Epson Moverio BT-100 Review

Wearable displays look super cool in sci-fi movies, but have failed to make a commercial success till now. Almost every year, we see prototypes shown off at exhibitions like CES, and so far, Sony is one of the only top tier brands to bring this out in the market. Epson, famous for its LCD projectors, has decided to take a shot and tap into the wearable display market with its debut launch – the Moverio BT-100. Unlike most head-mounted displays that allow you to connect it to a source, usually through an HDMI connector, Epson has decided to take the Android player route, making it the first of its kind. This makes it more of a portable solution compared to the other units in the market. Design and Build The BT-100 comes packaged in a sturdy carrying case, which includes the headset itself, power cable, the base unit and interchangeable nose clips. The glasses themselves are built from plastic and feel quite sturdy. The headset uses micro-projection technology using LCD lens that are mounted on the sides of the glasses in order to distribute the weight evenly. Instead of using a bulb for projection, Epson uses backlighting and clever arrangement of mirrors in the front of the headset to ‘project’ a virtual screen in front of the user. This projects a floating image of up to 80-inches projected as if you were looking at it from a distance of 16 feet. In case there’s too much ambient light in the room, you get a lens cover for a clearer picture. Unlike most wearable displays, which have the lens placed in front of the headset, this is a see-through headset, so you can actually walk around while watching your movie without bumping into things. There are earphones attached on either side of the headset for audio, but you also have the option to plug in your own pair in the control unit via the headphone sockets on either side. Click here for full story