Mellott's VRI-glasses SVGA 2D Review
October 2003
The I-glasses SVGA 2D were the best HMD available to the consumer when it came out. They provide a nice resolution of 800 x 600 that makes reading text very easy for most applications. The FOV is typical of most consumer level HMD at around 26 degrees diagonal. It has a VGA, 1/8" stereo plug, and 9VDC connection. Connection to a standard PC is very easy and straight forward.
At a price of approx. 575.00 plus shipping its up to the individual whether its worth it or not. It’s defintely a price breakthrough for this type of technology, as most of us know.
First things first, the I-glasses SVGA 2D are in DESPERATE need of an immersive visor. Something similar to the older I-glasses VPC would be great. For my personal use I made my own visor and it makes the overall experience with the HMD 10 times better. I had trouble focusing on the actual screens while playing games because I could constantly see the outside enviroment. If your going to use the I-glasses for office type applications or as a monitor replacement then no visor is needed. If your going to use it for immersive game play (alot of us do.) then you need a visor. I may post a ‘How to’ on a simple visor at a later time.
Initially when I received my I-glasses the screens appeared to be washed out or faded. When I went into the on screen adjustments I found that the right LCD had been adjusted to a different color level then the left LCD. Not sure why this is, but after some simple adjustments of the color, contrast, and brightness I was in business. I’ve found that from game to game you sometimes will need to adjust your HMD display settings.
Holding the power button down for several seconds will reveal the on screen display controls. Within the on screen display controls you can adjust color levels, brightness, contrast, audio balance, and video position. There is also a factory default selection to return it to factory presets.
The SVGA I-glasses can scale various resolutions down to the HMD’s needed 800 X 600. The only problem with doing this is text can become hard to read. The system defintely shines the best with a desktop resolution set to 800 X 600. Games also offer the best ‘look’ when in this resolution.
My I-glasses came with the ‘earbud’ style headphones which I’m not too happy with. The newer versions come with the old style headphones like found on the VPC model. The units with the earbuds can also be upgraded to the headphone version by contacting Ross Rainville at I-glasses.com. The cost is approx. 50.00 USD plus shipping.
I somewhat corrected my ‘earbud’ annoyance with my visor solution. I mounted the earbuds on the visor next to my ears so I wouldnt have to place them in my ears all the time. Now they sit next to the ears firmly secured to the visor.
One thing that needs improvement on the I-glasses SVGA 2D are the holders for the main video cable and the ‘earbuds’ (when not in your ears). They are a soft rubber and any movement causes them to fall our of their holder. The holder for the main video/power supply to the HMD tends to also fall out of the holder and can sometimes unplug from the headset interupting you mid game. This simple problem was corrected with a simple zip tie.
Overall I would give the I-glasses SVGA 2D a 8 out of 10. I’m generally impressed with them mainly due to the high resolution and standard port connections. This HMD would my current choice on the market. And at a price of 575.00 there’s not many others that can compete.
3/6/03– I just have to make an amendment to this review. I just got my I-glasses SVGA back from I-glasses for repair and the images look awesome!!! My glasses were defintely messed up when I received them. The quality of the images is 100% better then before. You could defintely replace your monitor with this HMD. I am very impressed. And for a price tag around 500.00 who can beat it.
