I own a third-generation iPod nano, which happens to be the first generation where Apple decided to include video playback capabilities in a nano. That’s all well and good, but the screen is very small and I really can’t watch anything more than a couple minutes long before I get frustrated. Even when you watch videos on an iPhone, the screen is nowhere close to what you’d get sitting in your home theater or even in front of your laptop.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have the big screen experience while on the go? While it may immediately solicit memories of Cyclops from X-Men or Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Vuzix iWear AV920 is actually a set of video glasses. Well, glasses might not be quite the right term.
The AV920’s are officially marketed as video eyewear. The idea is that you can get a wearable virtual big screen no matter where you find yourself like in the cramped quarters of an airplane. Does it deliver as promised? Let’s find out!
A Giant Television on Your Head
It may be able to fit in your pants pocket, but the iWear AV920 is said to offer a virtual experience equivalent to a 65-inch screen when viewed from nine feet away. This is because the twin displays are only about an inch or two away from your eyes, giving you the impression that you are looking at a much larger screen. It’s not HDTV, but it’s supposed to feel huge.
Going through the rest of the features, you’ll discover the following:
- Twin high-resolution 640×480 LCD displays
- Visor weighs 2.9 ounces
- Integrated rechargeable lithium ion battery
- Up to five hours of continuous operation
- 60 Hz progressive scan
- Can be worn with or without prescription eyeglasses
- 3D video support for Amber/Blue, Red/Cyan, or Red/Green
- New OSD for easy 3D format selection
- Removable, integrated speakers
- Soft, comfortable, hypo-allergenic nosepiece
- 32-degree field of view
- 3/4″ eye relief and 5/16″ eyebox
- 2.5″ intraocular distance
- Color corrected 10th order aspherical lens with diffractive surface
Going even further, this portable video eyewear set also comes with the ability to provide enhanced 3D imagery, so long as the video feed has been set up to do so.
Contents of the Box
Since this video visor is supposed to work with a variety of different devices and since it’s supposed to be as portable and user-friendly as possible, it’s not surprising that Vuzix decided to bundle quite a few accessories into the box.
Aside from the iWear AV920 itself, you get a lens cleaning carrying pouch, a headstrap, a composite AV cable for iPod, a composite audio/video cable (RCA), a travel charger, a mini-USB cable, and supporting documentation.
You’ll also notice that there are a couple of things directly attached to the video visor. You get the earphones that are embedded into the frame, lining up quite well with where you ears would be. There’s also the wired adapter that swings out the side. This is where you would attach your input device.
Connecting to Your Favorite AV Device
Since the Vuzix iWear AV920 can only support a resolution of up to 640×480, it’s not surprising that you don’t see any DVI or HDMI options for video input. That said, it can still be very versatile thanks to the included composite video cable. In this way, you can effectively connect any device that uses the usual yellow, red, and white cabling scheme that we all know and love.
In this way, the iWear could be a good accompanying product for your portable DVD player or, should you want to keep your gaming experience as private as possible, even your video game console. If your smartphone or other similar handset has a video-out function, that’d work here too.
Remember that adapter box that comes out of the visor? There are three ports on the end of it. On the left is the single AV input and this is where you can insert a variety of cables and adapters. The middle one is a mini-USB port and this is used primarily for charging the internal battery. The right one is if you want to use your own headphones (or speakers) instead of the ones embedded in the visor.
Comes with iPod Cable
While you could certainly use the included composite video adapter cable to connect any number of different AV devices to the Vuzix iWear AV920, I think the best and most natural application would be with a video-capable iPod or iPhone. Thankfully, there is a cable included in the box just for this purpose.
It plugs into the dock connector on your iPod and any video (and audio) content can then be pumped through to the AV920. A virtual 65-inch screen sure beats squinting your eyes at a tiny two-inch display, right? Well, that’s the good news.
The bad news is that you’ll still need to navigate through the menus and playlists from your iPod’s display. Only when video content is being played by your iPod will this content be shown on the iWear’s twin screens.
This isn’t Vuzix’s fault though, since I found this situation to be the same with video docks and other similar devices. I’m assuming that the experience would be similar with an iPhone, but since I don’t have a Jesus Phone, I can’t say for sure.
Reminds Me of Nintendo Virtual Boy
It’s no secret that I used to be a pretty big Nintendo fanboy. Maybe I still am, but I never did buy or enjoy the Virtual Boy. That was one strange clunker of a device that never caught on and for good reason; it was doomed to fail from the start.
Well, we’re back to the video goggle scenario with the Vuzix iWear, but this unit does several things better than the Virtual Boy. Yes, it still reminds me of Nintendo’s epic failure, but it does some things right.
For starters, you don’t need a stand to hold these goggles up on your face. They weigh less than three ounces, so they’ll stay put like a pair of heavy glasses. I did find them to be a little uncomfortable for slightly longer viewing sessions, however. I am glad that these are a lot more compact (and collapsible) compared to the Virtual Boy too.
Comfort, Distance, and a Nose Bridge
While the AV920 is relatively lightweight for what it is, it can still feel rather heavy resting on your ears and the nose bridge. The nose portion is supposed to hold this thing up and I still found that it could droop over time, even when I tried my best to adjust its fitting. That might have something to do with my Asian face as companies (like Oakley for instance) often produce frames built specifically for that target market.
This issue is further exacerbated because there is a definite distance between the inner edge of the AV920 and the front of my face. This is supposed to accommodate people who need prescription eyeglasses, but is incompatible with my Asian features as it puts the weight of the AV920 away from the face and leads to drooping.
Since the video monitors are so close to the eyes, I found that eye strain and fatigue can be an issue. Even while watching about five or ten minutes of video podcasts, my eyes started to get quite tired. This is even with brightness and contrast adjustments tweaked.
Audio and Video Quality
But what about the quality? There is a small VGA display for each eye and, when viewed at such close proximity, our eyes perceive these dual images as a single image. That part of the equation works very well.
However, the video quality is not without its problems. First, I found that the sides of the displays had a slight pincushion effect to them, pinching in both horizontally and vertically. Secondly, the video image is not nearly as clear as my experience of watching a larger screen from further away. It’s not like the crisp image you get on a standard LCD monitor; it’s more like an ancient CRT television image.
Considering that the AV920 sells for over $300, I expected better than this. The video is still watchable, I suppose, but the crispness is nowhere near what I wanted to see. Audio quality is acceptable, but don’t expect the same aural experience as a set of premium earphones. Thankfully, you can use your own headphones with this should you so choose.
Final Thoughts
When I first read the press releases and saw the product display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I was intrigued with the idea of video glasses. It seems like such a dorky, yet potentially awesome solution for watching videos the way they were meant to be watched: on a bigger screen. The kicker is that they made the big screen experience portable. That’s in theory.
In practice, video eyewear like the Vuzix iWear AV920 still have a long way to go before they can come anywhere close to replacing a true big screen experience. You only get a VGA resolution with the AV920 and, even then, the video quality is mediocre at best. The comfort also isn’t really there, both in terms of eye strain and the weight of a device slowly slipping down my Asian nose. Since there are a couple billion Asian noses out there, Vuzix might be wise to invest in some R&D for a better fit.
Will this experience improve dramatically with the upcoming release of the Vuzix Wrap 920 Video Eyeglasses? I sure hope so. It’s not nearly as clunky, since it really looks like a regular pair of sunglasses. How it approaches the eye strain concern remains to be seen though.
Pros
- Innovative product with plenty of device support
- Simple one dial control scheme
- Built-in ear buds are convenient
Cons
- Quite expensive at $350 MSRP
- Considerable eye strain even with short video sessions
- Uncomfortable to wear for longer periods of time (especially for people with Asian features)
- Video quality needs significant improvement
Overall Rating: 6.5 / 10.0
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