EXCLUSIVE: TUAW Hands-on with the Zeiss Cinemizer, 3D goggles for your iPod

There have been plenty of attempts at LCD glasses, iPod goggles, 3D eyewear, and even a hacked iPod cyborg model, but the Zeiss Cinemizer is a little different. First of all, if the name Zeiss looks familiar, it should be. That's Carl Zeiss, one of the most respected names in optics. The Cinemizer, as a result, has a pristine viewing experience, but perhaps more importantly, doesn't suffer from the front-heavy, nose-jamming weight you find on previous offerings.

The Cinemizer supports 3D (if the video is 3D to begin with), and has a battery/control system that's about as elegant as you're going to get with something you have to strap your iPod into. Check out the video as Mike puts it through the paces. Unfortunately our "mind's eye" adapter was in the shop, so you won't be seeing what Mike sees, but his description and facial contortions are ~~hilarious~~ ample enough.

(Video after the jump)

UPDATE: I got confused this morning and didn't set the Viddler video to "public" which meant I had to go with Blip at the last moment. I've substituted the Blip embed for the Viddler one, because I really like Viddler's comment system. Enjoy!

You can always see it elsewhere: YouTube, DailyMotion, Blip.tv and Crackle

Our friends at iLounge have some swanky pics of the device as well.

View Tags

Source: http://www.zeiss.com/cinemizer

Categories

Macworld Video

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/TUAW_Hands_on_Video_with_3_D_iPod_goggles/'; There have been plenty of attempts at LCD glasses, iPod...

Add a Comment

Sign in »

6 Comments

Filter by:

Joseph

i tested a couple of these at the Macworld Expo last week...they all sucked! They all had poor resolution, poor image quality, and very brightness was just awful.

price range tested: $199-$400

January 26 2008 at 5:36 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Matthew

Wow...this definitely got my interest. I have been looking for a while for something like this. I have watched many hours on my iphone and this would be perfect. The price point would need to be in the $300 - $400 range for me to justify. I don't know if the first poster has ever looked at "video glasses" before, but $250 - $350 is an average price range for a device like this. From what I have researched, this product (pending it lives up to reviews) will be the front runner among video glasses hardware when it comes out. Excellent product...can't wait to get me a set.

January 26 2008 at 11:32 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Fritz Laurel

That does it. I would like to introduce a motion that Michael Rose be the Official TUAW spokesperson. Great job Michael!

So -- does this work on iPhones, too? They weren't mentioned in the beginning, but were mentioned in the middle somewhere. Just wanted a confirmation.

Cheers,
FL

January 25 2008 at 4:37 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

2 replies to Fritz Laurel's comment

superpixel

Fritz, technically the only thing that would keep this from playing iPhone video would be if, say, the manufacturer simply hadn't paid the right licensing fees to Apple for the privilege. There's no technical reason for it NOT to work.

I'm neither confirming or denying it works on the iPhone, however...

January 25 2008 at 4:56 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Michael Rose

/me blushes. Thanks Fritz.

January 28 2008 at 11:16 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Castle

I lost interest the moment he said 349â‚¬. That's 3.5 times what I'd be interested in paying, and at least twice what I'd ever be able to justify.

January 25 2008 at 1:20 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply