Epson Moverio BT-200 and Sony HMZ-T3 video glasses: tested in public

If you're saving up for Google Glass, take your time - maybe something else will work for you. There are video glasses that are already officially sold in Russia, and the price for them will be lower than for the shaky frame from the Good Corporation.

To begin with, we offer to decide why you need these same glasses? After all, we are unlikely to buy a 17-inch laptop if we plan to work on the road. Or a sophisticated tablet - just for reading books ...

Do you want to "immerse" your head in video games or virtual reality? - You need an Oculus Rift. If, in the first place for you, the image, and in the second - augmented reality, then the only option that fits is Google Glass.

For those who want to watch the video, Sony’s video glasses with the poetic name HMZ-T3 are just the ones to do. Well, if you want everything at once - augmented reality, videos, games - choose the Epson Moverio BT-200.

We’ll discuss Oculus Rift and Google Glass sometime next time, and today we’ll see what glasses from Sony and Epson can do.

Sony HMZ-T3

Let's start with a simpler and more outwardly solid gadget. Sony HMZ-T3 are the development of the HMZ line, in which, no matter how hard to guess, two devices have already been released, which however had limited success. Cause? Just take a look at the price.





Sony HMZ-T3
Price: 45 000 rub.

Glasses:
Display: 2x OLED, 1280x720
Sound: Linear PCM, Virtual Surround
Weight: 320 g

Battery pack:
Connectors: HDMI / MHL, microUSB (charging)
Battery: 4750 mAh
Weight: 210 g The

HMZ-T3 video unit looks heavy. Someone will probably think if this thing breaks the nose? There is a little secret: HMZ-T3 should not hang on the bridge of the nose - the main load falls on the height-adjustable cushion and headband, and the strap structure holds below the nape.







Headphones plug into the jack on the left. If you want more intimacy, then you can fix the light damper. Placing glasses on your head, adjust the distance between the eyepieces using two sliders-sliders - we catch the most comfortable position. And enjoy watching.





Focus adjustment for people with visual impairments in the HMZ-T3, alas, is not provided. On the other hand, Sony offers in this case not to refuse to use your everyday glasses - naturally, this option complicates the use of the device a lot.

The device sits on your head perfectly, although the design is heavy and you have to get used to it. Built-in displays are good - video, regular and 3D - looks great. It seems that you are sitting in a small cinema, somewhere in the last row (the manufacturer describes the virtual diagonal as a 19-meter screen, observed from a distance of 20 meters). T3, by the way, can process up to 8 audio channels - it remains only to find a video with multi-channel sound.





In general, the impressions are excellent. However, already after 20-30 minutes of use, the forehead aches, the eyes are not easy in an unusual situation and, as a result, the head is slightly dizzy.

The HMZ-T3 glasses are tightly connected to the battery pack, which also has an HDMI input. Accordingly, here you can connect any video source. The best option, in our opinion, is to use a smartphone with an MHL output. True, in this mode the gadget will work for only 3 hours - versus 7 when connected to a bluetooth player or laptop.







The glasses that came to our review are the simplest version of T3. There is also a wireless option (HMZ-T3W) and a modification with motion sensors (HMZ-T3Q) that track nods and turns of the head, but whether they will come to us is a big question.

Epson Moverio BT-200

But Moverio has an order of magnitude more interactivity and watching a movie here is just one of the features. If with Sony glasses you can go for a walk only accompanied by a guide, then Moverio can be used in walking trips as well - the image sources are placed in the temples of the glasses, and the picture itself is projected onto special inserts inside the lenses.





Epson Moverio BT-200
Price: 35 000 rub.

Glasses:
Display: 2x TFT, 960x540
Sound: Dolby Digital Plus
Camera: 0.3 MP
Accelerometer, gyroscope
Weight: 96 g

Controller:
OS: Android 4.0.4
Processor: TI OMAP 4460, 1.2 GHz, 2
RAM cores : 1 GB
Memory: 8 GB + microSD (up to 32 GB)
Touch panel, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
Battery: 2720 mAh
Weight: 124 g. The

adjustments here are much less - when compared with the T3 - you can slightly bend the mount on the bridge of the nose and shift the special earhooks. On the one hand, it’s more convenient, on the other - no sharp movements of the head, otherwise they will fly off easily.







It's funny to see the huge screen with the Android interface in front of you. If you believe the manufacturer, then the user looks at the virtual screen meter diagonal from a distance of 2.5 meters - according to subjective sensations, this is really so. The image is clear, although the resolution is lower than that of Sony.







Brightness is enough even when using glasses outdoors. For those who want to “dampen reality”, replaceable dimming devices are useful that attach quickly and easily (two sets of dimming devices with varying degrees of “opacity” are included).



You may ask: where do these glasses come from Android? Everything is simple. The BT-200 in this case only performs the function of an output device equipped with an accelerometer and a gyroscope. And the controller that connects to Moverio with a cable, in fact, is a regular Android smartphone with a touch surface instead of a screen, inside which is a dual-core processor, gigabytes of RAM, 8 gigabytes of internal memory, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. Headphones, by the way, are stuck in a special adapter on the cable.







Moverio are sold with a predefined set of the most necessary applications (browser, software for viewing photos and videos, an audio player, a couple of games and several other utilities). A special app store adapted for glasses, the Moverio Apps Market, has also been launched (access is possible only when using the BT-200).



What is the versatility of such a device? Firstly, you can watch the video - no less than - about 5-6 hours. To do this, just drop the files into the internal memory of the device or on microSD. Yes, there is support for 3D. In addition, video transmission is available between glasses and other gadgets that support Miracast technology (Moverio Mirror utility).



Secondly, video games. And it's not about some Angry Birds, but games with augmented reality. They are few so far. But even simple funs with destroying some flying saucers that invaded your living room bring a lot of joy - in order to get rid of annoying UFOs, you really have to sweat.



Thirdly, augmented reality in its purest form. And this is AR-navigation, and the conversion of special marks into 3D-images, and even quadrocopter control. Unfortunately, many of the beauties that can be seen in the promotional videos, so far remain only the imagination of the creators of the video. But with the proper activity of the Russian Epson office, the interest of developers and the presence of customers who felt a taste for modern technologies, the BT-200 may well become an excellent platform for breaking in the most daring ideas.



A small bonus from the creators of Epson Moverio is shooting on the built-in camera. Frankly, she is weak only 0.3 megapixels, but in order to capture something unexpected, even her capabilities are enough.



... In the yard 2014. Video glasses from some indistinct accessories turn into really desired devices. Of course, they are still far from the convenience of ordinary glasses - here the graceful Google Glass is ahead of the rest. But! Some of the video glasses - in our case, this is a gadget from Sony - performing only one function, do it very, very well. Others, like Moverio, are a universal device with which you can watch movies and navigate in an unfamiliar city - because the map will hang right in front of your eyes. By the way, Epson promises a couple more surprises - over time, you will be able to control Moverio's voice or tapping on the temple of glasses.

The only problem that, alas, cannot be avoided, is your vestibular apparatus. We recommend starting to use video glasses gradually - for 5-10 minutes, gradually increasing the time of use.

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