RCCanada - Canada Radio Controlled Hobby Forum - Review

I finally received them and was able to test them out the last couple of days.

Here's my initial report:

Icuiti M920 (VGA: 640 X 480 2D at 60Hz)

Product description

It comes bundled in a standard box with 2 layers (flat cardboard separating the two). There is a one-piece foam that is outlined with the headset/cable/battery cradle. On the bottom, there is a 5V AC/DC adapter, RCA (R/W/Y) bundled cable for a/v input, USB to power plug (you can power it from any USB source), standard computer VGA to digital a/v input cable, a pair of AA batteries (non-rechargeable),a nice nylon pouch to carry the cradle /equipment in, a manual and warranty card.

Upon initial inspection, the headset and cradle (attached to each other) look like it will last a long time. Well put together.

It weighs about 90 grams, so it's very light.

The headset has many adjustments that can accommodate any sized head or hat/cap. The contact points are just above your ears and they are foam padded and move in all directions.

The gimbal that holds the eyepiece can rotate 360* left, right and angled. There is a 2" flexible extension that helps when positioning the eyepiece to line up with your eye. The headset can flip either way so it looks and feels identical both on your left and right hand side.

The cradle is feather light. The AA's (if you use them) will be all the weight you will feel. It is approx. 2 x .5 x 3 inches. There is a power button (on/off), audio volume (up/down), brightness control (up/down) and a left/right hand side selection which flips the LCD screen. AUX input (digital from VGA or palmpilot source), A/V input (standard mini headphone jack), 5VDC jack and a headphone jack for audio.

The eyepiece is about 1.5" x 1" x .5". The lens is about 1" X .5" and inside it's about .5" away from the LCD. There is a focus knob where you can adjust the focus of the screen inside the eyepiece.

Testing it out :

Indoor test

VGA (laptop to digital AV cable).

As it displays 640/480, I had to adjust my 2nd screen settings in the display properties of my laptop.

Once done, I opened up IE and google. Browsed the net quite easily.

It takes a while to figure out exactly how to adjust the headset/eyepiece to your liking. At least it did for me. Since it's monocular, even staring at the screen, if 'appears' as if the screen is transparent because your other eye obviously sees everything in front of you.

This aspect is nice for me because I plan on using this as a tool to line up picture/shots while moving my heli from one place to another.

I walked around the house with this on and after a few mins, it felt comfortable. This will vary from one person to another, however because it is so light and can conform to any sized head, it just felt like wearing a headband of some sort.

LCD screen is very sharp and the display never flickered at all.

Having the eyepiece roughly 2-3 inches away and a bit below my left eye, it looks like your looking at a 20-22" LCD screen about 2 feet in from of you. This is an optical illusion but serves it's purpose nicely.

I walked around in a pitch black room and an extremely lit bright bathroom and the screen looked identical.

I believe this has to do with the internal position of the LCD screen in the eyepiece.

Looking into the eyepiece, you look through a small, flat plastic piece. On the left and right, there are little mirrors and directly in front of your viewing hole is the LCD screen which sits back inside the eyepiece about .5-1 inch. It looks like they did it this way to shield out light and they did a good job.

Indoor test

RCA Video cable

Same as above. Screen was crystal clear.

I used a Range video 900mhz downlink tx/rx inside my living room hooked up to a little cheap wireless camera.

Video quality was clear and zero flickering.

Outdoor test

RCA Video cable

Same as above. Screen was crystal clear.

I used a Range video 900mhz downlink tx/rx inside my living room hooked up to a little cheap wireless camera.

** BRIGHT SUNLIGHT **

I wore the M920's only and put the same setup (900mhz tx/rx/wireless cam) on the heli and tried it out.

No problems at all.

Screen was clear and crisp just like inside my living room.

The only time when it was difficult to see the lcd screen was when I was either facing the sun or when the sun was directly behind me and from a certain angle the sun was shining directly on the eyepiece.

Throughout everything, I could always see the picture.

All in all, I am happy with it and will be keeping it.

I ordered a second one for my wife to use (camera woman :) ) as she doesn't mind :rolleyes: the looks of it.

She tried it and liked it. I think she'll probable go the standard route (5" LCD on a tripod with sun shade) and have these sitting on her head as well to alternate between the two. (she doesn't like being glued to the sun shade).

I apologize for not posting picture yet. I will be soon. Just bear with me. (no CF cards for the Nikon and the S2 is being serviced - defective optical sensor).

Any questions, just let me know and I will try and answer as clear as I can.

Jesse