Customer Reviews

Vuzix AV920 Iwear Glasses for Ipod

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

These appear to be the Vuzix AV920s. If so, you can easily get them to work with the Cowon A2 player (and Zen Vision M, and Archos players) with the "Creative Labs Zen-M Video Cable for AV230, AV920 or DV920" sold on Vuzix's website.

I've been using them for a couple of weeks with a Cowon A2 and I am impressed. The screen resolution is considerably better than comparably priced competing products. Also, you can use your own headphones if you want, quite easily. That said, glasses like these aren't a substitute for a big plasma display - they're a way to watch tv on your back, or on a train, or wherever you can't take the plasma display with you. ;)

I only gave it a 3 star because:
1. There is no focus adjustment, i.e. if you wear glasses, you have to wear them for these to be in focus.
2. The screens themselves have a severe pincushioning effect, i.e. they are not precise rectangles; the sides of the image are concaved towards the center of the screen.

Overall, I'd rate this a good product. The video resolution IS NOT just like that large screen TV at home, but it gives good video when you are trapped on a plane, etc. Battery life is +/- 3 hours (less than advertised) and customer support from the manufacturer is virtually hopeless, but hopelfully you won't need it. I used the glasses on a cross-country flight recently to replay 2 movies on the iPod (5th generation). The 640x480 resolution is a little grainy, but as soon as you get into the movie, you forget about it. I used my own earphones rather than the "speakers" mounted on the glasses (they are removable). The "speakers" don't quite reach my ears (oops, my big head) and besides, I prefer my Etymonic Research earphones on a noisy plane. I would work hard to get the best price available (the list price is a little too high for what you get), but at the right price, these are a great purchase for those of us who are drawn to high-tech toys.

I have been using them here and there for watching cartoons and some
movies. They are good but not great. The color looks better on the DVD
player than what come out of the glasses. I had no problem with vision
being blurry or getting dizzy, but i can understand that it can happen
depending in what state of mind the viewier is in. Overall im pleased
with them, but the price tag for the quality is a bit steep. I would
suggest to get them second hand.

I got my AV920 for Christmas and I have been having a ball with them since. I use them principally with an iPod (new Classic - 160 gig) and I am very pleased.

I had these comments:
- color rendition is not exactly "true". Mine seems a little reddish at times, but it is hardly noticeable. Not a significant detraction. Might even be the iPod rendition.
- the "new iPod" interface requires alot of wires and passes through the composite interface of the AV920, so it requires alot of plugs, too. It is a little unhandy; I bought a small bag and that keeps all the coils straight and out of the way.
- I have a big head. The earphones could been a litttttle looonger to match my ears. But really, they work fine, they are just at the max extension.

All in all, it works as promised and a whole lot of fun!

The AV920 works just as the manufacturer states. Good connection options and lightweight design are high points of the model. I would not purchase a lower resolution model (920 is just enough to satisfy people with 1080i systems at home) There is some ghosting of images in action movies and for people who wear a large hat size the built in headphones don't quite reach but are still fine for casual viewing. I gave it four stars because I would like to have had a 16x9 aspect and possibly the option of bluetooth connectivity (the wire is small, and doesn't impede use, but we live in the wireless age). For the price, I call this a GREAT DEAL!!!

I just bought a pair of these glasses from Amazon. I read most of the other reviews before I decided to purchase. These glasses aren't too bad, but they aren't great either. The resolution is definitely standard definition, but it is still fairly sharp. I watched Star Wars on it and I could read all of the text with no problem. The biggest problem that I ran into was that the colors are not very good. The quality appears to be faded and the colors are not vibrant at all. I'm assuming that this is because the glasses themselves do not have as many colors as a standard screen. The other problem (which really wasn't a problem, just a feature that was not explained well in the documentation) was that they MUST be fully charged before you can try them out. They have zero charge out of the box. So I had to wait for almost 5 hours before I could turn them on for the first time. Also, I had problems with them not charging in certain outlets. They would never charge from a surge protector. The light would come on and say that they were charging, but they never actually stored a charge when connected to certain outlets and my surge protector. The durability of the glasses seems a little flimsy. I know that they wanted to make them feel light so that they would not fatigue your face, but they seem a little too breakable. Also, it is important to note that the headphones are not as they are shown in the pictures. They are loose on wires, not fixed with a bendable stem. Also the nose piece is very different from the documentation. The documentation shows how to remove the nose piece so that it can be adjusted, but in actuality, you can only bend the pieces into a shape that matches your nose (I found out later from the manufacturer website that this was an update and that it had been changed from the original design). I'm not very happy with this change at all. It makes the whole thing feel cheaper. I will say that the sound from the stock headphones is very adequate and that it is nice that the picture has some adjustments available. If you are expecting these to be the same as any of your current screens, you will be disappointed. It is a cool idea and will someday be a great technology. It's just not quite there yet. For almost $300 these are very overpriced for the quality that they provide. They would be greatly improved by having wireless connectivity and Component inputs (they only support Composite). I almost wish that they just used regular AA batteries like the cheaper models. I'm not very impressed with the charging at all.

Checked around, ordered through Amazon (from DataVision) at lowest price around, received in 3 days, charged it up (4 hrs) connected to my Ipod Video (80 GB)- Fantastic, video (though not HD) and audio. It was really easy to connect and even more enjoyable to use, rcommend this as it appears bulky in ads, but is really lightweight, use w/o lightshield allows you to see below the glasses and enables you to be aware of surroundings. Great price and quality (I also have the original Sony Glasstrons) so I think I am qualified to recommend this!)

This is one of the coolest gift I've gotten... next to my iPod Touch. The AV920 has a nice resolution. I've tried the lower resolution Vuzix products, and others in stores, and (in my opinion) you should get the HR ones if you are going to spend the money. The AV920 is HR.
If you can stand watching shows on your iPod, you'll love this. If you are a videophile, and expect to teleport into the movie, you're dreaming. It is very difficult to see the lines of resolution. You have to look for them. Once in a while during the motion-comics you'll see them. In most shows, it's not a problem. You can even read subtitles.
I watch nature shows, animated movies, dramas, etc, and no issues.
I put them on every night when my GF wants to go to bed. She sleeps on my arm, and I watch shows.
She used to whine about me staying up late and her falling asleep alone. Not anymore. All the controls can be used with one hand. The power, and volume control are the same knob. The only time I need to look under the glasses, is when I'm changing shows.
The glasses are a snug fit, but flex. The nose piece is ohKay. It gets a bit uncomfortable after an hour or so. It's fairly durable. I fell asleep with them on twice, and dropped them from about 1 meter onto marble, and no damage. The battery life lasts about a week for me. That's on and off watching. I'd guess it gets about 5 hours life. Charges in about 2 hours.
The screen is plenty big for any show or movie. And good colors. These can also do 3D movies. There is no focus. Not for each, nor for both. I don't like that, but my eyes are good, so its not an issue.
There's a problem when using an outside display for the iPod-Touch. This is an iPod problem, not the AV920.
When connected using the Dock Connector, Some of the controls Disappear.
Instead of the video playing on the iPod, it Plays on the Connected Display, (The AV920: This is expected), and displays the Clip-Art for the Band, Movie, or TV show I'm watching on the iPod. This is all fine.
Problem is that the Scrubber Bar disappears. I am left with just Rewind, PLAY, and Fast-Forward,
The is very annoying. If I want to jump to a certain part of the show, and have to wait 8 minutes to Fast-Forward to get there.
I've had these for 3 months. No issues.

I got these for Christmas, and I use them with my iPhone 3G. The picture quality is very good, much better than the screen of the iPhone. You can adjust the nosepiece and the way they sit on your head for the best picture. I use them at least three times a week to watch about an hour of downloaded television shows from iTunes store. I get tons of compliments from others. I am thrilled with them.