Head-Mounted Displays; Are You Brave Enough To Wear Them?

We featured the HEADPLAY Personal Cinema System back when it was shown at CES, but MYiPhone has further details of the three-part 3D headset designed to give the impression of a 52-inch screen.  Comprising the video-goggle visor, a box of smarts that can accept input from, among other things, iPods, DVD players, S-Video and memory cards, and a wired remote for controlling the whole shebang, it should be available April this year.

With a battery lasting five hours you could comfortably watch a couple of films, and the patented method of splitting the output of a single micro-display to both eyes means strain on the viewer is minimised (a lot of which in prior headsets is caused by displays for each eye differing slightly and the brain having to "average" the two images) and power demands decreased.

Of course, binocular displays are ideal for 3D visualisations, and the HEADPLAY system is no different.  The company has partnered with industrial design firm IDEO to make sure performance and comfort match up, and while there's no escaping the fact that wearing these things can make you look a little geeky, at least you won't suffer head pains while you deal with the embarrassment!

Estimated price comes in at around $499

HEADPLAY Personal Cinema System [MYiPhone]