Originally Posted by
jasonmvt 
Hi guys. Got my HMZ-T1 today and have had a few hours to play with it. I've read through this thread and the various impressions and thought my $.02 might help someone trying to decide whether or not to purchase.
To start off, I absolutely love the quality of the image. I was concerned that 720p so close to my eyes would show each and every pixel. That's not the case here at all. You can see a structure to the pixels if you take your focus off of the on-screen material and direct your attention to it, but you definitely have to try, and even then they're not easy to spot. It doesn't distract at all. Colors are vivid and bright, black is truly black, and motion is smooth and ghost-free. I'm not sure how well it would pass test patterns and calibration discs, but it was so much better than I expected for what it is, I doubt I'll pursue finding any wrinkles.
The headphones seem decent. They do the job just fine, play loudly and clearly with some level of bass. I'm not someone to crank up headphones, but I find no reason to complain, again given the immersion the entire system is providing. I have heard better applications of surround in headphones before however, but I am more used to the Dolby approach so my ears may just need to 're-learn' the directional clues of Sony's system before I know where the helicopter flying over is without seeing it, so to speak.
But I have to get to the parts that made me post here in the first place, and what I felt varied from what I have read in this thread, to my own experience: The 3D and the fit of the viewer itself.
I currently own 2 3D HDTV's, a 3D PC monitor, a Fuji 3D camera, a 3DS even, and a 3D projector. I've used 3D Blu-ray, gamed in 3D on a pc, a PS3, and an Xbox 360. Been an avid 3D fan and user for years now, experienced several different 3d headsets, and was an extremely early adopter of most of this technology. I have no technical a/v background, but probably have as much as experience as a hobbyist can get with such a thing. So it pains me to say that the 3D on this device is absolutely weak. I can certainly tell when it's in 3D mode, and aside from a few brief moments here and there, it is not impressive at all. I took it through a small tour of some of the 3D PS3 games I have, and it was a little disappointing. Motorstorm Apocalypse, Killzone 3, Mortal Kombat, Tumble, Super Stardust, NBA, The Show, Tron, Crysis 2, - all were very underwhelming. I even tried Motorstorm 3D Rift, which normally can start to make me queasy after 20 minutes, the depth is so intense on my plasma- but not the case here. It did produce the most depth of the bunch, but still nothing that would make you say "wow" like it has in the past. No ghosting at all, which was great, but I would never choose to experience a game in 3d for the first time this way.
The low perception of depth in 3D mode is a definite minus for me, but the deal breaker, and the reason I will probably see how I can return them to Sony, is the way the unit fits on my head. I'm not sure if I have a difficult size or shape to my head, but the fit is so much worse than I imagined. I have been through every adjustment, again each time using each forehead piece, and it's impossible to feel comfortable. It either mashes down so heavy on your nose it hurts, or, it crushes against your forehead so hard it also hurts. This presents another issue related to the fit: There's a definite "sweet spot" to looking through the eye pieces. If you are off to the left, right, top, or bottom, the opposite edge will either become blurry (mostly left to right alignment) or the top or bottom becomes obscured. Something I could deal with if I didn't either feel like I'd been punched in the nose after 15 minutes, or that my head was in a vice grip, or both. It's just not happening for me. Maybe it's partially the weight, although it seems reasonable for what you're getting, and I've had heavier headsets on in the past and not felt like this. So far this has completely soured the entire experience, and if I can't find a solution soon, I will have to move on.
So not to disagree with anyone who has posted already, each of us has their own perspective and opinions. I just wanted to let you know mine, from someone who was literally speeding home to get to play with my new toy, and who is now sitting here typing up an internet forum post instead of enjoying it.
