Vuzix iWear VR920 Video Viewer

In the past, .I have reported on several viewing goggles, such as the myvu, For the most part, I have been unimpressed with most video viewers. Many of them claim to produce a larger image than the user actually sees, and they are often hard to set up.

I find it hard to believe that we live in a nation full of iPods and other MP3 players with video playing capability, but the video goggle market just isn’t quite taking off. Maybe it’s because video goggles can’t produce the great images of large screen HDTVs, or maybe it’s because video goggles look really geeky.

I was thoroughly impressed with the Vuzix iWear VR920, which is not designed for mobile devices such as iPods, but more for the computer. The VR920 is simple to install with a DB9 connector that fits into most computer and laptop video cards. From there, it’s an easy matter of installing the software.

I had a difficult time getting it to work, but that was because I knew little about computers. The VR920 requires you to calibrate your computer to a specific resolution and frequency. Then you have to use the Control Panel program to duplicate or expand your computer screen view, and you will be able to see anything that is on your computer through the iWear viewer.

I have to admit that no video goggles that I have reviewed replicated a movie theater experience more than the iWear VR920. When I put in a DVD, I saw an image that was very real right in front of me. Sometimes there was a glare on the screen that made an interesting orange glare, but it had excellent sight and sound overall. Many viewers are not designed to cut off the rest of the world, but allow the viewers to do their routine and watch television at the same time. This is how the iWear VR920 differs from other video viewers.

I have to admit that one of the Vuzix iWear’s primary selling points is difficult to get to work. This is the claim that it can produce 3D images for such games as World of Warcraft and other MMORPGs. I believe they had this product on demonstration at CES 2008, and people were pretty impressed. I had two people who are pretty familiar with computers try to get the 3D effect to work, and they had a hard time with it.

Still the Vuzix iWear works very well as a viewer, and that is why I recommend it. You can get it at the vuzix.com site for about $399.95.