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Sony confirms Australian release of HMZT1 personal 3d viewer; pre-orders from 27 January

Sony Australia just announced that Australians will be able to pre-order its new personal 3D viewing device, cleverly titled the “HMZT1” (we are being sarcastic) from Friday 27 January 2012. Says Sony, the device “offers a spectacular new style of viewing for both 2D and 3D content in the luxury of your living room complete with the visual and audio experiences of being in a movie theatre.”

Think Nintendo’s Virtual Boy…just, way better, really. Here’s some of Sony’s press release:

The HMZT1 is equipped with the newly developed 0.7-inch (diagonal 18.0mm) high definition (HD) OLED (1280 x 720) panel which has been developed through Sony’s unique expertise in both OLED display and semiconductor silicon drive technologies. This technology provides high contrast, colour reproduction and fast response capabilities, videos are given added depth, allowing for smoother and higher-quality videos. Unlike other 3D image display methods, the HMZT1 adopts the ‘dual panel 3D method’ which consists of separate panels for the left and right eye. With its own dedicated 3D video for the left and right eyes, viewers are now able to enjoy high resolution 3D video that is natural, bright and extremely pure with no crosstalk.

The HMZT1 boasts a wide horizontal viewing angle of 45 degrees by incorporating an optical lens that suppresses unwanted aberration and distortion. This puts a cinema style virtual screen in front of the viewer’s eyes, creating the equivalent of a 750-inch screen (virtual viewing distance 20m). The design of this device is such that it results in a feeling of deep immersion with any information unrelated to viewing being isolated. Light from below the HMZT1 can also be intercepted by using the accompanying light shield (shade plate), thereby further enhancing the feeling of being in a movie theatre for the viewer.

Viewers are also spoilt for choice when it comes to their audio needs with the HMZT1. Incorporating Sony’s proprietary 5.1ch Virtual Surround Technology that was developed especially for headphones, the equivalent of a maximum 5.1ch multi-channel audio can be experienced adding to the effect of the viewer being virtually present in the cinema. With a choice of four different surround sound modes (standard, cinema, game and music) to suit any kind of content, there is a perfect surround mode available for any situation.

Compatible with a wide range of 3D products and 3D content production systems such as Sony’s PlayStation 3 Gaming Console, Blu-ray Disc™ Players and VAIO notebooks, the new 3D viewing style provided by the HMZT1 will enable users to enjoy the realistic feeling of being in a theatre whilst relaxing on their living room sofa, further expanding Sony’s 3D world.

Basically, the HMZT1 will take any signal via HDMI and present it as either 2D or 3D, depending on the signal it receives. Whilst Sony doesn’t say the viewer can be used with your Xbox 360 or non-Sony DVD or Blu-ray player, those devices most certainly are compatible.

There’s no word yet on the actual date of release for the HMZT1, but we do have a price — expect to shell out $899 for this bad boy. Pre-orders can be made at Sony Centres or online at Sony.com.au.

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Steve Wright

Steve's the owner of this very site and an active games journalist nearing twenty (TWENTY!?!) years. He's a Canadian-Australian gay gaming geek, ice hockey player and fan. Husband to Matt and cat dad to Wally and Quinn.