<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"><<In my opinion, the minimum display rez that will actually capture attention is probably native 720p HDTV (1280x720x24bpp).>><BR>
<BR>
Certainly QVGA, on which a simple clock face looks ragged, can only be useful as a speedometer or heart rate monitor. As a video display it is rated "suck".<BR>
<BR>
SVGA gives a good enough image and will likely be the one that Makes It Big... if ever people integrate enough useful functions to make a HMD worth wearing in the mass market.<BR>
<BR>
Say 40° diagonal FOV: any less feels like tunnel vision; any more just can't be eye-scanned without muscle strain... and the optics becomes cost-impractical. That's why a million night vision goggles have 40° FOV.<BR>
<BR>
Say the eye's resolution limit at these modest light levels is about half of the ultimate eye resolution... oh, about 2.4 arcsec. = 1/1000 of 40°.<BR>
<BR>
So there is no (zero, nada) value in ever putting better than a 600x800 display in a 40° FOV HMD.<BR>
<BR>
For anything less than SVGA -- either scale down the FOV to tunnel vision, or learn to love jaggies.<BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2">Oliver <BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"><I>oliver@zyberwear.com</I></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"><BR>
Zyberwear, Inc.<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"><BR>
<BR>
<BR>
In a message dated 9/6/07 8:57:53 PM, friarzen@yahoo.com writes:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE CITE STYLE="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px" TYPE="CITE"></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"><BR>
The problem isn't that reasonably priced QVGA<BR>
HMD's aren't available. The problem is that<BR>
the market has now left this kind of niche<BR>
display in the dust.<BR>
<BR>
QVGA does NOT appeal to the masses anymore.<BR>
(It most certainly does not appeal to me!)<BR>
Just look at the entire market that it now<BR>
competes with: 1080p HDTVs, desktop 2560x1600<BR>
hugemungus displays, 4-inch portable 800x480<BR>
video players, etc. Consumers have been<BR>
trained into "mo'megapixels, mo'better".<BR>
<BR>
The only way to prove that QVGA is a workable<BR>
display size is to show that you can ONLY<BR>
solve a cool problem by wearing a computer as<BR>
apparel. This is the old "killer app" concept.<BR>
And at this point, it has to be truely genre-<BR>
busting to make an impact and still manage to<BR>
make a fashion statement instead of a fashion<BR>
faux pas. Otherwise people will just continue<BR>
to fill their pockets with the ipodphone-<BR>
gameboy combo and lug around a laptop when<BR>
they actually need computer work done.<BR>
<BR>
"CPU-brick" size is no longer an issue, there<BR>
are tons of sub-15 cubic-inch computers that<BR>
sip milliwatts of power on-sale now, most<BR>
with gobs of I/O. And people do have some<BR>
familiarity with alternate input methods<BR>
like d-pads, txting, wiimotes, graffiti, etc.<BR>
The problem is nobody knows what to DO with<BR>
all that cpu power when the only output<BR>
channel everyone EXPECTS is an uber-highres<BR>
display. <BR>
<BR>
Heck, I'm subconsiously irritated by my<BR>
1600x1024 work display because it isn't "big"<BR>
enough to display a full 8.5x11 inch page<BR>
without downsampling.<BR>
<BR>
In my opinion, the minimum display rez that<BR>
will actually capture attention is probably<BR>
native 720p HDTV (1280x720x24bpp). And to<BR>
be really useful it will have to support all<BR>
the crap that goes with that: VGA/DVI/HDMI<BR>
and Winblows install disks. All without<BR>
looking like a freak. This is because<BR>
the only currently identified Killer App<BR>
seems to be the ability to compute/watch<BR>
por...er...movies without worrying who<BR>
is looking over your shoulder. Not very<BR>
impressive as Killer Apps go, really.<BR>
(and anybody who says "but, what about<BR>
truely mobile computing?" has never tried<BR>
strapping a computer to a newbie and<BR>
watched them proceed to walk into every<BR>
coffee table/sharp object within 10 feet.<BR>
Hilarious? Yes. Mainstream? No).<BR>
<BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"><BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"><BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"><BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"></FONT><BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour</HTML>