Hasta La Gadget!

While Google Glass might be the darling of the augmented reality wearable market, other companies like Vuzix and Epson have had skin in the game for much longer than the folks in Mountain View. One such firm to have caught the AR bug early is Optinvent, which debuted an early version of its ClearVu head-mounted display way back in 2009. Fast forward to 2013, and Optinvent is ready to move on to the final production stage of what it’s now calling the Ora, which it hopes will give Google Glass a run for its money, not just with superior optics but a softer blow to the wallet as well. We had a chance to sit down with CEO Kayvan Mirza at the Glazed conference in San Francisco, where we learned more about the Ora and had a chance to try it on ourselves.

One of the first things Mirza told us was that the Ora offers “true AR,” which overlays the entire display in front of your eyes much like a heads-up display unit. This is unlike Glass, which he says offers more of a “companion display” where you have to look up to view it. Don’t be concerned about the Ora completely blocking your sight however, as it has a very unique feature we’ve yet to see in wearable optics. It’s called Flip-Vu, and it lets you pivot the display downward into what’s called dashboard or glance mode so that it’s now more of a companion display rather than one that dominates your entire field of vision (You can see a demo video of this after the break). Mirza says glancing downward is a much more natural position than looking up, as we tend to look down at our phones and other devices anyway.%Gallery-slideshow99628%

Filed under: Wearables

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Source: Optinvent

While head-mounted displays are nothing new, LG has patented a novel method for utilizing them that might grab your attention. The patent states that when you’re staring at content on a device like a tablet, the HMD is inactive. But turn your head or the device away and that same content will automatically fade into view right in front of your bespectacled eyes. According to the filing, the noggin-strapped contraption is set to buzz as it switches displays and there’ll be a slight transitional pause when viewing video. While we’re betting virtual reality goggles and Google-branded headgear might prove to be a touch more popular, this is at least a lot cooler than passive 3D clip-ons.

Filed under: Wearables

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Source: USPTO

Zeiss must be doing well in the lens business, as it hasn’t exactly been in a rush to get its Cinemizer OLED on to shelves. Still, we’re happy to say that the head-mounted display is at last slipping into retailers: Amazon partners are now carrying the regular 870 x 500 version for $749 in the US (German titling aside) and £578 in the UK. It doesn’t look to be the version with head tracking that we tried earlier this year, but you’ll still get a 3D image through HDMI 1.4 in addition to 2D through either the HDMI link or analog input. The price makes it a tempting alternative to the more advanced but costlier Sony HMZ-T2 — and for those who’d like something slightly more discreet-looking while they zone out with a good movie.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Wearables, HD, Sony

Zeiss Cinemizer head-mounted OLED display wends its way into stores originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I was a pretty big fan of Sony’s HMZ-T1 3D head-mounted display when it first came out a couple of years ago. With its HD OLED screens, it created an insanely immersive personal viewing experience. However, it had a few major shortcomings, and Sony hopes to rectify those with the newly revealed HMZ-T2 model.

Like the original HMZ-T1, the T2 has a pair of high-contrast 1280×720 OLED screens for displaying discrete content to each eyeball. This produces a crosstalk-free 3D image, and a simulated screen that’s like sitting in a small movie theater. The biggest problems with the original model were that it was very uncomfortable for even relatively short periods of time, and that it also required that you used the mediocre, built-in earbuds. With the HMZ-T2, Sony has improved on both of these issues, plus added a few other tweaks.

The updated HMZ-T2 personal viewer lets you remove its earbuds, letting you listen to movies with headphones of your choice, or a surround sound system if your interpretation of “personal viewing” includes waking the neighbors. It’s also got something called a “harmonics equalizer” which is said to improve sound quality no matter what device you listen with. In addition, the T2 claims to improve upon the biggest problem with the original – it’s weight and discomfort. The T1 weighed quite a bit and put significant pressure on the forehead and bridge of the nose. The new version has a larger forehead pad, weighs a little less (330g vs. 500g), and comes with more adjustments for its headstrap, so hopefully you’ll be able to wear it for longer viewing sessions. They also added a technology which gradually adjusts color temperature as your content plays, easing eye strain. That idea sounds a little odd to me, but perhaps it’ll work. Hopefully, you can disable that if it causes issues with image fidelity. Sony also added a 24p “true cinema” mode for 24 frame-per-second cinematic playback.

Sony hasn’t announced a release date for the HMZ-T2 yet, nor a price, but I’m guessing it’ll be out in time for the holidays, and will list for the same $799(USD) that the original did. Hopefully, Sony can ramp up production better this time, as the original model was frequently sold out and being sold for ridiculous prices on eBay.