lost_soul on 23/7/2010 at 05:41
I was interested in trying some of these to play games. Why do they cost upwards of $150 (most are $200+)? Is it really that difficult to stuff a color LCD screen in a headset and provide a video input? I mean, come on! We live in a world where "photo key chains" can be had for around $50 which contain color LCD screens.
Renzatic on 23/7/2010 at 05:55
On a guess, I'm thinking that an LCD headset would have to be considerably higher resolution than most monitors in that size range. It'll have to maintain a picture that still looks crisp and sharp while hovering two inches in front of your face. That, and the fact it's a niche product, would be the major reason why I think they're relatively expensive in comparison to something like LCD photo keychains.
lost_soul on 23/7/2010 at 06:18
My idea is to use one of these with my EEE PC on a trip, so I don't have to constantly look down and strain my neck for 12 hours. I found TFT-display key chains for $10! haha
Even 640x480 would be fine. I just want to use it to play games and am not picky on quality. I'm don't even need sound, because I've already got some awesome sounding headphones.
Al_B on 23/7/2010 at 06:40
I think you'll struggle to find any that are that resolution - 128x128 seems to be standard although I did see one that was 160x128. I would also expect that the keychain displays are designed around the application - i.e. displaying a static image which changes infrequently and optimising battery life. Looking at this video: (
http://hackaday.com/2009/10/06/doom-on-a-picture-key-chain/) doom on a keychain, I think you'd find a display of this type frustrating to use.
lost_soul on 23/7/2010 at 07:05
Pretty cool, but I think that was a dual-scan display, not TFT. TFTs have high contrast and don't display the blurring during motion that dual-scan ones do. I just remembered an old friend of mine had an LCD headset for the Super Nintendo 15 years ago. I'll be going over there to help his parents fix a computer tomorrow. Maybe they didn't throw it out and would lend it to me. :) It had RCA inputs and S-Video, so would work great with the VGA to TV adapter I have here. It is a bit hackish, but if it works that is good.
Al_B on 23/7/2010 at 12:25
Yes, I'm sure that's a STN (or DSTN) screen from the blurring. I'm just assuming that the update speed for even the small TFT screens in this application will be kept low to reduce power consumption. I'm tempted to have a play with one now, though.
