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Big Screen Viewing Effect For Mobile Phone Videos
Clarinase writes "Cellular phone subscribers can now view TV, movies, photos and broadband Internet content with a big screen viewing effect with Kopin CyberDisplay video eyewear from MicroOptical. This sleek eyewear allows users to privately view large-size video or pictures equivalent to a 12-inch screen as seen from three feet away, delivering crisp, full-color video with a 17-degree field of view. This eyewear is connected to a cell phone through a thin cable, and allows up to five hours of video with three AAA batteries. Since it accepts composite video input (NTSC or PAL), the eyewear can be plugged into other devices with composite video outputs such as portable DVD players."
The other thing it's missing is resolution. At 320x240, that's not really enough to see the visual details you'd want if you're going to play the game well.
Presumably that's part of the reason it is so much smaller and lighter than your present unit (in addition to the lack of motion tracking.)
Here's the PDF press release that shows a different view of the headset and some pictures of the Samsung phone. It's in French but pretty easy to understand IMO.
As this is a PAL/NTSC input device, it'll probably work fine with other phones with video output like the Sharp 902 for viewing videos off its SD card or playing games.
It does not work that way. The optics adjust the needed eye relief such that the focus distance is a couple of feet - so this is no worse than looking at your monitor.
That's why these displays aren't just the LCOS display hanging in front of your eyes - you need the lenses to change the focus.
www.eFax.com are spammers
I recently finished William Gibson's Bridge Series and have been thinking, "Why can't I have a head mounted display like those eyephones for my laptop instead of a screen?"
The answer is of course, money, resolution and power. I did, however, find one HMD that looks like it has some potential. http://www.emagin.com/3dvisor/html/LearnMore.htm 800x600 resolution,relatively low power consumption (powered by the USB port), and relatively cheap (900 bucks, out of my range, but it's better than a lot of HMDs out there).
In some ways HMD's make more sense than standard LCD screens. OLED displays for both eyes would (I think) take less power than a full 12-17 inch LCD screen, plus give you better immersion with whatever you're doing (VR desktops anyone?). If they can get the resolution on these up to 1024x768, 24 bit color, and about 500 bucks, I won't be suprised if I start seeing them around in lieu of LCDs.
That is one of the things that displays like this are very GOOD for - they don't induce motion sickness as much as an IMAX would.
The problem with IMAX is that your entire visual field is filled with the movie - your eyes tell you "we are moving" and your inner ear says "bull! We are sitting still." This confusion of input overstimulates the vestibular system, and Ralf's your uncle.
With head mounted displays like this, you see the real world around you as well as the display - so your eyes no longer indicate you are moving, but report "This object in my view is moving - we are stationary." Your inner ear agrees, and you don't get sick.
This is also why people are advised in IMAX theaters to look at their feet if they get sick - this brings your eyes and inner ear into sync again. The problem is that too many people don't keep looking at their feet until they are fully resynced.
www.eFax.com are spammers
I got mail over the weekend announcing the imminent shipping of the eMagin Z800 3D Visor, which looks pretty nice but is expensive. 800x600 OLED display (in stereo!), a 40 degree field of view ("equivalent of a 105 inch screen at 12 feet"), and an integrated headtracker. You can literally be inside the game, turn your head left and right, up and down, and see what's there, with standard games like UT, HL2 and Doom3, and an NVIDIA graphics card.
It sounds pretty cool, but here's the bad news: $899. Ouch. They offered me $50 off because I pre-registered for information but that's way too steep for me.