I need iGlasses.
Shang Cineplex Cinema 1 is the first local cinema with XpanD active 3D glasses.
3D is the big, not-quite-new thing in Hollywood now, and with Disney’s announcement that henceforth all their movies will be in 3D, local multiplexes have been sprucing up their digital cinemas. Yesterday the Shangri-La Mall Cineplex opened its Digital Cinema with a screening of Tim Burton’s adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.
I don’t like the 3D glasses at Greenbelt and IMAX—one size is supposed to fit all, but the size is that of Abe Lincoln’s face on Mount Rushmore. The glasses are too big for me, and my head is of Red Queen dimensions. Plus I have to wear the 3D glasses on top of my own glasses, and it’s uncomfortable. Then you have to keep your head straight while watching the movie because if you lean to the side the image doubles or you get a headache. Digital 3D is supposed to make you forget you’re in a movie theatre, but I can never forget I’m wearing 3D glasses.
Shang Digital Cinema has active 3D glasses which use a liquid-crystal cell that enables “fast switching, optimal extinction ratios (the time it takes for the shutter to block the eye), and a wide viewing field.” This means a brighter image and more accurate color. They also fit better and slide off my face less, but for maximum comfort my nose still has to grow an extra inch.
I gather the active 3D glasses are expensive, so admission to the digital cinema is higher (P320 includes popcorn and a soda), and your ticket has a stub which you have to present to the usher to get your 3D glasses. According to the ticket, if you lose the 3D glasses you have to pay P4,000 for the pair. I suspect that stressing the high cost of the glasses makes them more likely to get stolen.
This got me to thinking: a lot of my friends are getting “progressive” lenses or bifocals because they need a different grade of lens to read with. And then when you step out of a building into the blinding sunshine you need to change to a pair of sunglasses. And many upcoming movies require 3D glasses. So what we need are iGlasses: intelligent eyeglasses that can measure light, distance, and other factors, and switch instantly from glasses for looking into the distance to reading glasses to shades to 3D glasses.
And why stop there, they could also have X-ray vision, telephoto lenses, a camera, and internet access. Independent developers could create apps for these iGlasses, like an app that detects where cosmetic surgery has been done.
I think we’re on to something. Steve Jobs, call me.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
March 5th, 2010 at 01:19
JZ, I’m an eyeglass wearer too (my curse since college). Whatever the optical shops tell you, don’t ever get tricked into buying a pair of those so called “transition” lenses. These are supposed to self-darken when you go out in direct sunlight and lighten when you go indoors. Last year I spent almost 6 thousand pesos for a pair of those Es__or brand,and I later said to myself, “I wuz robbed!” I found out that 1) they never really get that dark in direct sunlight so you still squint;2)go indoors and the lens ever so s-l-o-w-l-y lighten,but when they do,they have this yellowish or brownish tint,unlike your ordinary clear prescriptions. Now I’m back to wearing prescriptions or contacts. Or I’d scotch tape prescription lens to the back of my dark glasses when I go out. It’s tricky but it works for me. BTW, D—-ies brand has this sunglasses with built-in camera. No one’s buying though because I think it costs the monthly salary of an average BPO manager.
March 5th, 2010 at 13:51
That would be great!! Too bad its not on his immediate agenda:
http://www.begeek.fr/levolution-de-lipad-en-2012-et-2014-8398
March 5th, 2010 at 22:29
oh God Jessica, iGlasses??!! the funniest concept you’ve come up with lately
March 6th, 2010 at 07:51
@ Franzi: You can have your sunglasses graded by your optometrist. I have two (an Elizabeth Arden and an Elle) and they’re both graded coz I so fear of getting wrinkles too early from squinting. I even suggested to a male friend to have his Wayfarer graded so that he won’t have to squint while driving.
The downside is, it doesn’t work on shades with overly curved lenses. So better buy those very slightly curved ones. Even at night, I can clearly see all things around me, so that sometimes, when I forget my prescription glasses, I wear it while driving home.
March 6th, 2010 at 07:53
@ Franzi: You can have your sunglasses graded by your optometrist. I have two (an Elizabeth Arden and an Elle) and they’re both graded coz I so fear of getting wrinkles too early from squinting. I even suggested to a male friend to have his Wayfarer graded so that he won’t have to squint while driving.
The downside is, it doesn’t work on shades with overly curved lenses. So better buy those with very slightly curved ones. Even at night, I can clearly see all things around me, so that sometimes, when I forget my prescription glasses, I wear my graded shades instead, while driving home.
March 7th, 2010 at 01:58
chinggay: I didn’t know that. Thanks for the tip! I’ve been “experimenting” with sunglasses-eyeglasses “hybridization” for so long I feel like Wile E. Coyote. So far I’ve learned that transitions aren’t for me, and I can’t really wear contacts longer than 24 hrs. or else my eyes get heavy. Isn’t it dangerous wearing graded shades while night driving? I also heard that polarized sunglasses provide good vision day and night,so I’m off to the mall to get me one of those. There are so many cool ones out there and they’re inexpensive.
March 11th, 2010 at 08:21
Alice in Wonderland had mixed reviews. What did you think about it? I enjoyed it. I thought it was trippy.