Home > Consumer Reviews > myvu Crystal movie glases MFI for iPod - Amber

I love my ipod. The only problem with it is the small screen. Putting up with a small screen has been worth it to have such a huge volume of entertainment with me at all times, but I always wished that there was some way to have a larger screen. My chief has an old pair of "VR" goggles that are kind of large, expensive and make you look like you're trying to launch a missile at someone. It ocurred to me to see if such a thing was still made and found the MYVU Crystal glasses. I had never even guessed that such a thing was even out there. After reading all the reviews I could find, I decided that I had to have one. Yes, 300 smackers is a lot of money, but you are paying for a full size tv that you can take anywhere and watch with it perched on your nose. Seriously.

When these came, the first thing that I noticed was that one of the cables was pulled out of the strain relief. Dang. I obsessed over that for the required few minutes and then tried them. I plugged the Ipod cable into the "pendant" and my Ipod, plugged the glasses into the pendant, played a movie on the Ipod, turned on the glasses, took a deep breath, and put them on. I was shocked. The picture was very clear, the image from each eye merged perfectly into one screen, seeming to hover right smack between your eyes. The sound was nice, the earbuds were very comfortable, and they don't strain your eyes. Because of the voodoo they manage with lenses, you can look out at the room over or under the glasses and your eyes don't seem to have to refocus. I don't know how they do this, but the whole gizmo reeks of magic anyway.

Being overly picky about my equipment, I decided that I couldn't let the pulled out wire slide. I called the MYVU customer service department, they gave me an RMA# immediately and said they would replace it as soon as they got it. It took a real effort of will power to pack the glasses up and return them, they are just too neat to give up, but I'm sure that I'll be happier not having to worry about that wire breaking.

In conculsion, these glasses are not cheap for good reason. They are tools, not toys. If you want something that is throw-away, there are others out there. These are sturdy, well made (except for that wire!) and perform exactly as advertised, which is an oddity these days. I payed extra for a surefire flashlight because it is the best illumination tool to be had. I got these because I believe they are the best viewers out there. If you spend your money on a select few quality tools then get these. They give you a sanctuary.

UPDATE: 8/1/08
I sent the viewers with the defective cable in and just got the new pair from them. The entire process took almost exactly 1 week. It would have been faster if I had sprung for express mail. The new ones are perfect, everything was sent that I was supposed to have. I would upgrade these to 5 stars. They look great. Spend some time adjusting the nose gripper to get them aligned just right with your eyes, it will make a big difference with focusing on the screens. Close one eye and then the other to see how the focus compares, move them side to side slightly to see where it gets clear and adjust the nose piece to hold them there.

UPDATE: 9/3/08
This past weekend while using my crystal, there was a slight flash in the right screen. Then, the screen washed out. It was almost as if a white haze formed over the picture. The left screen continued to function normally. I turned it on and off, tried the reset (hold down the "volume down" and power simultaneously) but the flash and white haze returned in less than 2 minutes each time. I called Myvu, they gave me another RMA number. Since I have a trip this weekend and could not get them back in time, I bought a set of refurbished Myvu solo's as a stand in for the trip. To make up for the hassle of having to send my crystals back again, they sent the solo's next day air for free. Great customer service, even if the product if proving to be somewhat unreliable.

UPDATE:
When I got the Myvu solo's they worked like new and looked new despite the fact they were re-furbished. The picture is quite a bit smaller than the crystals, surprisingly so. I felt a little cross eyed while watching them, but they work just fine. When I got my Crystals back (by the way, they tested them for a couple of hours before sending the new pair to make sure they worked correctly) I was really shocked at how much bigger the picture is in the crystals. I'm glad I sprung for the bigger, clearer and less eye-straining crystals.

I am using it as a replacement for my LCD monitor which I normally use to play my XBOX 360 with and I was afraid that the myvu glasses might not work with it. Well, I hooked up the RCA cables into the adaptor and voila! Soul Calibur 4, GTA IV, except now I can play them wherever I can find an outlet. Quite amazing, and rather cheap for a portable monitor/tv if you ask me.

It isn't often that I take my time to write a review for a product. I didn't want to for this product but really must. Read on Amazonian.

I purchased the Myvu Crystal viewing glasses for my iPod. Hooked it up and it worked! I guess it should of since it cost over $300.00 dollars. Anyway, I digress. I travel a lot, aLOT!!! I've been using the glasses in sucky coach class as well as business class (rocks!).

Nosy people are always asking me what type of glasses I have on right in the middle of a movie. They tap my shoulder until I now yell LEAVE ME ALONE AND BUY YOUR OWN SET OF MYVU CRYSTAL VIDEO GLASSES FROM AMAZON DOT COM. This usually gets them back to their seat but the dirty looks don't stop for the rest of the flight but it doesn't matter because I just leave the video glass on so I don't see the unhappy passengers.

Here is a summary of what I bought and what YOU to can buy today:
* Premium quality image with VGA resolution, great for x x x
* Noise-reducing in-ear earbuds by Ultimate Ears, every moan and groan.
* USB rechargeable battery with up to 4 hours viewing time, I get 20+ hours on my unit.
* Elegant yet durable design, except for passengers always asking "what is THAT???!!!???"
* The new Myvu Crystal 701 features CyberDisplay® technology, with the highest pixel density and the sharpest resolution for its size

Ok I travel allot. I am on tour 2 weeks out of each month and I fly 2 to 4 times a month. While on the road and in the air, the idea of getting these glasses kept taunting me. I first saw them (another brand) in that magazine no one buys from but everyone usually looks at on the airplane "Skymall". I thought "What an amazing idea!". I normally bust out the old laptop and watch a movie. Then when the battery dies I bust out the Ipod and watch the little video screen. I was returning home today and the Salt Lake City Utah airport had a "tech store" called "Inmotion Entertainment". They had a pair of the lower line of these glasses on display hooked up so people could try them out. I could not resist. I put them on and HOLY COW, everywhere I looked I had a VERY nice resolution screen just floating in mid air. I was sold! BUT they were out of stock of that model and only had the upperline Crystal Amber. The salesperson was nice enough to open the box and let me hook up my Ipod to check them out. I was EVEN MORE surprised because the screen was bigger in these and seemed to be brighter and even more clear! I sprung for the $300 shades and was anxious to try them out on the plane.

Once on the plane and at "cruising altitude" I quickly plugged them in to the Ipod and started watching a movie. They come with just enough charge in them to watch a 90 minute flick (normal battery time is 4 hours). I was sitting in the noisiest spot on a plane I have ever sat in (RIGHT next to the engine) but there was MORE volume than I needed to turn up on the VERY comfortable earbuds to make it where I could hear absolutely NOTHING but the movie. I loved it. Everywhere I looked I had a movie screen in front of me BUT I was still able to see above, below, to the left, and right of the screen. Basically just sit down on your couch at home and look at your TV. Now imagine that if you turn your head, the TV moves with you. That is EXACTLY what its like. I moved my "virtual TV" over the airplane's movie screen that drops down every other row from the overhead and my "virtual TV" was literally 5 to 6 times larger and WAY nicer looking!!

From what the salesperson told me, MyVu holds the patent on this technology and everyone else out there are just basically copying them. By all means try other brands if you like and definitely "roll the dice" when buying other "off brands" online. BUT if you want a SURE THING then pay the $300 and buy these. They are without a doubt the coolest thing since sliced bread. The sales person threw in the Ipod adaptor (normally $30.00) but they come with just about every type of other adaptor for you to use these things with as well.

175% satisfied with my purchase today. These things ROCK!

I bought the glasses for my upcoming trip based on the review here.
The first thing I realized was that the picture on one eye was a little bit blurry. Read the manual it claimed there nothing such focus setting and the if the pictured is blurry I would need to used my description glasses. Al tough I feel having the perfect vision for reading books or looking at my ipod screen the video picture in the glasses appeared a little bit blurry on side. So I guess you really need to have 100% eyes to use this glasses. For me the blurriness felt pretty annoying and I found my self just taking the glasses off and using the real screen.

Also the virtual screen, that was created though the lasses seemed to to be much bigger, that the actual screen on my IPod touch. This might also be caused by the fact, that the glasses do only support 4:3 ratio.

For me it was not $300 bugs worth but I believe it's a high tech device

Pro:
* sound through the headphones is very good.

Cons:
* If you don't have 100% perfect vision, the video will spear blurry
* The screen dimensions you will get with these glasses is not much bigger
that the real screen provided by the Ipod touch or IPhone