Friday, June 19, 2009
Video glasses still haven’t caught on quite as manufacturers might like them to have, but that hasn’t stopped them from scaling up the specifications and the marketing hyperbole to try and tempt us in. Latest to cross the SlashGear test bench are Q-London’s 3D 80-inch Video Eyewear, billed as providing the same viewing experience as having an 80-inch TV two meters away. Bold claims; read on to see whether the Q-London system delivered.
In the box, as you can see from our unboxing video below, Q-London provide the headset itself, a rubber light-shield and alternative nose-pad, an in-line control box and the Nokia-type rechargeable battery that powers it, and an IR remote control. There’s also a cluster of adapter cables, supporting standard composite input and the type of 3.5mm A/V you see on some cellphones and gaming devices. Finally, a USB charging cable and printed user guide round out the well-packaged set; if you want iPod/iPhone compatibility you’ll need your own adapter.
Compared to the Vuzix system we reviewed several months back, we prefer the rechargeable battery used by Q-London. The company themselves don’t quote specific usage times, but we found a full charge was good for a film or two, depending on brightness settings. The remote control is an interesting idea – allowing tweaking of 2D/3D viewing, PAL/NTSC/SECAM video formats, contrast/brightness and other settings – but given there’s no tactile difference between the buttons you’ll still have to peer outside the Eyewear’s viewfinder to make sure you’re hitting the right key.
In terms of comfort, the headset is relatively lightweight at 59g, though the bendy rubber arms grip the sides of your head more tightly than we liked. Being able to quickly unplug the standard headphones and use your own (plugging straight into the in-line control box) is a neat touch, and something we’d recommend you do as the supplied earphones are nothing special. The rubber light-shield fits easily into place and does a decent job of cutting out extra light, though it does make looking outside the Eyewear to see the remote a little trickier. Despite Q-London’s suggestion that the setup has a “trendy design”, you’ll still stand out when wearing it and it’s not necessarily a “good look”.
Aesthetics aside, our biggest complaint about the 3D 80-inch Eyewear is the absence of eye focus adjustment. The Vuzix set had two small wheels that could be used to individually adjust the focus of each eye-display; with the Q-London system you’re stuck using the standard settings. This is particularly frustrating if you wear glasses, since with the Vuzix you could fudge a passable setup to avoid wearing your spectacles. No such luck with Q-London, and the combined weight and bulk of spectacles, light-shield and Eyewear make it an uncomfortable prospect for anything but the shortest viewing session, or headache-inspiring if you attempt a film without your specs.
In the box, as you can see from our unboxing video below, Q-London provide the headset itself, a rubber light-shield and alternative nose-pad, an in-line control box and the Nokia-type rechargeable battery that powers it, and an IR remote control. There’s also a cluster of adapter cables, supporting standard composite input and the type of 3.5mm A/V you see on some cellphones and gaming devices. Finally, a USB charging cable and printed user guide round out the well-packaged set; if you want iPod/iPhone compatibility you’ll need your own adapter.
Compared to the Vuzix system we reviewed several months back, we prefer the rechargeable battery used by Q-London. The company themselves don’t quote specific usage times, but we found a full charge was good for a film or two, depending on brightness settings. The remote control is an interesting idea – allowing tweaking of 2D/3D viewing, PAL/NTSC/SECAM video formats, contrast/brightness and other settings – but given there’s no tactile difference between the buttons you’ll still have to peer outside the Eyewear’s viewfinder to make sure you’re hitting the right key.
In terms of comfort, the headset is relatively lightweight at 59g, though the bendy rubber arms grip the sides of your head more tightly than we liked. Being able to quickly unplug the standard headphones and use your own (plugging straight into the in-line control box) is a neat touch, and something we’d recommend you do as the supplied earphones are nothing special. The rubber light-shield fits easily into place and does a decent job of cutting out extra light, though it does make looking outside the Eyewear to see the remote a little trickier. Despite Q-London’s suggestion that the setup has a “trendy design”, you’ll still stand out when wearing it and it’s not necessarily a “good look”.
Aesthetics aside, our biggest complaint about the 3D 80-inch Eyewear is the absence of eye focus adjustment. The Vuzix set had two small wheels that could be used to individually adjust the focus of each eye-display; with the Q-London system you’re stuck using the standard settings. This is particularly frustrating if you wear glasses, since with the Vuzix you could fudge a passable setup to avoid wearing your spectacles. No such luck with Q-London, and the combined weight and bulk of spectacles, light-shield and Eyewear make it an uncomfortable prospect for anything but the shortest viewing session, or headache-inspiring if you attempt a film without your specs.
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