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The new Google Daydream VR Headset is said to work while wearing eyeglasses unlike most VR Viewers. The headset is designed to work only with “Daydream-ready” smart phones, which appear to be the Google Pixel and some Moto Z phones, at this time (late 2016). Future phones from other manufacturers will presumably be compatible. “Daydream” is not just the headset but a set of hardware features built in to compatible phones, plus Daydream software apps too.
(Featured photo is from the Google product web site.)
We attended a viewing of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in RealD 3D.
The good news first: this movie makes excellent use of 3D and “theater space” placing not only moving objects, but occasionally actors, in front of the screen. This is perhaps the best done 3D effects and usage we have seen in 3D movies recently. Well done!
Incredibly, the movie theater handed out green/magenta analglyph glasses rather than the polarized clear glasses used for RealD. I took this photo with my smart phone to prove they did this.
As a friend put it, this is both hilariously silly and stupid at the same time. Most of us (me included) had not removed the glasses from the plastic packaging until the start of the movie. Sitting through 35 minutes of 2D commercials and previews, I did not want to smudge the glasses with my fingers.
Why does a theater even stock green/magenta anaglyph glasses? This blows the mind.
It took about 10 minutes into the movie for one staff member to hand out proper RealD glasses in place of the anaglyph glasses. We got to watch the first 10 minutes as a very fuzzy experience.
This was not a particularly “regal” viewing experience (hint hint). Sadly, this sort of mistake may discourage patrons from viewing 3D movies, for which patrons pay a premium price yet receive poor customer service. (Neither the theater nor the national chain apologized for the mistake.)
Snapchat’s Spectacles are dark glasses with integrated camera, for recording life’s activities. Interesting idea. Like most dark glasses, they are for those who do not need corrective lenses.
On the plus side, the lenses in Spectacles may be swapped out and replaced with corrective lenses prescribed by an optomerist. You then end up with prescription dark glasses integrated in to the Spectacles:
“To swap out Spectacles lenses for prescription lenses, consult a professional ABO-certified optician for guidance.
Please Note: Rx total power cannot exceed -5 diopter”
Source: Spectacles Support
Those who ordinarily wear corrective lenses typically buy snap on dark lenses that go over their existing corrective lenses. Or purchase a set of corrective dark lenses.
Snapchat Spectacles are targeted at a specific demographic (from the Snapchat web site):
Snapchat recognizes the need to support those wearing corrective lenses, including with in this demographic, by making it possible to use prescription lenses in their product.
Tech companies that miss these large market opportunities risk alienating customers by providing unsatisfactory viewing experiences, which may translate into negative online comments and general disinterest in their products. And that will not be good for profits! I will continue to explore this topic in future posts.
Related: Snapchat Spectacles are not water proof or water resistant which restricts their use cases for those living in wet climates such as the the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
“The oculus rift kits come with three sets of lenses-A, B and C. lens pair A is to be used by people who have excellent long sighted eyesight as the rift is focused at infinity. The pairs B and C are to be used by people having problems with near sightedness, though cannot be used by all, especially people with major vision complications.
….
Furthermore glasses can also be worn along with the oculus rift goggles, provided that the glasses are not huge.”
Desai, P.R., Desai, P.N., Ajmera, K.D., Mehta, K. (2014) A review paper on Oculus Rift – a virtual reality headset. International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology. Retrieved from: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1408.1173.pdf
The Homido VR Headset (version 1) included separate lens holders that adjusted the focal distance of the lenses. You can see how that works in this Youtube video review. The Homido features IPD adjustment as well. Homido has since introduce a version 2. The version 1 headset is available from Amazon (I have not tried it myself). The version 2 is said to be “not currently available” at Amazon, and Best Buy says one can only order it online, but if you try, Best Buy then says it is not available for online order – in other words, Version 2 seems not to be generally available.
