We did not get a chance to try on the latest VR headset from Avegant, which is called the Glyph, although we did see the initial version at last year’s CES.
This headset looks like a set of headphones wrapped around the eyes, or maybe a video visor with headphones. It does have a clean stylish look, however. It is part of a sub-class of VR headsets that are not fully immersive and offer some look up/down or left/right capability.
Inside the visor are two apertures for viewing 3D VR content. This is the only headset we know of that uses two DLP chips to generate dual 1280 x 720 resolution images which should provide a very smooth non-pixelated image due to the high fill factor of the DLP imagers. Interestingly, Avegant said they actually project the images directly onto the retina to create the impression of a screen at 8 feet away. The field of view is a modest 40 degrees, but this is consistent with a non-immersive use model.
Working prototypes were on display at CES 2015, but the final product design remained a non-working mock-up. The company was funded via Kickstarter and is promising deliveries in the fall of 2015, with non-Kickstarter customers getting their headsets by the end of the year. Customers can pre-order the Glyph for $499 through the end of January, at which point the price goes up to $599.
Content is delivered to the headset over an HDMI cable which would normally be connected to a smartphone, gaming console or tablet. That allows local content to stream to the device or even cloud-based content if there is good bandwidth available.
The Glyph appears to be aimed at conventional consumer entertainment applications – a use model that has never gained much mainstream adoption, although headsets with this styling and image quality have not been available before, so they may get a second look by consumers.
