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If you do a lot of traveling, you may sometimes find yourself irritated with the outside world. As an editor of a technology review site (and others in the past), you can bet I’ve been on my fair share of trips… and in the course of my travels, there are plenty of occasions where I’ve wished I had access to a private plane. Having said that, the best way to recuperate is often to either commit to sleeping or tune into your favorite form of entertainment. With regard to the latter, what better way to relax with such entertainment than in the privacy of your own solitary company?
This is the premise of the Myvu Crystal, a media viewing device that seeks to project a virtual screen into your field of vision through the use of two tiny LED screens (one in front of each eye) set in a pair of very special glasses. The Logitech “Ultimate Ears” earphones are built right into the contraption, meaning that once you’ve got your cord situation straight, tuning in is as simple as booting up the video device and positioning the Myvu Crystal on your head.
New and Improved
While I haven’t had the pleasure of owning the previous versions of the Myvu device, I did get to try them out at a past trade show. The earlier versions were, quite frankly, rather lacking in both video quality (relying on a miserly 320×240 QVGA resolution—that of most modern low-end cell phones) and outward appearance. Fortunately, the Crystal improves on both of those points, sporting a much more respectable 640×480 VGA resolution display and a considerably sleeker form factor. It’s also packaged with a wider array of accessories and cords, expanding its compatibility out of the box and allowing it to connect almost effortlessly with just about any device that is able to output video.
The video input is made possible by a rather small “pendant” that hangs from the device’s wires which contains volume up/down buttons and brightness/contrast preset selections. While there is quite a jungle of wires to wade through, once you’ve got it all set up, it’s actually a fairly comfortable viewing experience for, say, an airplane trip or a dark bedroom shared by a spouse. And even though it provides a sense of privacy impossible through the use of conventional portable video devices, the sides of the device are open enough to allow for some degree of awareness of the outside world, which is nice in case the snack cart happens to be rolling by or a spontaneous flame has suddenly broken out in the front half of the plane.
The Reprecussions of Minor Astigmatism
Wouldn’t you know it; in spite of the fact that I’m reviewing a device that depends on near-perfect vision, apparently a tiny defect in my own led to some pretty disappointing results. If your vision is off even slightly, the Myvu video will appear fuzzy and perpetually out of focus (or, at best, inconsistent). For instance, I have an ever-so-slight case of astigmatism in one of my eyes (so slight that I cannot perceive it in during everyday activities), but I’m quite sure that was the source of my problems focusing on the virtual screen.
Over the course of my time with the Myvu Crystal, I simply could not get my eyes to focus satisfactorily as a result. I tried repositioning the device time and time again and even taking it off my head to refresh my vision for a few moments, but I just never could reach an acceptable arrangement. I tried a number of different video sources—an iPod playing an episode of LOST, then again an episode of The Office, and even a PlayStation 3—but that made little difference. The two screens just would not combine such that the video was sharp and the experience immersive. If my extremely minor genetic defect can cause such a noticeable problem when wearing the Myvu, it’s safe to assume that a small percentage of other people will be similarly surprised. Of course, this hardly condemns the device—it just means that not everyone will be able to fully appreciate it. Because of that, it might be a good reason to try the Myvu Crystal out before committing to a purchase (or ensure you’re entitled to a hassle-free return policy), just in case.
Saturation, Contrast, Brightness, and Headaches
Another small problem with the video was the color and contrast. While there are two handy buttons on the pendant that allow for quick toggling through four presets of brightness and contrast, unfortunately, no particular combination provided anything rivaling that of an iPod or laptop screen. Even after fooling around with the presets and finding one that looked pretty good, the amalgamation of slightly washed-out color quality and inconsistent video clarity eventually landed me a bit of eye fatigue and an affiliated headache—though again, I’m a bit of a special case when it comes to this stuff, or so it seems. As long as you aren’t expecting a thoroughly hi-fi experience, you should be perfectly satisfied with what the Myvu Crystal has to offer.
Everyone’s Different
While the Crystal’s picture quality does suffer from a couple of minor imperfections, you have to cut the device some slack considering the technology involved. For starters, the screens are around half an inch in size. And in spite of my troubles concerning the focus, this likely won’t apply to you at all. It seems, based on the testimony of others who have tried the device, that this sensation differs from person to person, but that most agree the picture is sharp and intelligible. Of the three others I recruited to test the device for me, one agreed that it seemed slightly out of focus, and the other two said it looked “fine”. Granted, all three of them had reservations about the device when I mentioned the price ($299.95 MSRP), but that’s another question entirely.
If you’re constantly traveling and you’re looking for a solution to the airplane woes, the Myvu Crystal might be just the thing. As long as you’re not planning on indulging in an abundance of HD video, it makes a good companion for an iPod and a traveler who just wan ts to tune the rest of the world out for a while. For gamers, it’s tempting, but how often are you in a situation where you need to play your console games away from a television—and on a video device that supports a sub-Wii resolution, at that? If you actually are in such a situation on a regular basis, you might find the Myvu Crystal useful and its size convenient.
The battery life is a decent four hours, and the unit recharges via an included USB cable. The Standard Edition package comes with RCA A/V cables only for connection to most devices (but not iPods). The Made-for-iPod Edition, on the other hand, comes with an iPod Video cable. Some other available accessories include a Nokia N95 connection cable and a proprietary new-gen iPod/iPhone cable. I tested both the standard A/V cables and the newer iPod/iPhone cable and encountered no problems. The fact that you have to choose on a $300 product which cable is included seems a bit silly; cables are cheap, and it’s puzzling why Myvu wouldn’t simply package both the iPod and standard A/V cable together in the same bundle.