sticks and compact flash cards is truly what makes the Headplay device portable. The seven-button remote shines in the USB function as well. The instinctive values of the simple layout requires little thought to operate.

The menu for watching videos are laid out in a logical hierarchy, and while the music player requires a bit more clicking than a mouse-user is accustomed to, it's still fool-proof. The image viewer can also play slideshows with its own built-in player with Powerpoint-like transitions: image functions to flip, rotate, and zoom are even available.

HEADPLAY FOR VIDEOS AND MOVIES

Being able to watch movies on Headplay is one of its strongest features, since it was really designed to be a portable movie screen. Headplay can run the most common media formats, including mp3, mpeg, avi, and XviD. You can watch movies, listen to music, and browse through your jpg pictures anywhere you go.

Headplay with iPods

One of the general complaints about iPod Videos is that the screen's so small that some find it almost impossible to watch anything on it, but Headplay offers a solution by giving iPod videos get the blow up treatment on its screen. We've tried it: you'll just need a TV out cable for your iPod and connect it to the Headplay unit.

There's a hitch with the quality of the video though, as some details are lost. However, this can be easily remedied by changing your videos' compression rates. This shouldn't worry you though, because whether you broadcast your iPod videos on TV or PC, resolutions are always an iffy thing to deal with when enlarged.

Headplay with PCs and Macs

We got the treat to watch TMNT on our laptop too. We fed a DVD of the CG-animated movie into the computer and let it play: all we needed was popcorn and we definitely would have been in our own virtual theaters.

As we stated earlier, once you're watching a movie - a graphically pleasing movie with blockbuster graphics to boot - and you can easily be absorbed. No worries about folks behind you kicking your seat, no noisy children running up and down the aisles, and most especially, no cellphones ringing every five or so minutes from the crowd.

A minor note of caution though. For movie goers who always have a soft spot throbbing in their hearts, you might want to steer clear away from movies that could reduce you to tears: Schindler's List, Bambi, the works. Getting teary eyed while using Headplay might prove to be an inconvenience.


HEADPLAY FOR GAMES

The visuals are pretty stunning as it doesn't lose any detail from the source. Minute details are just as clear as the humongous ones and color doesn't suffer.

Headplay with the next-gen consoles

In the Xbox 360's demo for Beautiful Katamari for example, you get to appreciate the size of your Katamari and also be able to snicker at the plight of the struggling golfer stuck between the duck and the cow. And in XBLA's Boom Boom Rocket, no color is lost and you can clearly see each individual flare streak off. But above all, nothing beats seeing Big Daddy make its first appearance in BioShock when nothing else can avert your eyes from the screen.

Shooters may actually be one of the best genres for Headplay. You get to experience and immerse yourself in the game more because all you see is the screen. You get to be more into your character, seeing behind their eyes. And with that it has to be said that we can't wait to try this baby out on Halo 3. In the meantime, Headplay on the Wii's Elebits and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is more than enough to fill the void while we wait.

Though the Nintendo Wii might have its fair share of games oriented more toward "family fun," we're not entirely sure if the same concept adapts well with the Headplay unit. Since only one Headplay set can be enjoyed by one person at a given time (for, err, obvious reasons), this is when single-player titles like Zelda: Twilight Princess and Resident Evil 4 shine.

Headplay works just as well with the Sony PlayStation 3. Each lock of Nariko's hair is still in place in Heavenly Sword, and the chains of her gargantuan weapon are visible as she dances her death whirls. Meanwhile, you won't have any problems aiming your crosshairs at Triad goons while running down the streets - and tables, and rails, and walls - of Hong Kong in Stranglehold.

Headplay with PC and Mac OS X platforms

Although Headplay works just as well with the PC and Mac, the resolution only goes up to 1024x768. If you insist on working with a larger resolution, the device will accommodate but the screen will crop out what can't fit. This is not advisable while playing FPS games like Medal of Honor. It's bad enough when you get fragged while the whole screen is visible but with that handicap, you're just askin' for a whoopin'.

Playing MMORPGS games like World of Warcraft using Headplay has one big pro: we must insist that you watch the cinematics. Throw in a surround-sound system and you have CG nirvana. There were some issues with reading during that game as some of us who've tried it found the text a little blurry, but a customized UI took care of that.

HEADPLAY

Despite some minor technical obstacles, Headplay achieves that which it was made for: a portable movie screen. As a gadget which allows you to watch movies in a different way than what you're used to, Headplay is definitely a revolution in portable home entertainment.

Considering this is a quick impression, you might want to come back and read our more in-depth reviews on using the Headplay in the future. We'll be getting a closer look at other MMORPGs - World of Warcraft included - and games on the next-gen consoles and the PSP. We can't wait to try it out on Halo 3 when it comes out.

Headplay is currently on sale and is priced at US$ 499.99. It's definitely a cool thing to own and might even be a viable option if you're planning to buy a TV. If you also travel a lot but find yourself idle in transit, Headplay would fit well into your must-haves list.

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20 Comments


Sort by:
   by Shadownet - 2007-09-24
 » ...
this article was littered with attempts to be funny. QJ fails...

On topic though, $500 seems to be a lot for a portable seizure inducing screen. Just get a good portable lcd screen for 200-250 dollars. Same res, no bumping into stuff...


   Re: dangermouse - 2007-09-25
 » More a cop-out I think
Has a definite look to it like a copy and paste from a marketing email they got sent... I could be wrong I guess, but still disappointed.
   by seargent007 - 2007-09-24
 » uh duh?
QJ before getting the users hopes up, psp slim only outputs games on the progressive component cables, i see an s-video port......research for gods sake or better yet, accept that application i sent in to you guys.

   by Mistabeen - 2007-09-24
 » Whooptie f-ing doo
Those kind of goggles exist for quite a while allready.
You can get them much much more cheaper. for example this one http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6087 or this one maybe http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5998


   Re: CHUCKINGROCKSATSPACESHIPS - 2007-09-24
 » Yeah But...
the ones you mention has lower resolution.
   by silentmatt - 2007-09-24
 » advertising
since when does such obvious attempts at advertising considered news? like damn, that read like something I find caught by my junk e-mail filter.

   by platon - 2007-09-24
 » some errors:
1st; Yeah, you watch your TV in "full screen" but after an hour or two, your eyes feels wierd... and after some months, you learn that you need glasses, ohhhh.... so sudden, I mean, who could have guessed that watching TV at .5" of distance could be bad for our eyes when watching it in a dark room can get you glasses... And hey, after you get those glasses, who will you use your "glasses tv"? contact lens? yeah, the idea, now the eye will focus more with the lens, and to see things that are near, but looking like they are far... wow, this will help your eyes... lol

2nd; I call this "advertising" and, like silentmatt said, I only see that in my junk mail...

3rd; like mistabeen (lol, the name) said, you could already buy this for cheaper WAY in the past. I mean, even by the time of the old snes you could buy these, with wireless BIG controller! (and I'm not joking for anything in that, the controller took like 6 AA batteries too...).

4th: QJ have WAY too much rumors and trash advertising like that, they should "elude" a kind of "boss" that says what is going "on air" and what not to put in that...

   by Mistabeen - 2007-09-24
 » not so sure about 1 Platon
@Platon 1st
Not so sure about that, while it is a screen close to your eye, it is an LCD screen which puts less strain on your eye then a traditional CRT would. I wouldn't say that the goggles put more strain on your eyes then sitting in front of a pc.
And if you would get problems with your eyesight, the majority of people I know have problems with seeing objects far from you, not close, so the glasses would still work. The glasses are also realy close to your eyes, so even people who have problems with seeing things up close will most likely still see it clear.
Also, the glasses would most likely only have problems with glasses, but that is becaus they block the actual Video goggles to be put on. It wouldn't have any problems with lenses.

You are refering to the 8bit time I see in your reply to. Those aren't exactly the same, Nintendo did release the virtual boy, which was a seperate console from nintendo that was played with goggles. They however where realy bad for the eyes and had only 1 color.
The first commercial video goggles came out about 7-8 years ago I think.


   Re: Advertising -


   Re: platon - 2007-09-24
 » humm, pretty reply, that's for sure, thx :D
Maybe, but really, who knows? I mean, I always watched TV in dark rooms (for movies and stuff) and now I have glasses. But are my glasses due to the fact that: I watched tv in dark rooms, I watched tv without cable (rabbit ears) for most of my life so the image was crappy (maybe my eyes could understand why it wasn't perfect so they always tryed to adjust); maybe it's because when I see (in a movie) something that is far, my eyes try to zoom at a longer distance while it's at the same, and after a while, they get fu** up?; maybe it's because my eyes are blue? (blue eyes are the "cheapest" of all, if ONE of your parent have brown eyes, you had 75% chance to have them since brown eyes always take the lead in a fight, that surely mean that, in evolution, brown eyes are the second version of blue/pair/green eyes?); maybe it's just because I put something in my eye (my finger?) and it just scrapped it (like scratch on dvds)?, dunno. But anyway, I'm pretty sure that the biggest diff. between last generations and ours is the importance (or existance?) of TVs (and monitors). So I suppose that "they" kill our eyes, so having a "potentially killing eyes machine" stuck on my eyes is not perfect I suppose.

Anyway, I know that they invented to "protection screens" for monitors (since our eyes are near them), but if there is a need for such things, I fear that the product we're talking about right now could be dangerous for our eyes.

STILL, I don't know anything, it's just my own opinion, do not refer to what I say, just hink about it since anyway, I'm not studying in the domain. I'm into psychology, so I can only think about this... And, anyway, maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong, but I won't take the chance, I mean, watching TV is okay I suppose now, but watching it at this distance... I don't like it. It's like having a light source in our eyes (like a falshlight) for hours in a row :S I'm sure you see SPOTS of halo/MGS/mario for hours, lol.

ps: Thanks Mistabeen, Having a conter-opinion always helps forging our own conception of what could be reality. :D

And I wanna play my games in Star Ocean 4 kind of trainning rooms! :D THAT would be cool!!! complete immersion, you are "inside" the game :D

   Re: Mistabeen - 2007-09-25
 » The tv was CRT
the TV's we grew up with are CRT TV's, those put much more strain on your eyes then an LCD or Plasma tv they have nowadays. So it'd hard to compare the effects realy.

   Re: Vipre77 - 2007-09-25
 » Actually...
LCD screens have recently been shown to cause as much, if not more, eye damage as CRT's. The problem is the TFT screens. Sure, they're progressive scan devices, which helps the eyes because there's less flicker (if the screen has a decent refresh rate, that is). But once you get beyond that fact, the light intensity you get from each individual pixel is usually a lot higher than what you'll get from a CRT because, generally, the direction of the light being output is a lot more directional and concentrated (see the narrow viewing angles on most TFT LCD's compared to a CRT) . The result? Each pixel becomes sort of like a little laser beam burning, out your retinas slowly. I noticed a hit to my vision after recently switching to an LCD monitor here at home and also at my work. My vision has been pretty stable for the last several years and now a year after using LCD's as my primary computer display every day at work and now at home, too, I'm noticing that I'm squinting a lot more than I used to.

   Re: dangermouse - 2007-09-25
 » Yep, LCD definitely hurts me too.
This thread is way too long and confusing for me to take all of it it, but I agree with LCDs having their own problems.

I recently Bought 2 LCDs, nice but nothing special. I've ended up knocking the contrast and brightness waaaaay down (different brands too), and ended up using NVCPanel to get it looking right. (Almost zero eyestrain after a full day tweaking)

It's wonderful how I have it set up now, but I'm assuming won't have nearly that much control with these.
   by NayusDante - 2007-09-24
 » Make sure you check the specs...
These head mounted displays are an awesome idea, and apparently, they work great. The problem is that they run at very low resolution. I checked the specs for this particular model, and you get 800x600. Not even widescreen. While it's better than many, and you get the interface, it's still low-res gaming. If you can stand playing PC games at 800x600 or nex-gen consoles on an SDTV, that's great, not everybody has a kickass system or an HDTV. If you can stand doing that with the screen less than an inch from your eye, by all means, stare at huge pixels. When these things reach desktop LCD resolutions and don't cost an arm and a leg, I'll be the first to buy one. I can see that maybe around the time Duke Nukem Forever comes out.

   by lavino - 2007-09-24
 » OMG!!!
F*cking Glasstron is BACK!!!! Don't fall for it kids.. I have a pair of these... it kills your eyes. The only may be usage in the future is that if I get an RC plane and hook up a camera I will give it a try.

   by shabghai360 - 2007-09-25
 » I love gadgets
With that said I also enjoyed reading the article even if it did sound like a sales pitch. My only concern is the same as mentioned by some already. Its too early with this type of technology regardless of resolution to determine if it will have adverse effects on eyesight.


   by dangermouse - 2007-09-25
 » Migraines?
I can tell you for free these will give me migraines.

Very cool concept, seems to be getting more with HUD's and things, but focusing that close an anythings causes me great problems.

I have good eyesight in general, can focus really close, but doing it for more than 2 of 3 minutes I find very stressful and migraine inducing.

I hope this doesn't mean I have some optical disorder... Nooooo!!

   by UncertainGod - 2007-09-25
 » Why does this blatent ad keep getting bumped
back up to the top of the PSP rss feed?

I was under the belief that the PSP rss feed would be for things relevant to the PSP.

   by Advertising -
   by Wicked_Insider - 2007-09-25
 » Hmmm
Why don't we just create low heat contact lenses with
bluetooth built in and it powers it's self off the BTU's of
our body.

End of story.


   Re: Tydeus - 2007-09-26
 » Hmmm
Or you could always go out and buy the already made "Personal Cinema System" eyewear "Rimax Virtual Vision Glasses" 3.0 or later. Works for all consoles, DVD, TV, and PC.
   by Kamilion - 2007-09-27
 » minireview
Tydeus, both of the products you specify are NTSC/PAL resolution only. So that's like, 512x384 if you're lucky.

The Headplay is dual 800x600 native displays with the ability to resample 1024x768 like my EDTV does (848x480), and the result is fully readable. The other problems with the products you and others in the thread have mentioned is that they lack true VGA input, which compromises quality. Nearly any console can be equipped with VGA output, either with special cables or with slight hardware mods.

I've used headsets like these before, and I'm quite nearsighted. Most of them can't focus to my eyes, but the headplay's extended range works quite well, and has been comfortable for many hours on end. The only thing the headplay lacks is a head tracker, but this is super simple to add on just by clipping it to the back of the velcro band on the visor. And you can always velcro a camera to the top of the visor's bill and plug it in somewhere.

The only other product that comes close to this, which I've used quite a bit has been the 3dvisor from eMagin, but that includes a head tracker.

http://www.3dvisor.com

They used to sell it for $599 but recently they *****ed us all over and changed the price to $1499.

The specs are nearly identical, but I prefer the headplay's soft visor to the 3dvisor's plastic headset.

With a little tweaking, the headplay can be attached to a basecall cap too.

It's still rare to run across reasonably high resolution goggles, and especally rare to get this quality for $549 with the 6 hour battery.

The liberator's light and the power cord reaches pretty far. All in all, I'd say the headplay is #1 for a while.

Good quality, great deal.



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