i ordered a crap hmd
i know it will be terrible. the effective resolution is only 266x225.
earlier in the day i got it in my head that i should just build one. i have some optics from a past project and i did a bit of testing. using a 3" display i would get pretty nice fov. the image would be pretty distorted at the borders with the optics i have, but i figure that i could "undistort" the image in software.
using my monitor (19" 1280x1024) a 3"ish piece works out to about a resolution of 200. you can see the pixels, but it is not as bad as i thought it would be. i don't care about reading text anyway.
so that sent me on a journey to find some smallish lcds. it turns out there is a perfect outlet for them. in-car dvd displays. 2 semi-crap (but better than 266x225) displays would end up being about $100.
i decied on ordering the crap hmd so i could have an idea of the type of eye-strain a commercial product creates these days. i'm a little bit scared of a diy version because i don't know shit about optics and especially the possible negative effects on the eye.
knowing me i'll be dumb and 'modify' the display soon after i get it anyway or just build one from scratch. hey, my right eye already twitches from either lack of sleep or some dremel debris (or something) or both, so what's a little eye-strain.
now.. time to find some ps2 eyetoy cameras on ebay. i hear on the internets that they make nice and cheap 640x480x30fps quality webcams for a pc (using a (hacked?) d-link driver). true augmented reality.. hear i come.