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Zeiss Cinemizer OLED with head-tracking hands-on (video)

Zach Honig — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:06:00 EST

The Carl Zeiss Cinemizer OLED has been a long time in the making -- we first heard about the video glasses at Macworld in 2008 -- but the company has yet to push the head-mounted display past the prototype phase. We stumbled upon Zeiss' booth here at CeBIT, where we found a version of the glasses that look mighty similar to the mock-up we saw in marketing materials from 2010, but are now equipped with a pair of head-tracking modules to expand the yet-to-be released marvel's practicality. With head-tracking now on board, the Cinemizer can theoretically appeal to gamers, architects, even educators, who can use the glasses in the classroom.

We took a look at an Inreal CAD app demo that lets the wearer navigate a yet-unbuilt house, walking through virtual rooms (a joystick is used for forward motion, so you won't be accidentally walking into physical walls) as you judge paint colors, furniture placement and try to convince your significant other that there really is room for a 65-inch HDTV. The tracking modules are located behind the ear rests on each side of the OLED glasses, which have seen a slight boost in resolution since we last heard about them, jumping from VGA to 870 x 500 pixels in each OLED panel. Tracking was responsive and accurate -- the experience of walking around a room felt almost lifelike. What's even more exciting than the device's performance is that we may finally see these hit stores in 2012, with a tentative summer ship date. And, while still a pricey addition to your display collection, the Cinemizer lands on the inexpensive end of the Zeiss product scale, ringing up at €649 (about $850), plus another €100 for the tracking hardware. Jump past the break to see it in action.

Gallery: Zeiss Cinemizer OLED with head-tracking hands-on

Continue reading Zeiss Cinemizer OLED with head-tracking hands-on (video)

Zeiss Cinemizer OLED with head-tracking hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Carl Zeiss Cinemizer 3D Plus glasses get OLED infusion, still no attention

Tim Stevens — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:44:00 EST

Carl Zeiss keeps on making minor improvements to its Cinemizer head-mounted display, announced way back in 2008 and intended to be the most amazing way to watch stuff on your iPod. They didn't exactly catch on then, and two years later we're not entirely sure that the latest revision will either. The tiny screens that sit a fraction of an inch from your eyeballs have been upgraded to OLED, which should make them bright and lovely as they pummel your rods and cones, but sadly they're still stuck in VGA land -- 640 x 480 is not a lot of pixels these days. This version also pledges greater compatibility with non-Apple devices, a welcome change, and even more welcome is the new visual styling, which makes you look a little less walleyed than the last model. Despite this the price hasn't changed much, estimated to be around €400 ($515), but that's still a lot to pay just to have the coolest Frozone costume ever.

Carl Zeiss Cinemizer 3D Plus glasses get OLED infusion, still no attention originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Carl Zeiss pushes 3D with updated Cinemizer "video eyeware"

Tim Stevens — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:10:00 EST

Last year Carl Zeiss tantalized us with promises of an eye-level, "cinema quality" display for iPods (and only iPods). The result was a somewhat funky looking set of "video eyeware" that, to put it mildly, didn't quite catch on in the Apple community like the company's tiny lenses have elsewhere. Undaunted, Herr Zeiss is releasing a new version -- cunningly titled the Cinemizer plus -- that offers mostly minor tweaks, like improved cable management and better compatibility with external (higher quality) earbuds. The company is also pushing studios to produce more content that will show off these things' 3D capabilities, but we're guessing there still won't be much of the stuff available when these drop in March for $499.

[Via Pocket lint]

Filed under: Displays

Carl Zeiss pushes 3D with updated Cinemizer "video eyeware" originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Carl Zeiss pushes 3D with updated Cinemizer "video eyeware"

Tim Stevens — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:10:00 EST

Filed under: Displays, Wearables

Carl Zeiss pushes 3D with updated Cinemizer "video eyeware" originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Carl Zeiss to unveil "Cinemizer" iPod movie-viewing accessory at Macworld

Donald Melanson — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:21:00 EST

While details are expectedly hard to come by at the moment, the folks at iLounge have gotten word that lens manufacturer Carl Zeiss AG is set to show off some sort of iPod movie-viewing accessory Macworld in San Francisco next week. Dubbed the "Cinemizer," the device is apparently designed by FROG and, according to the company, will allow "users to watch their favorite videos on the iPod display at eye level and virtually in cinema quality." Exactly what that entails, we're not sure, but it apparently is something, and with Carl Zeiss optics behind it (and name on it, presumably), it should at least be of halfway decent quality. Whatever it is, it won't be a mystery much longer, and you can be sure we'll be bringing you the details as soon as we're able to.

Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Video

Carl Zeiss to unveil "Cinemizer" iPod movie-viewing accessory at Macworld originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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