In true fashion of ‘It’s gotta be seen to be believed’, Ingineo has invented the world’s first Multimedia eyewear, ‘Eyetop’. Professionals, tek-savvy consumers and 007 Bond boffins are going crazy throughout Europe and the USA about these French-designed-and-manufactured glasses. After playing with them for the last week, we at 12am.com.au discovered many a reason why we all need a re-education in outdoor digital viewing!

Named ‘Eyetop Centra’, Ingineo has developed an AMLCD (Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Display) small enough to fit into the side of the right or left hand eyepiece. I really thought that this would cause major discomfort but due to a great design, the Eyetop unit fits snug on any face with four nosepad positions and elastomer bearings within the plastic frame. This is the second version of Eyetop, with the significant addition of sound and tinted lenses to totally encapsulate the viewing window and to give you maximum viewing pleasure.

Now, in order for the Centra Eyetop unit to function properly for any person who wears them, the screen direction is completely adjustable. This means that no matter how close or far away your eyes are from each other you can still make use of the UV sunglasses and the AMLCD in your peripheral vision, (which is exactly what they are designed to do)!

Connected to a portable DVD player, the Centra Eyetop comes into; Unlike other portable DVD viewing screens, no one can see or hear what you are watching and listening to on Eyetop systems. This makes it very convenient for public transport and in public where normally you would have to let everyone around you watch and listen. This once again not only helps immerse yourself in the unit, but also gives you the confidence to watch it and listen to it as loud as you wish without annoying the people around you… How cool!

So, how do I input an image and sound into my glasses? Well, included in the Eyetop packaging is a control box (powered by 4 AA batteries) that connects to your glasses through a single 3 foot signal lead (A/V). Considering the 3 foot lead, you can then easily place the control box on either your belt with the clip provided or simply into your backpack. There is a Video RCA jack and stereo audio jacks to input your source such as a DVD unit, game station, video camera or MPEG unit.

What is the quality like? Granted the unit is small – but it sort of needs to be if you want it to fit entirely in the space on your face reserved for peripheral vision. The picture is crisp and the colour blending and range are quite exceptional, to the point where we could even read the credits on Driver 3 (Atari) that we were also testing at that moment… Oh and when you are playing a game like this, you should watch people move - swaying from side to side as they screech around corners in their 1970s Mustang!

The sound is provided courtesy of two bud earpieces that connect conveniently from the frame of the glasses into your ears, providing you with another sensory explosion within this fully immersive system.

We live in a world driven by connectivity and as we grow we try harder and harder to make this connectivity closer to seamless and less visible than invisible. The Centra Eyetop will allow you to view private documents in public places through your laptop; it will act as a viewing and framing tool for digital images where sunlight can often interfere with LCD screens and it would also turn a security team at events such as the Big Day Out into what I would only dare describe as the Digital ‘A’ Team.

There are several different products now in the Eyetop family including the Classic, Camera and Photo/Video pack products, but the Centra is certainly the best ‘all round’ package.

Now for me, there was only one small issue as I am one of the few remaining young boffins in the world that will not replace his glasses with contact lenses or laser surgery, so the imagery could not be focused for my eyes, but even at a slight blur, the Eyetop view is exceptional and due to their wearability, they make for one hell of a cool and surprisingly useful tool. All the other testers at 12am thought they were crystal clear so they obviously are, but worthy of a mention if you are a 4 eyed freak!

‘Eyetop Centra’ is available now throughout Australia thanks to Export I.T. For all enquiries, please contact:

Robert Wilson - Export I.T.
0408 221 052