Sony Personal 3D Viewer hands-on video

Is Sony's weird Personal 3D Viewer the future of home entertainment? We go hands-on to find out in this video.

Luke Westaway Senior editor

Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.

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Luke Westaway

Nov. 23, 2011 4:10 a.m. PT

2 min read

Hit play on the video above to witness our hands-on testing of Sony's thoroughly weird Personal 3D Viewer headset, which straps two tiny screens in front of your eyes to deliver a totally isolated movie experience.

The Viewer itself attaches to your bonce, and is secured in place by a series of straps. Two 0.7-inch OLED screens, each with a 1,280x720-pixel resolution then fire images into your eyes, creating a 3D effect.

But does it look any good? Watch the video and you'll find out what we thought. Sadly you won't be able to see because you're watching in 2D. Bummer.

We tested the Personal 3D Viewer with 3D movie trailers and some gaming too, specifically Uncharted 3 for the PlayStation 3. The Viewer is hooked up to a control box via a proprietary cable, which you can then plug into anything with an HDMI output, such as a Blu-ray player or a games console.

Sound meanwhile is handled by two headphone pads to the side of the headset, which Sony reckons deliver a simulated 5.1 surround-sound effect.

So is this the future of home entertainment? In five years' time will we all be sat in darkened rooms, hooked up to Personal 3D Viewers and battling each other in online bloodsports?

One obstacle to the Personal 3D Viewer's eventual success will be the price -- owning one of these sci-fi headsets will cost you just shy of £800. If you've got the cash and like experimental tech, you can pre-order now to get one within the next few weeks.

What do you think? Is the Sony Personal 3D Viewer a rare glimpse into the future? Or just a bit daft? Tell us in the comments, or over on our Facebook wall.