• Sony’s Head-Mounted 3D OLED Display Is World’s First, Produces 750-Inch Virtual Screen

    Serkan Toto

    Dr. Serkan Toto is an independent consultant and advisor focusing on Japan’s web, mobile and social gaming industries. Based in Tokyo, he works together with financial institutions and startups worldwide. Serkan has been the Japan contributor for TechCrunch.com since 2008. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. → Learn More

    Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
    Picture 8

    Earlier this year, during CES 2011, Sony showcased a prototype of a wearable 3D display that looked much like those virtual reality helmets we’ve been seeing since the 1990s. And today, the company announced that it’s actually ready to start selling the OLED device, dubbed “Personal 3D Viewer”/ HMZ-T1, on November 11 -  in Japan.

    The head-mounted display is the first of its kind, according to Sony. It creates the experience of watching 3D (or 2D) pictures on a “movie theater-like virtual screen” that’s equivalent to a 750-inch display, if big S is to be believed.

    Here are the main specs:

    • two 0.7-inch OLED panels with HD resolution (1,280×720)
    • 45-degree horizontal viewing angle / “virtual viewing” distance of 20m for the aforementioned 750-inch virtual screen
    • 5.1 surround sound coming from speakers integrated into the HMD (Sony’s Virtualphones)
    • processor unit with two HDMI interfaces (input and output) for connecting TVs, consoles or Blu-ray players
    • size: 180×168×36mm, weight: 420g

    In their press release, Sony isn’t mentioning plans for sales outside Japan, but over here, the HMZ-T1 is expected to carry a $780 price tag.