rerun119 You can watch it with a handy, and not see the machine at all. The machine is generally in the part of the video where the model is (ie on your dick) so the model projection is opaque and blocks the view of the machine.
That said, it still really sucks. Once in a while the passthrough can be semi-realistic, but those moments are very few, very short, and don't consist of much of the film. It's 90 - 95% gimmicky and unrealistic mess with occasional flashes of semi-realism.
FYI - this is coming from someone who invested $1500.00 in a Quest Pro with color passthrough because I really wanted passthrough to work. It just doesn't. It's a big disappointment, and I can't fathom why people still ask for it - especially that one dude who puts passthrough numbers in every. single. scene. Sometimes those are vaguely passable, but most of them result in ghostly, creepy, models with weird hair, missing limbs, or no eyes. I guess if you like horror porn...