Eyes-on with Vuzix's iWear AV310 Widescreen wearable display

Vuzix will have you wearing your display if it's the last thing you do. We spotted the headset maker's new AV310 Widescreen wearable headset at TGS, and were pleased with the improvement over the company's previous entries into the head-mounted display market. First, the 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio is a major bonus for, oh, any game that's come out in the past two years. Second, the headphones hang on cables rather than in fixed locations, promising what we felt was a much more comfortable fit. Picture quality was acceptable at such a short distance, but we're still not completely sold on the goggle look just yet. Hit the break for a couple more shots.

[yuriythebest @ Oct 9th 2008 9:08AM]

awesome! really want one! stereo3d is amazing and I love my 3d LCD!

[Lifelion @ Oct 9th 2008 9:22AM]

What's the resolution of these "Twin high-resolution widescreen LCD displays"?

[BloodyGerman @ Oct 9th 2008 9:25AM]

You could have asked them about the LCD resolution, which is not mentioned. But with this price, it will be probably quite low, otherwise they would have mentioned it.

My guess is 400x240 instead of the usual 320x240...

[voodoo @ Oct 9th 2008 9:45AM]

Yes, I believe the display is 428x240.

[rock99rock @ Oct 9th 2008 9:25AM]

One of these might be pretty cool for the bus or plane. As if i dont spend enough time already in front of my monitors at work and home. Are they easy on the eyes after a couple hours?

[konshuss @ Oct 9th 2008 9:30AM]

the elderly have secretly been piloting this project for years.

[voodoo @ Oct 9th 2008 9:33AM]

Supposedly it gives the impression of a 52" at 9 feet, and at that distance/size ratio, a low res screen is going to give a visibly pixellated image.

[HDGmansur MarketTower @ Oct 9th 2008 9:43AM]

Nice little option.

[KilgoreTrout @ Oct 9th 2008 9:45AM]

I love to wear these goggles when my in-laws come to visit.

[meist3r @ Oct 9th 2008 10:42AM]

... with my bathrobe open, white socks and the credit card and some tissues on the table. What a thanksgiving that was.

[Jash Sayani @ Oct 9th 2008 9:59AM]

Dont these things strain the eye eventually......?

[meist3r @ Oct 9th 2008 10:41AM]

Probably not more than your dire need to isolate yourself from reality.

[Big Bad Bun-gee Cord @ Oct 9th 2008 10:55AM]

defecating on the ol' toilet in the morning will never be the same once i get my hands on these suckers. goodbye newspaper forever...

[Pamagajo @ Oct 9th 2008 12:48PM]

Does anyone make goggles like this that accept VGA signals (using a DB-15 connector)? Something like this would be perfect to use with my shiny new Fit-PC during my 3 hour daily commute on the bus. All I've been able to find are goggles that only display composite video. Sure, I can get an adapter to convert VGA to composite, but that's one more conversion of the video to degrade it that much further, along with another gadget to further bloat my "trying to keep it as small as possible" PC.

[thethirdmoose @ Oct 9th 2008 1:29PM]

Can you imagine a vga connector on this? Can you imagine a thick, not that flexible vga cable going from these to a computer?

[StalematE @ Oct 9th 2008 12:53PM]

i want that crazy video sunglasses that were in mission impossible 2. those were the sh!t

[Ross Perkins @ Oct 9th 2008 2:21PM]

Yes, but will you be able to play "The World" on it?

[samurai1200 @ Oct 9th 2008 2:51PM]

Yes, but can you play Doom on it?

[CarlKenner @ Oct 10th 2008 3:52AM]

You didn't mention the two eye adjustment wheels! That is a major improvement! And you didn't mention the new nosepiece!

And can I just ask... Is the screen actually wider?? Or is it just less tall? Because there is nothing good about a widescreen aspect ratio, you can achieve the exact same thing by sticking tape over the top and bottom of a 4:3 screen. A screen that's actually wider is good, but not as good as a screen that's both wider and taller.

By the way, the numbering scheme is the number of kilo-subpixels per screen. So 310 means one third of the VR920's 640x480 (x2) resolution.

The AV series is for VCRs, game consoles, and portable media players. They don't work on a computer. The VR series is for the computer and they have bonus headtracking.

[jessiebyrd004 @ Oct 15th 2008 3:01PM]

great deal on this product via woot tonight. fyi peeps.

[James @ Oct 20th 2008 1:15PM]

Jesus, Google "Vuzix AV310 resolution" and you get like 4 pages of hits with nothing but "twin high-resolution LCDs" -- NOBODY will tell you what "high" means. If the display actually runs at 428x240, the only thing "high" is the marketing trolls who wrote up the copy. This is the problem with every low-cost HMD I've seen -- my PSP has a better resolution than this garbage.

[Larry @ Nov 1st 2008 12:39PM]

This may not answer all the questions:

http://www.youtube.com/user/GreatLakesBuy
It’s not the best video review as it’s my first ever. It is true widescreen. I've tried a few widescreen dvd's and I think they look great. There is also a slight screendoor effect. also, High resolution iwear glasses would cost more than anyone would be willing to pay. I really favor these over the older AV230’s The new features are great such as the OSD Menu, The ability to use a simple AA Battery means you don’t have to wait 4 hours or more for the recharging time. The new Nose piece is more like what your eyeglasses have but are more durable. I can't see much at all without my glasses, but I was able to fully focus the screen in without my glasses with the focusing dials.
I think I need video making classes ;) just my 2 cents