MyVu Personal Media Viewer

(Review) - Watching videos on portable video players is so old school. We bet you didn't know that, did you? Yes, all the cool kids will soon watch their movies and music videos through their eye glasses, thanks to products like MyVu's Personal Media Viewer. A number of similar products showed up last year, but they are now just starting to shine in quality. Although they are not quite there yet, we suspect 2008 will mark the "true" beginning of virtual displays, just like the ones you see in SciFi movies. To catch you up to speed, the concept behind these accessories is very straightforward. You connect the pair of glasses (integrated with audio and video) to your video player and virtually enhance the picture to a larger display for a private show to keep the onlookers away from your personal media. That's all there is to it.

MyVu's Personal Media Viewer has a decent product layout with three pairs of nose pieces for maximum comfort, noise isolating earphones that do a decent job at isolating extraneous noise (integrated with glasses), a remote control and the virtual display. The earbuds come with three pairs of silicon tips. While MyVu has paid special attention to comfort, it wasn't the best pair we had tried on. The nose pieces were great and relatively comfy, but the earbuds and the actual glasses were somewhat unpleasant and tiring after a while. They don't snuggly fit in, and that's what annoyed us. We always had the feeling of them sliding out and dropping to the floor (never happened), and the fitting was so-so at best.

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The virtual display was quite impressive, especially for first time viewers, but again, the video quality was good at best with slight pixelation and unnecessary flickering during action sequences. On a brighter note, volume, brightness and contrast are adjustable for a better experience. Even the earbuds were alright. This is what happens when one company decides to work on a product that requires the expertise of many, many professionals (audio, display and designers to name few) spanning across a number of industries. You tend to lose that spark and end up completely butchering the original and otherwise very neat concept.

Thankfully, the device does include a variety of cables for video output to support the maximum amount of popular video players (iPod, Zune, Archos, Philips). The remote, which dangles down with an attached cable from the unit, also has a mini-USB connector to charge the viewer for up to 4x hours of playback time. Another thing to note with the display is its lack of open viewing angles at the top and bottom. Essentially, if you move your eyes up or down, you can see what's going on around your environment, which could be a good thing, we suppose. But it's still distracting.

Naturally, the design gives off a uniquely original vibe, and it will let bystanders know that you are not wearing these glasses for the most obvious purpose. Even though they are not a fashion statement, it's bound to attract a flurry of questions. Trust us, we know.

Overall, MyVu's Personal Media Player is a step in the right direction, and the company has the potential to be a solid contender as this market matures. For now, however, the design and performance could use some polish, and at $199.99, it's a bit much unless you are obsessed with portable video watching. Then, and only then, we suppose you wouldn't mind jumping early on virtual displays.

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