Video glasses: the long transition from sci-fi to reality

Mobile TV is one of those technologies that’s been rattling around for a good few years without yet making much impact. The problem it always comes up against is that mobile gadgets are meant to be small, but screens have to be big enough for comfortable viewing.

Video glasses are one potential solution, and judging from the evidence on display at CES this year it won’t be long before they provide an inconspicuous, comfortable way of watching TV and DVD while on the go.

Previous attempts have generally been bulky, odd-looking and the picture size and quality has been little better than you would get from a mobile phone. The Lumus glasses pictured above are not exactly indistinguishable from standard shades, but you wouldn’t get laughed at on the train.

Where they really come into their own is with the picture size. Lumus has used a miniature projection system that beams the image onto the lens – unlike most of its rivals, which use small LCD screens. This fools the brain into thinking that the picture is being projected onto whatever is in the field of vision – turning my head towards the conference centre wall in the middle distance, I appeared to be looking at a 20m-tall screen. It’s quite disconcerting at first, but after a couple of minutes it felt natural and comfortable.

The glasses shown here are expected to go on sale towards the end of this year. The price will be in the $300-$500 range, but this will fall if mobile phone networks choose to subsidise them (as they do with handsets), to encourage the take-up of mobile TV.

Click here for full coverage of CES 2008 and here for a slideshow of images

Comments

[John]

I totally agree with the author's point of view. As their design and technological continues improving fast, video glasses seem to be the solution for mobile video content. I've just bought a pair from a dutch company called relaxView and I have to say that I'm amazed with this technology! Take a look a their site, there are different and cool models to choose. http://www.relaxview.eu

[Daniel Hall]

This sounds promising.

I think it would really be a hit if there was software that split the two images slightly so that they took on a 3D appearance.

Either that or make these goggles work with 3D games when paired with motion and position detection:

http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw

[Kevin Smith]

Whoops - further to my previous comment, it looks like Lumus have solved my concern about muggability by allowing you to see the real world at the same time. Also what appears to be a very handy GPS navigator and TV receiver via a breakout box. So I'll definitely be an early adopter!!

[jlsdev]

And we thought talking on a CELLPHONE while driving was a BADD THING...

[john morton]

I've been hoping for these glasses for a long time so they could replace computer monitors making it feasible to walk about with your personal PC on your fanny pack.

[Dennis]

This is rather old news. They have had these lcd monitors in glasses for for a long time, almost 10 years. They may be slightly more refined though. That is the only news story, and it is rather soft.

[Lyle McCalmont]

I remember the old days of the huge VR headsets that projected a blurry image that appeared as if it was 10 miles away. Only recently I was discussing the future of video/VR type glasses and, although I haven't had the fortune to try out the new specs, it looks as if they're going to be a big hit.

This is big news for computer gamers and movie buffs alike. I sincerely hope the technology does well.

[Mike]

When they can produce a pair of goggles with HD reproduction then I will be interested. In the meantime I would rather use a Personal video player so I can still see the hoody with the knife approaching me to steal it!!!