[rbwater]

Greetings,

I know some of you fpv'ers use video goggles as part of your fpv set ups. I want to try to use them for a different purpose (creating a virtual reality cycling experience) and wondered if someone could give me a bit of info. about them.

1. Does anyone know of a place in the GTA that sells them where I could try a set before buying? I have been Googling but so far can only find online thru' e-bay, etc.

2. Has anyone used them to view video from a computer or other video source (e.g. DVD player)? Is the experience anything like the ads claim (i.e. watching a 50" to 80" TV set up 2.5 to 3.0 metres away)?

3. What is the quality of the output like? I see varying prices for different resolutions all the way up to HD thru' an HDMI connection. Are those with the lower price/resolution viable?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

RB

[Max]

I use a pair of original Fatshark goggles. I HAVE used them hooked up to a TV, a computer and lately, to a portable video player that I use on an transatlantic flights when the in-flight entertainment system does not have anything that interest me.
These fatsharks work great, but they are not perfect. "They work great" is subjective, and what I think might be great might suck for others. One of the flaws on the original fatsharks is the picture is not 100% in each eye. The picture from each eye is slightly distorted in the peripheral of one lens, but is made up for by the lens on the other eye and vice-versa. Some people might hate this. I dont mind it.

A friend has the Fatshark dominators. The picture seems to be sharper, and no distortion is seen on the periphery of the image, but the image seems "further" away and is not as immersive.


I noticed that ready-Made is now touting itself as the exclusive distributor of the zeiss "cinemizer" goggles. I looked into these goggles and they seem to be the next generation goggles- High def, HDMI, built in diopter adjustment. But pricey! $789 with a sale this week bringing them down to $699.
Still a lot of dough, but I would love to try them!
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...oducts_id=1139

[bcsaltchucker]

there are two basic categories of video goggles. 'VGA resolution analog' and 'HD digital'

For FPV, we are forced to use the VGA analog goggles, since our video cams and transmitters are limited to 640x40 analog signal only.

That is low resolution television, like you might remember in the 1980s broadcast TV. That is horrible by today's standards!

All the modern television is available in HD, digital signal. 720p, 1080p (now going up to 4k-res, i guess). Video games, GoPro videos all of that are digital HD. You want digital HD for any virtual reality, I would insist.

There are a lot of manufacturers of digital HD goggles out there now, not only the Zeiss brand. Some day we FPVers will be flying in digital HD, but not today. We can hook up our crappy analog into Zeiss goggles, but the image is as bad as the garbage we put into the video transmitter - 640x480 low res. Most digital HD goggles have no option for plugging in an analog signal, they only accept HDMI digital.

If you can live with the low quality analog video, then the best current range of FPV goggles are as follows: Fatshark Dominator and Attitude. Boscam AIO. Headplay 800x600. The base Zeiss Cinemizers if you can find them (used to be like $300, I think discontinued?). Fatshark has a new DominatorHD coming out - it is not actually HD only 800x600, but it promises to be very good, maybe as good as the $700 cinemizers when doing FPV.

You will not find these in the local stores. Rare items.

[rbwater]

Max and Scott,

Many thanks for your detailed responses. Just what I was hoping for.

I noticed that a company called Vuzix (www.vuzix.com) has recently released an HD version (Wrap 1200DX) for US$500. Still quite a chunk of change! They are in Rochester, NY so I think I will contact them & see if there is anyway to test a pair.

Cheers,

RB

[Max]

I am looking forward to the day when we can use Oculus Rift goggles for FPV!!

We'll probably all have poses like this when we are flying