Webcam Wars - Comparing the PlayStation Eye with the Xbox 360 Vision

[KnackChap]

Features and Technical Specifications

 

 

Xbox LIVE Vision

 

The Xbox LIVE Vision comes across as little more than a standard white camera with its manual ‘twist-to-foucs’ setup. The Vision does differentiate itself somewhat with a green illuminated ring indicating when it’s in use, but since it’s otherwise indistinguishable from a bare-bones web-cam, one can’t help but wonder, “Why can’t I just use a regular web-cam like the one I already own?” The answer: Because Microsoft wouldn’t make any money off of that transaction, silly Rabbit. The Vision features a resolution of 640 x 480, and can take still photos at 1.3 megapixels, which is on par with modern inexpensive cameras. However, the Vision costs $40, roughly $10 more than the price of similarly equipped web-cams on the market. At least the Vision will also work with your PC without complication.

 

 

PlayStation Eye

 

Despite the fact that both cameras retail for around $40 in the US, when scrutinizing the capabilities of the two devices it becomes immediately clear that Sony’s camera offers more tech for the money. Just like the Vision, the Eye offers a maximum resolution of 640 x 480, but that’s where the comparison ends. The Eye is able to auto-focus, so instead of having to twist the neck of the camera to prevent things from looking fuzzy, rotating the lens allows you to cycle between two view distances: one that shows the whole room, and one for close-ups. Although Sony boasts about the Eye’s ability to operate in extreme low light conditions, in practice, this just didn’t work as advertised with my setup. It was able to see in the dark better than the Vision, but not enough to accurately register movement necessary for the numerous camera-based applications. Unlike the Xbox LIVE Vision, the PlayStation Eye won’t easily work with your home computer, but workaround solutions are out there on the internets.

One of the Eye’s coolest features is made possible by its built-in microphone array, making it look more like a defense turret than a camera. The Eye actually contains four omnidirectional mics located above the camera which feature echo and noise cancellation, allowing PS3 owners to use the Eye for headset-free voice-chat. Since the noise cancellation does a great job, you can talk to your pals without transmitting noises your game or other application may be creating. In my experiences this chat feature works perfectly, and considering that it entirely does away with the need to fumble around with a headset, it is one of the best reasons any online gamer should consider buying the PlayStation Eye. While you can use any USB web-cam you have laying around for video chat without buying the Eye, third party models won’t work with the myriad of other software available to Eye owners, and forget about using it to voice-chat. See… that’s how they get ya’!

 

Console Integration

 

Xbox LIVE Vision

 

The first thing you notice when installing the Vision camera is that a transparent overlay of yourself will now display on top of all the dashboard blades. When you move, it creates a ripple effect that loosely approximates the appearance that you are under water, but this effect can be switched to ’dotty’, ‘edgy’, or off. A similar trippy effect kicks in if you listen to music with the visualizer, and this is a fun feature for parties - or any time that you feel like having a spirit voyage in your living room. In addition, you can use the Vision to take a custom photo for your Gamertag. Unfortunately, you can’t save more than one photo at a time, so if you want to cycle between a few different images for your LIVE persona, you’re out of luck. You can, however, send images to people on your friends list to accompany your outgoing missives, and some rudimentary effects allow you to alter the picture a little bit (sepia, black and white, blur etc.) It’s not exactly PhotoShop, but the handful of effects are a welcome addition nonetheless. Finally, the Vision allows you to enter video-chat with LIVE Gold members. As an interesting bonus, holding the trigger on your controller makes the controller of the person you are video-chatting with vibrate. Let your imagination run wild with the possibilities of this unusual feature!

 

PlayStation Eye

 

As mentioned in the Features section, the Eye eliminates the need to use a headset of any kind when chatting or playing games online. I can’t overstate how wonderful this feature is, as it goes above and beyond the expectations of someone looking to buy a camera for their console. As far as camera-oriented integration is concerned, a free program called Eye Create is freely available on the PlayStation Network, and it allows users to record and edit audio, video, and static images with an impressive suite of tools. There’s even an option to make stop motion animations and add numerous impressive-looking effects. Although these movies and audio files can be saved on your PS3’s hard drive, you can’t sent them to your friends over the PlayStation Network. You can, however, attach any pictures you take to text messages with ease. Users can also convert the movies from Sony’s proprietary video format to MPEG-4, allowing videos to be transferred to a PC or mobile device, which is a nice touch absent in the Xbox 360.

Although the Vision only enables you to chat with one other friend, the Eye can enter video chat with up to six of your pals simultaneously. Finally, there is an intriguing feature available to PSP owners that lets you turn on your PS3 remotely from a wireless hot-spot. Once you gain remote access to the PS3, you are able to go to the Camera section of the Accessories menu and check up on your domicile via the Eye camera. The possibilities of this feature are exciting: covertly checking up on your pet, child, or love-slave has never been easier!

 

Games and Software

 

Xbox LIVE Vision

 

The Xbox 360 offers approximately 30 games that support the Vision, but around 20 of these are LIVE Arcade titles that simply use in-game video that allows the players to see each other. These Arcade games don’t require the camera, instead utilizing the Vision to enhance the social aspect of playing online. This approach works particularly well with the card games like Texas Hold’Em, where the ability to read your opponent’s poker-face helps players approximate the real thing. Seeing your opponents isn’t an essential feature for the lion’s share of supported Arcade games, but the in-game video support is a nice little bonus to Vision owners.

 

In addition to the Arcade titles, there are currently 6 retail 360 games that use Digimask face-mapping technology. This nifty feature lets you create characters that look just like you, but requires you to adjust the lighting in front of your Xbox 360 with the precision and care of a Hollywood filmmaker to avoid photographing unsightly shadows. Digimask implementation seems to be hit or miss: while Rainbow 6 makes terrific use of the feature, the gruesome visage you construct in the World Series of Poker often detaches from your body and spins so unnaturally, you’ll feel like Regan in The Exorcist.

 

Finally There are currently only 3 titles (Totemball, Pinball FX, and Rayman Raving Rabbids) that allow you to take controll of the on-screen action with the camera. Totemball is the only title that absolutely requires the Vision camera for game play, and after spending five minutes with it you’ll begin to realize why it’s free. In short, Totemball is a terrible game with practically no entertainment value, and the fact that it actually hurts your arms to play for more than a minute or two completely extinguishes its novelty. While Rayman and Pinball FX support some gesture controls, the feature adds very little to either experience. When I recently asked Microsoft’s Jeremy Wacksman if there were more gesture-based Arcade games in the works for the 360, he simply referred me to the existing titles like Pinball FX, suggesting that Microsoft isn’t too interested in promoting the Vision as an alternative to the standard controller. In a nutshell, I wouldn’t expect any LIVE Arcade games that use the Vision camera as their primary input device anytime soon, but there should be several more games that sport in-game video and Digimask down the road.

 

PlayStation Eye

 

As mentioned in the ‘Features‘ section, PlayStation Eye owners can download a free copy of Eye Create, which allows users to generate and edit photos, video, audio, and stop-animation clips. There is a nice assortment of effects available in Eye Create, and it’s nice that you can save your work to the PS3’s hard drive.

 

Although some retail PS3 games like Burnout Paradise and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 make use of the Digimask and in-game video, Sony’s approach to using the Eye as an input device is very different than Microsoft’s. Now on the second generation of gesture-based camera games, Sony offers several inexpensive downloadable applications which require the Eye. Games like The Trials of Topoq and Operation Creature Feature may be simplistic affairs, but it’s clear that the gesture recognition technology they are based on is an evolution of the technology Sony has been using with their Eye-Toy products since the PlayStation 2 era. The controls are more responsive than they were last generation, allowing for greater precision and thankfully, fewer instances of flailing your arms around like a jackass. PlayStation Network also features a handful of interactive programs like Tori-Emaki, Mezmerize and Aquatopia that may not qualify as games, but are still entertaining diversions in their own right.

 

Finally, the best example of Sony’s commitment to supporting the PlayStation Eye is easily their card game Eye of Judgment. This game recognizes the cards you play on a the board and then animates the battle sequences in real-time as the match progresses. Eye of Judgment is unlike any other game on the market, and shows that Sony is not afraid to make games that will only appeal to the small segment of their users that own the PlayStation Eye. There are some issues with card recognition in low-light environments, but if you can move a lamp or two, no other game on the market today takes better advantage of the Eye’s hardware. Other games that will require the Eye are currently in development, and the PS3 version of Singstar will make heavy use of the PS3’s video capture technology.

 

Conclusion

 

Anyone who spends a lot of time playing or chatting with friends online will benefit from having a camera attached to their console. However, the Xbox Live Vision doesn’t really offer any must-have features as far as gaming is concerned, and is by no means a critical part of Microsoft’s entertainment package.

 

On the other hand, PlayStation 3 owners have several reasons to consider getting the Eye peripheral: the entertaining Eye-exclusive games, remote-view capability, and the wonderful Eye-Create software are all compelling in their own right. The icing on the cake, though, is the ability to do away with your Blue-Tooth headset entirely, a feature that should appeal to any online gamer who doesn’t want to look like Uhura from Star Trek. All in all, I’d say that the PlayStation Eye is a must-have peripheral for anyone who owns a PS3.

 

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[Anmolsc]

nice article....