Headplay Personal in-ear Cinema System

SANTA MONICA, CA - Jun 15 2008:
http://avvaakum.fireblogz.com/2008/06/15/headplay-personal-in-ear-cinema-system/

Headplay is probably every couch potato’s dream. Imagine a TV. Now imagine being able to take it anywhere and everywhere you go (except perhaps in the shower), and being able to watch movies or play games on it anytime you want. That’s the concept for the new “Personal Cinema System” device, Headplay.

Headplay is a head-mounted device; a TV you wear on your head. You can connect it to your gaming consoles, your DVD Player, your iPod, your PC, and maybe your Betamax player if it hasn’t choked on dust yet. If it has a video out function, Headplay can most probably display it. You can also plug in a memory stick and Headplay can run the media files - movies, videos, and images - with its own built-in player.

THE HARDWARE

The whole unit is comprised of two main bodies: the Liberator and the Visor. The Liberator is a small black box where every wire is connected to. The Visor is made up of two parts: the hat itself and the optical piece which looks like it was stolen from Scott Summers. There’s also the Navigator - it’s the remote control - that connects the Visor to the Liberator.

The Liberator

The makers had simplicity in mind when they designed it, making sure all we had to worry about was to sit back and enjoy. It operates on a plug-and-play system and there’s only one button on the Liberator; the power button. Talk about simple: if a socket fits, then that’s most likely where it should be.

The only real times you’ll be prevented from moving around while you have the gear on is if it’s plugged into a wall to charge the batteries or if it’s plugged into another bulkier device like a console or a PC. However, you can still walk around about a meter in radius from the Liberator. Or you could just move the fridge beside the couch and be done with it. If you can do the same for the toilet… well, godspeed.

If you’re connected to something portable though - like a USB memory stick, or a portable DVD player - it’s not hard to imagine bringing it along on a road trip… It’s probably best not to drive with it on though. The batteries can last about six hours when it’s fully charged so that’s enough for about three or four movies. Not bad if you’re taking a particularly long plane trip and you don’t like the in-flight movie.

The Navigator

You know how some remotes look simple because they only have a few buttons, but when you use them they’re actually super complicated? That’s not the case with the remote. Navigation is simple with only seven buttons that’s perfectly button-mashable should all be lost. The worst you can do is change the brightness.

The menu itself is instinctive - much like iPod menus - and can easily adjust video and audio settings with a few clicks. It isn’t intrusive either: the menu windows are translucent so you don’t miss anything if you’re watching something.

The Visor

The Visor unit looks and feels like a hat - but is not a hat, so don’t wear it outside lest you walk into a pole - and is comfortable enough to wear for hours. It’s lightweight and won’t slip off easily. It’s held in place by some heavy duty velcro that’s easily adjustable so go and headbang all you want.

The visor can adjust to anything from the size of your head to the grade of your eye. It has a separate lens for each eye, and both can be adjusted for focus and alignment. The optical piece on the hat can also be adjusted to go up or down so you don’t have to constantly move the hat piece.

One disadvantage of giving a large room for adjustability is that it needs a lot of adjustments, and therefore more room for error. If the alignment or the focus isn’t adjusted well, you might notice some blind spots here and there.

As adjustable as it is though, the lenses have their limits. While the focus can be configured for those with weaker eyes, it can only go so far. This is easily remedied by wearing contact lenses or glasses.